Tesla Recall 2017: 53,000 Model S, Model X Cars Cited For Parking Brake Issue

Tesla has issued a recall of 53,000 Model S and Model X cars due to an issue with the parking brake on the cars, the manufacturer said Thursday.

In a statement, Tesla found the parking brakes on Model S and Model X units built between February and October 2016 had a gear from a third-party manufacturer that could break and keep the car from moving.

No accidents or injuries have been reported as a result of the issue — Tesla estimates less than 5 percent of cars in the recall may be affected by the faulty gear — but the company will still contact buyers whose cars are potentially affected. Tesla said owners of these cars can still safely drive their vehicles. The repair process will take an estimated 45 minutes.

Tesla stock saw a small dip in price after news of the recall broke. After opening at $306.75 Thursday, shares dipped $301.63 later in the day.

Via TechCrunch, here’s part of the email Tesla is sending customers:

Tesla recently discovered a potential manufacturing issue with the electric parking brakes installed on certain Model S and Model X vehicles that could prevent the parking brake from releasing. We do not believe this issue could ever lead to a safety concern for our customers, and we have not seen a single accident or injury relating to it. However, in order to be overly cautious, we are going to be proactively replacing these parts to ensure that no issues arise.

Specifically, we have determined that the electric parking brakes installed on Model S and Model X vehicles built between February and October 2016 may contain a small gear that could have been manufactured improperly by our third‑party supplier. If this gear were to break, the parking brake would continue to keep the car from moving, but the parking brake would then be stuck in place. There have been no reports of the parking brake system failing to hold a parked vehicle or failing to stop a vehicle in an emergency as a result of this condition, and this part has no impact on the car’s regular braking systems. We have also determined that only a very small percentage of gears in vehicles built during this period were manufactured improperly.