In one complaint, a Tesla Model Y driver in Maple Valley, Wash., reported the vehicle lost power steering while driving.
“Luckily there wasn’t a vehicle behind me, which avoided any accident. I had to use immense manual power on the steering to make the vehicle move to the side,” the driver said of the July 14 incident. “Upon resetting, the steering was back to normal again. However, this seems to be a serious safety hazard, and I cannot fathom the fact if it had happened on a busy freeway.”
Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Most NHTSA investigations start as preliminary evaluations, in which agency engineers request information from the manufacturer, including data on complaints, injuries and warranty claims. The manufacturer also can present its view regarding the alleged defect and may issue a recall.
After the evaluation, NHTSA will either close the investigation or move into the next phase. If a safety-related defect exists, according to NHTSA, the agency may send a “recall request” letter to the manufacturer.
The latest safety probe comes after NHTSA in March opened a safety probe into 120,000 Tesla Model Y crossovers for reports of “complete detachment of the steering wheel from the steering column while driving.”
The agency also is continuing its investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assist system after a series of crashes in the U.S. that resulted in more than a dozen injuries and one death.
In February, NHTSA prompted Tesla to recall nearly 363,000 U.S. vehicles equipped with or pending installation of its Full Self-Driving beta software as a result of the investigation.
Another investigation launched in February 2022 covers about 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2021-22 model years after NHTSA said it received hundreds of complaints alleging unexpected activation of the automatic emergency braking system, characterized by some Tesla owners as “phantom braking.”
