Safety recalls are a preventive measure taken by car manufacturers. These recalls are made to address some problems occurring or predicted due to any faults in the vehicle. These issues are often from the manufacturer’s end.
The Austin-based car manufacturer, Tesla, is recalling more than 125,000 cars. The recall is due to a problem related to car’s seat belt warning system.
What the system was supposed to do?
- The seat belt reminder system gives a warning chime when the belts are not buckled up.
- All four three-pointer seat belts have a weight sensor that activates when an occupant is present.
Problem
This warning chime doesn’t work how they are supposed to in some vehicles.
Action by Regulatory body:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, America (NHTSA) announced on 31st May 2024 about the recall. They mentioned that the fault in the system does not make the vehicles compliant with the Federal safety requirements.
The affected cars and their model years are:
| Car Models | Year of Manufacturing |
| MODEL X | 2015-2024 |
| MODEL S | 2012-2024 |
| MODEL Y | 2020-2023 |
| MODEL 3 | 2017-2023 |
History of Recalls by Tesla for Seatbelt-Related Issues:
All-electric vehicle maker Tesla is getting into regulatory troubles very frequently now. There have been multiple recalls related to numerous issues. In recent years, Tesla has recalled their cars three times with seatbelt-related issues. The other two instances were:
-
January-February 2022:
Around 800,000 vehicles were recalled. The reason for this recall was also the problem related to the alert in the seatbelt reminder.
- Cars affected:
o Model S (2021-2022)
o Model X (2021-2022)
o Model Y (2020-2022)
o Model 3 (2017-2022)
-
July 2023
More than 16,000 cars were recalled in 2023. It was observed that the seatbelts might not have been connected properly after being repaired.
- Cars affected:
o Model S (2021-2023)
o Model X (2021-2023)
From Tesla
The safety concerns related to a car build trust issues among the owners. Frequent recalls mean the models failed to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle safety standards. Tesla did speak about the incident recently. They have said that they aren’t aware of any collisions, fatalities, or injuries that may be related to the condition. Tesla said that recalled vehicles needed a software upgrade. It was observed that there was an error in the software that may have prevented the warning chime from getting activated upon the vehicle’s start. Tesla will perform an over-the-air update to address the issue.
What We Think of the Incident
Tesla is on the verge of entering into the Indian car market. There is hype about Teslas in India which has created a cult among some. However, some groups always stand against the shift towards the electric car.
Looking at the recent criticism of the Teslas and how they address the issues, they don’t look very promising. India is a country that observes a lot of problems related to electric vehicles. The immense heat and average road conditions here will provide a lot of challenges to the Elon Musk-owned brand.
