The defect
Tesla, Inc. (Tesla) is recalling certain 2020-2021, 2023 Model 3 vehicles. The left and/or right side curtain air bag may have been improperly secured to the roof rail, which could result in a twisted air bag. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 214, "Side Impact Protection" and 226, "Ejection Mitigation."
The risk
A twisted side curtain air bag may improperly deploy, increasing the risk of injury or occupant ejection during a crash.
The remedy
Tesla Service will inspect and realign the left and right side curtain air bag as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 23, 2021. Owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752. Tesla's number for this recall is SB-21-20-006.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 2020, 2021, 2023 |
Components: AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 2020 | 452 | 21 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 2021 | 671 | 22 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 2023 | 428 | 12 |
Other air bags recalls in 2021
65 of the 988 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2021 concerned the air bags; Tesla, Inc. filed 85 campaigns in all.
| 21V980000 16 Dec 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V925000 24 Nov 2021 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 21V923000 24 Nov 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V892000 17 Nov 2021 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 21V874000 10 Nov 2021 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 21V873000 10 Nov 2021 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 21V868000 9 Nov 2021 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 21V860000 5 Nov 2021 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2021