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Aladdin, the star of the live version of Disney, is suing Tesla, claiming that a defect in the suspension of the car had shattered the front wheel of his model 3 while he was changing lanes on Hollywood Boulevard , making the car uncontrollable and in a tree.
The actor Mena Massoud had only bought the car the day before and Geico, his insurer, finally concluded that the complaint concerned Tesla, and not Mena according to the complaint. Massoud sued Tesla alleging negligence and breach of warranty, among others.
In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesman for Tesla said that "the wheel of Massoud's car had been ripped off because the driver had crashed into a tree at high speed".
For those who observe Tesla closely, Massoud seems familiar. Suspension problems have affected Tesla's cars for years. On the Internet, an incident like Mena's is known as the "whompy wheel", and it has become something that resembles the Tesla tradition. The National Highway Safety Transport Association (NHTSA) website is full of anonymous complaints about broken suspensions, and there are websites dedicated to detecting compressor wheels in the wild.
For its part, Tesla has released several Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) warning mechanics against suspension issues with its S and X model cars. But Tesla has never issued a reminder for this problem.
One of those TSBs – issued for S and X 2016 model cars in February 2017 – warned: "Some S and X model vehicles may have been manufactured with front suspension arms that may not meet specifications. In the event of a failure, the driver may still maintain control, but the tire may touch the wheel arch liner. "
Jason Levine, of the Center for Auto Safety, told Business Insider that it was in two cases where a company was supposed to call back a vehicle: when a vehicle violated federal automobile safety standards and / or that there was an important defect.
"Tesla does not do that," he told Business Insider by phone, "they're releasing live software updates [for some problems] and do not report them as faults. They may believe that the issues are not security-related or fear repercussions on stock prices. To be honest, they are not the only ones to do it … there is a long and sad tradition that automakers do it. "
A spokesman for Tesla said the company was using TSBs as any builder – when cars need an upgrade or when they have to share repair instructions that do not not appear in the Tesla Service Manual.
"However, they are not reminders," said the spokesman, "they do not indicate that a reminder is needed and they do not indicate that there is a problem of security."
According to internal documents consulted by Business Insider, Tesla engineers had been tracking the suspension issues in the Model S since at least 2013 and were following similar problems in the Model X. They were looking at failures in the field and writing reports. comparing cases to previous cases.
A 2016 survey found that S and X model suspension failures were still caused by the same problems that Tesla observed in a 2013 study: when front links fractured at the patella due to defects visible and / or incorrect forging. As Daily Kanban pointed out in its review of the problem in 2016, a similar failure of the patella in the Dodge Durango and Dakota models from 2000 to 2003 resulted in a recall.
Instead of recalling potentially defective suspensions, Tesla has been publishing Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) for this problem for years. TSBs are notices to homeowners and mechanics, telling them that a vehicle may have a particular quality problem.
Although Tesla Model 3 has been on the road for less than a year, the company has already released a TSB related to its suspension. It indicates that, on some Model 3 cars, "the front stabilizer bar ball joint studs could crack at the flange, so the nut that secures the stabilizer bar could lose This could cause noise from the front of the vehicle to drive on rough surfaces. "
Tesla has released several TSBs for Model S vehicles manufactured in 2012, 2013 and 2014, describing suspension issues similar to those cited in Tesla's internal documents. In a TSB (released for the 2012 and 2013 S model cars), Tesla claims that the "… lower front of the drive could develop a more free game than expected", which would result in "accelerated wear" and a "premature replacement of components."
In another TSB bulletin released this year for the 2013 and 2014 S model cars, Tesla warns that "the lower rear control arm of the vehicle could crack, causing excessive camber in the rear suspension."
A source, a former Tesla employee who agreed to talk to Business Insider under the guise of anonymity, said that rather than issuing a reminder, Tesla asked the victims who were victims. a suspension missing to sign non-disclosure agreements in exchange for new cars in 2016. also concurs with the reports of Daily Kanban of the same period.
In June 2016, NHTSA forced Tesla to change the wording of its purchase agreements to make it clear that customers could still report problems with the vehicle. A Tesla spokesperson told Business Insider that the company had never "used a confidentiality or confidentiality agreement or a confidentiality agreement preventing customers from talking to regulatory authorities about security or privacy." 39, other government agencies ".
According to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider, a Tesla survey conducted in 2016 had recommended Tesla to improve its tools in order to solve its long-term suspension problems – a process that may take months in the automotive sector.
A spokesman for Tesla told Business Insider that the Model S has received several updates since 2012, when the car was first produced. Some of these updates included suspension components, as well as a complete refresh of the front fascia. Parts designs and suppliers have also changed.
What security advocates like Levine are looking for, however, is more transparency – and this applies to all automakers. They want to see fewer critical safety issues treated as performance or quality repairs, and they want more defects reported to third parties like NHTSA.
"After all we've seen, we can determine that Tesla has always followed the safety rules from the beginning." They seem to think that [the rules] do not apply to them, "said Levine.
"Tesla has made a series of efforts to try to minimize security problems, we have been doing it since the 1970s, and all manufacturers are facing security issues, consumers are sticking to their brand. are those who gain the reputation of companies that value profits over others. "
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