Tesla recalls 53,000 vehicles to replace electronic parking brakes

Tesla recently announced that it will recall 53,000 Model S and Model X electric vehicles due to a "manufacturing defect" in a brake gear. These vehicles were produced between February and October 2016.

Although Tesla believes that only a small percentage of parking brake devices pose a safety risk, it still decided to proactively recall 53,000 problematic vehicles to replace new parking brakes.

Tesla described the vehicle problem in an email sent to users on Thursday (April 20, local time): "Tesla recently discovered a potential manufacturing problem with the electronic parking brakes of some Model S and Model X vehicles, which may cause the brakes to not release. We believe that this problem will not cause safety concerns for Tesla owners, and we have not received a single report of traffic accidents or injuries related to the above problem. However, out of an abundance of caution, we will take the initiative to recall to replace the electronic parking brake."

Tesla said it has "not received any reports of the brake system failing to stabilize a parked vehicle or failing to stop the vehicle in an emergency situation," but the company still decided to proactively replace the electronic parking brake.

Third-party suppliers

The "small parts" with potential safety hazards this time were provided by a third-party supplier called Brembo. Tesla believes that the above gear was not manufactured correctly, but the proportion of affected vehicles among the 53,000 Model X and Model S vehicles will not exceed 5%. The hidden danger has no effect on the conventional braking system, so it does not pose a direct risk to vehicle safety. However, when the gear is damaged, the electronic parking brake will be stuck and the car will no longer be able to move. In addition, the design of the gear makes it impossible for the company to accurately determine which car will be affected.

A unit of Italy's Brembo supplied the gears. "We are working with Tesla to ensure the issue is resolved quickly," a spokesman for Brembo North America said in an email.

The recall is equivalent to 63% of Tesla's production of 84,000 vehicles last year. The timing of this large-scale recall is not good, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk is preparing to expand production capacity to produce affordable Model 3 vehicles for ordinary people. Tesla plans to produce 500,000 vehicles in 2018 and 1 million vehicles in 2020.

Influenced by this news, Tesla's stock price fell 1% on the 20th and closed at US$302.51.

Recall Problem

Tesla said that it will issue an official recall notice to affected car owners in the near future, and will commission professionals at local service centers to replace the problematic parts for the vehicles, a process that will take no more than 45 minutes. Owners of the recalled vehicles can drive their cars without worry before the recall.

Tesla will start the plan to replace the electronic parking brake from now on, but it expects the entire replacement work to continue until October this year.

Regarding the impact of the recall on the company's operating conditions, Tesla said the incident would not have a substantial impact on the company's financial condition as the replacement costs would be borne by Brembo.

Tesla has previously initiated voluntary recalls, such as recalling 2,700 Model Xs to fix a problem with the third-row seats being loose, and another recent recall to fix some mobile connection adapters. In November 2015, Tesla recalled 90,000 Model S vehicles due to a report that the car's seat belts were not connected correctly.

Unlike other automakers, Tesla lacks a franchised dealer network to handle sales and service issues, so it has difficulty in recall repairs. Tesla serves customers through a network of about 135 service centers and mobile technicians. A Tesla spokeswoman said in an email that "serviceability is not an issue" and that mobile technicians are able to handle repairs.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.