- Tesla is ‘recalling’ 125,227 cars because the seatbelt warning system on some models isn’t working correctly.
- Various Model 3, X, Y, and S cars built between 2012 and 2024 are affected.
- Repairs will take the form of an over-air update requiring no time in a Tesla service center.
Seatbelt warning chimes have been annoying American drivers – and saving their lives – since the early 1970s. As well as being a sensible safety addition, they’re also a legal requirement, and Tesla has been forced to recall thousands of EVs in the U.S. because their warning systems aren’t working.
Official paperwork from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that 125,227 Teslas are being recalled after it was discovered that the audio and visual alerts designed to remind a driver that their seatbelt wasn’t fastened might be rendered inactive due to a faulty occupancy sensor in the seat.
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Though the number of affected cars is relatively low, the production date range is vast, stretching between 2012 and 2024 for the Model S, for instance, seemingly because only vehicles running a certain kind of seat belt reminder logic suffered a problem. Other affected cars are the 2016-2024 Model X, 2017-23 Model 3, and 2020-23 Model Y.
Tesla’s solution is to introduce new software that removes the system’s dependency on the faulty ass-weighing occupancy switch and instead relies only on the data showing whether the seatbelt is latched when the ignition is activated before deciding whether or not to start berating the driver for not buckling-up. This means drivers with a death wish who’ve got used to not wearing a belt can do what their forefathers did in the 1970s and 1980s and just buckle it behind them.
Since Tesla’s fix is a simple software update, it will be handled via an over-air update and won’t require owners to visit a service center. That wasn’t the case for a previous seatbelt-related recall in 2023 which involved 15,869 Model S and X EVs returning to dealerships to check if the belts were correctly attached to their pretensioners.
Tesla received 12 warranty claims in that case, versus 104 for the latest seatbelt recall, though no injuries or accidents have been attributed to either defect.