Tesla Recalls Wall Charger Adapters To Prevent Overheating
Tue, Jan 14 2014
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall Tuesday morning. Tesla said the problem lies in the Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) adapters, which can lead to the adapter, cord or wall outlet overheating during charging. The danger was discovered when a garage caught fire in California in November. It has since resulted at least five incidents that were reported to NHTSA's complaint database.
"These are very rare events, but occasionally the wiring isn't done right," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, according to Bloomberg. "We want people to have absolute comfort, so we're going to be providing them with an upgraded adapter."
The new adapter will include a thermal fuse that will shut off charging if overheating is detected, Musk said. Tesla sent a software update to its customers to deal with the overheating issue back in December, which was designed to trigger a 25 percent reduction in charge current when it sensed a potential overheating.
Tesla said about 2.9 percent of Model S buyers have returned their UMC adapters because of defects.
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By Michael Zak
See also: Tesla recalling 29,000 Model S wall chargers to prevent overheating, Superchargers power Tesla Model S EVs for over 8M miles [UPDATE], Tesla sending free replacement wall charger adapters after garage fire [UPDATE].