Shulou(Shulou.com)12/24 Report--

Thank you, Mr. Air, a netizen of CTOnews.com, for your clue delivery! CTOnews.com, December 21 (Xinhua)-- Norwegian traffic safety regulators are investigating the suspension failure of Tesla's electric vehicle, which could lead to a recall, Reuters reported.

Tor-Ove Satren, a senior engineer at the Norwegian Public roads Authority (NPRA), said the agency began questioning Tesla in September 2022 to evaluate consumer complaints about broken rear lower control arms of Model S and X vehicles.

Satren said that if NPRA determined that there were "serious safety risks" in these vehicles, it might advise Tesla to recall all years of Model S and X models to replace the rear lower control arm. If there are no security issues, the NPRA may close the review or decide to extend the investigation.

NPRA is expected to make a decision before Christmas and has the power to force a recall if Tesla refuses it.

The news comes after Reuters released an investigation report on Wednesday revealing how Tesla blamed drivers for frequent failures in suspension and steering components that had actually been determined to be defective within the company. The report cited thousands of Tesla documents and interviews with former employees, including Norwegian service managers and technicians, as reducing soaring warranty costs. Tesla tried to partially reduce maintenance costs by blaming the failure on "driver abuse".

NPRA's regulatory review was triggered by more than a dozen reports submitted by consumers in 2022 about the sudden rupture of suspension components, such as control arms. A Reuters survey found that the failure of Tesla's control arm has been a persistent problem in Norway, one of Tesla's largest markets in Europe.

In a report obtained by NPRA through a public record request, one consumer wrote: "the broken control arm, which is a problem encountered by many other Tesla, is a direct threat to traffic safety." Car owners called on regulators to "stand up and do something".

"Last Saturday, the suspension of our Tesla Model S broke, but fortunately there was no serious accident," another consumer told NPRA.

Satren said NPRA had received reports from consumers that their Tesla control arm had broken shortly after being inspected by the service center.

A car owner told Reuters that he sent his 2017 Model S to check the right control arm in June 2022 because the left arm had been broken in October 2021. According to the invoice provided by the owner, a technician told him that the parts were in good condition and that there were no "corrosion damage and cracks". But the owner said the part broke two weeks later.

Tesla has dominated the market that actively embraces electric cars since entering Norway in 2013. According to the Norwegian Road Federation, Norway has registered 123642 Tesla, of which nearly 120000 are still in operation.

NPRA first asked for a meeting with Tesla executives in September 2022 after receiving consumer complaints. Satren said it held its last meeting with Tesla this month.

If the NPRA recommends or enforces a recall, the agency may also report the problem to the European Union Safety Gate (Safety Gate), a database formerly known as RAPEX, which is used as a rapid warning system for potentially dangerous non-food products. Satren said this would remind Tesla owners and EU member states of the possibility of suspension failure.

Satren said Tesla had recently revised the design of the rear lower control arm. "however, there are still many vehicles with these problems on the road."

CTOnews.com noted that Tesla recalled nearly 30, 000 Model S / Xs in China in October 2020 because of suspension problems.

Related readings:

"the report says that defects in the design of Tesla's suspension system lead to frequent failures, which are blamed on improper operation by car owners after sales."

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