The Tesla Cybertruck Has Already Been Hit With A Dumb Recall

8 months, 1 week ago - 6 February 2024, motor1
The Tesla Cybertruck Has Already Been Hit With A Dumb Recall
A recall has been issued by the NHTSA for over 2 million Teslas for dashboard warning lights with font sizes that are too small.

The Tesla Cybertruck has only been out for a few months. But the steel-bodied truck has already received its first recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for nearly 2.2 million Tesla vehicles built between 2012 and 2024, including every Cybertruck, because the car's dashboard warning lights are too small.

"An incorrect font size is displayed on the instrument panel for the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System (ABS) warning lights," the recall states. "As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 105, "Hydraulic and Electric Brake Systems" and 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems.""

The recall affects a total of 2,193,869 Teslas, or roughly every Tesla ever sold in the United States. Here's the full list:

Because Teslas use screens instead of analog gauge clusters, affected owners won't have to bring their cars to Tesla repair shops to get their vehicle fixed. Instead, Tesla is releasing an over-the-air (OTA) update to resolve the undersized warning lights. The updates are already hitting affected cars, according to the NHTSA.

This recall is strange for a couple of reasons. Cars from as far back as 2012 are affected, which means these warning lights have been incorrectly sized for over a decade. How didn't Tesla realize this error for 12 years? And why did it take the NHTSA so long to notice? Why is there a legal minimum font size for warning lights, anyway?

We suspect we'll never get answers to those first two questions. Nevertheless, owners should be receiving notices in the mail next month informing them of the update. If you think your Tesla may be affected, head on over to the NHTSA's site and punch in your VIN to confirm.

ModelYear
Cybertruck2024
Model S2012-2023
Model 32017-2023
Model X

2016-2024

Model Y2019-2024
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