Tesla is recalling about 7,300 of its 2021-2022 Model X crossovers to address an issue that could cause the side curtain airbags to not deploy correctly when the windows are open, the company announced earlier this month. In addition, it is again issuing a recall for its Boombox-appearance noisemaker feature that, in Elon Musk’s opinion, “was shut down by the fun police” for interfering with noises vehicles must make while in motion to be identified by pedestrians with a visual impairment.
Tesla says the side airbag problem was discovered after abnormal performance was found during internal testing. Tesla engineers noted that under certain conditions, the side airbags around the windows that were lowered did not deploy as intended, reducing the effectiveness of the devices in reducing passenger ejection in the event of an accident. Tesla says it modified the airbag mounting brackets to remove the rim on the A-pillar, which has resolved the issue.
According to Tesla, only about 50% of Model Xs that rolled off the line have the defective airbag modules in them, and they’re all covered by warranty. On April 2, a new design went into production and all vehicles assembled thereafter were built without the defective parts. Tesla says owners will be notified in June so that existing airbags can be replaced.
Tesla has also launched a new recall for 600,000 previously sold models to address lingering issues with its Boombox feature that plays sounds through its vehicles’ external speakers. These speakers are supposed to play sounds that make the otherwise quiet vehicles audible to people with visual impairments, as well as pedestrians in general, and NHTSA objected to Tesla allowing sounds to be played over the pedestrian sounds. Tesla’s new campaign replaces the one released earlier in 2022 and includes provisions for vehicles equipped with Summon or Smart Summon that have already had the repair done.
Related video: