Tesla: seat belt defects and phantom braking

New problems for Tesla. According to reports from Reuters, the Nhtsa, the authority responsible for road safety operating in the United States, is allegedly examining complaints from a number of Tesla owners, who have registered “phantom braking”. This is a defect that could potentially cause rear-end collisions since the front anti-collision system, due to the so-called “false positives”, stops the car without actual need. However, it is not a completely new problem for Tesla, as several users had already reported it a few months ago. In this regard, Elon Musk, last May, stated that the elimination of the radar sensor from the partially automated driving system (Autopilot) would have solved the so-called “ghost braking” problem. But, apparently, that wasn’t the case.

107 complaints

–

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that owner reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rose to 107 in the past three months, up from 34 in the previous 22 months. “The Nhtsa is aware of the complaints received about the frontal collision avoidance system and is examining them through our risk-based assessment process,” the words released by an Nhtsa spokesperson in a statement. And again: “In the event of a concrete possibility of risk, the Nhtsa will act immediately”.

The maxi appeal for seat belts

–

Tesla also recently recalled 817,143 vehicles in the United States due to a defect related to a malfunction of the seat belt alerts, which would not activate if the seat belts were not fastened. According to what was reported by the American authority Nhtsa, the recall would concern the Model 3 produced from 2017 to 2022, the Model Y SUVs built from 2020 to 2022 and the Model S and X dating back to 2021-2022. It is therefore a maxi recall, the largest so far ever made by the American house. Tesla will address this maxi recall with a simple Ota update; therefore, users will not be forced to bring their car to the relevant dealership.

The other reminders

–

These described above are certainly not the first calls made by the American company. Last October, Tesla recalled nearly 12,000 cars on which a version of the Full Self-Driving beta software was installed that caused false collision warnings and ghost braking. Again, everything was solved with an Ota update. A few months earlier, the Nhtsa opened an investigation into Autopilot, the advanced driver assistance system, following accidents involving emergency vehicles, which were not “seen” by Tesla. And, ultimately, the investigation by the American authority on the possibility of running the games on the vehicle screen even when the vehicle is in motion, which was revealed by Tesla with the “stop” of the function, should be noted. Tesla then recently recalled 53,822 American vehicles with Full Self-Driving Beta software on board, which didn’t stop at stopovers. Also in this case it was a feature of the FSD program open only to a limited number of users.