Yahoo Autos Tesla Recalls 1.8 Million Cars After Owners Report Hoods Flying Open
During a tumultuous year of recalls, delays, and abandoned plans, Tesla has just issued a new recall of over 1.8 million vehicles due to what the brand describes as “unintended hood opening events” that could occur without notifying the driver, issues that could be caused by software problems and deformed hood latch switches.
The recall is the fourth to affect more than 1 million Tesla vehicles in the last two years. Tesla estimates that 1% of the recalled cars suffer from the defect.
In a safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) filed on July 24, Tesla said that it first investigated reports of “unintended hood opening events” on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China in March of 2024, concluding in April that the issue was a deformation of the latch switch “which could prevent the customer from being notified of an open hood state.” In June, Tesla conducted engineering studies in Europe and North America that eventually led to a voluntary recall “out of an abundance of caution.”
Tesla notes that there have not been crashes, injuries, or deaths reported as a result of the defect, but “unknowingly driving a vehicle with an unlatched hood may result in the hood fully opening and obstructing the driver’s view, increasing the risk of a collision.”
Aside from its nine recalls in 2024, the automaker is also currently under federal investigation following an NHTSA report investigating crashes related to the use of Tesla’s Autopilot feature, including 54 injuries and 14 deaths. It’s been a rocky year for Tesla, resulting in a 7% drop in auto revenue followed by a 12% drop in shares.
Recalled vehicles include all Model Y crossovers produced since 2020, Model 3 sedans manufactured after 2017 with a hood latch produced in China, all Model X SUVs produced since 2016, and all Model S cars produced since 2013. Affected vehicles will receive a software update to fix the issue rather than requiring repair at a service center, as is customary for Tesla recalls; the update is designed to detect the open hood and notify the driver when it occurs.
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