What 59 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Tesla Model S Bev

MCU FAILURE CAUSING COMPLETE LOSS OF INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, NO BACKUP CAMERA, NO DEFROST CONTROLS, AND INABILITY TO ACCESS ANY OTHER FUNCTIONS ASIDE FROM HAZARD LIGHTS. THIS FAILURE HAPPED WHEN I STOPPED TO RECHARGE THE CAR. AFTER A WHILE AND A SYSTEM RESET, I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN. STILL SEEING INTERMITTENT FAILURES.

NHTSA ODI 11331627

AROUND JUNE 2018 THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) OF MY MODEL S COMPLETELY FROZE BEFORE I LEFT MY HOME FOR WORK. THE SCREEN DID NOT UPDATE AND DID NOT RESPOND TO ANY TOUCH. I REBOOTED THE MCU WHILE DRIVING BUT THE SCREEN REMAINED BLACK. I COULD NO LONGER USE BACK-UP CAMERA, DON'T KNOW IF TURN SIGNALS WORK, TURN ON HEADLIGHTS, CHANGE CLIMATE CONTROL, ETC. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO WORK SAFELY AND TRIED TO USE THE CHARGEPOINT STATIONS OFFERED AT WORK. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN SCHEDULED CHARGING, SO I COULDN'T CHARGE FROM WORK. I EVEN LEFT WORK TO TRY TO USE THE SUPERCHARGER AT THE FREMONT HUB IN CA, THINKING IT WOULD BYPASS THE SCHEDULED CHARGING. THAT DID NOT WORK EITHER. THIS WAS BAD AS I REMEMBER HAVING ABOUT 30% OF CHARGE LEFT. SINCE IT WAS AN EMERGENCY, THE TESLA REP WAS KIND ENOUGH TO LET ME SKIP APPOINTMENTS AND ALLOWED ME TO BRING MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE IMMEDIATELY. I END UP PAYING A TOTAL OF $2,270.50 TO REPLACE THE MCU. THEY REPLACED IT WITH THE SAME MCU MODEL THAT WILL EXHIBIT THE SAME PROBLEM DOWN THE ROAD. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331103

LOSS OF REAR VIEW CAMERA. THE MIDDLE TOUCH SCREEN OR MCU QUIT WORKING. THIS IS MY 3RD MCU. THE CAR HAS 41K MILES. THE LAST ONE LASTED JUST OVER 1 YEAR, JUST OUT OF A 1 YEAR WARRANTY. THE MCU CONTROLS ALMOST ALL FEATURES OF THE CAR, INCLUDING THE REAR CAMERA FOR BACKING UP. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330717

MULTIPLE TIMES MY MASTER CONTROL UNIT IN MY CAR IS FREEZING AND LOCKING UP. IT REQUIRES A HARD REBOOT WHICH TAKES SEVERAL MINUTES TO COME BACK TO LIFE. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 5 TIMES IN THE LAST WEEK WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS. I HAVE NO CONTROL OF ANY FUNCTION THAT THE MCU IS IN CHARGE OF WHILE THIS HAPPENS. IT IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING TO HAVE HAPPEN WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. IT IS NOT ALWAYS IN SAFE PLACE I.E. THE FREEWAY WHERE I CAN PULL OFF AND RESTART IT. ONE TIME IT HAPPENED WHILE PARKED STARTING MY CAR AND A MESSAGE POPPED UP TO PUSH BOTH SCROLL WHEELS ON THE STEERING WHEEL BECAUSE THE MCU WAS UNRESPONSIVE. IT WOULD NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO DRIVE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330739

CAR WON'T START, COMPUTER PROBLEMS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS TESLA HAD NO RECORD OF PRIOR COMPLAINTS AND NO REMEDY. LEFT STRANDED MULTIPLE TIMES. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330814

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) FAILED TO OPERATE AS DESIGNED, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF THE USE OF TOUCHSCREEN FUNCTIONS. THE CONTACT MANUALLY ACTIVATED THE MCU USING THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL. TESLA (1200 OLD SKOKIE VALLEY RD, HIGHLAND PARK, IL 60035) WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE REPAIR WAS STILL PENDING. THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED A LOANER VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 73,000. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED.

NHTSA ODI 11330840

EACH TIME THE TESLA S IS STARTED THE LARGE TOUCH DISPLAY SCREEN IS INOPERATIVE. NO FUNCTION ON THE SCREEN WORKS. THE REARVIEW CAMERA, CELL PHONE OR ANY FUNCTION-HAVE,SUNROOF,GARAGE DOOR CLOSE, ETC. THE SCREEN HAS TO BE RESET TAKING 5 MINUTES. THE CAR CAN BE DRIVEN BY ALL SCREEN FUNCTIONS INCLUDING CHARGING ARE IMPACTED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330507

TOUCHSCREEN LOCKS UP AND PERIODICALLY NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. GETTING WORSE, ALSO NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED EACH MORNING WHEN STARTING. SEVERAL TIMES THE TOUCHSCREEN NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED MULTIPLE TIMES IN A ROW. DID ASK A TESLA SERVICE PERSON ABOUT IT TODAY, THEY SEEM WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT WILL NOT FIX SINCE THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I CONSIDER IT A SAFETY ISSUE, DO NOT FEEL SAFE REBOOTING WHILE DRIVING. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AT SALVAGE WITH SOME BODY DAMAGE, FIX MYSELF ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. IN NO WAY IS THIS ISSUE RELATED. HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR 2 YEARS AND 53,000 MILES SINCE I FIXED IT. TESLA CANCELS WARRANTIES AND OTHER ON ANY CAR INVOLVED IN ANY TYPE OF INCIDENT SO I MOSTLY FIX MYSELF. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330611

ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO MY MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) AND TOUCHSCREEN FAILED, REQUIRING A REPLACEMENT. I JUST READ AN ARTICLE THAT YOU ARE INVESTIGATING THESE FAILURES AND WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME MORE EXAMPLES IF DESIRED. AS YOU PROBABLY WELL KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE A COMMON PROBLEM. BEFORE REPLACEMENT, NOT ALL VEHICLE FUNCTIONALITY AND SETTINGS WERE AVAILABLE, AND THE MCU COULD NO LONGER GET SOFTWARE UPDATES, WHICH TESLA PERSONNEL STATED WOULD EVENTUALLY BE A SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330651

THIS COMPLAINT MAY REFER TO THE REFERENCE NUMBER PROVIDED BELOW: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP19005 - INVESTIGATION SUBJECT: BATTERY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATES TO WHOM IT MIGHT CONCERN, BACK TO MAY 2019, TESLA PUSHED A SOFTWARE UPDATE, FIRMWARE NUMBER 2019.16.2, TO MY CAR VIA OVER-THE-AIR(OTA) METHOD. RIGHT AFTER INSTALLING IT IN MY CAR, I NOTICED THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN THE CAR'S RANGE. SOFTWARE VERSION 2019.16.2 WAS RELEASED AFTER SEVERAL NON-CRUSH FIRES HAPPENED WORLDWIDE ON THE BATTERY PACK WITH THE SAME SIZE AND SPEC AS MINE (85 KWH). NEW SOFTWARE CAPPED THE MAX VOLTAGE FOR BOTH CHARGING AND DISCHARGING THE BATTERY, TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCE FOR THE BATTERY GETTING OVERHEATED BUT IN THE MEANTIME REDUCED THE CAR'S PERFORMANCE AND RANGE THAT I ORIGINALLY PAID FOR. IN THE MEANTIME, THE HAZARDOUS FOR THE BATTERY CATCHING FIRE HAS NOT BEEN FULLY RESOLVED. TESLA SERVICE TEAM DECLINED MY SERVICE REQUEST AND KEEPS TELLING ME THAT MY BATTERY IS "OPERATING NORMALLY" AND REFUSE TO PROVIDE ANY MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS ISSUE WHILE I HAVE TO SUFFER THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY THE REDUCED RANGE AND CHARGING SPEED. PLUS I HAVE TO KEEP THE CAR WITH THE BATTERY MAY CATCHING FIRE ANYTIME IDLING ON MY DRIVEWAY OUTSIDE MY HOUSE WHERE I AND MY FAMILY LIVES IN. THE BATTERY LOSING ALMOST 20% OF CAPACITY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AS "OPERATING NORMALLY" AND SHOULD BE CATEGORIZED AS "FAILURE PARTS" WHICH NEED IMMEDIATE REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY (8 YEARS, UNLIMITED MILEAGE, MINE IS EXPIRING 12/2020). IF THE RANGE LOSS IS A PRECAUTION METHOD FOR THE FIRE SITUATION, TESLA SHOULD NOTIFY THE AFFECTED OWNERS AND COME UP WITH A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. WITH TESLA'S ATTITUDE OF REFUSING TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE AFFECTED OWNERS OR PROVIDING ANY INFORMATION ON THIS MATTER, I URGE NHTSA TO START AN INVESTIGATION AND PROVIDE US A DEFINITE ANSWER. SINCERELY *TR

NHTSA ODI 11291614

THE RIGHT REAR DOOR HANDLE BECAME NON-FUNCTIONAL WHEN ATTEMPTING TO OPEN THE CAR FROM OUTSIDE THE CAR. AFTER SERVICE BY THE MANUFACTURER (TESLA), THE DOOR HANDLE BECAME EXTERIORLY FUNCTIONAL, ALTHOUGH TO A DECREASED AMOUNT COMPARED TO OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE, BUT WAS LEFT IN A STATE OF INOPERABILITY FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR. PULLING ON THE DOOR HANDLE FROM THE INSIDE WOULD NOT OPEN THE DOOR. IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH FROM THE LEFT SIDE, THE PASSENGER IN THE RIGHT REAR SEAT WOULD BE TRAPPED WITHOUT RECOURSE.

NHTSA ODI 10959509