There is a lot of talk about Tesla’s quality controls. Do they really have an issue? This subject is one that has delayed me to jump on the brand. The news show the negative, but user experience is actually good, from an anecdotal evidence stand point.
According to US News, “There have been no safety recalls issued from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” But according to KBB, there have been 4 recalls in 2023, and not just for the Model Y. But this data is not conclusive, different outlets report different things.
The first recall is for auto adaptive steering, with 362,758 vehicles affected:
“certain 2016-2023 Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD Beta) software or pending installation.”
The fix for this recall was an Over The Air update. Meaning, no visits to the dealer required. Most likely the vehicle would update itself at night, while charging, if you charge at home.
The next one, with 321,628 vehicles affected, claimed that taillights intermittently might fail to illuminate. Affecting Model 3’s and Model Y’s. The good news was that it was another OTA update. No need to take the vehicle to the dealer to get fixed.
The third recall on the KBB article mentions battery disconnect issues:
“Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. The pyrotechnic battery disconnect may be defective.”
Neglecting to fix this issue might increase the risk of electrical shock or injury in the case of a crash or fault detection. 26 vehicles affected in this case.
The last recall reported by KBB is an airbag issue that only affected 3 vehicles. The summary on KBB states the following:
“Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021, 2023 Model 3 vehicles. The left and/or right side curtain air bag may have been improperly secured to the roof rail, which could result in a twisted air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 214, “Side Impact Protection” and 226, “Ejection Mitigation.””
There are more recalls posted on other outlets, for example Jalopnik, reported another recall on THIS article from April 7th 2023. Apparently there are bolts on the subframe not tightened according to spec (?) that can cause an issue. Many questions arise here, from my own curiosity. But again, we have to understand that there is no perfect product that rolls out of the line without issues. This recall was also reported on KBB on THIS article, from April 10th of 2023.
On March 28th of 2023, there was yet another reported investigation, reported by Jalopnik, HERE. The investigation is due to a recall from October 2022. 50,000 Model X vehicles were reported to have front seatbelts not having the linkages and pretensioners attached properly. The associated press article cited by Jalopnik, states the following:
“The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years.
The agency says it has two complaints from Tesla owners that the front belts weren’t sufficiently connected at the factory.
Documents posted by the agency Tuesday say the belt linkage and pretensioners, which tighten the belts before a crash, are anchored to the seat frames.”
Finally, we have more of a privacy concern, rather than a recall. On April 10th of 2023, on Autoblog’s article, which you can find HERE, it was reported that Tesla employees were sharing videos taken by customers’ cars. Now this is concerning in a different way. We live in a time where information plays a big part of our lives and businesses, many of them make money just with information. The Autoblog article states the following:
“The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California came after Reuters reported on Thursday that groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an internal messaging system sometimes highly invasive videos and images recorded by customers’ car cameras between 2019 and 2022.”
The last issue, to me, might be the most serious. Privacy violation is something we risk every time we use electronic devices. I am not against using technology but we are trusting these companies to save and use a piece of our privacy. Manufacturing recalls are things that happen in all products, from baby products to high tech electronics. I am sure Tesla has learned from these mistakes and will improve their products and customer experience.
I have hesitated about posting it. Tesla is under a lot of scrutiny, is it because is a pioneer in the industry and there is many people rooting against them? Is it really that bad? How come their customers don’t complain about the supposed high number of recalls when you meet one? Is it because many of these are not actually recalls but Software updates? There are many variables in company/product discussions like these. Now, where do you stand? Do you have a Tesla? Would you buy one? Would you never be found dead driving, or being delivered by one? The comments section is yours.
Thanks for stopping by,
DL
