Model 3 Owner Sues Tesla Over Alleged ‘Phantom Braking’ Issue — Here’s What You Need To Know

A Model 3 owner filed a lawsuit against Tesla over the allegedly unintended braking on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

This is just one of multiple complaints with the automaker's autopilot system over the years.

What Is the Issue That the Complainant Allegedly Experienced

Jose Alvarez Toledo, the complainant, is said to have encountered "the Sudden Unintended Braking Defect" more than once since receiving a brand-new Tesla Model 3 in January 2021.

He claimed that the car suddenly applied the brakes and lowered his speed by approximately half.

"The problem is that Tesla is rushing these features to market when the technology is not yet ready and not yet safe," the complaint said, according to a report by TechCrunch.

Tesla Didn't Not Recalled the Car Even Though It Was Covered in Warranty

The Tesla Basic Warranty should cover Toledo's complaint, where the car unexpectedly came to a stop in the middle of the road. For four years or 50,000 miles, the maintenance and repairs are covered by this warranty, the complainant claimed.

According to the lawsuit, Tesla was aware of the flaw but failed to recall the car, provide Toledo a fix, or find an appropriate car replacement.

Tesla Model 3 Owner Seeks Class Action

TechCrunch said that in the complaint, the plaintiff's legal team from Walnut Creek, California's Bursor & Fisher stated Tesla "knowingly" sold customers defective cars.

The firm asks more Tesla owners to join a proposed class action and $5 million in damages on behalf of the plaintiff.

There Are Other Complaint Regarding Tesla's Alleged Problems With the Autopilot System

This complaint against Tesla is one of many that have been brought this summer alleging issues with the Autopilot technology. According to the complaint, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received 354 complaints between May 2021 and February 2022 citing sudden brake activation in 2021 and 2022 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

In a separate TechCrunch report, it was mentioned that the automaker came under scrutiny from federal and state regulators over the safety of its Autopilot Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), as a result of the rising number of complaints.

This month, the NHTSA asked Tesla to give information regarding its cabin camera as part of a larger investigation into the 830,000 Tesla vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Virginia Transportation Research Council recently deemed Tesla's quarterly safety reports to be misleading, therefore the NHTSA investigation also wanted information on how Tesla creates its safety reports.

In a separate incident, the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla in late July of falsely advertising its Autopilot and so-called "full self-driving" (FSD) system. FSD is a more sophisticated ADAS that costs drivers an extra $12,000 for extra features.

According to the report, the investigation by NHTSA into 16 crashes involving Tesla owners who may have been using Autopilot when they collided with stationary emergency vehicles, causing 15 injuries and one fatality, has increased "heat" on Tesla.