NHTSA launches probe into Tesla’s ‘phantom braking

“The complaints allege that while utilizing the [advanced driver-assistance] features including adaptive cruise control, the vehicle unexpectedly applies its brakes while driving at highway speeds,” the agency said. “Complainants report that the rapid deceleration can occur without warning, at random, and often repeatedly in a single drive cycle.”

Tesla owners flooded NHTSA‘s website with hundreds of complaints of alleged “phantom braking” this month following a Washington Post report that noted a sharp uptick in the phenomenon. The issue, a glitch in the cars’ forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems, occurs when Tesla’s cars suddenly slow down in response to falsely detected hazards.

Owners began complaining of the issue in larger numbers beginning in November, days after the automaker issued a recall of its “Full Self-Driving” software over a glitch that could lead to phantom braking. More broadly, the surge has followed Tesla’s shift from a multi-sensor perception system combining cameras and radar to a camera-based system that relies on what the automaker calls “Tesla Vision.” The spate of complaints included several common patterns as well as at least one report of an injury.

After The Post’s article in early February, NHTSA received about 250 complaints about phantom braking during the following two weeks. That compared to 107 complaints in the previous three months — a steep surge of its own — and only 34 in the preceding 22 months.

Tesla, which disbanded its public relations department in 2020, did not respond to requests for comment. “NHTSA will determine the scope and severity of the potential problem and fully assess the potential safety-related issues,” said NHTSA spokeswoman Lucia Sanchez.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly defended the use of its automated features, calling its Autopilot driver-assistance “unequivocally safer” than normal driving and decrying the “fun police” as the company faced multiple recalls in recent weeks — an apparent reference to federal regulators.

Complaints of phantom braking involving Tesla vehicles also far surpass those for other automakers that also have advanced driver assistance but largely rely on radar-equipped systems. The increase in complaints sheds light on the types of common scenarios in which owners report phantom braking. Among all the complaints, about a third of the sudden slowdowns occurred on two-lane roads or highways when, for example, an oncoming truck was approaching in the distance, according to a Post analysis. Teslas across the fleet often react to such situations in the same way, leaving common patterns emerging in the complaints.

“It’s when the traffic is coming towards me that it randomly throws on the brake,” Sally Bergquist, of Alexander City, Ala., who experienced repeated sudden slowdowns on…