Silent seatbelt chimes cause Tesla to issue recall for 817,143 cars

Enlarge / South Korean safety researchers discovered a bug that can prevent a Tesla's seatbelt chimes from chiming. (credit: Getty Images)

Tesla has issued a new recall this week. On Tuesday it notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that some new Models S and X, as well as potentially any Models 3 or Y, might not sound the required chimes if the vehicle starts and the driver is not buckled up. The problem affects 817,143 vehicles and will be fixed by a software update.

Federal motor vehicle safety standards require that our cars make an annoying noise if they are started by a driver who is not wearing a seat belt.

However, according to the NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report, if "the chime was interrupted in the preceding drive cycle and the seat belt was not buckled subsequent to that interruption (e.g., the driver exited the vehicle in the preceding drive cycle while the chime was active and later returned to the vehicle, creating a new drive cycle)," then the chime won't sound.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments