Tesla issued a recall for 362,758 vehicles that use its Full Self-Driving Beta because federal regulators said some Teslas could violate locate traffic laws and potentially increase the risk of a collision if a driver fails to take control.
The regulatory authority, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, informed Tesla about potential concerns saying the FSD Beta “may allow the vehicle to act unsafe around intersections” such as when traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane or entering a stop-sign controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop or proceeding into an intersection on a steady yellow signal without due caution. Also, the system may respond “insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits or not adequately account for the drivers’ adjustment of the vehicle’s speed to exceed posted speed limits.”
“FSD Beta software that allows a vehicle to exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA notice said.
Tesla has identified 18 warranty claims possibly related to such conditions and is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to them, according to the NHTSA.
Tesla did not respond to a request to comment.
Full Self Driving Beta is an add-on feature customers buy for $15,000 atop the basic costs of the vehicles.
Tesla plans a free over-the-air software update to address how the technology handles some driving conditions. The recall affects Tesla Model S and X models for 2016-2023 and Model 3 models for 2017-2023 and Model Y SUVs from 2020-2023. O-888wners will be notified by letter by April 15 and can contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. The recall number is SB-23-00-001. The NHTSA safety hotline is 1-888-424-9153 and the agency also has a website.
In the past, Tesla has defended its separate Autopilot feature on Teslas as being safer than driving without Autopilot. That feature was part of an NHTSA probe started in 2021 into several crashes involving Telsa vehicles using Autopilot that struck emergency vehicles stopped to help motorists along roadways.
NHTSA is continuing to monitor Tesla recalls and said its investigation remains open.
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