A Tesla owner said his Model 3 got stuck going 83 miles per hour on a Los Angeles freeway in what he says was an obvious technology malfunction.
Javier Rodriguez said he was finally able to get control of the vehicle and exit the freeway. He told local media that he noticed the vehicle’s cabin temperature was warming up just before the infotainment screen froze with the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed.
Rodriguez recorded a video during the incident and later shared it with Los Angeles TV station ABC7. In the video, the driver noted that all of the car’s features failed except the brakes, allowing him to eventually come to a stop.
Today’s cars are dependent on technology
While all of today’s modern cars increasingly rely on technology and have their issues, Tesla seems to have plenty of these kinds of incidents. In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into reports of “phantom braking” issues involving Teslas.
The agency received 354 reports over the course of nine months for two specific Tesla models: the 2021 and 2022 Tesla Model 3 and the Model Y. The probe could ultimately impact approximately 416,000 Tesla vehicles.
Earlier this month, we reported on various consumer reviews and posts detailing an issue in Model Y vehicles that causes some to spontaneously die due to rear motor failure. Engine failure that occurs while a car is being driven can increase the risk of an accident.
Repairs are an issue
While ConsumerAffairs reviewers haven’t reported many dangerous failures, they have cited various technology glitches and have given their account of the repair process.
“I own a Tesla Model X and when it functions, it is a great vehicle,” Sanjeev, of Cumming, Ga., wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “The issue is when something goes wrong. There is no easy way to contact their service department. The phone lines automatically ask us to handle anything via the app. And the app frequently closes tickets that aren't even resolved.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, said he had his Tesla towed to a dealership where technicians repaired the issue. But the Tesla owner says he’s still in the dark about what exactly caused his vehicle’s problem.
He told ABC7 that all he knows is what the technicians wrote in their report: “Diagnosed and found poor communication from charged port door, causing power conversion system to shut off in order to protect onboard components during drive.”