Feds launch probe into fatal East Bay crash involving Tesla: Was Autopilot system being used?

By TOM KRISHER and MICHELLE CHAPMAN | Associated Press

DETROIT — U.S. safety regulators are turning up the heat on Tesla, announcing investigations into steering wheels coming off some SUVs and a fatal crash involving a Tesla suspected of using an automated driving system when it ran into a parked firetruck in Walnut Creek.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it is launching a special crash-investigation team to probe the Feb. 18 crash involving a Tesla Model S and a ladder truck from the Contra Costa County fire department.

The firetruck probe is part of a larger investigation by the agency into multiple instances of Teslas using the automaker’s Autopilot system crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes. NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing safety problems with Teslas in the past year, announcing multiple recalls and investigations.

The driver of the 2014 Tesla Model S was killed in the crash and a passenger critically injured. Four firefighters were treated for minor injuries, and the $1.4 million ladder truck was damaged.

NHTSA is investigating how the Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways. At least 15 Teslas have crashed into emergency vehicles nationwide while using the system.

Authorities said the truck had its lights on and was parked diagonally on northbound lanes of Interstate 680 to protect responders to an earlier accident that did not result in injuries.

RELATED: Tesla driver dies after crashing into parked fire truck on East Bay freeway

A NHTSA spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment on an open investigation when asked if the Teslas are posing a danger to emergency workers.

NHTSA has been scrutinizing Teslas more intensely in the past year, seeking several recalls and opening investigations.

Earlier Wednesday, the agency posted documents revealing that it’s investigating steering wheels that can detach from the steering column on as many as 120,000 Model Y SUVs.

The agency said it received two complaints in which 2023 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.

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, five days after the vehicle was purchased. The owner wrote that there were no cars behind him, and he was able to pull toward the road divider. There were no injuries.

It was a “horrible experience,” the car’s owner, Prerak Patel, told The Associated Press. He said he was in the freeway’s left lane when the steering wheel came off and was lucky the road was straight and he was able to stop the car at the divider.

Messages were left seeking comment from Tesla, which is based in Austin, Texas, and has disbanded its media relations department.

At first a Tesla service center gave Patel 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 Patel 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.

Patel was later given the option of keeping the car or getting it replaced with a new one. Patel said he chose to get a replacement.

Patel said he’s a fan of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and has invested a large chunk of his savings in the company’s stock, which fell about 3% Wednesday.

“My kids were a little scared to ride in a loaner Tesla and, as a parent, we are able to restore their confidence,” Patel said. He said he hopes Tesla will investigate and improve its quality control “so no other family experiences what we experienced.”

Detached steering wheels are rare in the auto industry, but not unprecedented. In February, Nissan recalled about 1,000 Ariya electric vehicles because the wheels could come off of the steering column due to a loose bolt.

In addition to the Autopilot investigation, NHTSA has opened investigations during the past three years into 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. The system, which cannot drive itself, is being tested on public roads by as many as 400,000 Tesla owners. But NHTSA said in documents that it can make unsafe actions such as traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, going through a yellow traffic light without proper caution or failing to respond to changes in posted speed limits.

The U.S. Justice Department also has asked Tesla for documents from Tesla about “Full Self-Driving” and Autopilot.

Tesla says in its owners manual that neither Autopilot nor “Full Self-Driving” can drive themselves, and that owners must be ready to intervene at all times.

NHTSA has sent investigators to 35 Tesla crashes in which automated systems are suspected of being used. Nineteen people have died in those crashes, including two motorcyclists.

Since January of 2022, Tesla has issued 20 recalls, including several that were required by NHTSA. The recalls include one from January of last year for “Full Self-Driving” vehicles being programmed to run stop signs at slow speeds.