Tesla is bringing back over 1. 6 million cars in China because of problems with the steering software and door locks, says the country’s regulator.
The recall involves the S, X, 3, and Y models, as well as 7,538 imported vehicles.
The issues will be resolved by sending updates to the software from a distance, so the vehicles won’t have to go to the dealer or auto repair shop.
Less than a month ago, Tesla had to bring back two million cars in the US because of problems with the autopilot software.
Last year in May, the Chinese government said that over a million cars might have problems with their speed and braking systems.
The American electric car company found issues with the features that help the car drive by itself and the system that locks the doors.
The Chinese government agency, SAMR, said that the planned vehicle update is like a recall, even though it will happen through the internet.
Tesla will send a software update to 1,610,105 vehicles. These include Models S and X that were imported, as well as Models 3 and Y made in China from 2014 to 2023. It was announced by the SAMR.
The official said that this was to fix problems with the self-driving feature and reduce the chance of accidents.
“The SAMR said that for cars included in this recall, if the automatic steering assistance is turned on, drivers might not use the level two combined assistance properly. This could make the car more likely to crash and be unsafe. ”
Additionally, Tesla will update the software for 7,538 Models S and X cars to fix the issue of doors unlocking in crashes.
This is the second bad news for Tesla in the country. China’s BYD sold more electric cars than Tesla worldwide in the last quarter of 2023.
In 2022, Tesla had to bring back around 128,000 cars in China because of a problem with the rear motor inverter.
Tesla sells a lot of cars in China, where the government gives them money to people who buy electric and hybrid cars. The country wants most cars to run on clean energy by 2035.
China has a big factory in Shanghai where Tesla makes cars. It’s the first “gigafactory” Tesla has made outside of the US. The facility sent out 947,000 vehicles in 2023, as reported by state news agency Xinhua.