The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation on July 29, 2026, into an estimated 1,198,300 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, according to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation resume for the case, PE26006. The filing lists the investigation's prompting cause as a "VOQ Review." The investigation covers model year 2018-2020 Model 3 and model year 2021-2023 Model Y vehicles, per the same document.
The problem, as NHTSA's filing describes it, is a front lower lateral link that comes loose from the vehicle, which "potentially causes a loss of vehicle directional control," according to the NHTSA document.
Why it matters for shops: The front lower lateral link, the component named in this investigation, is part of the front suspension. In a prior recall addressing a related lateral link defect, NHTSA warned that a separated link could shift wheel alignment and "increase the risk of a collision," according to NHTSA's 2023 recall notice.
What owners reported
In most cases, there was "no advance warning or indication that the suspension failure would occur," according to the NHTSA document. Some complaints described noises before the failure occurred, but even those cases reported no visual warning from the vehicle beforehand, per the same filing. Once the failure occurs, "the vehicle may not be drivable, thus requiring a tow," according to the document.
NHTSA logged 156 total complaints, all filed directly with the agency's Office of Defects Investigation rather than reported by Tesla through the manufacturer Early Warning Reporting system, according to the NHTSA document. The agency's failure report summary lists zero crashes, fires, injuries or fatalities connected to the complaints, per the same filing.
Distinct from prior recalls
Tesla has recalled vehicles over lower lateral link detachments twice before, according to the NHTSA document. The first, recall 21V-835, covered 2,791 Model 3 vehicles from model years 2019 through 2021 and was tied to a production issue.
The second, recall 23V-235, covered 422 Model 3 vehicles from model years 2018 and 2019 that had experienced similar failures, according to the document. NHTSA said the failures in the current investigation "exceed the scope of these recalls and do not appear to be related to the production issue that prompted those recalls."
NHTSA opened this evaluation "to determine the underlying cause, scope, and severity of the potential problem and to fully assess the potential safety-related issues."
Part of a broader pattern of Tesla inquiries
Tesla's Full Self-Driving system is also under a more advanced level of NHTSA review. The agency moved that investigation into an engineering analysis on March 18, a step short of a possible recall order, covering an estimated 3.2 million vehicles spanning the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck.
In the second quarter, Tesla logged three recalls covering close to 234,000 vehicles, placing it seventh among all automakers by recall volume for that period, per data from recall management firm BizzyCar cited by Insurance Journal.
