— A Tesla Boombox recall includes more than 580,000 of these vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
- 2020-2022 Tesla Model S
- 2020-2022 Tesla Model X
- 2020-2022 Tesla Model Y
- 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3
Tesla says the Boombox function allows sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle is in motion. But electric cars must provide noise to warn pedestrians and others that the silent cars are near them.
That's the reason for the Boombox recall because the feature can block out the sounds from the pedestrian warning system, a violation of federal safety standards.
In December 2020, Tesla sent vehicles over-the-air firmware release 2020.48.25 which sent the Boombox feature to the vehicles. But in January 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked Tesla for information about how Boombox complies with federal standards.
Tesla told NHTSA there was no compliance issue, but the government continued to request additional information about how Boombox worked.
Multiple meetings were held with NHTSA in which Tesla continued to insist Boombox didn't violate federal safety standards, but on January 29 Tesla decided to recall the vehicles.
Federal safety standards mandate pedestrian alerts for electric and hybrid vehicles and prohibit manufacturers from altering or modifying the sound emitting capability of the pedestrian warning system.
"While Boombox and the pedestrian alert sound are mutually exclusive sounds, sounds emitted using Boombox could be construed to obscure or prevent the PWS [pedestrian warning system] from complying with FMVSS 141 when the vehicle is in motion." — Tesla
Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries or fatalities related to the Boombox feature.
According to Tesla, the Boombox recall also affects about 2,000 vehicles in Canada.
As with most Tesla recalls, an over-the-air software update will be used for the recall, which will disable the Boombox function when the vehicle is in DRIVE, NEUTRAL or REVERSE.
Tesla Boombox recall notices are expected to be mailed April 5, 2022.
Owners with questions about the Tesla Boombox recall should call 877-798-3752 and use Boombox recall reference number SB-22-00-003.
