Reports of detached Tesla steering wheels probed
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla’s Model Y SUV after getting two complaints that the steering wheel of 2023 models had come off while the vehicles were being driven.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers an estimated 120,000 vehicles from the 2023 model year.
The agency says in both cases the Model Ys were delivered to customers with a missing bolt that holds the wheel to the steering column. A friction fit held the steering wheels on, but they separated when force was exerted while the SUVs were being driven.
The agency says in documents posted on its website Wednesday that both incidents happened while the SUVs had low mileage on them.
Messages were left seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department.
In one complaint filed with NHTSA, an owner said he was driving with his family on Route 1 in Woodbridge, N.J., when the steering wheel suddenly came off on Jan. 29, five days after the vehicle was purchased. The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him, and he was able to pull toward the road divider. There were no injuries.
“It was horrible experience; I was driving back from mall with family and in middle of freeway steering wheel fell off,” said Prerak Patel. “I was on left lane when this happened; I can’t move my car to left or right. However I was lucky that road was straight and able to stop my car at the divider.”
A Tesla service center first gave Patel a cost estimate of $103.96 to repair the problem. The service center apologized in what appear to be text messages posted on Twitter.
When Patel posted on Twitter — owned by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla — that he had lost faith in the electric vehiclemaker and asked for a refund, the service center removed the charge and wrote that Tesla doesn’t have a return policy, but he could reach out to the sales and delivery team.
He was later given the option of keeping the car or getting it replaced with a new one, according to his post on Twitter. Patel then posted that Tesla replaced his car.
Detached steering wheels are rare in the auto industry, but not unprecedented. In February, Nissan recalled about 1,000 Ariya EVs because the wheels could come off of the steering column because of a loose bolt.
Yet the latest NHTSA investigation adds to a long string of problems that Tesla is having with the U.S. road safety agency.
In the past three years it has opened investigations into Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assist system crashing into parked emergency vehicles and problems with suspensions.
The agency also is investigating complaints that Teslas can brake suddenly for no reason.
In another probe, the agency says at least one older Tesla battery burst into flames while travelling at highways speeds in California, among other Tesla fires reported, forcing emergency responders to go to great lengths in trying to douse the exceptionally hot blaze. Local fire crews ultimately sprayed some 6,000 gallons of water on it.
In February, NHTSA pressured Tesla into recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with “Full Self-Driving” software because the system was breaking traffic laws. The system, which actually cannot drive itself, is being tested on public roads by as many as 400,000 Tesla owners.
NHTSA said in documents that the software was found to make unsafe actions such as traveling straight through an intersection from a turn-only lane, going through a yellow traffic light without proper caution or failing to respond to changes in posted speed limits.
The U.S. Justice Department also has asked Tesla for company documents about its Full Self-Driving mode and Autopilot.
NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. Overall, 19 people have died in such crashes, including two motorcyclists.
Since January of 2022, Tesla has issued 20 recalls, including several that were required by NHTSA. The recalls include one from January of last year for “Full Self-Driving” vehicles being programmed to run stop signs at slow speeds.
LATEST FATAL CRASH
A Tesla driver was killed last month while operating Autopilot when the vehicle crashed into a parked firetruck on an interstate in California, according to the NHTSA.
The agency said Wednesday it dispatched a special crash investigation team to look into the Feb. 18 crash in Northern California, where emergency responders had to cut open the Tesla to remove an injured passenger.
Four Contra Costa County firefighters incurred minor injuries. The $1.4 million ladder truck was damaged in the crash on Interstate 680. The truck had been parked to shield a crew clearing another accident, fire officials said.
The driver of the 2014 Tesla Model S was declared dead at the scene. At least 15 Teslas have crashed into emergency vehicles nationwide while using the system.