Tesla Motors announced this morning that it will conduct a partial recall of Model S electric sedans manufactured between May 10 and June 8 of this year to fix a potentially weakened left-rear seat attachment striker bracket.
According to a post on the company’s website and signed by CEO Elon Musk, “the attachment strength of the mounting bracket for the left hand latch of the second row seat could be weaker than intended.”
This came about due to factory adjustments in the alignment of the car’s aluminum body-side pressings.
The striker bracket in question is both glued and welded to the body of the car, but the adjustment may have compromised the glued bond and weakened the weld.
As a result, Musk wrote, “this reduces our confidence that the left-hand seat back will be properly retained in the event of a crash.”
Both Musk and Tesla communications manager Shanna Hendriks in a note stressed that no welds have actually detached, no customers have complained, and the company knows of no injuries or other concerns.
The company’s action is a voluntary recall that stemmed from routine quality testing performed on June 10.
Cars built between June 8 and 10 that were still in the factory have already been modified.
The recall applies to cars that were delivered to buyers from mid-May to early June.
UPDATE: Approximately 20 percent of the 1,300 vehicles built between May 10 and June 8 are affected, but all cars will be inspected and modified if necessary.
FURTHER UPDATE: Citing the text of the NHTSA recall notice, AutoblogGreen notes that exactly 1,228 cars are affected.
Owners do not need to bring their cars to Tesla Service Centers to have the work performed.
Instead, Tesla will contact those owners and arrange to have their cars picked up from a location of their choice to perform the modification.
The company will provide a loaner Model S if needed, and it will return the owner’s modified car “a few hours later,” Musk wrote.
This was Tesla’s own discovery, he stressed, and “no regulatory agency brought this to our attention.”
This is not Tesla’s first recall; in October 2010, it recalled 439 Roadsters over a potential fire risk due to a chafing cable in the right-front wheel well.
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