Tesla has issued a voluntary recall for essentially all of the Model S electric sedans that it has sold over the last few years. The reason for the recall is a single report of a Model S in Europe with a seatbelt that wasn’t properly attached to the outboard lap pretensioner. No one has been injured, and there haven’t been any other reports — the recall is simply the result of the company being rather proactive with regards to potential safety matters.
The company noted, in an email sent to owners, that in the event of a crash, a seatbelt that wasn’t attached properly wouldn’t provide full protection — so those who might be affected would probably benefit by getting their vehicle checked out. Going by reports on the Tesla Motors Club forum, this only takes a couple of minutes, and is quite easy to schedule online.
Here’s the letter sent to owners (courtesy of “AmpedRealtor,” but several others shared the letter there as well):
As noted above, most reports seem to be that the process of booking an inspection is rather fast and easy — and that many/most vehicles don’t seem to be affected at all. So, some of the mainstream media coverage does seem to be a bit exaggerated to my eyes.
One of the posters on the Tesla Motors Club forum, “InternetDude,” put together a pretty good video showing how you can check to see if you’re affected yourself. Possibly worth a watch. Here it is: