NHTSA closes preliminary evaluation of front suspension failure in Tesla vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday it has closed a preliminary evaluation into 74,918 Tesla Inc. vehicles over front suspension failures.

The auto safety agency's Office of Defects Investigation had opened a probe into the issue in 2020, based on complaints alleging failure of front suspension fore links in 2015-2017 Tesla Model S and 2016-2017 Model X vehicles.

A failed fore link, a crucial component of a vehicle's suspension system could cause additional damage to other parts.

However, the agency said it closed the investigation as no instance showed that a failure of the part prevented the ability to control the vehicle in testing and reported instances of failure.

Reuters reported in December that tens of thousands of owners had experienced premature failures of suspension or steering parts since 2016, citing Tesla documents and interviews with customers and former employees.

The documents showed that the automaker sought to blame drivers for frequent failures of suspension and steering parts it has long known were defective.

"One minor crash with no injuries is associated with the 426 instances of fore link failures. A majority of the failures occurred between one to fifteen mph while parking in driveways or parking lots," the regulator said in a notice.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on closing of the investigation.

NHTSA said the closure of the evaluation does not mean there were no safety issues, and the agency's records show that Tesla has had nine recalls in the U.S. for steering and suspension issues since 2018.

The Elon Musk-led EV maker had issued a consumer satisfaction bulletin in 2017 to replace the component in some vehicles made between January and May 2016, but it does not cover 75 percent of instances of failures identified in the investigation, NHTSA said.

It recommended that Tesla expand terms of the bulletin to cover all vehicles equipped with fore links.