How Over-the-Air Updates Are Changing the Auto Recall Game

While once US automakers shied away from announcing recalls unless regulators urged them to do so, in recent years they’ve become more proactive, issuing them for even minor issues. Replacing a defective part will always require a trip to the mechanic, but as cars become more connected to the internet, manufacturers are beginning to turn to so-called over-the-air updates, both for recalls and for upgrades that can produce extra revenue. In its biggest recall ever, submitted Dec. 12, Tesla Inc. said that it will use the over-the-air approach to fix more than 2 million vehicles after regulators determined its driver-assistance system Autopilot doesn’t do enough to guard against misuse.

Over-the-air updates are revisions to software or firmware delivered wirelessly to electronic devices. Commonly used to update mobile phones and personal computers, they are increasingly being employed in vehicles. As cars become more computerized, over-the-air updates can be used to revise vehicle software as well as driver assistance and infotainment systems. Under federal law, these updates are considered recalls, a situation Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has called anachronistic. Carmakers are required to notify drivers of recalls by mail within 60 days of filing a defect report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, so even if cars are updated automatically, drivers must be informed via snail mail. Some safety groups have agreed with Musk that the rule in some cases is onerous.