Tesla said Thursday it’s recalling more than 5,000 vehicles in the U.S. for seatbelt issues.
The company said 5,530 vehicles, including 2018-2020 Model 3 sedans and 2019-2021 Model Y SUVs, could have faulty fasteners securing the front shoulder belt to the b-pillar. Another recall impacts 2,166 Model Y vehicles from 2019-2021 due to faulty fasteners for the second-row seat belt retractors.
From March through April 2021, Tesla conducted an expanded failure analysis with a review of historical assembly and repair records of other Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to confirm the suspected root cause. In May 2021, the Factory Team completed the field study and torque record review, confirming the suspected root cause and potentially affected population.
In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla offered a description of cause:
During assembly, if the operator could not achieve the specified torque andangle requirements while securing either fastener that secures the shoulderbelt top loop to the b-pillar, then, per standard protocol, a non-conformancewas generated that required subsequent manual inspection and repair of thefastener. During this inspection, the fastener may not have been confirmed tobe secured to the correct specification.
Tesla said it will inspect and replace fasteners on vehicles with the issue.
