Federal Regulators Investigating Tesla’s Autopilot Recall Fix

CR’s car safety experts say changes to warning messages and controls don’t go far enough to prevent misuse and distraction

By Keith Barry

Published February 12, 2024 . Updated April 26, 2024

Tesla Model Y driving — CR's Tesla Model Y

Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have opened a new investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot active driving assistance (ADA) system software to evaluate the adequacy of the changes made by a recent safety recall of over 2 million vehicles.

Earlier this year, Consumer Reports’ own testing found that the recall doesn’t adequately address many safety concerns raised by a federal investigation into Autopilot, in which NHTSA found driver misuse of the system played a role in at least 13 fatal crashes and “many more” involving serious injuries.

“Other automakers have effective safeguards that reduce the likelihood of misuse and driver distraction when using active driving assistance,” says Kelly Funkhouser, associate director of vehicle technology at CR’s auto test center. “However, Tesla’s remedy addresses minor inconveniences rather than fixing the real problems.”

For example, Autopilot still does not have an effective driver monitoring system and does not allow a seamless collaboration between lane-centering assistance (LCA) and the driver’s own steering inputs.

As a recall fix, all Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3 vehicles equipped with Autopilot received software version 2023.44.30 as an over-the-air (OTA) update in December 2023. Tesla said it voluntarily released the software in the interest of resolving the NHTSA investigation, which began in 2021. The Cybertruck was not named in the recall, nor was Tesla’s so-called Full Self Driving (FSD) feature, which has already been subject to a different recall.

"In light of Consumer Reports’ findings and NHTSA’s investigation into Autopilot, we are pleased that NHTSA is revisiting this recall," says William Wallace, CR’s associate director of safety policy. "NHTSA should move quickly to require Tesla to take stronger steps that will reduce crashes and better protect people’s safety.”

According to documents provided by NHTSA, the new investigation comes after the agency looked into crashes of vehicles that received the software update and did its own testing of vehicles running the new software. In addition, NHTSA says it will also look into why Tesla owners must opt into a portion of the software update, why drivers can undo it, and why later software updates to Autopilot were not included in the recall.

Wallace says it isn’t just Tesla that needs to add stronger protections to its cars. "We’re concerned that a number of automakers’ systems present similar safety risks," he says. "NHTSA should examine these systems to see whether they warrant a recall, and launch a rulemaking to require new vehicles in the future to come with effective safeguards that verify the driver is looking at the road if they’re using an active driving assistance system."

In documents provided to NHTSA, Tesla said the new Autopilot software will increase the prominence of visual alerts, simplify engagement and disengagement of Autosteer (Tesla’s name for LCA, which is part of Autopilot), implement new checks on engaging the feature, and suspend drivers from using Autopilot if they don’t use it responsibly, such as leaving their hands off the wheel for an extended period of time. (Tesla did not respond to CR’s questions about the recall.)

Consumer Reports put those claims to the test in our own 2020 Model Y and 2021 Model S. Here’s what we found when we tested each feature listed in the software update’s release notes.

Driver Attention and the In-Cabin Camera

What Tesla says: “Increased the strictness of driver attentiveness requirements when using Autosteer and approaching traffic lights and stops [sic] signs off-highway.”

What CR found: If your hands are off the wheel and you’re going through a signalized intersection without another car in front, or if a traffic light turns from red to green, Autopilot will now display a message on the center screen that says, "Apply slight turning force to the steering wheel."

However, Autopilot still lacks an effective direct driver-monitoring system (DDMS), which we believe is essential to the safe operation of ADA systems. Although the in-cabin camera is capable of determining if the driver is looking away, the camera can be covered entirely and Autopilot will still work on all road types without warning the driver that the camera is blocked.

Additionally, when we covered the camera and kept one hand resting on the steering wheel, the vehicle did not limit Autopilot use or give any warnings to pay attention. According to Funkhouser, the driver could be asleep or completely distracted and the car wouldn’t warn them as long as they are holding the wheel.

Tesla Model Y driver monitoring camera — Tesla's in-car camera

New Warnings and Notifications

What Tesla says: “Improved visibility of driver monitoring warning alerts on the touchscreen by increasing the text size and moving the notifications to a more prominent position.” These changes apply to the Model 3 and Model Y only.

What CR found: Warnings such as "Apply slight turning force to steering wheel" and "Please pay attention to the road" got slightly larger and moved from the bottom to the top of the screen. Due to the design of the Model 3 and Model Y, the only place to display warnings is on the center screen. As a result, these messages actually draw the driver’s eyes to the center screen inside the car rather than toward the outside roadway.

Tesla Model Y update screen — Tesla's new Autopilot activation menu

Engaging Autopilot

What Tesla says: “Added option to activate Autopilot features with a single click, instead of two, to help simplify activation and disengagement.”

What CR found: Autopilot is Tesla’s name for the driving mode in which both adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane centering assistance (LCA) are working at the same time. Previously, drivers could engage ACC alone with a single pull of the steering wheel stalk. A second pull would also activate LCA. Drivers now have the option to activate Autopilot with a single pull of the steering wheel stalk instead of a double pull.

Our testers found that this change could present a challenge: With single-pull activation, drivers are unable to use ACC alone without LCA unless they change a setting in the vehicle menu. If you are using Autopilot and manually steer the vehicle to avoid a pothole or an obstacle, it disengages both LCA and ACC at the same time, and the vehicle stops maintaining a set speed. With double-pull activation, manually overriding the steering only disengages LCA, and not ACC.

“No other system on the market turns off ACC when you apply steering to avoid a pothole,” says Funkhouser. “It makes you unpredictable to other drivers and creates unnecessary steps to reactivate the system again—rather than just reactivating LCA, you also have to reset the ACC speed, too.”

Autopilot Strikes and Suspensions

What Tesla says: “Introduced a Suspension Policy that will restrict Autosteer usage for one week if improper usage is detected. Improper usage occurs when you, or another driver of your vehicle, receive five ‘Forced Autopilot Disengagements.’”

What CR found: FSD always had a five-strikes-and-you’re-out policy. Now, it also applies to Autopilot. The strike count is combined for the systems.

Our Model Y currently has two strikes: We got one while testing the limits of the in-cabin camera by looking away from the road while driving. We got the second when the tester was looking at the road and their hands were actively moving the steering wheel, but the system didn’t recognize the input. “The ‘strikes’ policy is not an effective method for teaching safe driving behavior because the system isn’t accurately detecting driver engagement,” says Funkhouser.

Keith Barry

Keith Barry has been an auto reporter at Consumer Reports since 2018. He focuses on safety, technology, and the environmental impact of cars. Previously, he led home and appliance coverage at Reviewed; reported on cars for USA Today, Wired, and Car & Driver; and wrote for other publications as well. Keith earned a master’s degree in public health from Tufts University. Follow him on Twitter @itskeithbarry.