Tesla’s radar-less cars investigated by NHTSA after complaints spike

Enlarge / Tesla's camera-only approach to driver assistance keeps landing it in trouble. (credit: Aurich Lawson | Tesla)

Tesla is facing a new headache this week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into a "phantom braking" problem after receiving hundreds of complaints from owners of recent Models 3 and Y. In total, the NHTSA says that about 416,000 cars are affected.

In May 2021, Tesla decided to remove the forward-looking radar sensor from the Model 3 and Model Y EVs. This sensor was used by some of the cars' advanced driver-assistance systems, like adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and automatic emergency braking.

Instead, new Teslas built for the North American market rely entirely on cameras. At the time of the removal, Tesla noted that the change meant the cars' forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking functions were no longer rated by the NHTSA but that the company expected that rating to happen "in the coming weeks."

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