American safety officials say they have uncovered another problem in cars made by Elon Musk’s Tesla: brake warning lights that were too small.
The electric carmaker has issued a software update to make the font bigger in a recall affecting nearly 2.2 million cars.
It is the latest back and forth between regulators and Tesla.
Officials also said they were stepping up their probe of alleged power steering issues.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said there had been thousands of complaints about a loss of steering control, involving 2023 Model 3 sedans and Y SUVs, and one accident tied to the issue.
The NHTSA started its investigation last July. It is now going to conduct an engineering analysis, which could lead to a recall over the issue.
Small font increases crash risk
The font issues were uncovered in a routine audit earlier this month.
The voluntary recall for the brake, park and antilock system affects almost every vehicle Tesla has sold in the US. It is free for drivers.
No accidents have been associated with the problem, NHTSA said, but “warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash”.
Tesla has faced mounting scrutiny from regulators around the world, as a big jump in production in recent years has put more of its cars on the road.
It recalled more 16 million vehicles in china earlier this month over issues with steering software and its door-locking system, while in December it faced a US recall of about 2 million cars related to its autopilot features.
Complaints about power steering issues have also popped up previously, forcing a recall of about 40,000 cars in the US in 2022.
Tesla has often been able to address issues with remote software updates, unlike traditional recalls which force drivers to return cars to dealerships.
The terminology has drawn criticism from Mr Musk, who last year wrote on social media: “The word ‘recall’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong!”
