Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Elon Musk-led Tesla, the company announced a recall for nearly 13,000 vehicles in the United States. The announcement comes after Tesla discovered a battery defect that could completely cut drive power and leave drivers stranded without warning. This Tesla recall affects recently manufactured models covering model year 2025 Model 3 sedans and 2026 Model Y SUVs.
The problem lies in the battery pack contactor manufactured with a solenoid from InTiCa, a component that can fail and cause a sudden loss of drive power while the vehicle is in motion. While this could be a potentially life-threatening failure, Tesla says they haven’t received reports of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the battery issue so far.
Tesla
Tesla
Bad News For Model Y and Model 3 Owners
This NHTSA recall is calling in almost 8,000 Model Y SUVs and just over 5,000 Model 3 sedans that were manufactured between March and August of this year. The recall states that the offending solenoid may open due to a poor coil termination connection, resulting in a loss of power. Tesla notes that if this happens when the car is stationary, owners just won’t get going at all. The larger issue is if the battery contractor fails when the car is in motion, as all drive power will be cut.
By early October, the company had already logged 36 warranty claims and 26 field reports related to this battery problem, prompting the recall. The safety recall comes at a challenging time for Tesla, which recently rolled out lower-priced Standard versions of these same models to attract budget-conscious buyers, while also being probed by the NHTSA for FSD-related concerns.
Free Hardware Fix In Latest Tesla Recall
The fix for this electric vehicle recall is straightforward enough. Tesla will replace the faulty battery pack contactor free of charge at authorized service centers. Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted directly by Tesla with instructions on how to schedule their repair.
If you own a recent Model 3 or Model Y, it’s worth checking Tesla’s website to see if your vehicle made the list. At least Tesla’s handling this battery recall the old-fashioned way with actual mechanical repairs rather than trying to push an over-the-air software update and calling it a day.
About the author
Simran Rastogi
Senior Editor