2024 turned out to be a tough year for the American automotive industry, with over 25 million vehicles being recalled by different automakers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded a total of 1,052 individual recall campaigns during this period.
These recalls were based on various reasons, including electrical glitches, fluid leaks, fire risks, or pickup truck tailgates unlatching unexpectedly, incorrect details printed on labels, and more.
Among all the automakers, the top ten companies were responsible for approximately one-third of these recalls, with Tesla topping the charts by recalling the most, over 5.1 million cars, while Stellantis turned out to be the worst offender in terms of most recalls.
Automaker | No Of Issued Recalls | Affected Vehicles |
Tesla | 15 | 5,135,697 |
Stellantis | 72 | 4,804,285 |
Ford | 63 | 4,382,695 |
Honda | 18 | 3,794,113 |
General Motors | 33 | 1,872,521 |
BMW | 36 | 1,832,968 |
Toyota | 16 | 1,221,666 |
Kia | 19 | 1,211,778 |
Hyundai | 25 | 1,109,978 |
Volkswagen | 18 | 1,088,407 |
Tesla led the American automotive industry in 2024 by recalling about about 5,135,697 vehicles across 15 separate actions. The most recalls for the automaker were related to design and software problems, highlighting their reliance on over-the-air (OTA) updates to resolve many issues without requiring customers to visit service centers.
The largest recall was in January, affecting about 2.19 million cars due to a font size issue with brake, park, and antilock brake system warning lights that were too small. Tesla addressed this through a software update.
In July, around 1.85 million vehicles were recalled due to a software bug that failed to detect unlatched hoods, which the company again fixed remotely with an OTA update.
The popular Tesla Cybertruck saw two notable recalls. In April, nearly 3,900 units were recalled for loose accelerator pedal pads, whereas in December over 27,000 units were called back for a delayed rearview activation. Tesla resolved both these issues via software updates.
Tesla’s use of OTA updates reduces inconvenience for customers, raising concerns about the adequacy of its software testing. The NHTSA has urged the company to improve its pre-release testing to prevent such widespread issues.

Here is a summary of all of Tesla’s recalls by month, including the affected models and the reasons for each recall:
Month | Affected Models | Reason for Recall |
January | All Tesla vehicles | Font size of visual warning indicators for brake, park, and antilock brake was below the minimum required size. |
February | All Tesla vehicles | Safety warning signals appeared in too small a font size. |
May | All Tesla vehicles | Seat belt warning may not activate due to an open trace in the driver seat occupancy switch. |
July | All Tesla vehicles | Software failure to detect unlatched hoods. |
August | 2024 Cybertruck vehicles | Excessive electrical current causing front windshield wiper motor controller failure. |
November | 2024 Cybertruck vehicles | Rearview camera image may not activate promptly after shifting into reverse. |
December | All Tesla vehicles | Tire pressure monitoring system may fail to provide adequate warnings. |
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