Tesla has recently announced a total recall of the entirety of the Cybertruck unit. The decision was made after discovering a severe flaw that could cause the vehicle’s accelerator pedal to stick.
The problem was identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which announced on Wednesday that the fault might cause the pedal pad to dislodge and get trapped in the vehicle’s interior trim when “high force is applied.”
Tesla is recalling every Cybertruck manufactured since its introduction last year
This fault resulted from an “unapproved change” in the production process, where “lubricant (soap)” was used, affecting the pedal pad’s adherence, as mentioned in the recall notice. Nevertheless, the truck’s braking system still functions, providing a temporary, albeit imperfect, solution.
The recall affects “all Model Year (‘MY’) 2024 Cybertruck vehicles produced from November 13, 2023, to April 4, 2024,” with all 3,878 units manufactured in this timeframe suspected of having the defect.
This indicates that Elon Musk’s car company is recalling every Cybertruck manufactured since its introduction last year.
The recall came to light when Cybertruck customers started receiving notifications about delivery postponements earlier in the week.
How did Tesla find out about this technical fault in cybertrucks?
At least one customer learned of the recall through their dealership, which cited the accelerator pedal problem as the reason. The issue received additional attention when a Cybertruck owner shared a TikTok video illustrating how the defect caused the accelerator to be pressed down fully, non-stop.
According to the documentation filed with the NHTSA, Tesla first became aware of the defective accelerator pedals on March 31st, with a subsequent report on April 3rd. After reviews to pinpoint the problem, Tesla voluntarily began the recall on April 12.
As of early this week, Tesla has not recorded any “collisions, injuries, or deaths” related to this issue. Tesla has also pledged to notify its stores and service centers of the problem “on or around” April 19th.
The manufacturer is committed to total refund of the affected part or its replacement for free for all the Cybertruck owners. Plus, any trucks not built with the revised accelerator pedal component and part number starting in from April 17th will be included in the recall immediately.
This marks the second embarrassing incident for the Cybertruck, following a prior recall that only affected US Tesla vehicles in February because the flight control panel texts’ font size was insufficiently large, which did not comply with safety regulations. This was rectified with a software update.