Tesla Recalls More Than 50,000 Cars Over Brake Defect

Tesla has issued a voluntary recall of more than 50,000 of its electric cars over a brake defect. The 53,000 vehicles, sold over the course of 2016, may contain an improperly manufactured gear within its electric parking brakes. The company is asking owners to check their vehicles – a 45-minute procedure – for the defective component and assures its customers that it expects no more than 5% of vehicles to be at risk. Brembo, the manufacturer of the faulty part, will cover the cost of any necessary repairs.

The Tesla recall notice reads:

“Tesla recently discovered a potential manufacturing issue with the electric parking brakes installed on certain Model S and Model X vehicles that could prevent the parking brake from releasing. We do not believe this issue could ever lead to a safety concern for our customers, and we have not seen a single accident or injury relating to it. However, in order to be overly cautious, we are going to be proactively replacing these parts to ensure that no issues arise.

Specifically, we have determined that the electric parking brakes installed on Model S and Model X vehicles built between February and October 2016 may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third-party supplier. If this gear were to break, the parking brake would continue to keep the car from moving, but the parking brake would then be stuck in place. There have been no reports of the parking brake system failing to hold a parked vehicle or failing to stop a vehicle in an emergency as a result of this condition, and this part has no impact on the car’s regular braking systems. We have also determined that only a very small percentage of gears in vehicles built during this period were manufactured improperly.

If you own a Tesla vehicle that was built during this period, we will soon be sending you an official recall notice by mail, which will include information on how to have your parking brakes replaced. In the meantime, it is safe to continue regular use of your vehicle.”

Tesla sold 76,000 vehicles during 2016, meaning that nearly 70% of its sales last year are at risk of containing the feared defect. Following the recall notice, shares in Tesla dropped by 2%.