Tesla has initiated a recall of approximately 1.8 million vehicles due to a defect that may prevent the detection of an unlatched hood. The recall, announced through a Safety Recall Report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), will be addressed with an over-the-air (OTA) software update.
The recall affects several models, including the 2013-2024 Tesla Model S, 2016-2024 Tesla Model X, 2017-2024 Tesla Model 3, and 2020-2024 Tesla Model Y, totaling 1,850,363 units. However, only about 1% of these vehicles are estimated to have the defect.
The NHTSA report indicates that the issue involves the hood latch assembly’s inability to detect when the hood is open. This fault could lead to drivers not being alerted of an open hood, potentially causing the hood to unlatch and obstruct the driver’s view while driving, thereby increasing the risk of a collision.
Tesla began investigating the problem on March 25, 2024, following customer complaints about unintended hood openings on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China. By mid-April, the company identified latch switch deformations as the issue, which was more prevalent in vehicles produced in China compared to those made in North America and Europe.
“From mid-April 2024 through June 7, 2024, Tesla continued to recover and perform analysis on samples from the field in China to better understand the condition and latch commonalities across vehicle lines and regions. Rates of occurrence were higher in China for reasons unknown, as compared to lower rates of occurrence in markets in Europe and North America,” the NHTSA report stated.
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The recall was officially announced on July 17, 2024. As of July 20, 2024, Tesla reported three warranty claims related to the hood latch issue in the U.S., but no crashes, injuries, or fatalities have been linked to the fault.
To address the defect, Tesla has rolled out a software update, firmware release 2024.20.3, starting June 18, 2024, at no cost to customers. This update detects the open hood and notifies the driver via the vehicle’s user interface. Vehicles produced from July 15, 2024, already include the updated software.
