PALO ALTO, Calif. – Tesla, Inc. has agreed to recall 53,822 2016-2022 vehicles equipped with the Full Self-Driving (Beta) (FSD) feature which might allow the electric vehicles to roll through an intersection without stopping for a STOP sign.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Part 573 Safety Recall Report 22V-037, “A software functionality referred to as “rolling stop” allows the vehicle to travel through all-way-stop intersections at up to 5.6 mph before coming to a complete stop if certain conditions are first met.”
Specifically, according to the NHTSA report, “The “rolling stop” functionality is designed to allow the vehicle to travel through an all-way-stop intersection without coming to a complete stop when several operating conditions are first met. The required conditions include:
“1. The functionality must be enabled within the FSD Beta Profile settings; and
“2. The vehicle must be approaching an all-way stop intersection; and
“3. The vehicle must be traveling below 5.6mph; and
“4. No relevant moving cars are detected near the intersection; and
“5. No relevant pedestrians or bicyclists are detected near the intersection; and
“6. There is sufficient visibility for the vehicle while approaching the intersection; and
“7. All roads entering the intersection have a speed limit of 30 mph or less.
“If all the above conditions are met, only then will the vehicle travel through the all-way-stop intersection at a speed from 0.1 mph up to 5.6 mph without first coming to a complete stop. If any of the above conditions are not met, the functionality will not activate and the vehicle will come to a complete stop.”
An interesting factor is this feature is, according to the NHTSA report, a designed-in attribute despite the action being illegal in every state. Traffic laws mandate a complete stop at any intersection managed by the red, eight-sided sign.
The recall covers the following vehicles if they are equipped with firmware release 2020.40.4.10 or newer that contain Full Self-Driving (Beta):
- 2017-2022 Model 3
- 2016-2022 Model S
- 2016-2022 Model X
- 2020-2022 Model Y
As of late Tuesday (Feb. 1), Tesla had not released a statement about the recall.
According to NHTSA, there have not been any reported incidents due to the rolling-top feature.
Tesla will remedy the situation by disabling the rolling-stop feature through a firmware upgrade beginning in early February.
Tesla stores and service centers are scheduled to begin receiving notification of the recall beginning Feb. 1st. Owners are scheduled to begin receiving notification on March 28th.
