Stop the Presses: NHTSA Recalls 345 Tesla Roadsters for Improperly Tightened Bolt

"IF THE PROBLEM IS NOT ADDRESSED PROMPTLY, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A CRASH."

So reads a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice issued today announcing the recall of 345 Tesla Roadsters, and from the sound of it you'd think the problem was on the scale of, say, steering wheels falling into drivers' laps at highway speeds.

But, nooo. We're talking about a bolt on a rear flange hub that wasn't tightened quite as tightly as it should have been.

So, will 345 Roadster owners be driving to Tesla repair facilities to have their, um, bolts tightened? Nope.

Instead, Tesla has decided its technicians will make house calls at owners' homes or offices. There, according to Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad, the technicians will unscrew the bolt, clean it, and put it back on with just the right amount of torque.

But wait, there's more: Since the technicians are gonna be working on the recalled vehicles - if cleaning and tightening one bolt per car can really be called work - Tesla has instructed them to perform full inspections of the vehicles and upgrade their software for free.

All this and it's not Tesla's fault that the bolts weren't tightened quite enough in the first place. The bolts were improperly torqued during assembly by Lotus, the contract manufacturer of the Roadster chassis. Lotus is conducting a similar recall on some Lotus Elise and Exige vehicles.

"This has nothing to do with Tesla's powertrain or intellectual property whatsoever," Konrad said.

Glad to hear it.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Posted by

Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 3:33 PM

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Lotus, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Plug-In Electric Vehicle, Recall, Tesla Motors, Tesla Roadster