No automakers are immune to recalls, but Tesla’s Cybertruck has been the subject of half a dozen recalls just this year. Or at least, that was true up until last week — when a seventh recall was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration related to the tire pressure monitoring system on nearly 700,000 Tesla vehicles, including the sharp-edged pickup truck.
According to documents filed with NHTSA dating to December 17, the tire pressure monitoring system doesn’t have the appropriate memory to alert drivers of low pressure after each drive cycle. Essentially, Tesla’s monitoring system can forget that low pressure was detected on a previous drive and may not alert drivers of the fault the next time around. Not surprisingly, this does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
“A TPMS malfunction telltale that does not comply with FMVSS 138, S4.4(b)(3) may not adequately warn the driver of potential under-inflation of the tires, increasing the risk of a collision,” the recall notice states.
Around 695,000 units of 2024 model year Cybertrucks, 2017-2025 model year Model 3s, and 2020-2025 model year Model Ys are affected by this recall. The federal watchdog agency says that 100% of models with the faulty software installed are affected by the recall, though the fix is a relatively easy one: Tesla began to roll out the fix in November by offering a free over-the-air update to the vehicles’ TPMS software, which is allowed under federal vehicle safety regulations. Once the update is installed, Tesla and the NHTSA say that no further action is required.
The chronology of the events leading up to the recall was fairly short. The first sign of trouble came on November 6, 2024, prompting the EV manufacturer to conduct a root-cause study of the problem. From December 2 to December 9, Tesla reviewed its fleet data and analyzed TPMS data from vehicles with the update and those without, with the conclusions eventually leading to the federal recall. All told, Tesla has amounted to 76 warranty claims and one field report related to this condition; there have been no injuries attributed to the issue.
This comes after a spat of recalls related to sticking accelerators, hood issues, steer-by-wire problems, and non-compliant warning lights. The Cybertruck, which was initially slated for delivery in 2021, was only finally delivered in November 2023. In spite of the delay, however, it seems there were more than a few issues that still needed to be ironed out.
You Might Also Like
