Tesla is withdrawing about 579,000 vehicles in the U.S. because a “Boombox” feature can play sounds through an external speaker and hide audible pedestrian warnings.
The withdrawal is the fourth to be made public in the last two weeks as U.S. safety regulators increase the scrutiny of the country’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. In two of the reminders, Tesla made decisions that violate federal motor vehicle safety regulations, while others are. software errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website on Thursday that cars and SUVs have what Tesla calls a “Boombox” feature that allows drivers to play sounds while vehicles move. This violates federal safety regulations that require pedestrian warning noises for electric cars, which make little noise when traveling, the agency says.
The agency says the issue will be fixed with an over-the-air software update that will disable “Boombox,” running, reverse, or neutral.
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“Boombox functionality allows a customer to play preset or custom sounds through the external PWS (pedestrian warning system) speaker when the vehicle is parked or moving,” says NHTSA in documents posted on its website. . “While Boombox and the pedestrian alert sound are mutually exclusive sounds, the sounds emitted with Boombox could be interpreted to obscure or prevent PWS from complying with safety regulations,” the agency wrote.
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The recall covers certain Tesla Model X, S and Y vehicles from 2020 to 2022, as well as Model 3 vehicles from 2017 to 2022, according to records.
A message was left on Thursday asking for comments from Tesla, which has dissolved its media relations department. The company is not aware of any accidents or injuries due to the problem, NHTSA said.
Tesla enabled Boombox with a software update in December 2020, NHTSA said in documents. The agency began searching for information from Tesla in January 2021, and Tesla explained the function and stated that it complied with US security standards. In September 2021, NHTSA opened an investigation into the function. One month later, Tesla defended its justification for determining that Boombox met safety standards. But on January 29 this year, the company decided to withdraw and deactivate Bombox in driving, neutral and reverse.
NHTSA said in 2010, Congress demanded that electric and hybrid vehicles make pedestrian warning noises. The law required the agency’s rules to prevent manufacturers from allowing anyone other than a car manufacturer or dealer to “turn off, alter, replace, or modify the sound or set of alert sounds for pedestrians “.
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Tuesday’s withdrawal is the 15th by Tesla since January 2021, according to NHTSA records. In addition, the security agency has opened multiple investigations into Teslas.
Last week, Tesla had to withdraw about 54,000 vehicles equipped with “Full Self-Driving” software that allowed vehicles to go through low-speed stop signals without stopping completely. Selected Tesla owners are “beta testing” the software on public roads, but cars can’t drive themselves despite the name.
The company also had to remove more than 800,000 vehicles because seat belt reminder bells may not ring when vehicles are turned on and the driver is not fastened. And this week nearly 27,000 vehicles have been removed because cabin heating systems may not defrost the windshield quickly enough. Everything had to be fixed with online software updates.
Safety advocates and automated vehicle experts say Tesla is pushing the limits of safety to see what can come of its own, but now NHTSA is pulling back.
In addition, after an NHTSA consultation in December, Tesla turned off a feature that allowed drivers to play video games on the center touch screens while vehicles were moving.
In November, NHTSA said it was investigating a complaint from a California Tesla driver that “Full Self-Driving” software had caused an accident. The driver reported to the agency that a Model Y entered the wrong lane and was hit by another vehicle. The SUV alerted the driver halfway through, and the driver tried to turn the steering wheel to prevent further traffic, according to the complaint. But the car took control and was “forced into the wrong lane,” the driver reported. No one was injured in the November 3 crash.
NHTSA is also investigating why Teslas, which uses the company’s partially automated “Autopilot” driver assistance system, has repeatedly crashed into emergency vehicles parked on the roads. The agency opened the investigation in August, citing 12 crashes in which Teslas with autopilot hit police vehicles and parked firefighters. At least 17 people were injured in the crash and one was killed.
Last week, Tesla said in its earnings statement that owners are now testing “Full Self-Driving” software on nearly 60,000 vehicles in the U.S. There were only about 2,000 in the third quarter. The $ 12,000-worth of software will accelerate Tesla’s profitability, the company said.
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