Tesla Withdraws Their Products Again Due To Pedestrian Voice Alert System Failure

JAKARTA – Tesla Inc.'s electric car factory has recalled 578,607 vehicles in the United States. The US vehicle regulator said on Thursday, February 10, the recall was due to the pedestrian warning feature of the car.

Pedestrians may not be able to hear the required warning sound from approaching cars due to loud music or other sounds played by the "Boombox" feature. Electric vehicles are often more difficult to hear at low speeds than gasoline-powered engines.

As reported by Reuters, in a rule mandated by Congress, automakers must add sound to electric vehicles when they travel at speeds of up to 18.6 miles per hour (30 km per hour) to help pedestrians, cyclists, and the blind, over the presence of electricity around them.

NHTSA says that at higher speeds, tire noise, wind resistance, and other factors eliminate the need for warning sounds.

Tesla has issued 10 US recalls over the past four months, including four in the past two weeks. The Texas-based company has come under intense scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Tesla said it had not recorded any accidents, injuries or deaths related to the vehicle alert issue that prompted their latest recall.

Tesla is recalling some Model S, Model X, Model Y, and 2017-2022 Model 3 2020-2022 vehicles due to the "Boombox Function" which allows sound to be played through external speakers while the vehicle is in motion and it may obscure the sound emitted by the Pedestrian Alert System Foot.

The Boombox itself uses the same speakers as the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS) speakers and users can customize the sound.

NHTSA said Tesla had failed to comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards regarding minimum sound requirements for electric vehicles.

Again, to address this issue, Tesla will be carrying out an over-the-air software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in Drive, Neutral, and Reverse modes.

Many of Tesla's recent recalls have also been made to address software issues. Some of these Tesla recalls came soon after NHTSA raised questions about features or complaints. Regulators are investigating Tesla's Autopilot driver assistance system and in-vehicle gaming features.

Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla agreed in January 2021 to recall 135.000 vehicles with touch screens that could fail. In this regard, NHTSA took the unusual step of requesting the withdrawal formally.

Tesla has attempted to resolve the issue with an over-the-air update but NHTSA said as early as 2021 the update could be "procedurally and substantively insufficient."

In the most recent recall, Tesla introduced the "Boombox" in December 2020, and NHTSA issued a request for information in January 2021. There were several virtual meetings on the matter over the following months.

In September, NHTSA stepped up its investigation into the matter. In October Tesla defended the tests and grounds used to determine Boombox compliance but Tesla finally agreed to a recall after two days of meetings last month.