What’s the one component you really don’t want to have fail on a new car? For us it’s a toss up between the brakes and suspension.
The Tesla Model Y has already been recalled for loose brake calliper bolts – 6,000 cars were hauled back to service centers last year – and now the crossover is being recalled because the suspension fasteners might not have been sufficiently, well, fastened.
The problem stems from a malfunction with the production tool used in the Austin, Texas plant to secure the left-hand front suspension lateral link to the Model Y’s subframe. Between November 1-2 of this year the tool was out of action due to a faulty sensor, meaning the bolts had to be manually torqued by a technician.
Later that month during a routine quality inspection Tesla Service discovered incorrectly torqued bolts on a car awaiting delivery, leading to all cars built during the affected period but not yet delivered being checked over. More bolts were found to be fastened to the wrong torque, which has resulted in a Tesla contacting owners and recalling affected cars.
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As you expect given the brief timeframe when the bolts were being fastened by hand, we’re not talking about tens of thousands of cars. In fact, Tesla has only identified nine Model Ys that might be affected. And even those might not actually be dangerously defective, though the typically ominous description of the problem in the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) recall notice sounds incredibly dramatic, warning of suspension components coming adrift, cars going out of control and potential crashes.
Which almost certainly isn’t going to happen because Tesla will start notifying service centers of the problem early this month and begin letting Model Y owners know on February 3.
