The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into roughly 1.2 million Tesla vehicles after receiving 156 complaints of a front suspension component detaching while driving.
The probe covers 2018-2020 Model 3 and 2021-2023 Model Y vehicles, and it centers on the front lower lateral link separating from the car.
What NHTSA is looking at
The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation, the first stage of its process. If ODI finds a safety-related defect, it can escalate to an engineering analysis and, eventually, force a recall.
According to the investigation documents, the front lower lateral link has detached in the affected cars. That’s a core piece of the front suspension. When it lets go, the agency says the vehicle can lose steering control, become undriveable, and need to be towed.
