The recall applies to the 2,700 Model Xs built before March 26. Now, the luxury carmaker has issued a recall for the company’s popular Model X crossover SUV.
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“We are now constructing new third-row seat backs to match all affected vehicles”, Tesla said in a letter to Model X owners.
On the other hand, Tesla announced that during 15 confirmation tests conducted prior to the start of deliveries of Model X in North America, they did not experience any recliner failure.
It is recalling the seats “out of an abundance of caution for our customers”, said Tesla’s president of sales and service Jon McNeil.
Until then, it wrote, it asks that owners “temporarily not have anyone sit in the third row seats while the vehicle is in use”.
The automaker says a remedy for the problem is already in place since the supplier, Futuris Group, created a new improved locking hinge design.
A voluntary recall affecting 2,700 vehicles is one thing, but an early recall involving the Model 3 would be both a logistical and publicity nightmare. In this particular case, Tesla’s slow production became advantageous, but with over 276,000 preorders, bringing Tesla Model 3 flawlessly to the road is going to be a daunting challenge. Tesla had conducted multiple tests before rolling out the vehicle for the U.S. market, but apparently when they begun testing the auto for the European market, that’s when the problem was discovered. An additional test required by Europe, which was conducted internally first, revealed the third-row seat’s issue.
Tesla is blaming the issue on a third-party manufacturer, Futuris, which supplied the third-row seats. During a seat strength test, that recliner mechanism failed and allowed the seat to slip.
In November, Tesla recalled all Model S vehicles delivered before Nov. 19 over an issue related to the front seat belt, which could prevent it from functioning properly.
The company will have its Service Centers replace the third-row seat backs, a task that will take about two hours.
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Tesla has taken the wraps of its updated Model S for 2016 with some, but not all, of the rumoured changes expected. This recall will also not affect company’s current production plans at the Fremont factory.
