Tesla forced to recall 1.1MILLION electric cars over braking fault & safety risks in China
TESLA has been forced to recall more than one million electric cars due to potential safety risks.
China’s top market regulator said there was a safety issue with the acceleration and braking systems of certain models manufactured in China and abroad.
The State Administration for Market Regulation said the issue can be fixed with a software update sent wirelessly to the vehicles.
The agency announced the decision after investigating a reported defect in one of the cars.
From May 29, Tesla will take back 1,104,622 cars that were produced between January 12, 2019, and April 24, 2023.
The recalled vehicles include imported Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Chinese-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
The issue involves drivers “mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal” for a long period, the regulator said.
It warned this could increase the risk of crash and poses a “safety hazard”.
The software update will bring back the option of turning off regenerative braking and will warn drivers when they step too hard on the accelerator pedal.
Regenerative braking helps save energy from the process of slowing a car and feeds the surplus energy to batteries to increase its driving range.
Tesla disabled the option to switch off the technique on cars made after 2020.
Some consumers in China welcomed the technology as it allowed them to bring a vehicle to a complete stop without use of the brake pedal.
But others complained it could confuse drivers and increase the risks of misstepping on accelerators.
Tesla said it would get in touch with affected vehicle owners to sort out the fix.
In March, China recalled 2,649 Tesla vehicles manufactured between October 2015 and August 2020.
China’s regulator said the boots of certain imported Model S vehicles were at risk of opening while the vehicle was operating.
Last year, Tesla recalled more than one million US vehicles over fears the automatic windows wouldn’t stop when they detect an obstruction – such as a motorist’s finger or even their neck.
Tesla said it wasn’t aware of any injuries or deaths related to the software.