The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that Tesla will recall 26,681 vehicles in the United States due to a software bug that may cause the windshield defrosting performance to decrease.
Tesla told regulators that the problem could have caused a valve in the heat pump to open inadvertently and trap refrigerant inside the evaporator. In this regard, Tesla will solve this problem through OTA wireless upgrade.
The recall involves some 2021-2022 Model 3, Model S, Model X and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles that may not meet federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Tesla said it hasn’t identified any injuries or accidents related to the recall, but NHTSA said in some cases it could reduce windshield visibility, which could increase the risk of a collision.
The company said this was due to customer complaints in December of reduced heating performance in extreme cold weather conditions. On January 15 this year, Tesla released a software update as a precautionary measure to address the issue. Testing was conducted following discussions with NHTSA and Transport Canada to assess whether new vehicles delivered complied with the software order.
Under scrutiny from U.S. regulators and some lawmakers, Tesla has filed for multiple recalls in recent months, many of them over software issues.
Tesla has had at least nine recalls in the U.S. since October as the company faces a government probe into its driver-assistance system Autopilot and in-car gaming features.
In January 2021, Tesla agreed to recall 135,000 potentially faulty touchscreen vehicles after NHTSA took the unusual step of formally seeking a recall. The agency said the touchscreen malfunction posed serious safety concerns, including loss of mirror or backup camera images, exterior turn signals, and windshield defogging and defrosting systems.