It’s not uncommon for federal safety recalls to rank among our most popular news articles on — and, frankly, we hope that means people are more aware of whether their vehicle, or that of someone they know, is being called back by the automaker to have a potentially dangerous defect repaired. It’s far less common for one of those vehicles to be a Tesla vehicle. Whether that’s because there are far fewer Tesla cars on the road in comparison to, say, Fords or Toyotas, or whether they have fewer problems, we won’t speculate, here. What we do know is that many, many thousands more curious individuals checked out our recent report on a Tesla Model 3 recall than the total number of luxury electric sedans affected.
Related: The Week in Tesla News: Model 3 Boosts Profits, Model S Returns to ’Ring, Flamethrower Feud and More
The recall — taking the No. 1 spot on our top 10 of the past week — involves fewer than 90 model-year 2019 Tesla Model 3 sedans for the seemingly minor problem of the sun visor not having the required airbag information affixed to it. Seemingly is the key word there, as the absence of that info increases the risk of an injury in a crash. Rest assured, all 80-something owners should be notified by Halloween that they need to head to a Tesla service provider and have their visor replaced for free.
It wasn’t just Tesla attracting a big audience for less-than-desirable reasons. At No. 4 is another recall, this one from Subaru, for a much-more-voluminous 205,000 model-year 2017-19 Impreza cars and 2018 Crosstrek SUVs for a valve defect that could result in a loss of engine power while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of a crash. You can get all the details on both recalls by following the links below.
Rounding out this week’s top five are our preview of the 2019 Miami International Auto Show complete with a list of five things you shouldn’t miss at the show — starting with the 2020 Toyota Highlander and 2020 Toyota Supra — at No. 2; Senior Consumer Affairs Editor Kelsey Mays’ analysis of whether fledgling luxury brand Genesis needs its dealerships to be separate and distinct from parent-brand Hyundai’s in order to provide a true luxury owner experience, at No. 3; and reviewer Mike Hanley’s advice on which version of the all-new-for-2020 Lincoln Aviator you should buy, the regular (gas version) or unleaded (plug-in hybrid version), at No. 5.
And that ain’t the half of it — actually, it’s exactly half of it, which means there’s a lot more news for car shoppers to be had. Here are the top 10 news stories readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. 2019 Tesla Model 3: Recall Alert
2. 2019 Miami Auto Show: 2020 Toyota Highlander and 4 Other Things You Can’t Miss
3. How Badly Does Genesis Need Dealerships?
4. 2017-2019 Subaru Crosstrek, Impreza: Recall Alert
5. Which to Buy? 2020 Lincoln Aviator Vs. Aviator Plug-In Hybrid
6. All the Pickup Truck News: Canyon and Ridgeline Reviewed, 2020 Titan XD Emerges and More
7. Next Honda Fit TBD for USA, But Here’s 4 Cool Things About It
8. The 2020 Lexus LC 500 Is So Good That I Don’t Care About the Annoying Touchpad
9. Want to Buy a Car Before Halloween? Read This Before You Do
10. Top 5 Reviews and Videos of the Week: 2019 GMC Canyon Conquers the Outback
