Tesla will recall almost 54,000 vehicles that may be disobedient to stop signs

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) will recall 53,822 U.S. vehicles with the company’s Full Self-Driving (Beta) software that may allow some models to perform “rolling stops” and not stop completely at 6 p.m. some intersections pose a safety risk.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the recall covers some 201[ads1]6-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3 and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. NHTSA said the feature also known as FSD Beta can allow vehicles to travel through an intersection without first stopping.

Tesla will perform an over-the-air software update that disables the rolling stop functionality, NHTSA said. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, Tesla said that the number of FSD beta cars in the US increased to almost 60,000 from a few thousand at the end of September. Tesla has tested the improved version of its automated driving software on public roads, but the carmaker and regulator have said that the features do not make the cars autonomous.

Tesla said on January 27 it was not aware of any warranty claims, crashes, injuries or deaths related to the recall.

STATSLOVER

Tesla told the car safety agency that they released an updated version on October 20 to introduce the “rolling stop” functionality. The automaker is said to use the feature vehicles must drive less than 5.6 miles (9 km) per hour, and no relevant moving cars, pedestrians or cyclists are detected near the intersection.

The function, which appeared to violate state laws requiring vehicles to stop completely and required drivers to sign up for what it called “Assertive” mode, drew attention on social media and prompted NHTSA to question Tesla.

According to an error report submitted to the car safety agency, Tesla said that they met with NHTSA employees on January 10 and 19 “to discuss the functionality, including operating parameters”, and the car manufacturer on January 20 agreed to the recall.

In November, Tesla recalled nearly 12,000 U.S. vehicles sold since 2017 for another software update because a communication failure could cause a false forward collision warning or unexpected activation of the emergency brakes.

NHTSA said last week that it had sought further information from Tesla in its investigation of 580,000 vehicles over the carmaker’s decision to allow games to be played by passengers on the center touch screen in front.

In December, NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation of the 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3, S, X and Y vehicles over the vehicle’s “Passenger Play” function, the agency said “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a collision”.

In August, NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla’s autopilot driver assistance system in 765,000 US vehicles after about a dozen accidents involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles. That investigation is also open.

Reporting by David Shepardson, editing by Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski

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