Tesla recalls 20,349 Model 3 and Model Y cars for headlights that shine too bright.

Tesla is physically recalling 20,349 vehicles in the United States because their low-beam headlights can shine brighter than federal rules allow. The company filed the report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on August 4, 2026, in a campaign tracked as NHTSA recall 26V507.

The recall covers 18,735 Model Y vehicles from model years 2020–2023 and 1,614 Model 3 vehicles from model years 2017–2023. What connects them isn’t the car’s age — it’s a specific part. Affected vehicles either left the factory with, or had a service visit install, a headlamp assembly from supplier Marelli Automotive Lighting carrying a manufacturing date of June 2, 2023, or later. In testing, those headlamps put out more light than allowed in the upper-left and upper-right corners of the federally defined low-beam pattern — bright enough, per InsideEVs’ reporting, to reduce visibility for oncoming drivers and raise crash risk, even though a driver behind the wheel likely wouldn’t notice anything different from inside the car.

This isn’t a software fix. Tesla hasn’t finalized a remedy — the company hasn’t said publicly whether the repair will replace the headlamp assembly or re-aim it — but whatever it turns out to be will require a trip to a service center or a mobile service appointment, not an over-the-air update.

Tesla plans to start mailing formal recall notices around September 15, 2026, though many owners are expected to see the notice inside the Tesla app before the letter arrives. If you own a 2017–2023 Model 3 or a 2020–2023 Model Y, the fastest way to check your specific car is to look up your VIN through NHTSA’s recall search or watch for a notification in the Tesla app under your vehicle’s alerts. This is a repair recall, not a stop-drive order — Tesla hasn’t asked owners to park the car in the meantime, only to expect a service visit once a fix is finalized.

If your car doesn’t show up in the recall lookup, no action is needed. Because the affected headlamp assemblies were also used in some service replacements, a car outside the original 2017–2023 Model 3 or 2020–2023 Model Y range could still be included if it received a headlight repair after mid-2023 — VIN lookup, not model year alone, is the reliable check.

Photo by Nicat Teymurov.