Ritu Jha-
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has confirmed they are investigating the VinFast EV vehicle that crashed to the pole and killed four people on April 24 in Pleasanton, California.
On April 29, the owner of the vehicle VinFast’s VF8 filed a complaint with NHTSA, after his coworker friend who was driving the vehicle got killed along with his family—Tarun George, his wife Rincy George, and their two children Rowan, an eighth grader at Hart Middle School and Aaron, a second grader at Donlon Elementary School. George was driving the electric car.
The spokesperson at NHTSA’s told indica through an email, “Special Crash Investigations division has launched an investigation into a VinFast VF8 crash that occurred in Pleasanton, California, in April in which four people died. Specifically, SCI will document the crash circumstances and the ensuing fire.”
Friends and community members said they were returning from a birthday party. Police said it might be speeding that led to the accident. However, the car owner in the complaint stated that previously while driving the steering wheel automatically maneuvered to the right, however, he was able to regain control.
The complaint stated that the failure recurred where the lane assist was turned on by default and it would automatically move the steering wheel. The complaint states he is concerned that the failure recurred while the coworker was driving. The manufacturer was made aware of the crash and a case was opened.
The Pleasanton police have said earlier ‘speed might be the cause of the crash.’ However, the case is now under investigation as to whether it was the speed or the steering wheel.
The NHTSA website shows there were 11 complaints filed by people against the vehicle VinFast out of which three are steering related. And it is the first time NHTSA is investigating the complaint.
The other two steering complaints state: “The failure of the advanced driver assistance systems malfunction. The vehicle can’t detect the lane on the highway while traveling, the car suddenly steering randomly and almost cause an accident twice before it has time to turn off the system.”
Another complaint filed states: “The vehicle drove into traffic cones at night when adaptive cruise engaged. Freeway was reduced to two lanes and cars ignored them. Pulled to the side of the road and car did not go back into gear.”
VinFast, a Vietnam-based company that started selling vehicles in the United States in 2023, on its website says: “VinFast EVs are built with premium craftsmanship and high-quality parts designed for safety, reliability, and comfort on every journey.” The company did not respond to indica till the time of filing this report.
However, a Reuters report and court documents show VinFast USA is facing several other lawsuits on the patent to paying rent at the Palo Alto showroom to misleading shareholders.
