Owners say the VinFast VF 8 jerked them toward walls. NHTSA and VinFast now confirm a full recall
- ODI received 14 complaints in 2024 about VF 8 Lane Assist steering erratically.
- Owners say the EV jerked toward walls, drifted lanes, and resisted override attempts.
- Free software update begins October 31, 2025 to fix Lane Assist behavior in VF 8.
Vinfast hasn’t become a smash hit in America the way it hoped – and a new recall including every single VF 8 sold in the US isn’t going to help. Regulators flagged an unnerving safety issue: the electric SUV’s driver-assist system can unexpectedly wrestle control of the steering wheel. As a result of a lengthy investigation, Vinfast will have to fix 6,314 cars.
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The problem centers around the VF 8’s Lane Keeping Assist (LKA). In wide or sweeping turns, the feature can apply steering corrections so forceful that drivers struggle to override them. Vinfast admits the flaw stems from how torque ratios were tuned across its ADAS system, leading to inconsistent steering dynamics. While we haven’t heard of any crashes related to the issue, US regulators have heard enough to push for the recall.
From Complaints to Recall
Back in September 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a probe after 14 complaints about the VF 8’s LKA surfaced. Those reports accused the system of struggling to detect lanes properly, delivering improper steering inputs, and being difficult to override. The ODI warned that the issue could require “high control effort” from drivers and increase the chance of a crash.
Owners Describe Close Calls
Some drivers have gone much further, describing some genuinely frightening moments. One said the VF 8 jerked the steering wheel so hard in turns that it nearly put them into a concrete wall, something they claim has happened around 30 times since taking delivery. Another said the LKA constantly tugged back to the center, became impossible to disable, and left them fearful of driving the car at all.
To address the problem, Vinfast will roll out a free software update that reduces steering vibration. It says that it will make overriding inputs easier and slow the handoff from automation back to the driver. Owner notifications go out on October 24, with the recall itself beginning three days earlier.
