Tesla Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Defective Braking System

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Electric vehicle maker Tesla was slammed with a class action alleging the regenerative brakes on Tesla Models S and X are defective posing a serious safety risk to drivers and passengers.

Lead plaintiffs, Roy and Marites Wiseman, allege in their class action lawsuit that the regenerative braking system in their Tesla Model X caused their vehicle to crash down a mountain in snowy conditions.

The plaintiffs claim that the braking system is defective because it does not allow the driver to coast in snowy conditions and can turn on unexpectedly.

“Unlike almost every other passenger vehicle with regenerative braking, Tesla vehicles activate regenerative braking when the driver lets off the accelerator pedal,” the Tesla class action states. “Other vehicles, like the Toyota Prius, only activate regenerative braking when the driver presses the brake pedal, retaining the ability to coast.”

The plaintiffs say they believed the Tesla Model X they purchased had a non-defective regenerative braking system that would eliminate the loss of stability caused by the braking system. However, say the plaintiffs, their vehicle’s regenerative braking system switched on and caused them to lose control of the vehicle when they slowed for a curve on a snowy mountain road.

“The regenerative braking systems used in both the Model S and Model X create a substantial risk for the vehicles to lose control in snowy conditions,” alleges the class action lawsuit. “The vehicle’s automatic regenerative braking system makes the vehicles unable to coast, and risk losing control on icy roads due to the mandatory braking the vehicle imposes on the driver.”

The Wisemans allege that when the driver took his foot slightly off the accelerator to slow for the curve, the regenerative braking system switched on and the plaintiff immediately lost control of the vehicle. The plaintiffs say they were stranded in the dark and cold for hours in their severely damaged Tesla Model X.

According to the class action lawsuit, Tesla has known about the problems caused by the regenerative braking system since 2007, but has failed to fix the problem. Although a June 29, 2007 blog post on Tesla’s website claims that “Tesla has ‘developed and verified [a] safety feature’ called ‘regen control’ to limit the regenerative braking if the vehicle’s rear wheels start to slip, ten years later Tesla vehicles still suffer from losing stability when the regenerative braking is engaged in snow or ice.”

The plaintiffs further say they relied on Tesla to update the vehicle to fix any problems using online software updates; however, “Tesla failed to correct the loss of stability caused by regenerative braking through its over-the-air software update system,” say the plaintiffs in their complaint.

“Had Plaintiffs known that the regenerative braking system and/or the regen control system of the Subject Vehicle was flawed they would not have purchased the Subject Vehicle, would not have used the Subject Vehicle in winters and would have paid substantially less for the Subject Vehicle, or would have purchased another luxury SUV from Tesla’s competitors,” allege the class action plaintiffs.

Tesla has been hit with a number of other class action lawsuits recently. One class action alleges the Model X accelerates unexpectedly. Another claims that Tesla’s autopilot feature is dangerously defective.

The Wisemans say they have notified Tesla about their accident and the defective braking system, but so far Tesla has refused to do anything about the problem.

The plaintiffs are seeking to represent a nationwide Class of Tesla Model S and Model X owners, along with a California subclass. They are seeking damages and restitution as well as an order stopping Tesla from selling the vehicles.

The Wisemans are represented by Hovanes Margarian of The Margarian Law Firm.

The Tesla Defective Braking System Class Action Lawsuit is Wiseman v. Tesla Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-04798-JFW-AGR, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.