A software glitch triggered another Tesla recall involving safety in November, this time for the Model 3 and Model Y line of vehicles. According to the recall announcement, these vehicles may experience intermittent tail lights coming on due to a firmware anomaly. The announcement comes on the heels of two previous recalls in the same month, affecting the electric carmaker’s Model S and Model X lineups.
The recall report was issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) for specific 2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y electric vehicles. The report states that affected vehicles may have randomly illuminated rear taillights on one or both sides of the vehicle, resulting in an increased risk of a potential crash.
Random lighting is the result of a firmware anomaly that causes an incorrect fault message to appear during vehicle startup. Based on the description of the defect in the report, these false detections appear to be limited to the vehicle’s taillights and do not affect the brake lights, backup lights or turn signals.
The recall affects 321,628 vehicles, all of which were identified through specific manufacturing, configuration and firmware records. Tesla’s firmware versions 2022.28 through 2022.40.4 were identified as the cause of the anomaly. The most recent version, 2022.40.4.1, does not appear to be affected and is not included in the recall.
While recalls are not uncommon, this latest news marks another problem for Tesla in an already busy month for recalls. Earlier this month, NHTSA issued a recall for the 2017-2021 Model S and Model X to address power steering assist failures that occur after driving on rough roads or hitting potholes.
This month’s second recall, announced shortly before the aforementioned firmware issue was discovered, identifies a calibration and deployment issue with the front passenger airbag affecting nearly 30,000 EVs. According to the report, the restraint control module calibration in certain 2021 through 2023 Model X’s may cause the airbags to detonate and inflate in unintended and non-compliant conditions during low-speed collisions.
The airbag-related safety recall coincides with a 3 percent drop in Tesla’s stock price, bringing the electric carmaker’s stock value to a two-year low.
Tesla is using their over-the-air software updates (OTAs) to resolve issues related to all three recalls. This hands-off approach allows recall issues to be resolved far more quickly than typical physical vehicle recalls, which require appointments and hands-on remediation.
