Tesla Recalls May Be “Insufficient,” Cabin Cameras Also Appear to Be Overheating

Consumer Reports has raised concerns over Tesla‘s (Nasdaq: TSLA) response to the recent recall of over two million vehicles equipped with the Autopilot system, according to TechCrunch. 

Following preliminary tests, Kelly Funkhouser, the associate director of vehicle technology at the nonprofit organization, found that Tesla’s fix for the recall was deemed “insufficient.” Funkhouser discovered that it was still possible to cover the cabin camera while using Autopilot, effectively disabling one of the primary methods the car uses to monitor if the driver is attentive to the road.

In addition, Funkhouser noted that there were no discernible differences when activating or using Autopilot’s flagship feature, Autosteer, outside of controlled-access highways, where Tesla specifies the software should be utilized. These findings raise questions about the efficacy of Tesla’s approach to driver monitoring, a critical aspect of the recall.

Consumer Reports, known for its rigorous evaluations of automotive technologies, plans to conduct more extensive testing in the coming weeks. Funkhouser mentioned that the organization has not yet evaluated other changes, such as enhanced visual alerts on specific Tesla models, as they have only received the over-the-air software update on the Model S sedan.

Tesla’s recall, affecting more than 2 million vehicles in the US and Canada, coincides with an ongoing two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The focus of the investigation has been on Autosteer, designed to keep a car centered in a lane on controlled-access highways.

Despite Tesla’s emphasis on driver attention and hands-on-wheel requirements, the NHTSA expressed concerns about the effectiveness of these checks, deeming them “insufficient to prevent misuse.” As part of the recall, Tesla introduced a suspension policy that deactivates Autopilot for one week if “improper usage” is detected, but Funkhouser did not encounter this during her tests.

To add to the concerns, some users are noticing that since the recall with the NHTSA requiring (actual) driver monitoring, their cabin cameras — finally used for monitoring drivers using Autopilot — are running much hotter than usual.

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