Owners of Model S, Model 3, and Model X vehicles complained that they had suddenly accelerated out of control during parking.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Board (NHTSA) announced it had opened a preliminary investigation involving Tesla over complaints of an unexpected sudden acceleration of the vehicle.
Includes 2012–2019 Model S, 2016–2019 Model X, and 2018–2019 Model 3 cars; The owners filed multiple complaints that the cars suddenly accelerated out of control, and an individual filed a lawsuit based on that.
NHTSA may decide to expand this into a formal error investigation based on what they discovered.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it had opened a preliminary investigation into 500,000 Tesla electric cars due to numerous complaints of unexpected sudden acceleration, leading to several accidents.
Models include the Model S from 2012 to 2019, the Model X from 2016 to 2019, and the Tesla Model 3 from 2018 to 2019. The investigation, numbered DP 20-001 by Tesla, was opened on January 13, although the initial investigation petition was received by email on December 19, 2019, stating the subject of the investigation as an “unexpected sudden acceleration” in these cars.
For example, a car owner complained that when entering the parking space, the Model 3 2019 suddenly accelerated into the curb and hit a building, shattering the windshield of the car. The majority of complaints focus on electric parking, so it’s less likely that Tesla’s automated driving system is the culprit of these acceleration problems.
This isn’t the first time an automaker has been investigated for this kind of problem. Toyota and Lexus vehicles suffered similar unexpected acceleration problems a decade ago, as did Audis in the early 90s. C/D even published a guide in 2009 for drivers who felt they had an unexpected acceleration while driving.