Tesla Recalls Over 40,000 Vehicles (PDF)

 

Tesla announced a voluntary recall of over 40,000 cars in the US after a firmware update resulted in power steering loss. On 1 November, the company made a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that impacted Model S and Model X, made after 2017.

This recall is because of a firmware release on October 11th that reportedly caused some vehicles to lose power steering while driving over bumpy roads and potholes.

The good news is that only a simple update to the software on your car is required to solve this problem.

The company says: “Firmware release 2022.36 changed calibration values for the electronic power assist steering (EPAS) system,”; “In rare cases on certain 2017-2021 Model S and Model X vehicles, the updated calibration values may result in reduced or lost power steering assist due to forces from external road dynamics (i.e., potholes or bumps) being inadvertently classified as unexpected steering assist torque.”

“Reduced or lost power steering assist does not affect steering control, but could require greater steering effort from the driver, particularly at low speeds,” said the filing.

The company stated: “Upon experiencing reduced or lost power steering assist, an audio alert will trigger and a visual alert will appear on the instrument cluster,”

Only 1% of recalled vehicles have the defect, according to the release, and the EV maker says that 97% of all recalled vehicles have installed the new update that fixes the problem, so action is not necessary on their part.

Tesla has identified 314 cars with the problem so far, but no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Past Recalls2022-tesla-model-s-front-view

Tesla has been subject to numerous recalls lately.

In September 2022, the company was forced to recall nearly one million vehicles in the US because the door windows could trap someone’s fingers when being rolled up.

In February this year, Tesla issued a safety recall in the United States of America associated with its seat belts, recalling more than 817,000 vehicles.

In December 2021, Tesla recalled 475,000 of its Model 3 and Model S electric cars to address two safety issues. The first was with the rearview camera, and the second issue was with the frunk latch on both, which in some cases failed to automatically close when a door was closed.