Tesla is recalling approximately 595,000 vehicles in the U.S. after its “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker that obscure pedestrian alerts.
According to a letter dated Wednesday to the electric automaker from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla acknowledged that it was issuing a second recall on the Boombox function. The new recall will disable the function if car owners are using the feature that allows them to “summon” vehicles at low speeds, ABC News reported.
Tesla’s first recall, issued in February, disabled the Boombox if the vehicles were in drive, neutral or reverse, according to the network.
According to the NHTSA letter, the recall affects 594,717 vehicles. The new recall covers certain 2020 through 2022 Model Y, X, and S vehicles, as well as the 2017 through 2022 Model 3 vehicles.
“On affected vehicles, the Boombox functionality allows a customer to play preset or custom sounds through the PWS (Pedestrian Warning System) external speaker when the vehicle is parked or in motion, including if Summon or Smart Summon is in use,” the NHTSA’s Safety Recall Report stated. “While Boombox and the pedestrian alert sound are mutually exclusive sounds, sounds emitted using Boombox could be construed to obscure or prevent the PWS from complying with FMVSS 141 when the vehicle is in drive, neutral or reverse, including if Summon or Smart Summon is in use.”
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Tesla said it will perform an over-the-air software update that will disable the Boombox functionality when the vehicle is in gear, according to the NHTSA’s Safety Recall Report. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on June 6, according to the report.
Consumers can contact Tesla’s customer service number at 877-798-3752.