If you ever wondered why only Tesla put external speakers on their cars, now you know why. Turns out, the company’s “Boombox” feature is a safety hazard!
The company is recalling 578,607 vehicles in the U.S. because pedestrians may not be able to hear the required-by-law Pedestrian Warning System, according to Reuters.
PWS is a feature found on all electric cars and some hybrids that is attended to keep pedestrians safe by alerting them if an otherwise silent car is around at speeds of up to 18.6 mph.
Tesla’s Boombox is meant to allow users to broadcast noise that happens to be far louder than the normal PWS.
For those keeping score at home, this is the 10th U.S. recall Tesla has issued in the last four months – including four in just the past two weeks.
The Texas-based company is recalling some 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y and 2017-2022 Model 3.
The NHTSA said the PWS fails to comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard for minimum sound requirements for electric vehicles.
Add the issue of the Boombox being too loud, and the nose of the PWS is almost completely drowned out.
Tesla is going to perform an over-the-air software update that will disable the Boombox’s functionality while the vehicle is in drive, neutral or reverse.
Tesla introduced Boombox in December 2020, and the NHTSA issued an information request in January 2021, according to the automaker. Later that year, in September the NHTSA upgraded an investigation into the issue. In October, Tesla defended tests and rationale used to determine Boombox’s compliance. Eventually the automaker reneged and the recall was issued.
Imagine how annoyed you would be if you were hit by a car because of a whoopee cushion sound effect. Hopefully, that will not be an issue anymore. We’re also very excited to see what Tesla’s next recall will be.
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