Tesla is recalling nearly 595,000 vehicles in the U.S., most of them second because the car's "Boombox" feature can play sound through the exterior speakers, affecting the sound that provides warnings to pedestrians.
Tesla said in government documents that after this recall, the "Boombox" function will be disabled when the owner uses the "summon" vehicle function. In the last recall, Tesla banned the "Boombox" feature from being used when the vehicle was in driving, neutral and reversing states.
Both recalls will be done through an online software update.
The new recall covers specific Model Y, X and S vehicles for model year 2020 to 2022, as well as Model 3 models for model year 2017 to year 2022. The recall was disclosed Thursday in a filing released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA.
"Boombox" allows the driver to play preset or custom sounds while the vehicle is moving. This violates federal safety standards, which require electric vehicles to warn pedestrians of noise because electric vehicles make almost no noise while driving.
The February recall comes after safety agencies launched an investigation into the issue.
In 2010, Congress required pedestrian warning noise from electric and hybrid vehicles, NHTSA said. The law requires agency rules to prevent manufacturers from allowing anyone other than the automaker or dealership to modify these pedestrian alarm sounds.
Also on Thursday, documents released by NHTSA also showed that Tesla was recalling more than 7,000 Model X SUVs for 2021 and 2022 because the vehicle's side curtain airbags might not inflate as expected when the windows were lowered.
The problem was identified in tests conducted by Tesla, where owners will be notified in early June to replace left and right front side airbags at the service center.
Tesla exposed the "brake" problem
North American Bay Area Daily Sink
Just in February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a document posted online that in the past nine months, they had received 354 complaints about Tesla Model 3 and Model Y models in 2021 and 2022.
Owners point out that their Tesla's self-driving assist system brakes suddenly without any danger, raising concerns about rear-end collisions, a situation known as "phantom braking."
NHTSA said the problem involved about 416,000 vehicles and the purpose of the preliminary investigation was to determine the scope and severity of the problem. There are currently no reports of accidents or casualties.
The agency wrote in a summary of the investigation that the complaint stated that the vehicle "accidentally braked while driving at high speeds." Complainants report that rapid slowdowns can occur without any warning and are random and often recurring. ”
Earlier this year, Tesla recalled 54,000 cars equipped with fully autonomous driving software and disabled a feature that allows vehicles to slowly pass through intersections without stopping under certain conditions. In a letter, NHTSA warned Tesla that not stopping in front of a stop sign increases the risk of crashing.
U.S. regulators have opened a formal investigation into autopilot assistance systems known as Autopilot and how they recognize objects and other vehicles on the road. The investigation was sparked by 11 accidents in which Tesla using Autopilot failed to stop and crashed into police cars, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles with lights on.