Tesla has called for a review of half a million cars in the United States, specifically the Model 3 Y Model S. In the first case, it refers to all units sold between 2017 and 2020. In the second case, it refers to some particular vehicles manufactured between 2014 and 2021.
It is unknown whether similar recalls will be made in other markets where these vehicles are sold, but most likely, by the nature of both failures, they will.
In the case of Tesla Model 3 This is a total of 356,309 units, which have a trouble with the opening and closing of the rear trunk. In some cases, it can damage the rear camera cable harness, causing the rear camera to fail and not display on the screen.
This is a minor problem that can be repaired at a company service center. What’s more, Tesla estimates that only 1% of the Model 3 in circulation have this failure.
At case of Model S, affects 119,109 units sold during the last six years. The company claims that one of the hooks on the front boot can become misaligned, causing it to open while driving. Tesla has remembered to the US authorities that:
- Should the front boot lid ever open while driving, you will immediately receive an alert on the vehicle’s center display for the driver to stop.
- They are not aware of a single case of a Model S on the road in which the front trunk hood has been raised.
The problem can be solved by visiting a service center, where no part or component of the vehicle needs to be replaced. You just have to make sure that the hooks are aligned correctly.
Should you be concerned about Tesla’s half-million recall?
Calls for review of Tesla They tend to attract a lot of attention since there is still distrust of the safety of electric vehicles in general and of this particular brand. In the case of Model 3 This is a minor fault that does not affect driving safety.
Regarding the Model S, yes it is a more important failure. It can become dangerous if the front boot lid is raised while driving. Said that, Tesla He has reminded the US authorities that they have not had a single case in which this occurs. It is a call for a preventive review to avoid an unpleasant situation.
But the reality is that recalls from other car companies, with far more dangerous and far-reaching implications, they tend to go unnoticed.
For example, in 2015 Sling recalled 6.3 million vehicles to replace airbags dangerous installed in their cars. These fired small objects that could hit people and hurt or even kill them.
In fact, airbags manufactured by Takata, 40 million units were installed in 12 different car brands killing 12 people and injuring hundreds.
In 2016, Nissan had to recall 3.5 million cars because in certain cases the airbags did not deploy during a crash.
Not to mention the recall of Toyota in 2015, when 6.5 million cars had a poorly lubricated switch in the windows that could melt, cause a short circuit and ignite the vehicle.
Far from making comparisons between which recalls are more dangerous than others, it is about understanding that they are situations that occur with all brands and that, in the case of Tesla, it is a situation that affects a small percentage of its vehicles and with implications that by far do not compare to other much more serious cases that we often see with other brands but that do not make headlines.
Recently Elon Musk complained that the safety benefits of his Tesla often go unnoticed. From the fact that they are the safest cars in the world to all those cases in which Autopilot has saved lives.