(ABC 6 NEWS) – Tesla is recalling nearly every car it has sold in the United States.

The issue is with more than two million cars equipped with Tesla’s controversial Autopilot technology; a driver assistance feature safety advocates say should include safety systems that activate if a driver is not paying attention.

For more than five years, government regulators and safety advocates including Consumer Reports have warned about the lack of safeguards on Tesla’s Autopilot after a series of crashes, some of them deadly.

“This recall is long overdue. Tesla Autopilot is behind the pack when it comes to safety and when it comes to making sure that people are engaged. After all, this system is not self-driving. It’s advanced, but it cannot drive the car. And so, it needs to have safeguards in place to make sure people are paying attention,” Will Wallace from Consumer Reports said.

Tesla says it will fix the problem with an over-the-air software update that will incorporate additional alerts for drivers to stay alert and keep their hands on the steering wheel while Autopilot is engaged. Consumer Reports will assess the update as soon as it’s available.