WASHINGTON — Tesla Inc. is recalling nearly 1.1 million vehicles in the U.S. for power-operated windows that may not react correctly after detecting an object, potentially pinching an occupant and increasing the risk of injury.
The recall covers certain 2017-22 Model 3, 2020-21 Model Y and 2021-22 Model S and Model X electric vehicles. The vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 118 for power-operated window systems, according to NHTSA.
In a safety recall report filed Monday, Tesla told the nation’s top auto safety regulator that as of Sept. 16 it is not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries or deaths related to the defect.
As of Sept. 13, vehicles in production and in pre-delivery containment received a software update that sets the power-operated windows to the requirements specified in the safety standard. Tesla also will deploy the over-the-air software update for the rest of the affected vehicles to ensure compliance.
So far this year, Tesla has issued 14 recalls affecting more than 3.3 million vehicles, according to NHTSA data.
Some of those vehicles may be part of more than one recall campaign.
The EV maker said it expected to start notifying Tesla stores and service centers Wednesday, Sept. 21. Owners will be notified Nov. 15.
Manufacturers are required to issue a recall for any repair, including a software update, that remedies an unreasonable risk to safety, according to NHTSA. They also are required to submit any communications to owners, dealers and others about any software updates that address a defect, whether or not it is safety related.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Twitter Thursday criticized the description of the callback as a recall.
“The terminology is outdated & inaccurate. This is a tiny over-the-air software update. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no injuries,” he said.
Both NHTSA and Tesla in documents made public on Thursday referred to the campaign as a recall.
So far this year, Tesla has issued 14 recalls affecting more than 3.3 million vehicles, according to NHTSA data. Some of those vehicles may be part of more than one recall campaign.
Reuters contributed to this report.
The terminology is outdated & inaccurate. This is a tiny over-the-air software update. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no injuries.
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