— Tesla is recalling nearly 898,000 vehicles because the seat belt warning chimes may fail in certain circumstances.
The recalled vehicles include 2021-2022 Tesla Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Tesla Model 3 and 2020-2022 Tesla Model Y vehicles with audible chimes that may not activate when the vehicles start and the drivers have not buckled their seat belts.
Federal safety standards require the audible seat belt reminder chime to activate when the vehicle starts if the driver seat belt is not buckled.
Tesla says a software error can prevent the chime from activating in certain conditions, limited to circumstances where the chime was interrupted in the preceding drive cycle and the seat belt was not buckled subsequent to that interruption.
Although the reason for the chime is to remind drivers to buckle their seat belts, Tesla is not aware of any injuries or fatalities related to this condition. And even though the chime may not make a sound, a driver will still see a visual warning on the dash.
Tesla learned about the software problem in January from researchers in South Korea, but engineers determined the problem could be fixed by a software update without taking the vehicle to Tesla technicians.
"Firmware release 2021.43.101.1, which includes this remedy, was introduced in Model 3 and Model Y production on January 27, 2022, and in Model S and Model X production on January 28, 2022. Separately, firmware release 2022.4.5, which also includes this remedy, will deploy over-the-air (“OTA”) to delivered vehicles in early February 2022. No further action is necessary from owners whose vehicles are equipped with firmware release 2021.43.101.1 or 2022.4.5 or a later release."
Tesla says about 80,363 of the vehicles are recalled in Canada.
Owner recall notices will be mailed April 1, 2022, and Tesla will perform over-the-air (OTA) software updates.
If you have questions about the seat belt chime recall, call Tesla at 877-798-3752. Tesla's recall reference number is SB-22-00-002.
