The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has formally closed its preliminary investigation into seat belt issues in the Tesla Model X, following a recall affecting about 16,000 Model S and X units last July. The agency stated that it will monitor the situation and take further action if necessary.
“In its recall filing, Tesla stated that effective June 22, 2023, it had updated procedures requiring a first-row seat belt to be disconnected from- and reconnected to- its pretensioner anchor to include additional visual aids to assist technicians and require a pull test-step to confirm that the seat belt was reconnected to the pretensioner anchor to specification,” the agency said.
The original probe was initiated after the NHTSA received two complaints about front seat belt failures in Model X vehicles. As part of the recall, Tesla announced that affected vehicles would need the front seat belt pretensioner anchor to be disconnected and reconnected or would require the entire assembly to be replaced.
Several other NHTSA investigations into Tesla vehicles have recently been closed, including one related to the loss of a rearview camera display and another concerning the company’s Autopilot system. The Autopilot system faced a recall in December, prompting Tesla to roll out a software update to address the issue.
Despite closing the Autopilot investigation, the NHTSA has requested additional information from Tesla regarding the system, particularly concerning driver attentiveness requirements. Tesla has been asked to respond by July 1 regarding the number of hands-on-wheel warnings a driver receives when using Autopilot, as well as “design decisions regarding the company’s decision to increase the strictness of driver attentiveness requirements when approaching traffic controls off-highway.”
