— VinFast VF 8 Lane Keep Assist complaints caused the U.S. government to open a federal investigation in September 2024 into reports of problems with the vehicles.
Described as "Vietnam’s first global automotive manufacturer," the company sells four models in the U.S.
That fact places those vehicles under the eyes of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which opened the investigation into 2023-2024 VF 8 SUVs.
Engineers determined the Lane Keep Assist system could possibly "induce the vehicle to deviate laterally outside of the intended travel lane when navigating sweeping roadway curves."
VinFast VF 8 drivers complained the systems had problems detecting lanes on the roads and would sometimes perform improper steering inputs.
One of the complaints came from a VinFast VF 8 owner who questioned if possible lane keep issues caused the deaths of four vehicle occupants.
According to the complaint made to NHTSA from a former 2023 VinFast VF 8 owner (contact):
"The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the steering wheel automatically maneuvered to the right direction, however, the contact was able to regain control of the steering wheel and maneuvered into the correct lane. The contact stated that the failure recurred where the lane assist was turned on by default and it would automatically move the steering wheel."
The contact went on to describe the fatalities:
"On another occasion, the contact stated that a coworker was driving at unknown speeds with his family, the vehicle crashed into a pole, then a tree where it came to a stop. The vehicle then caught on fire. The contact mentioned that during the impact to the pole, the pole fell down. The air bags deployed. There were 4 occupants during the crash, the driver, the front passenger occupant, and two children seated in the rear of the vehicle. All occupants were deceased."
NHTSA says the contact was concerned the lane keep problems "recurred while the coworker was driving."
Safety regulators could find no evidence the Lane Keep Assist feature had anything to do with the crash and four fatalities, finding the conditions were not consistent with testing conducted during the investigation.
The government has closed its safety investigation because VinFast announced a VF 8 recall to improve how the Lane Keep Assist systems function.