‘Unintended hood openings’ prompt Tesla recall

Tesla is recalling 1.8 million Model 3 and Model Y vehicles due to a “lock switch deformity” that could lead to “unintended hood openings.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a faulty latch switch led to a number of incidents, most of them in China. The faulty switch prevented customers from being “notified of an open hood status,” leading to the “unintended hood openings.”

Tesla began the investigation in March 2024 and expanded the investigation to Europe and North America in June. While there were incidents in Europe and North America, the rates were lower compared to China, although Tesla is unsure why.

According to the NHTSA, Tesla is voluntarily recalling vehicles “out of an abundance of caution.”

Description of the Remedy Program:

Starting June 18, 2024, affected vehicles will receive an over-the-air software fix with firmware version 2024.20.3 at no cost to customers. Firmware version 2024.20.3 or a later firmware version will detect the open hood and notify the customer in the user interface that the hood is open.

How the remedy component differs from the recalled component:

The repair part includes the software solution described above, while the recalled part does not include the software solution described above.

Identify how/when the recall condition was corrected in production:

As of July 15, 2024, in-production Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y vehicles will have received a software release (2024.20.100) that includes the software fix described above.