Tesla recalls over 5.79 lakh vehicles in US over pedestrian warning risk sound
Detroit, Feb 10: Tesla is recalling nearly 579,000 vehicles in the US because a Boombox function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians.
The recall is the fourth made public in the last two weeks as US safety regulators increase scrutiny of the nation's largest electric vehicle maker.
In two of the recalls, Tesla made decisions that violate federal motor vehicle safety standards, while the others are software errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website Thursday that the cars and SUVs have what Tesla calls a Boombox function that allows drivers to play sounds while the vehicles are moving.
This violates federal safety standards that require pedestrian warning noises for electric cars, which make little noise when travelling, the agency says.
The agency says the problem will be repaired with an over-the-air software update that will disable Boombox, in drive, reverse or neutral.
The Boombox functionality allows a customer to play preset or custom sounds through the PWS (pedestrian warning system) external speaker when the vehicle is parked or in motion," NHTSA says in documents posted on its website.
While Boombox and the pedestrian alert sound are mutually exclusive sounds, sounds emitted using Boombox could be construed to obscure or prevent the PWS from complying" with safety standards, the agency wrote.
The recall covers certain 2020 through 2022 Tesla Model X, S, and Y vehicles, as well as 2017 through 2022 Model 3s, according to records.
A message was left Thursday seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department.
The company is not aware of any crashes or injuries due to the problem, NHTSA said.
Tesla enabled Boombox with a software update in December of 2020, NHTSA said in documents.
The agency began seeking information from Tesla in January of 2021, and Tesla explained the feature and contended that it complied with US safety standards.
In September of 2021, NHTSA opened an investigation into the feature. A month later, Tesla defended its rationale for determining that Boombox complied with safety standards.
But on Jan. 29 of this year, the company decided to do a recall and disable Bombox in drive, neutral and reverse.
NHTSA said that in 2010, Congress required electric and hybrid vehicles to make pedestrian warning noises.
The law required agency rules to stop manufactures from allowing anyone other than an automaker or dealer to disable, alter, replace, or modify the pedestrian alert sound or set of sounds.
Tuesday's recall is the 15th done by Tesla since January 2021, according to NHTSA records. In addition, the safety agency has opened multiple investigations of Teslas.
Last week, Tesla had to recall nearly 54,000 vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving" software that allowed the vehicles to run through stop signs at low speeds, without coming to a complete halt. Selected Tesla owners are beta testing the software on public roads, but the cars can't drive themselves despite the name.
The company also had to recall over 800,000 vehicles because seat belt reminder chimes may not sound when the vehicles are started and the driver isn't buckled up.
And this week, nearly 27,000 vehicles were recalled because the cabin heating systems may not defrost the windshield quickly enough. All were to be fixed with online software updates.
Safety advocates and automated vehicle experts say Tesla is pushing the boundaries of safety to see what it can get away with, but now NHTSA is pushing back.
Also, after a NHTSA inquiry in December, Tesla disabled a function that let drivers play video games on centre touch screens while the vehicles are moving.
In November, NHTSA said it was looking into a complaint from a California Tesla driver that the Full Self-Driving software caused a crash.
The driver complained to the agency that a Model Y went into the wrong lane and was hit by another vehicle.
The SUV gave the driver an alert halfway through the turn, and the driver tried to turn the wheel to avoid other traffic, according to the complaint.
But the car took control and forced itself into the incorrect lane, the driver reported. No one was hurt in the Nov. 3 crash.
NHTSA also is investigating why Teslas using the company's less-sophisticated Autopilot partially automated driver-assist system have repeatedly crashed into emergency vehicles parked on roadways.
The agency opened the investigation in August, citing 12 crashes in which Teslas on Autopilot hit parked police and fire vehicles. In the crashes under investigation, at least 17 people were hurt and one was killed.
Last week Tesla said in its earnings release that Full Self-Driving software is now being tested by owners in nearly 60,000 vehicles in the US. It was only about 2,000 in the third quarter.
The software, which costs 12,000, will accelerate Tesla's profitability, the company said.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
