Over-the-Air (OTA) Update Status

as of October 10, 2025

An OTA (over-the-air) update is a corrective action delivered by the manufacturer directly to vehicles over cellular or Wi‑Fi networks, allowing software fixes to be applied without a dealer visit. The first widely recognized recall remedied via OTA was in 2014 by Tesla on the NHTSA site, which addressed voltage fluctuations that could lead to fires.

Incidents: OTA vs Dealership (Stacked)

Stacked bars display recalls per year. hover on a bar to see count.

Notes: Data is from NHTSA. We flag a defect as "OTA servicable" if it identifies OTA in the corrective action of the recall (having text OTA, over the air, or over-the-air). Otherwise the defect is counted as dealer servicable