Tesla is recalling 1.1 million vehicles because of a malfunctioning window mechanism that may endanger drivers and passengers. The automaker’s notification of the recall was acknowledged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) early last week. Tesla claims that several vehicles’ window automated reversing systems are malfunctioning due to a software error.
Typically, when an automatic window is blocked in the middle of rolling, the glass either stops or reverses. However, this barrier identification isn’t working for many Tesla drivers. The NHTSA acknowledges that as a result, “a closing window may apply excessive force by pinching a driver or passenger before retracting.”
According to the company’s recall letter, Tesla employees discovered the issue for the first time in August during production testing. Before opting to alert the NHTSA, Tesla spent the following few weeks investigating the failure in numerous scenarios. Although Tesla’s recall letter claims it isn’t aware of any warranty claims, injuries, or deaths connected to the problem, the NHTSA warns that the vehicles’ malfunctioning window mechanism could “raise the risk of injury.”
Some Tesla Model 3 vehicles from the years 2017 to 22 as well as Model S, X, and Model Y SUVs from the years 2020 and 2021 are affected by the recall. By November 15, Tesla intends to mail written notices of the recall to owners of impacted vehicles. In addition, it intends to release a free software update to fix the window problem (though it did not say when). As of September 13, all fresh automobiles that were still in production have the update.
At this point, it would be reasonable for Tesla owners to feel a little frustrated. Tesla has recalled cars for suspension separation, infotainment panel problems, seatbelt chime difficulties, pedestrian warning failures, and a Full Self Driving glitch that resulted to cars rolling through stop signs in only the past year. Some motorists are so frustrated by the ongoing problems with their vehicles that they embarked on a hunger strike earlier this year in an effort to get Elon Musk’s attention on quality control. (Musk never acknowledged the strike in public, just tweeting sarcastically about how much better he felt after fasting.) However, a sizable portion of Tesla’s fan following is so devoted that it would take numerous catastrophes to shake their loyalty.
