Federal investigation of Tesla suspension failure ends with recommendation

Enlarge / For years, Tesla used front suspension fore links that can fail in use. (credit: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation has closed a four-year probe into suspension failures affecting some Teslas. The problem is better known among the Tesla enthusiast community as the “whompy wheel” problem, and NHTSA’s ODI found hundreds of separate incidents of front suspension failures affecting both Model S sedans and Model X SUVs.

Although the automaker had previously issued a service bulletin to replace the faulty components on some cars, NHTSA says many more vehicles are fitted with the bad parts, and the bulletin should be expanded.

NHTSA began its preliminary evaluation in November 2020 following 43 reports of left or right front suspension fore link failures in model year 2015–2017 Model S and 2016–2017 Model X electric vehicles. Most of these happened at low speeds while parking, and only four occurred at highway speeds.