Tesla Full Self-Driving feature under NHTSA investigation following fatality, could affect 2.4M vehicles
- by Repairer Driven News
- Oct 22, 2024
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has launched a new investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) feature that could affect an estimated 2.41 million vehicles.
ODI says it has identified four Standing General Order (SGO) reports in which a Tesla vehicle experienced a crash after entering an area of reduced roadway visibility conditions with FSD-Beta or FSD-Supervised (also called “Autosteer on City Streets” Tesla) engaged.
“In these crashes, the reduced roadway visibility arose from conditions such as sun glare, fog, or airborne dust,” the ODI wrote. “In one of the crashes, the Tesla vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. One additional crash in these conditions involved a reported injury. The four SGO crash reports are listed at the end of this summary by SGO number.”
ODI opened a “Preliminary Evaluation” of FSD, which is an optional feature in 2016-2024 Models S and X, 2017-2024 Model 3, 2020-2024 Model Y, and the 2023-2024 Cybertruck.
ODI plans to assess:
“The ability of FSD’s engineering controls to detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions;
“Whether any other similar FSD crashes have occurred in reduced roadway visibility conditions and, if so, the contributing circumstances for those crashes; and
“Any updates or modifications from Tesla to the FSD system that may affect the performance of FSD in reduced roadway visibility conditions. In particular, this review will assess the timing, purpose, and capabilities of any such updates, as well as Tesla’s assessment of their safety impact.”
According to Reuters, there have been at least two fatal accidents involving FSD, including in April when a Tesla Model S hit and killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area.
In October 2023, Reuters reported that Tesla shared the U.S. Justice Department had issued subpoenas related to its FSD and Autopilot systems. Reuters reported in October 2022 that Tesla was under criminal investigation.
In December 2023, more than 2 million Teslas were recalled over the OEM’s “Autosteer” and “Autopilot” features. The recall stemmed from an NHTSA investigation that began in August 2021 following crashes with stationary first-responder vehicles and Tesla vehicles that were operating with Autosteer engaged.
Earlier this year, NHTSA announced it had opened an investigation into the recall remedy after identifying 13 fatal crashes, in which “foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role.”
Tesla’s owner’s manuals provide information about FSD Supervised and caution it and its associated functions may not operate as intended.
“There are numerous situations in which driver intervention may be needed,” the manual says. “Visibility is critical for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to operate.”
Examples given (but are not limited to) include:
“Low visibility, such as low light or poor weather conditions (rain, snow, direct sun, fog, etc.) can significantly degrade performance;
“Interactions with pedestrians, bicyclists, and other road users;
“Unprotected turns with high-speed cross-traffic;
“Multi-lane turns;
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