BBC Fake News - Tesla ordered to recall more than a million US cars

[CyberGus]

Tesla's recall that wasn't: How Musk revolutionized the auto industry

The visionary CEO can fix problems in cars officially recalled by traffic safety authorities at the mere touch of a button. It's a "recall" by strict definition only.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Big Dog]

I read it as a million Teslas have a potentially serious issue that Tesla haven’t already sorted and need to fix.

Playing devils advocate, the flip side of ‘it’s only an OTA software fix’ is it should never have got to the stage where it’s been classified as a recall by the regulators.

Depends if your glass is half full or half empty

By the feds classifying it as an official safety recall, that means the automaker must fix it at no charge to the owner. (Doesn't matter how they fix it, but just not charge the owner.)

btw: it is potentially serious -- a kid could get their arm squashed by the window automatically closing. But as Tesla notes, no injuries known to-date.

 

[Big Dog]

Well... we're all acknowledging this. That's not the point and you perfectly know it.

Those headlines are purposedly misleading because a recall "normally conveys literally bringing one’s car to a mechanic for work", which is not the case with OTA updates.

Me neither!

Perhaps in Canada, but in the US, a recall has a legal definition. It does not matter how Tesla fixes teh car, just that they fix it for free.

Look at it this way: suppose Tesla could fix 99% of the cars with an OTA, but the initial model 3's produced (Dec-17) had a different window regulator which would need to be replaced to work with the OTA update. A recall just means that Tesla can't charge for any of the fix, the OTA update or the new window regulator.

 

[rjpjnk]

It may legally be the correct word, but I personally feel that calling it a recall is misleading (or at least confusing) because it makes it sound like it has to be called back in for a fix. We need a new word for OTA fixes like this when they are serious or mandated. Maybe "mandatory software change" would be more accurate?

 

[DavidJH]

The fact is not all cars are capable of updating software by OTA. A recall is just a legal term that mandates a defect that must be fixed free of charge.

So in the case there is a hardware problem when the manufacturers can send a technician to your home to do a “mobile service”, are you guys going to argue that another term must be created for that scenario since you don’t have to go to service center?

The world is evolving. You don’t need to create new terms simply because an old problem has a new solution. A car is still a car whether it’s driven by gas or electricity.

 

[UncleCreepy]

Whatever you guys want to call it, I'd like to point out the elephant in the room: are they going to force the update via LTE? I'm currently on 2022.20.8 and I have no desire getting radar disabled or receiving an annoying message that the outside speaker isn't working. The speed at which the windows close or which word we use to describe the remedy is the least of my concerns here.

 

[Cnixon]

...
But Tesla earns clicks, so the press will go with it. That is the state of the media, in this day and age.

And dare I say it but Tesla gets cudos for being able to fix it over the air. Free advertising in essence.

 

[PearlShark]

Is this a joke. These windows are so damn sensitive I can never get them to successfully close with the one touch close because every bump in the road makes them roll back down (window thinks it hit something).

This has been the case with all 3 Teslas I’ve had. It is actually a smidge dangerous because when I’m trying to close them I’m a hurry I have to play whack-a-mole while driving to get them all closed.

 

[RSpanner]

But it is a recall. Just because it’s being fixed with a software update doesn’t change that fact.

The only fake news is you.

in the mind of many a recall still suggests a much bigger hassle than getting something resolved by doing nothing except letting your car get a message over the air. PERCEPTION, and that matters.

"Recall Service means, the inspection of an Affected Vehicle and the rectification of the Defect (or where necessary the replacement of the Affected Vehicle) if the Defect is found to exist in the Affected Vehicle."

there is no inspection in an OTA..

no driving 100 miles to a Tesla Service Center..big difference.

 

[MrT3]

Whatever you guys want to call it, I'd like to point out the elephant in the room: are they going to force the update via LTE? I'm currently on 2022.20.8 and I have no desire getting radar disabled or receiving an annoying message that the outside speaker isn't working. The speed at which the windows close or which word we use to describe the remedy is the least of my concerns here.

It will be interesting to see but I would think all security vulnerabilities and recalls are forced over LTE/4G if the owner hasn’t updated via Wi-Fi after a period of time.

I doubt they will produce a fix for all the software trains that are in use and move you to a more recent one, so you are unlikely to get 2022.20.9 with the fix but 2022.28.x or 2022.32.x etc. and have Vision forced on you.