Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving will no longer have “rolling stop” functionality.
Following meetings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla will recall 53,822 vehicles with the FSD system to disable a previously programmed feature, wherein cars could slowly roll through stop signs under certain conditions.
The recall campaign affects models across the entire range — including Model 3, Model X, Model S and Model Y. Vehicles that have the beta version of Full-Self Driving fitted currently have a “rolling stop feature” that allowed them to move through stop signs when it’s enabled (through what’s called “Assertive Mode”), without coming to a complete stop. According to the NHTSA, cars with the system active have to be traveling below 5.6 mph while approaching an intersection. If the system sees no “relevant” moving obstacles — other vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians — it will proceed without stopping. The prevailing speed limit on all roads leading up to an intersection also have to have a speed limit of 30 mph or less.
At this time, Tesla notes it is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the feature. Nevertheless, intentionally programming that feature into the system ran afoul of NHTSA regulations. “The Vehicle Safety Act prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with defects posing unreasonable risks to safety, including intentional design choices that are unsafe. I the information shows that a safety risk may exist, NHTSA will act immediately,” the administration said in a statement. Failing to completely stop when approaching a stop sign, it reasons, unduly increases the risk of an accident.
The firmware will be patched through an over-the-air update
In agreement with the NHTSA, Tesla will disable the rolling stop functionality within Full Self-Driving through an OTA update later this month. While its name would suggest otherwise, drivers should expect to take over from either Autopilot or Full Self-Driving systems in certain situations, and neither system is truly fully autonomous at this point in time.
The administration said in a past statement that it is looking into a crash allegedly caused by Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system in Brea, California last November. It is also looking into some cases where Tesla vehicles collided into emergency vehicles while using the less advanced Autopilot system.
