Tesla is fixing issues with cabin doors in over 120,000 Model S and Model X vehicles, as they may become unlatched during a crash, which does not comply with certain Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a Safety Recall Report on December 19 that showed Model S and Model X vehicles built from 2021 to 2023 and operating under Software Version 2021.36 or later “permitted the cabin doors to disengage from the latched position during a crash, which does not comply with FMVSS No. 214, S9.2.3(b)(1).
FMVSS No. 214, S9.2.3(b)(1) states that any door that is not struck “shall not disengage from the latched position.”
As of December 14, 2023, Tesla is not aware of any warranty claims or injuries related to the issue.
As is the case for most of Tesla’s recalls, it will be fixed through an Over-the-Air update, which started deploying to vehicles “on or shortly after December 12.” The issue will be fixed with Software Release 2023.44.30.
The terminology of a recall has been challenged by Tesla owners for several years, especially due to the fact that “recall” usually has a stigma behind it that requires something physical to be fixed.
However, the term recall, according to the NHTSA, includes any fix to a fault in a motor vehicle. This has not stopped CEO Elon Musk and some of the very loyal Tesla fans from requesting a change in terminology.
The debate over terminology was especially prevalent last week, as Tesla “recalled” 2 million vehicles over an Autopilot fix, which aimed to remedy shortcomings in driver monitoring.
The word “recall” for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong,” Musk said in February.
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