NHTSA Complaint #11522780 — 2022 TESLA MODEL Y

On Tuesday, May 16, I was driving on a city road at about 45mph when I began to hear metal noises coming from the front of my car. I slowed down and entered a shopping center driveway to inspect the noise. Upon pulling into the driveway of that center, I heard a metal snapping sound, my steering wheel jerked to the right, and grinding sounds started at the front axle of the car. I stopped immediately. Realizing something broke, I wanted to get out of the driveway, and tested if it would move in all directions. Ultimately, I could get the car to get straight at low speed, but if I attempted to steer left or right, the grinding would occur. I moved my car to a safe location and called Tesla Roadside Service to get towed to their service facility. There were no warning messages from the car before or after the incident. Had the part broken while traveling at higher speeds, or a winding road, I could have easily been involved in a deadly incident. I got lucky! I heard similar sounds from the same area about 4 months ago, and took the car in for service. Tesla service replaced the lower left hand front suspension link, lateral link and stabilizer bar on February 28, 2023. I do not have the details of all the parts replaced for this latest incident yet, as it is still at Tesla Service awaiting a replacement "Subframe Assembly Kit" according to my service rep. Lastly, I was not involved in an accident when this occurred, nor have I ever been involved in an accident in this vehicle.