Tesla share: Tesla has to recall numerous Model 3s in China – will Europe follow soon?

• Tesla is recalling 127,785 Model 3s in China
• The rear motor of the affected e-cars may fail
• Recall in Europe could follow

The electric car maker Tesla has to recall 127.785 Model 3 in China by order of the Chinese supervisory authority SAMR. The authority announced this last week. Affected vehicles manufactured in China and the US Fremont plant between January 11, 2019 and January 25, 2022 may experience rear motor failure due to component issues in the inverter. “The manufacturing differences of the components can cause the rear inverter to fail, resulting in the inverter not being able to properly control the current,” the SAMR statement said. When parked, this ensures that the Tesla does not start. However, if the problem occurs while driving, the vehicle loses its power, which poses a significant safety risk, the agency said.

The recall follows a regulatory investigation that appeared to have started after a Tesla owner in China narrowly parked his Model 3 on the curb before the engine failed completely. As “Notebookcheck” reports, the driver was traveling in a tunnel at a good 100 kilometers per hour when the screen of his Model 3 suddenly displayed a warning that the vehicle could no longer be driven and that he should stop immediately. According to the driver’s statement, the engine output then dropped so quickly that he was only just able to steer the vehicle onto the hard shoulder before it stopped working altogether.

Tesla wants to narrow down the problem with the software update more precisely

In the past, Tesla recalls could often be completed with a mere software update and without a visit to the shop. This time too, according to SAMR, the US electric car manufacturer will first install an update on the almost 130,000 Model 3s affected. This is intended to update the motor control software for the vehicles so that it can check the inverter more closely. Only if the existence of the error is then confirmed should the car be taken to the workshop for a free and immediate replacement of the inverter.

This procedure should probably ensure that not all vehicles have to be brought to the workshop. After all, according to “Teslamag”, the 93,578 affected Model 3s made in China are a considerable part of the “cheap Teslas” produced and sold there. For example, around 150,000 Model 3s were manufactured in China last year; the number was lower in previous years. The Model Y, which is also produced in China, has apparently not yet been affected by the recall, although according to “Teslamag” it shares many components with the Model 3.

Recall also conceivable in Europe

In Europe, there has also not yet been a corresponding recall for the Model 3, although according to “e-drivers” Teslas from Chinese and US production are on the road here too. But neither on the German Tesla website nor at the Federal Motor Transport Authority can you find any reference to the defects discovered in China. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a recall in this country. Last December, for example, the Model Y was recalled in China because faulty steering knuckles could be deformed or broken. The affected Model Y was also recalled in Germany – according to information from the Federal Motor Transport Authority’s database, however, only from mid-March. European drivers of the Model 3 should therefore be prepared to visit the Tesla workshop in the near future.

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Image Credits: Tesla, Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images