Tag: Tesla

U.S. road safety regulators have sent a team to investigate a crash involving a Tesla that may have been operating on a partially automated driving system when it hit a student leaving a school bus.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said it will probe the March 15 crash in North Carolina that injured a 17-year-old charter school student. The State Highway Patrol said the driver of the 2022 Tesla Model Y, a 51-year-old man, didn’t stop for the bus, which was displaying all of its activated warning signs.

Sending special investigation teams to crashes means the agency suspects the Tesla operating system that handles some aspects of driving, including Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” is partially to blame. 

Tesla, which has dismantled its media relations department, could not be reached for comment. Despite the names, Tesla has said the driver-assist system must be monitored and that drivers must be ready to intervene at all times.

NHTSA has sent investigative teams to more than 30 crashes since 2016 in which Teslas suspected of operating on Autopilot or “Full Self-Driving” have struck pedestrians, motorcyclists, semi trailers and parked emergency vehicles. At least 14 people have died in the crashes.

The agency wouldn’t comment on open investigations, but it has been scrutinizing Teslas more intensely in the past year, seeking several recalls.

Crashes caused by Tesla’s self-driving system pushed a little-known consumer advocacy group to take out a pricey Super Bowl ad in February and draw attention to the dangers. The Dawn Project said Tesla’s self-driving technology poses a threat to pedestrians and drivers. The commercial aired in cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Tesla and NHTSA need to determine why the vehicles don’t seem to see flashing lights on school buses and emergency vehicles and make sure the problem is fixed, said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington.

“I’ve been saying probably for a couple of years now, they need to figure out why these vehicles aren’t recognizing flashing lights for a big starter,” Brooks said. “NHTSA needs to step in and get them to do a recall because that’s a serious safety issue.”

Earlier this month, the agency revealed an investigation into steering wheels that can detach from the steering column on as many as 120,000 Model Y SUVs. NHTSA is also investigating seat belts that may not be anchored securely in some Tesla models, and has  periodically investigated reports of Teslas braking suddenly for no reason, suspension problems and other issues.

In February, NHTSA pressured Tesla into recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with “Full Self-Driving” software because the system can break traffic laws. 

U.S. auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla’s Model Y SUV after getting two complaints that the steering wheels can come off while it’s 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.

Investigators are looking at how often the problem happens, how many vehicles were affected and at Tesla’s manufacturing process.

The Model Y is Tesla’s top-selling vehicle.

The Associated Press left messages 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, New Jersey, when the steering wheel suddenly came off on Jan. 29. The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him and he was able to pull toward the road divider. There were no injuries in the Tesla, which was purchased on Jan. 24.

“The lead investigator provided assurance and indicated this is a serious matter and they have already contacted Tesla for further investigation,” the owner said.

The complaint has a link to a Twitter post from the owner that included a video of the detached steering wheel and pictures of the white Tesla being towed.

CBS News exchanged messages with Perak and Neha Patel, who owned the Tesla in question, and they shared photos of the car and its detached steering wheel.

At first a Tesla service center gave them 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 the owner wrote that he had lost faith in Tesla 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. The family received a new Tesla in late February. 

“This time they make sure nothing is wrong in it,” he said.

While the family was excited about the Tesla when it was first delivered, the children were wary of the replacement after the steering wheel incident, the Patels said. The parents said they reassured their kids and helped restore their confidence in the new car. The family hopes Tesla investigates “so no other family experience what we experienced.”

–Aliza Chasan contributed reporting.