The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asked Tesla in a letter on Wednesday to recall 158,716 of its Model S and Model X vehicles manufactured before 2019, after owners complained of touchscreen glitches that led to the loss of several safety-related features.
The auto safety agency made the unusual request in a formal
letter to Tesla after upgrading a safety probe in November, saying it had
tentatively concluded the 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles
“contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment
but it must respond to NHTSA by Jan. 27. If it does not agree it must provide
the agency “with a full explanation of its decision.”
It is unusual for the agency to formally demand a recall.
Automakers typically voluntarily agree to a recall if sought in discussions by
regulators.
The agency said it sought the recall after considering
“Tesla’s technical briefing presentation ... and evaluated Tesla’s assertions.”
NHTSA added that “during our review of the data, Tesla
provided confirmation that all units will inevitably fail given the memory
device’s finite storage capacity.”
NHTSA said other automakers have issued numerous recalls for
similar safety issues, the agency told Tesla, including a detailed list of
prior callbacks.
The agency said touchscreen failures pose significant safety
issues, including the loss of rearview/backup camera images. It noted nine
prior recalls by other automakers for similar problems.
The Tesla vehicles that lose touchscreen use may see driver
assistance Autopilot system and turn signal functionality impacted due to
potential loss of audible chimes, driver sensing, and alerts associated with
these vehicle functions, NHTSA said. It added that loss of alerts tied to
systems like Autopilot “increases the risk of a crash occurring because drivers
may be unaware of system malfunctions.”
Touchscreen failures result in drivers being unable to use
windshield defogging and defrosting systems that “may decrease the driver’s
visibility in inclement weather, increasing the risk of crash.”
NHTSA noted that “Tesla has implemented several over-the-air
updates in an attempt to mitigate some of the issues ... but tentatively
believes these updates are procedurally and substantively insufficient.” It
noted that under law “vehicle manufacturers are required to conduct recalls to
remedy safety-related defects.”
NHTSA said in November it reviewed 12,523 claims and
complaints about the issue, which would impact roughly 8% of the vehicles under
investigation.
Many complaints said Tesla requires owners to pay to replace
the unit once warranties expire.
Tesla previously offered a "warranty expansion" to
assuage customers upset over the defect. Some owners who had paid for media
control unit replacements out of pocket, would be able to recoup their costs
under the expanded warranty.
0 comments:
Post a Comment