Failed twice in a row, impressive.

"The word "recall" is just a formality here."

"Since when is having to acknowledge that your steering might fail a formality?"

They didn't say that acknowledging an issue is a formality. They said the use of the word "recall" is the formality. In the classic sense, you would need to bring in your car somewhere to have a repair done, or even to update the firmware. This is not the case here. It was an over the air update.