The Recall Desk
HighNHTSA·22V045000·Announced 2022-01-02

Tesla vehicles seatbelt warning chime may fail to activate

Tesla is recalling vehicles with seatbelt warning chimes that may not activate when the driver has not fastened their seat belt. The fix is a free over-the-air software update.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: This is a risk-of-harm product—a vehicle safety system failure—where no injuries or fatalities are reported, making the hazard theoretical. Per the rubric, risk-of-harm products without reported injury score as High (3).

Plain-English summary

Tesla is recalling certain 2017-2022 Model 3, 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles. These vehicles have a software issue with the seatbelt warning chime. When the vehicle starts and the driver has not buckled their seat belt, the audible chime may not activate to alert the driver.

This failure causes the vehicles to not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, which requires occupant crash protection features. The driver may be unaware that their seat belt is not fastened, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

Tesla will perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update at no charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 1, 2022. Owners can contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) for more information.

The recalled product

Product
2020 TESLA MODEL 3
Brand
TESLA
Manufacturer
Tesla, Inc.
Category
Vehicle — Safety System
Hazard
  • seatbelt-chime-failure
  • crash-injury-risk
Affected units
817,143

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (4)

  • MODEL 3
  • MODEL X
  • MODEL Y
  • MODEL S

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same brand · TESLA

Same category