Tesla recalls nearly 700,000 cars overseas; Australian impact unclear

Two new safety recalls have been issued for 674,873 Tesla electric cars in the US and China – nearly 30 per cent of all Teslas globally. How these recalls impact Australian-delivered cars is yet to be confirmed.

• 

Tesla has recalled nearly 30 per cent of the cars it has ever produced – the biggest recall in its history, across six years of production, two models assembled in two countries – however the impact on vehicles sold outside the US and China remains unclear.

The first recall notice published by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) applies to 475,132 Tesla vehicles sold in the US – across 356,309 Model 3 and 119,009 Model S sedans. Affected models have potentially defective rear-view cameras or front cargo area latches, depending on model.

Hours later, a second recall notice was issued by Chinese authorities, who confirmed a further 199,741 vehicles sold in China (built from 2015 to 2020) are affected by the same camera and latch faults detailed in the US – comprising 19,697 imported Tesla Model S cars, 35,836 imported Tesla Model 3 cars and 144,208 examples of the Chinese-made Tesla Model 3.

In total, 674,873 vehicles are known to be affected to date – equating to 29.1 per cent of the 2,316,205 vehicles produced by Tesla since the company was founded in 2003.

• 

It remains to be seen whether vehicles sold outside of the US and China – such as those sold in Australia – are affected.

However, it’s worth noting examples delivered in Australia originated in the same Fremont, USA and Shanghai, China factories as the vehicles caught up in the latest recall.

Affected Tesla Model 3 examples – across Model Years 2017 to 2020 in the US – could be affected by damage to the rear-view camera cable harness “

by the opening and closing of the trunk [boot] lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying,” the NHTSA recall notice says.

Meanwhile, in the affected Tesla Model S vehicles – marketed in the US across Model Years 2014 to 2021 – the NHTSA says: “the front trunk latch assembly may be misaligned, preventing the secondary hood latch from engaging. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 113, “Hood Latch System.”

“If the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly, obstructing the driver’s view and increasing the risk of a crash.”

• 

While all US-market Tesla Model 3 sedans across Model Years 2017 to 2020 could be affected by the fault – and are included in the recall – the US safety authority is only recalling “certain” examples of the Tesla Model S, stamped Model Years 2014 to 2021.

Tesla USA will inspect and rectify the issues on both models free of charge, the NHTSA notice says, with letters notifying owners of the recalls to be mailed on 18 February 2022.

Tesla Australia and the Federal Government’s vehicle recalls department are yet to issue any information, to determine whether or not the same safety concerns apply to Tesla vehicles sold locally.

The latest recall is the largest ever in Tesla’s history, and follows 285,520 vehicles recalled in China in June 2021 with a software fault affecting the cruise control system.

It also comes as the NHTSA conducts an investigation on Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving systems – and days after the regulator pressured the car company to disable its Passenger Play in-car gaming feature.

The post Tesla recalls nearly 700,000 cars overseas; Australian impact unclear appeared first on Drive.