Recall has a specific legal meaning for calls. That’s why it’s used. The law authorizes the government to demand “recalls”.
It does not specify how that’s done. Software update, dealership visit, roaming packs of mechanics.
This isn’t a conspiracy to make Tesla look bad, it’s the correct term.
Simply qualifying the overloaded term as "software recall" would suffice.
Never happens though.
Should we have a separate term for "a recall that isn't related to losing control of the vehicle and crashing"?
It sounds bad to associate my car needing a zip tie to minimize wear with your car needing a software patch to not crash.
that way you know whether to make sure you got the update or know to take the car in physically.
severity for both can differ, that's what the details are for.
A software recall can require bringing the vehicle in physically. That happened with Rivian's update recall in 2023. Likewise, there are hardware recalls that don't involve taking the vehicle in physically, like the Kia immobilizer recall that involved them mailing a lock bar to certain customers.
if you can't fix it via a software update, it's hardware.
not a hard concept to grasp.
you aren't overloading those words as "recall" is in the phrase.
And the Kia recall was an example of a hardware recall that didn't require the owner to visit a shop. Both are possible, so trying using software and hardware to differentiate between shop visits is overloading the terms.