The issue affects multiple variants of Tesla cars, including Model S and Model Y.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is pulling more than 1.8 million vehicles from the U.S. market after the firm found a safety issue that could put drivers at risk.
The affected models are 2021–2024 Model 3, Model S, Model X, and 2020–2024 Model Y vehicles with the recall affecting potentially more than 1.84 million cars.
To remedy the issues, Tesla has released an over-the-air software update that is available free of charge for customers. The company is expected to send notification letters to Tesla owners on Sept. 22.
The company identified the problem to be a case of “latch switch deformation, which could prevent the customer from being notified of an open hood state.”
Tesla found the same issues in European and North American markets. However, the rate of such incidents in these regions was lower compared to that of China.
Eventually, the manufacturer decided to voluntarily recall the affected vehicles “out of an abundance of caution.” As of July 20, the firm identified three warranty claims or field reports from vehicles in the United States linked to the latch issue. “Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to this condition.”
Year of Recalls
The recall over hood latches is the latest in a string of issues Tesla has sought to remedy over the past year. In December 2023, Tesla recalled more than 120,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in America due to concerns that doors could unlock and open during a crash.
The firm noticed the problem during a routine crash test. The company issued an over-the-air software update for the model years 2021–2023 to deal with the issue.
The agency found that “Tesla’s unique design of its Autopilot system can provide inadequate driver engagement and usage controls that can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system.”
The NHTSA said that the smaller fonts could make it difficult to read crucial safety information on the vehicles’ instrument panels, thus raising accident risks.
Deliveries and production dropped as well. The company stated that the second quarter was a “difficult operating environment” for the electric vehicle industry.
“In 2024, our vehicle volume growth rate may be notably lower than the growth rate achieved in 2023, as our teams work on the launch of the next-generation vehicle at Gigafactory Texas,” the company said.