Cars Brakes themselves, The US Highway Authority Is Back To InvestigateTesla

Tesla had a braking error. (photo; doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday, February 17 that it was opening a formal investigation into 416.000 Tesla vehicles over reports of unexpected brake activation related to the Autopilot driver assistance system.

The initial evaluation covers Tesla Model 3 and Model Y 2021-2022 vehicles in the United States after NHTSA received 354 complaints about the issue over the past nine months. The NHTSA says the vehicle under review has an advanced driver assistance system that Tesla calls Autopilot. However, as a result of this car error allows them to brake and drive automatically in the lane.

"Plaintiffs report that rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and frequently repeatedly within a single drive cycle," the NHTSA said, quoted by Reuters.

Owners say they have raised concerns about this with Tesla. But Elon Musk's automaker dismissed the complaints and instead said that braking was normal, and some called it "ghost braking".

The owner of a 2021 Tesla Model Y told NHTSA in October that while driving on a highway at 80 miles per hour "the car braked violently and slowed from 80 mph to 69 mph in less than a second.

"Braking was really hard, my head was banging forward and I almost lost control of the car," the complainant said of his Tesla whose performance was beyond expectations.

The NHTSA in August also opened a formal security investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system on 765.000 vehicles in the US. This comes after a series of accidents involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles, such as ambulances.

Earlier this month, the NHTSA also confirmed it was reviewing consumer complaints that Tesla vehicles applied the brakes unnecessarily. The initial evaluation is the first phase before the NHTSA can issue a formal withdrawal request.

In May 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said improving the radar sensor of the automatic drive system would partly address "ghost braking", which some Tesla drivers have long complained about. Tesla, which is disbanding its media relations department, did not respond to requests for comment.

Tesla has come under increasing scrutiny from the NHTSA, which is investigating several issues and the electric vehicle manufacturer has issued 10 recalls since October 2021. These recalls are certainly a lot, especially for software issues and some are under pressure from the agency.

Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, a group that represents state highway safety agencies, said on Twitter "another day, another issue with Tesla. Glad to see NHTSA more active in leading this company."

Absolutely! Updating crash dummies is on a long list of actions needed from @NHTSAgov. This small agency deserves more funding and staff as it is playing "catch up" in so many regards. @GHSAHQ @NSCsafety https://t.co/jxiN2r48fY

— Jonathan Adkins (@jraindc) February 15, 2022

Last November, Tesla recalled nearly 12.000 US vehicles sold since 2017 because a communication error could lead to a false collision warning or unexpected activation of the emergency brakes.

The recall was requested following a software update on October 23 for vehicles in the limited early access population version 10.3 Full-Self Driving (FSD) (Beta).

The FSD is an advanced driver assistance system that takes care of some driving tasks but Tesla and the NHTSA say it doesn't make autonomous vehicles.

The recall comes after the NHTSA in October asked Tesla why it had not issued a recall to address a software update made to the Autopilot driver assistance system to improve the vehicle's ability to detect emergency vehicles.

Last week, Tesla also recalled 578.607 US vehicles because pedestrians may not be able to hear the required warning sound from approaching cars due to loud music or other sounds played by the "Boombox" feature.

Elon Musk said last week on Twitter "fun cops made us do it (sigh)".