Tesla’s recall woes are no longer confined to North America. Last month the automaker was forced to announce updates to its Autopilot driver assistance system following an investigation by the NHTSA into 2.1 million of its cars. But now China’s regulators are demanding Tesla make the same changes to EVs sold within its borders, adding a further 1.6 million cars to the recall list.
The concern is the same in both countries: that drivers find it too easy to misuse Autopilot’s self-steering Autosteer function. Tesla is answering criticism of the system by beefing up audio-visual warnings for drivers to make it easier for them to know when Autopilot is and isn’t operating, and when they are required to resume control. Chinese regulators say the changes are necessary to reduce the risk of collisions.
All four Tesla model lines are affected in the U.S., and also in China, where imported Model S and X EVs, and locally-made Model 3 and Y cars built between 2014 and 2023 require a fix, Reuters reports. It’s not a fix that requires a physical technician to lay hands on individual cars, thankfully. Instead, Tesla is rolling out over-air updates in both countries.
Related: Tesla Recalling 2 Million Cars In U.S. To Make Autopilot ‘Safer’
At the same time, Tesla is updating the door-locking software for a relatively small (7,538) number of Model S and X vehicles in China. The automaker has already announced a recall for 120,000 similar cars in the U.S. over the same worry that doors could be automatically unlocked and opened during a crash.
So far, there’s no sign of Europe throwing its hat into the Autopilot recall ring. Though Autopilot is standard on every European Tesla, the systems are configured differently to suit local regulations and have different driver monitoring and warning functions.