Tesla issues another over-the-air recall on a small number of cars in the US

Tesla has had to issue another “recall” that is actually just another over-the-air software update on a small number of cars in the US.

Lately, Tesla has had to issue a lot of recalls, but most of them were minor issues that were fixed by simple over-the-air software updates.

For example, the automaker issued a recall that was reported as a “massive” recall on over 800,000 vehicles due to “a seat belt issue”, which sounds pretty bad, but in fact, it had to do with a reminder alert to buckle the seat belt that sometimes wouldn’t appear under very specific conditions.

This week, Tesla has issued another of what we are now calling an “over-the-air recall” over a delay to show the rearview image on some vehicles. According to a filing with NHTSA:

Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Model S, Model X, and 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.5 and operating certain firmware releases. The rearview image may not immediately display when the vehicle begins to reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, “Rear Visibility.”

As mentioned above, it only affects some Tesla vehicles with the Autopilot 2.5 computer. Tesla believes that only 947 vehicles are affected.

The “remedy” is mentioned in the filing:

Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 17, 2022. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla’s number for this recall is SB-22-00-004.

Interestingly, the delay between the recall notice and the owner notification is quite significant, but the software update fix is likely to come sooner – if it’s not already done.