Tesla is recalling nearly 10,000 of its Model X and Model Y vehicles to sort out a couple of safety issues.
Model X
Announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week, the recall includes 9,136 Model X cars from model year 2016. It concerns a potential issue with two external trims, or appliques, which could come away from the top of the car as it’s in motion, risking the safety of the occupants of a vehicle following close behind.
As per the NHTSA: “The Model X is equipped with a cosmetic applique at the front of the roof just behind the windshield, known as the front applique, as well as an applique at the center of the roof in between the upper falcon door roof glass, known as the spine applique. Both appliques are adhered to the vehicle using urethane. If the applique-to-urethane interface lacks primer, then, over time, the adhesion may weaken, causing the applique to separate from the vehicle.”
The NHTSA said that while it is not currently aware of any accidents or injuries resulting from the condition, “if the applique separates from the vehicle while in drive, it could create a road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of injury or a crash.”
Model Y
Tesla is also recalling 401 Tesla Model Y vehicles — model year 2020 — to resolve an issue where the bolts connecting the front upper control arm and steering knuckle may not have been tightened correctly. “If not properly secured, the upper control arm can unseat from the steering knuckle, resulting in excessive negative or positive camber and adverse impact to steering,” the NHTSA said.
The NHTSA hasn’t received any reports of accidents or injuries occurring as a result of the issue, but it said that “an improperly secured steering knuckle could cause excessive wheel camber and affect the driver’s ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.”
Tesla will contact owners of the affected vehicles to inform them of the recall.
A steering issue was also the cause of a Tesla recall two years ago in which 123,000 Model S vehicles had to be fitted with a new power-steering component after engineers had observed excessive corrosion in the power steering bolts.
In other recall news, General Motors this week agreed to call in nearly six million vehicles to replace potentially dangerous Takata airbags. It’s part of a decade-long, multi-automaker recall of tens of millions of vehicles after it was found that a component inside the airbag may deteriorate over time. In the event of an impact, the degraded component could explode, causing sharp fragments to spray throughout the interior of the vehicle.
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