Canada’s auto safety regulator said it had opened an investigation into the heating system of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles following 16 consumer complaints about its performance in cold weather.
The agency, Transport Canada, said it was concerned that a malfunctioning heating and air-conditioning system “may affect windshield defogging/defrosting and therefore driver visibility.”
“A company is required to notify Transport Canada and all current owners when they become aware of a defect that could affect the safety of a person,” it said, describing the process as a “safety recall.”
The regulator said it had informed Tesla of the investigation.
Tesla did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “Model Y heat pump is some of the best engineering I’ve seen in a while.”
A number of Tesla owners complained that the heat pumps are failing in extreme cold temperatures, according to Drive Tesla Canada, a Tesla news provider. The report said the heating problems happened even after Tesla early last year replaced faulty sensors in heat pumps in some 2020-2021 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to address the issue.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, did not have an immediate comment on the issue.
Tesla is facing the recall of more than 475,000 of its Model 3 and Model S EVs to address rearview camera and trunk issues that increase the risk of crashing, the U.S. road safety regulator said in December.