Tesla has issued a ‘safety recall’ on 1.8 million electric vehicles, but the good news is that it is just a software fix – although an important one as it will prevent the hood from flying open while driving.
Tesla was first made aware of a problem with its hood’s latch in China earlier this year. It took a few months, but it figured out an issue that could result in drivers not being notified that the latch wasn’t properly closed before starting to drive:
After a customer action opens the hood, the latch assembly may not detect an open condition and prevent driver notification of the hood open state when the vehicle is placed into drive.
As noted in the recall notice, that can be dangerous as it could fly open and obstruct the driver’s view:
Unknowingly driving a vehicle with an unlatched hood may result in the hood fully opening and obstructing the driver’s view, increasing the risk of a collision.
Following the findings in China, Tesla conducted investigations in Europe and North America and it found the same problem and some warranty claims matching the problem.
It decided to do a safety recall involving 1.8 million vehicles:
The subject population includes certain Model Year (MY) 2017-2024 Model 3 vehicles manufactured between September 6, 2017 – July 15, 2024, equipped with a hood latch produced in China, and all delivered MY 2013-2024 Model S, MY 2016-2024 Model X, and MY 2020-2024 Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has already started to deploy the software fix to its fleet through the 2024.20.100 software update.