Tesla Ordered by NHTSA to Disable Boombox Feature Due to Safety Risks

Tesla's Boombox feature can play sounds over an external speaker, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA stated that it obscures audible warnings for pedestrians and it can cause accidents.
Because of this, the automaker had to recall almost 579,000 vehicles in the United States.

Tesla's Boombox Feature

This is now the fourth time that Tesla has recalled its vehicles in the last 2 weeks as United States safety regulators increase scrutiny of the country's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, according to The Verge.

In the last two recalls, Tesla made decisions that violated vehicle safety standards, while the other recalls were due to software errors.

The NHTSA stated on its website on Feb. 10 that all Tesla vehicles have a Boombox function that allows drivers to play sounds while driving.

However, it violates federal safety standards that require pedestrian warning noises for electric vehicles, which make a bit of noise when traveling.

The agency stated that the issue will be repaired with a software update that will disable the feature while the driver is travelling, in reverse, or in neutral, according to CBS News.

NHTSA added in documents on its website that the Boombox feature allows a driver to play preset or custom sounds through the pedestrian warning system or PWS external speaker when the car is parked or in motion.

The agency wrote that while the feature and the pedestrian alert sound are exclusive sounds, sounds emitted using Boombox could prevent the PWS from complying with vehicle safety standards.

The recall includes Tesla Model X, Tesla Model S, and Tesla Model Y vehicles that were manufactured from 2020 to 2022. It also includes Tesla Model 3s from 2017 to 2022.

Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department, revealed that it is not aware of any crashes or injuries because of the feature.

The automaker enabled Boombox with a software update back in 2020. The agency started seeking data from Tesla in 2021, and the car company explained that the feature complied with US safety standards.

However, in September 2021, the agency investigated the feature. In October 20201, Tesla defended its reason for keeping the Boombox feature and said that it complied with safety standards.

However, on Jan. 29, the automaker eventually decided to do a recall and disable the feature in drive, reverse, and neutral.

NHTSA said that in 2010, the US Congress required electric and hybrid vehicles to make pedestrian warning noises for safety reasons.

The law required the agency to stop automakers from allowing third-party companies to disable, replace, alter, or modify pedestrian alert sounds.

Recalls Spark Investigations

The current recall is the 15th done by Tesla since early 2021. The agency has opened several investigations into the automaker since then, according to Electrek.

Last week, Tesla was forced to recall almost 54,000 vehicles that had the Full Self-Driving feature software that allowed the cars to run through stop signs at low speeds without fully stopping.

A couple of Tesla owners are testing the software on public roads, but the vehicles can't drive and do not do a complete halt.

Tesla had to recall at least 800,000 vehicles because of faulty seat belt reminder chimes. In November 2021, almost 7,600Tesla vehicles were recalled because the tearing airbags.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster