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Recall alert: Tesla recalls 817K vehicles over seat belt chime defect

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Tesla is recalling more than 817,000 vehicles in the U.S. over faulty seat belt reminder chimes, according to safety regulators.

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According to documents posted Thursday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the chimes may not sound when the vehicles are started and the driver has not buckled up. Without the chime, drivers may not realize that they are not buckled properly.

Federal motor vehicle safety laws require chimes to sound when vehicles are started, according to The Associated Press. The sound stops when front seat belts are buckled.

The total number of vehicles being recalled is 817,143 vehicles, the NHTSA said. The U.S. recall is the largest in Tesla’s history, according to the AP.

“The driver may be unaware that their seat belt is not fastened, increasing the risk of injury during a crash,” NHTSA official Alex Ansley wrote in a letter to Tesla describing the issue, according to The Washington Post.

The recall covers the 2021 and 2022 Model S sedan and Model X SUV, in addition to 2017 through 2022 Model 3 sedan and 2020 through 2022 Model Y SUV, according to documents posted by the NHTSA.

There have been no known injuries or deaths related to the chime glitch, according to the recall report. When vehicles exceed 13.7 mph, the seat-belt warning will still chime, the NHTSA said.

A visual seat-belt reminder continues to work properly, the agency said in its report.

It is the second time this week that Tesla has had to recall its vehicles. On Tuesday, the company announced the recall of 53,822 vehicles that use its full self-driving (Beta) software because programming allows the cars to do a rolling stop, instead of a complete stop, when required to do so.

>> Recall alert: Tesla to recall 53K vehicles with full self-driving software

For the latest recall, the NHTSA stated that the problem only occurs if the driver left the vehicle in the previous drive cycle while the chime was sounding, the AP reported.

Tesla will fix the issue by sending out an over-the-air software update this month. All Tesla stores and service centers will be notified on or shortly after Friday, according to the NHTSA. Owners will be notified around April 1, the agency stated.

©2022 Cox Media Group

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