The federal government’s chief auto safety regulator has opened a preliminary investigation into sudden braking by Tesla cars equipped with an advanced driver assistance system the company calls Autopilot.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a document posted online it was acting in response to 354 consumer complaints over the past nine months about “phantom brakes” — when Teslas brake unexpectedly when there are no hazards on the road.
The investigation focuses on Tesla Model 3 compact sedans and Model Y hatchbacks made in 2021 and 2022 and sold in the United States. The agency said it covers about 416,000 cars. The preliminary probe is intended to determine the extent and severity of the problem.
The complaints allege that the vehicle “brakes unexpectedly while driving at highway speeds,” the security agency wrote in a summary of the investigation. “Complainants report that the rapid delay can occur without warning, randomly and often repeatedly.”
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The probe is the latest safety issue Tesla has faced. Earlier this year, Tesla separately recalled 54,000 cars equipped with its Full Self-Driving software to disable a feature that allows the vehicles to slowly roll through intersections without stopping under certain conditions. Not stopping at a stop sign can increase the risk of an accident, the safety service said in a letter to Tesla.
The agency also opened a formal investigation last year into Autopilot and how it identifies objects and other vehicles on the road. That probe was prompted by 11 incidents where Teslas operating in Autopilot failed to stop and collided with police cars, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles with flashing lights on.
In recent months, Tesla has recalled 12,000 cars to fix a braking problem and recalled 458,000 others for two separate mechanical failures. It also agreed to disable a feature that allows drivers or front passengers to play video games on the dashboard’s touchscreen while the car is in motion. The move to disable the video game feature came after the issue was highlighted in The New York Times and the security agency urged the company to address it.
