Tesla is once again under investigation, this time for its vehicle’s seatbelts allegedly not being properly attached, meaning the belts could potentially come loose during a crash which could result in a mass recall. U.S. highway safety regulators are looking into the claims after two Tesla owners filed complaints against Tesla, saying their seatbelts weren’t hooked up correctly causing them to malfunction when force was applied.
There have been no reported injuries, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will be looking into past reports and Tesla facilities to determine if this is a recurring problem and will investigate further into Tesla’s manufacturing process. The investigation covers roughly 50,000 Model X SUVs from 2022 and 2023.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) in the wake of the complaints which allege the vehicles were “delivered to the owners with insufficiently connected anchor linkages.” Vehicles are built with auto lock seatbelt features to keep drivers and passengers from being ejected in case of a crash, but the ODI report says the seatbelt linkages “were not properly connected during assembly.”
The report added that the alleged manufacturer error caused “the linkage and the pretensioner” to suddenly separate when force was exerted while the vehicle was in motion.
The investigation comes as Tesla has faced other probes and recalls including 758 filed complaints that the automated driving systems brake without warning or reason in 2021-2022 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The company also received complaints earlier this month of claims Tesla vehicle’s steering wheels suddenly detached from the vehicle, possibly due to a missing bolt. Last month, an additional 362,758 Tesla vehicles were recalled for a potential “full self-driving” feature malfunction, stating it could cause crashes. The EV automaker temporarily halted the rollout and availability of the driver support feature as a result.
The Department of Transportation’s newest investigation into seatbelt malfunctions comes after 24,000 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles were recalled in October over a similar issue. At the time, second-row left seatbelt and second-row middle seatbelt buckles may have been assembled incorrectly and the National Highway Safety Administration received reports of 105 service repairs and warranty claims.
Now in Tesla’s newest investigation over seatbelt safety, the ODI clarified that both vehicles had low recorded mileage and no accidents were reported in either complaint.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
