By Akash Sriram and David Shepardson
(Reuters) -Tesla has issued a recall for about 9,100 Model X sports utility vehicles in the U.S. over a trim on the roof that could separate, it said on Wednesday, its second over the same issue since 2020.
Front and center roof cosmetic trim pieces may be adhered without primer, and could separate from the vehicle creating a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The recall covers 2016 model year Model X SUVs. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) said a change in process had been made at the supplier in July 2016 to prevent the issue in later models.
The company will test adhesion of the roof trim and reattach the trim pieces as necessary at no cost to owners of the vehicles.
Since 2022 Tesla has been studying reports of issues involving vehicles that had undergone the recall remedy and conducted aging tests, including heat and humidity, it said on Wednesday.
It concluded the 2020 recall remedy was not robust enough to detect cosmetic roof trim pieces that may detach due to lack of primer.
Tesla said it is aware of about 170 reports and claims that may be related to the issue, but said it has no reports of crashes or injuries tied to the recall issues.
This marks a rare physical recall for the Austin, Texas-based automaker, which usually fixes issues through over-the-air software updates.
Tesla recalled nearly 2.6 million vehicles due to safety concerns in the first six months of the year, only behind Ford Motor (NYSE:F) which has recalled about 3.6 million vehicles in the U.S., according to recall management platform developer Bizzycar.