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NHTSA defect investigation · Preliminary Evaluation

Tesla preliminary evaluation PE23006

Front seat belt anchor detachment. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the critical fasteners on 6 model years (2021–2023). Opened Mar 24, 2023, closed May 16, 2024 after 14 months. It led to safety recall 23V488000. became a recall

What NHTSA says

Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filed

On March 24, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) after receiving 2 consumer complaints alleging the front seat belts had suddenly detached from the outboard lap pretensioner anchor while in motion in model year (MY) 2022-2023 Tesla Model X vehicles. In its June 19, 2023 response to ODI’s May 4, 2023 Information Request letter of the PE, Tesla reported that its review of field repair data identified 12 additional warranty claims of the subject condition in the affected vehicles. On July 14, 2023, Tesla filed a safety recall (NHTSA No. 23V-488) of 15,869 MY 2021 - 2023 Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles. The recall remedy is an inspection of the 1st row seat belts for proper connection to the pretensioners. Service personnel will resecure the pretensioners or, if necessary, replace the seat belt retractor assembly. In its recall filing, Tesla stated that effective June 22, 2023, it had updated procedures requiring a first-row seat belt to be disconnected from- and reconnected to- its pretensioner anchor to include additional visual aids to assist technicians and require a pull test-step to confirm that the seat belt was reconnected to the pretensioner anchor to specification. In view of the recall action and process updates taken by Tesla, ODI is closing this PE. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

Stage Preliminary Evaluation — NHTSA works to complete one within eight months Opened Mar 24, 2023 Closed May 16, 2024 Manufacturer Tesla, Inc. Components Seat Belts › Critical Fasteners, Seat Belts › Front › Anchorage, Seat Belts › Front, Seat Belts Resulting recall 23V488000

A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.

What this means for an owner

Source: and what happens next

An investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.

This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Model years it names

Source: as NHTSA filed them

A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.

Common questions

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Is PE23006 a recall?

No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 23V488000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.

Is PE23006 still open?

No. It closed on May 16, 2024 and led to recall 23V488000.

Which vehicles does PE23006 cover?

NHTSA opened it on 6 model years: 2023 Tesla Model S, 2022 Tesla Model S, 2021 Tesla Model S, 2023 Tesla Model X, 2022 Tesla Model X, 2021 Tesla Model X. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.