The recall comes just a few months after the release of the Tesla Semi. The faulty components were manufactured by one of the EV maker's suppliers and comprise a substantial number of trucks that the company has delivered to customers as of date.
According to the NHTSA's Safety Recall Report, certain Tesla Semi trucks are equipped with an electronically controlled parking brake valve module that may intermittently fail to transition when the parking brake is engaged or disengaged, potentially resulting in the parking brakes not being set or released. If the parking brakes are not engaged when the driver expects them to be and the driver releases the service brakes, the Class 8 all-electric truck may move unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall affects a total of 35 Tesla Semi units. The fault is due to the supplier's specification, which allowed for excessive internal air leakage, causing the valve modules to fail to transition when the Semi's parking brakes are requested by the driver. The issue was first communicated to Tesla on February 13, 2023, by supplier Bendix, which filed a recall for the involved component. Tesla conducted an investigation until March 17, 2023, after which the company opted to file a voluntary recall for the Class 8 truck.
So far, there have been no warranty claims, crashes, injuries, or fatalities that have been related to the Tesla Semi's parking brake valve modules issue. Tesla has assured its customers that the company would be replacing the faulty components on affected vehicles for free. Furthermore, Tesla Semi units produced starting March 14, 2023 are already equipped with a replacement parking brake valve module with improved internals that prevents air leakage.
Tesla began delivering the semi trucks in December. In February, CNBC reported that PepsiCo received 36 of the 100 electric trucks it had ordered and that the company was the first customer to receive some of the 100 Tesla Semis it had pre-ordered. In January, Tesla issued an end-of-quarter delivery report, but it did not specify the delivery number for the Tesla Semi.
Source: Teslarati
