More than 2 million Tesla cars will need to be updated. At issue: the driving assistance system which, after two years of investigation, proved to be fallible.
Tesla is recalling almost all vehicles sold in the United States, more than 2 million, to update their software and fix a faulty system supposed to ensure that drivers are attentive when using Autopilot, the driver assistance Elon Musk’s cars. Documents released Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the update will increase warnings and alerts to drivers and even limit areas where basic versions of Autopilot can operate.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that occurred while the partially automated driving system Autopilot was in use. Some were fatal. The investigation found that Autopilot’s method of ensuring drivers are paying attention may be inadequate and can lead to “predictable misuse of the system.”
The additional controls and alerts “will further encourage the driver to adhere to their continued driving responsibility,” the documents state. But safety experts said that while the recall is a good step, it still makes the driver responsible and doesn’t address the problem Tesla’s automated systems have in detecting and stopping when faced with obstacles in their path. The recall covers models Y, S, 3 and X produced between October 5, 2012 and December 7 of this year. The update was expected to be sent to some affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest receiving it later.
Autopilot includes features called Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control, with Autosteer intended for use on limited-access highways when not used with a more sophisticated feature called Autosteer on City Streets. The software update will limit where Autosteer can be used. “If the driver attempts to activate Autosteer when conditions are not met, the feature will alert the driver that it is unavailable through visual and audible alerts, and Autosteer will not engage,” the company documents state. reminder. Worse, un driver could be suspended from using Autosteer if they repeatedly fail to “demonstrate continued and sustained driving responsibility,” the documents say.
Auto safety advocates have for years called for stricter regulation of the driver monitoring system, which primarily detects whether the driver’s hands are on the steering wheel. They called for the use of cameras to ensure a driver is paying attention, used by other manufacturers with similar systems. In its defect report filed with the safety agency, Tesla said Autopilot’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.”