Why Tesla Just Recalled More Than 817,000 of Its U.S. Vehicles Tesla reports it will correct a safety issue affecting many of its models.
By Chloe Arrojado Edited by Dan Bova
Tesla is recalling more than 817,000 of its vehicles in the U.S. after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that the seat belt chime doesn't activate when it's supposed to under certain circumstances. The issue affects 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles, as well as all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
According to the report, there is no paid repair needed to address the seat belt issue. Owners will have the issue fixed free of charge through a firmware release that will correct the software error.
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Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards state that a vehicle must have an audible seat belt reminder chime when the driver starts the car.
"If the audible seat belt reminder chime does not activate at the start of a new drive cycle and the driver does not notice the accompanying visual seat belt telltale, the driver may not be reminded to buckle their seat belt and may begin operating the vehicle in an unbuckled state, which could increase the risk of injury," the report noted.
So far, Tesla has not reported any injuries or fatalities related to the problem.
Over the past few months, Tesla has come under increasing scrutiny from U.S. regulators. In December, Tesla recalled more than 475,000 vehicles after finding trunk and rearview camera issues. Tesla also recalled almost 12,0000 vehicles in November due to issues with its Full-Self Driving software.
