Incident: Tesla Model 3 Rear Bumper Detachment Issue in Standing Water

Published Date: 2020-10-21

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving the design flaw in Tesla Model 3 rear bumpers occurred before May 21 of the year before the article was published on October 21, 2020 [106923]. Therefore, the software failure incident happened in April 2019.
System Unknown
Responsible Organization unknown
Impacted Organization 1. Tesla owners of Model 3 sedans built before May 21 of the previous year were impacted by the design flaw involving detaching rear bumpers when driving through standing water [106923].
Software Causes Unknown.
Non-software Causes 1. Poor design involving detaching rear bumpers in Tesla Model 3 sedans built before May 21 of the previous year [106923].
Impacts 1. The impact of the software failure incident in the Tesla Model 3 involved the risk of rear fascias being ripped off when driving through standing water, leading to potential safety hazards for drivers [106923].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough testing procedures during the design and development phase to identify potential design flaws related to detaching rear bumpers [106923]. 2. Conducting comprehensive simulations and real-world scenario testing to assess the impact of driving through standing water on the vehicle components, including the software systems [106923]. 3. Regularly monitoring and analyzing customer feedback and field data to proactively identify any emerging issues related to the design or functionality of the software systems [106923].
Fixes 1. The software failure incident involving the design flaw in Tesla Model 3 rear bumpers could be fixed by implementing a software update to address the issue causing the bumper detachment when encountering standing water [106923].
References 1. Tesla's official statement 2. Service bulletin obtained by Electrek [106923]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to either one_organization or multiple_organization. Therefore, the information about the software failure incident happening again at a specific organization or across multiple organizations is unknown.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, unknown (a) The article mentions a possible design flaw in Tesla Model 3 involving detaching rear bumpers when drivers motor through standing water. Tesla acknowledged this design hiccup and issued a formal service bulletin for the problem, indicating a failure related to the design phase of the system [106923]. (b) The article does not provide specific information about a software failure incident related to the operation or misuse of the system.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the rear bumper detachment issue in Tesla Model 3 vehicles is primarily within the system. The article mentions that the issue occurs in Model 3 sedans built before a certain date when drivers drive through standing water, causing pressure on the harnesses and body fasteners, leading to the rear bumper ripping off. This indicates that the failure is related to the design and construction of the vehicle itself, which is an internal system factor [106923].
Nature (Human/Non-human) unknown (a) The software failure incident related to non-human actions in this case is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. Therefore, it is unknown whether the failure was due to contributing factors introduced without human participation. (b) The software failure incident related to human actions in this case is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. Therefore, it is unknown whether the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by human actions.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) unknown (a) The article does not mention any software or hardware failure incidents related to the Tesla Model 3 rear bumper issue. Therefore, it is unknown whether the incident was caused by hardware or software factors.
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to a malicious or non-malicious objective. Therefore, the information to determine whether the software failure was malicious or non-malicious is unknown.
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to poor_decisions or accidental_decisions. Therefore, the intent of the software failure incident in this case is unknown.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to development incompetence or accidental factors. Therefore, the information related to these options is unknown.
Duration unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to the Tesla Model 3 rear bumper design flaw. Therefore, the duration of the software failure incident in this case is unknown.
Behaviour unknown (a) crash: The article does not mention a software crash as the cause of the issue. It primarily discusses a design flaw in the Model 3 that could lead to the rear bumper detaching when driving through standing water [106923]. (b) omission: The article does not indicate that the software omitted to perform its intended functions. The focus is on the design flaw related to the rear bumper issue [106923]. (c) timing: The article does not mention any timing-related failures where the system performed its intended functions but at the wrong time. The issue discussed is related to the design flaw causing the rear bumper to detach in specific conditions [106923]. (d) value: The article does not describe a failure where the system performed its intended functions incorrectly. The issue highlighted is related to the design flaw leading to the detachment of the rear bumper in certain circumstances [106923]. (e) byzantine: The article does not mention a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The issue discussed is related to a specific design flaw in the Model 3 [106923]. (f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident is not explicitly mentioned in the article. The focus is on the design flaw involving the rear bumper detachment issue in the Model 3 [106923].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence unknown The article does not mention any software failure incident related to consequences such as death, harm, basic needs impact, property damage, delays, or impact on non-human entities. It specifically discusses a design flaw in Tesla Model 3 cars related to the rear bumper detaching when driving through standing water. The consequence mentioned is related to the physical impact on the car itself, specifically the rear fascia ripping off due to water pressure on harnesses and body fasteners. The issue is addressed by Tesla through a service bulletin to repair the problem under warranty, providing a new rear fascia with an updated design to prevent detachment in such situations. Therefore, the consequence of the software failure incident is not directly related to the options provided in the question.
Domain transportation The software failure incident reported in the article [106923] is related to the transportation industry. Specifically, the incident involves a design flaw in Tesla's Model 3 sedans that could result in the rear fascias being ripped off when drivers motor through standing water. This issue affects the transportation sector as it directly impacts the functionality and safety of vehicles on the road.

Sources

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