NextSharkNextShark.com

Tesla under investigation after steering wheels come off while driving

Tesla under investigation after steering wheels come off while driving
via Twitter

Tesla owner Prerak Patel was driving on Route 1 in New Jersey when the steering wheel in their brand new Tesla Model Y SUV reportedly fell off

March 8, 2023
SHARE
A brand new Tesla owner was shocked when his vehicle’s steering wheel snapped off while he was driving with his family.
The malfunction occurred on Jan. 29 as Prerak Patel and his wife and children were driving home from shopping at Woodbridge Mall.
Luckily, no cars were behind and Patel was able to pull over to the side by the divider, according to posts on his Twitter (@preneh24) account. Pictures from that day show the steering wheel in Patel’s Tesla Model Y SUV, which he bought just five days earlier, left hanging by only its wires. 
“Family was excited to receive Tesla Y delivery on 1/24/2023. Was driving on highway and all the sudden steering wheel fall off, was lucky enough there was no car behind and I was able to pull on devider [sic],” he said in a tweet that was directed at Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, among others.
View post on Twitter
Less than a week later, a Tesla service center billed Patel $103.96 to fix the faulty steering wheel.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter

A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.

Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.

Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.

“Am I responsible for manufacturing defect? It’s not even week and getting bill for faulty steering wheel. Isn’t it company’s responsibility to fix it? I would greatly appreciate refund and keep the car as we lost trust and family is not feeling safe driving it back,” Patel tweeted at Musk afterward.
View post on Twitter
After Patel requested a full refund, the service center removed the charge and informed him that while Tesla does not have a return policy, he should reach out to the sales and delivery department for other options.
Two days after the incident, on Jan. 31, Patel allegedly received a call from a Tesla dealership with an apology and two options: either keep his car with an assurance the steering wheel would not unexpectedly detach again or replace his old car with a new one. 
He uploaded a poll to Twitter, and out of 6,120 total voters, 83% voted that he should get a replacement car.
View post on Twitter
Patel received his replacement Model Y car on Feb. 23, uploading two pictures of him and his wife in front of their new white SUV onto Twitter. That same day, Patel also said that he received a call from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defect investigation team, informing him that they were looking into the matter.
“My main intent is really to make sure this doesn’t happen to any other family, what happened to us,” Patel said, according to NJ Advance Media. “They should investigate this and make sure what they did wrong doesn’t happen again.”
The Model Y is Tesla’s most popular vehicle, and the 2023 model prices range from $50,000-$90,000.
U.S. auto safety regulators are now investigating Tesla after receiving two reports of steering wheels coming off while in operation. 
The NHTSA says they will be looking into all 2023 models — an estimated 120,000 vehicles.
In both complaints of steering wheel detachment, a bolt that holds the wheel and the steering column was found to be missing, according to the agency. In a statement posted on Wednesday, the agency also said that in both cases the SUVs had low mileage.
MOST READ
    HAPPENING NOW
      Ana Yoo

      Ana Yoo is a contributor at NextShark

      SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

      RELATED STORIES FROM NEXTSHARK

      Support
      NextShark's
      Journalism

      Many people might not know this, but NextShark is a small media startup that runs on no outside funding or loans, and with no paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on help from our community and readers like you.

      Everything you see today is built by Asians, for Asians to help amplify our voices globally and support each other. However, we still face many difficulties in our industry because of our commitment to accessible and informational Asian news coverage.

      We hope you consider making a contribution to NextShark so we can continue to provide you quality journalism that informs, educates, and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for supporting NextShark and our community.

      © 2023 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.