The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal investigation into approximately 115,000 Teslas with a possible front suspension issue.
According to the NHTSA, it has received 43 complaints about 2015-2017 Model S and 2016-2017 Model X vehicles related to faulty front suspension parts that can damage the tires. The safety regulator says that 32 of the complaints it has received involved failures that occurred during low-speed parking maneuvers, while 11 occurred while driving. A further eight complaints have been made over the same issue.
In February 2017, Tesla actually released a service bulletin describing a manufacturing issue that could see the front suspension fore links fail. If this were to happen, the tire could contact the wheel arch liner.
Read Also: Tesla Model S And Model X Getting Massive Price Bump In Europe
News of the NHTSA’s investigation comes just four weeks after certain Model S and Model X EVs built at Tesla’s Fremont factory and exported to China were recalled due to two separate suspension defects that could result to damage to both the front and rear suspension following large impacts, Reuters reports.
On November 20, a class-action lawsuit also related to Model S and Model X suspension issues was filed against Tesla in the U.S. District Court in California. It asserts that defects can see front and rear suspension control arm assembly components failing prematurely.
In June and July, the NHTSA also opened an investigation into touchscreen failures on 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles, as well as a separate probe over a battery cooling issue with early Model Ss.
