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Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will recall a total of 21599 domestic Model Y electric vehicles from February 4, 2021 to October 30, 2021, according to the latest announcement from the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration on the afternoon of December 3.

The reason for the recall is that the strength of the front and rear steering knuckle may not meet the design requirements due to the manufacture of some vehicles. The steering knuckle may be deformed or broken during the use of the vehicle, which may cause the suspension connecting rod to break out of the steering knuckle under extreme force, which will affect the driving control of the vehicle, increase the risk of collision accidents, and there are hidden dangers. In view of the above defects, Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will inspect the front and rear steering knuckle of the vehicle in the recall area free of charge, and replace the steering knuckle whose strength does not meet the requirements, in order to eliminate the safety hidden danger. Tesla reminded: before the vehicle recall and maintenance, users should drive the vehicle carefully and contact the Tesla service center for maintenance as soon as the recall begins.

According to the recall announcement, Tesla attributed the recall to "supplier manufacturing reasons, the front and rear steering knuckle strength may not meet the design requirements", and the "supplier" involved may be Top Group. Tesla recalled 826 2020-2022 Model Y cars in the United States on Nov. 21 because the front and rear suspension steering knuckle may have broken, causing the suspension arm to separate. Suspension arm separation may reduce the stability and control of the vehicle and increase the risk of collision.

Tesla warned that if the deformation or fracture is enough to separate the steering knuckle from the suspension connecting rod, "the wheel alignment may move and cause instability, which may adversely affect the handling of the vehicle and increase the risk of collision." According to Tesla, the supplier Ningbo Topu will not fully quench the parts with enough quenchant, resulting in weaker parts.

Affected by the news, the share price of Top Group plummeted, falling 8.86%. According to the data, Ningbo Top Group Co., Ltd. is an auto parts enterprise listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is mainly committed to the R & D and manufacture of automobile power chassis system, decoration system, intelligent driving control system and other fields. It is a supplier of Tesla suspension castings.

With regard to the fracture of the Model Y suspension, the problem has been publicly exposed by car owners this morning. On December 3, a Model Y owner posted in the community that he was driving a Model Y when he was parked on the side of a flat road when he suddenly heard a loud noise and the car was obviously sinking. Then he got out of the car and found that the right front wheel had been misplaced. The car owner said, "as the first owners of MODEL Y, they were so overjoyed to get the car, and now they are so discouraged to protect their rights."

From the pictures exposed by the owner, the right front side of the Model Y obviously sinks, and the wheel arch "lies" directly on the tire. Seen from the bottom of the vehicle, it was suspected that the suspension arm had fallen off and a number of bolts fell to the ground.

Video screenshots of car owners ▲

After the accident, the car owner immediately contacted the staff of Tesla service center and the accident surveyor of the insurance company. The owner said that the surveyor initially determined that the problem of the vehicle was not caused by the accident and that the front swing arm fell off, and the insurance company was unable to rescue the vehicle, because the fall off of the swing arm may cause secondary damage to the vehicle. Tesla service technician said that there is no sign of external force collision traces, excluding the possibility of suspension shedding caused by external force impact. In this regard, the owner believes that the Model Y front suspension shedding is a natural fault.

The content of the owner's article ▲

As for the cause of the accident, Manager Chen of Tesla Service Center said that it was impossible to give the specific cause of the accident and it was impossible to judge why the  suspension fell off naturally. When the car owner asked whether the Model Y front suspension shedding was an individual case or a group case, Manager Chen replied, "it's a personal case."

What makes people feel strange is that Tesla asked the car owner to inquire about the safety risks of the front suspension on his own initiative to check the announcement at the same time as the car owner incident. A user posted: the inspection of front suspension bolts and fastening half-shaft nuts, so that there are friends in the group recalled? According to the chat screenshot provided by the user, when he asked Tesla staff to check whether the vehicle was within the scope of the recall, the user's vehicle was indeed within the scope of the recall, but Tesla denied that it was a recall but an activity.

The car owner said that after understanding, many car owners did not take the initiative to check the suspension, Tesla carried out the corresponding inspection. The owner of the car asked Manager Chen of Tesla Service Center. Tesla took the initiative to check whether the suspension was true. Manager Chen responded that it was only a routine inspection and there was no deliberate maintenance. Based on this, the car owner believes that not all Tesla Model Y vehicles have suspension safety risks, and they can know whether the vehicle needs to be inspected by the vehicle identification number. Tesla is aware of this hidden danger, but has not made a recall.

The car owner sighed in the article: I am glad that I am lucky. The day before the incident, I was galloping on the highway and proudly showing off the convenience and comfort of -assisted driving with my family. But I don't know, if my suspension falls off on the highway, I will see you in my next life with my family.

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