123,000 vehicles built prior to April 2016 are affected

Tesla voluntarily issues its recall on defective Model S steering

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Tesla said Thursday it was recalling a large number of Model S sedans worldwide for a problem with power steering. It told customers in an email that this was a proactive measure and none of the company's other vehicles were affected.

WordPress.com

The automaker said 123,000 Model S vehicles built before April 2016 were affected.

No injuries or accidents related to the problem have been reported. Prior to today, their largest Model S recall was when they 90,000 of the vehicles were affected in 2015 by a defective seat belt.

And last year, he recalled 53,000 Model S and Model X on parking brake failure .

In the email, Tesla said it had "observed excessive corrosion on the power steering bolts," but that the problem was more prevalent in colder climates where road salt is used.

"If the bolts fail, the driver can still drive the car, but greater force is required due to the loss or reduction of electrical assistance."

Tesla wrote in the email to customers. "This primarily makes the car more difficult to drive at low speeds and for parallel parking, but does not materially affect control at high speed, where only a small amount of steering wheel force is needed."

Tesla said owners need not stop driving their cars if they have not experienced any problems. The company said it would inform Model S owners when a retrofit, which is estimated to take an hour to install, is ready in their area.

The recall comes as Tesla prepares to report its quarterly deliveries, of which many eyes will be watching as to how many models 3 have ended up in the hands of customers so far this year. While that car still is increasing production the automaker now has another NTSB research that follows a recent fatal crash on a Model X.

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