- tesla will issue an over-the-air software update to disable the "rolling stop" feature in the full self-driving beta as part of a national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) recall.
- the feature allows teslas equipped with the fsd beta to travel through a four-way-stop intersection at up to 5.6 mph without coming to a complete stop.
- tesla says it is not aware of any incidents caused by the feature, and the update will be released in early february.
tesla will recall 53,822 vehicles by issuing an over-the-air software update disabling a feature called "rolling stop" found in the full self-driving beta software, documents on the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) recalls site said today. the recall affects nearly every model s, x, 3, and y with the full self-driving beta running firmware release 2020.40.4.10 or newer.
the feature in question, "rolling stop," permits the vehicle, when operating in the full self-driving beta, to drive through a four-way-stop intersection at up to 5.6 mph if a list of criteria are met. nhtsa points out that "entering an all-way-stop intersection without coming to a complete stop may increase the risk of collision."
the conditions that must be met for the "rolling stop" feature to activate include it being enabled in the fsd beta profile settings and that the vehicle is approaching a four-way stop at under 5.6 mph. other criteria include that "no relevant moving cars are detected near the intersection" as well as "no relevant pedestrians or bicyclists" and that there is "sufficient visibility for the vehicle while approaching the intersection." lastly, all of the intersecting roads need to have a speed limit of 30 mph or less. if these conditions are met, the vehicle will drive through the intersection at a speed between 0.1 and 5.6 mph without coming to a complete stop first; if not, the vehicle will come to a full stop.
the firmware including the "rolling stop" feature was released via an over-the-air update to vehicles with the fsd beta on october 20, 2020. tesla and the nhsta met this year on january 10 and january 19, with a recall determination made on january 20 to shut down the feature starting with firmware release 2021.44.30.15, which is expected to be released over the air to affected vehicles in early february.
tesla said it "is not aware of any collisions, injuries or fatalities related to this condition." the update will be free for owners, who can check nhtsa's recalls website for updates.