The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reviewing a defect petition stating that Tesla Inc. should have recalled about 2,000 vehicles.
The agency's Office of Defects Investigation received the petition Sept. 19. It requests that the agency look into certain Model S and X vehicles that allegedly received battery management system software updates in response to a potential battery defect that could result in non-crash-related fires, according to an Oct. 1 highway safety agency document.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The petition said Tesla should have notified the agency of the potential defect and issued a safety recall. The May software update also allegedly reduced the driving range in the affected vehicles, which includes Model S and X cars from 2012 through 2019, according to the document.
The agency on Oct. 4 said it is reviewing the design of advanced driving features, customer education efforts and training.
"Public understanding is a critically important consideration for the safe use of advanced driving features, which offer enormous promise for American consumers," the highway safety agency said in an email. "NHTSA's first priority is ensuring the public understands that all automobiles sold in the U.S. market — including those with advanced driver assistance systems — rely on an attentive human driver at the wheel to operate safely."
The agency will open an investigation into the defect if the petition is granted.
It will also look into Tesla's new Smart Summon feature after reports of crashes, Reuters reported Oct. 2. The feature allows Tesla owners to hail their car from its parking space and navigate itself to the driver.
