What 459 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Tesla Model S P90d

A KNOWN MCU FAILURE, DUE TO A MANUFACTURING ERROR ON THE PART OF THE CAR COMPANY, REQUIRES MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS OF THE MAIN ELECTRICAL CONTROL. THE FAILURE OF THIS PART RENDERS THE CAR INOPERABLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331620

THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) HAS FAILED ON MY VEHICLE OVER A MONTH AGO. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE TESLA SERVICE CENTER TO NOTIFY THEY HAVE A REPLACEMENT FOR ME. TILL THEN, THE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THE VEHICLE IS STILL SAFE TO DRIVE. FAILURE OF THE MCU MEANS I AM UNABLE TO CONTROL MOST OF THE VEHICLES FUNCTIONS. MOST NOTABLY, I CANNOT RAISE THE VEHICLES SUSPENSION, TURN ON THE AIR CONDITIONING, OR VIEW THE REAR VIEW CAMERA. OTHERS THINGS AFFECTED ARE OPENING THE SUNROOF, LISTENING THE THE RADIO OR MUSIC AT ALL, USE GPS, CONNECT MY PHONE TO THE VEHICLES BLUETOOTH, CONNECT TO MY PHONE VIA TESLA APP, THE ODOMETER READING ISN'T VISIBLE ANYMORE, THE WALK-AWAY LOCK FEATURE IS INOPERATIVE SO IF I FORGET TO MANUALLY LOCK THE VEHICLE IT WILL STAY UNLOCKED, AND THERE MAY BE MORE FEATURES INOPERATIVE THAT I AM UNAWARE OF. THE FAILURE OF THE MCU OCCURRED AFTER I WAS DONE CHARGING AT A SUPERCHARGER STATION. I NOTICED THE SCREEN WAS GLITCHING SO I ATTEMPTED TO RESET THE SCREEN. AFTER A FEW SECONDS THE SCREEN SHOULD'VE CAME BACK ON BUT IT NEVER DID.

NHTSA ODI 11331324

THE TOUCH SCREEN FOR THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE (TESLA) WENT BLACK RENDERING THE VEHICLE TO UNABLE TO BE CHARGED AND ANY ENTERTAINMENT, CLIMATE AND OTHER BASIC FUNCTIONS FOR THE VEHICLE TO BE USED. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND PARKED WHEN THIS HAPPENED BUT THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF THE SCREEN GOING OUT WHILE DRIVING FOR OTHER OWNERS.

NHTSA ODI 11331355

MY TOUCHSCREEN MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) COMPLETELY FAILED. THIS HAS RESULTED IN NO BACKUP CAMERA, NO TURN SIGNALS, NO ABILITY CONTROL AC, THE SEATS DO NOT MOVE TO PREVIOUS POSITIONS, AND WORST OF ALL, THE CAR CANNOT BE CHARGED. I LIVE ABOUT 350 MILES AWAY FROM THE CLOSEST SERVICE CENTER SO I CAN'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THERE BECAUSE IT WOULD REQUIRE CHARGING ALONG THE WAY. THE CAR WAS PERFECTLY FINE ASIDE FROM BEING VERY SLOW TO TURN ON EVERY DAY. YESTERDAY MORNING ON GOING TO WORK 6/26/20 I FOUND THE MCU TO BE BLACK AND UNABLE TO BE TURNED ON WITH ANY REBOOTS. I CALLED TESLA SERVICE, AND THEY ARE SENDING A MOBILE RANGER TECHNICIAN BUT THEY TELL ME THE CAR WILL NEED TO BE LOADED ON A FLATBED TO BE SERVICED IN DALLAS. THIS APPEARS TO BE ANOTHER EMMC MEMORY FAILURE ON THE EARLY TESLA NVIDIA MCU SYSTEM. IT MAKES THE CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH NO TURN SIGNALS , AC, OR REAR BACKUP CAMERA. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331239

YOU HAVE A CURRENT INVESTIGATION REGARDING THE TOUCHSCREEN. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD MY COMPLAINT TO YOUR FILE. BECAUSE OF THE TOUCHSCREEN FAILURE, I HAVE HAD THE CAR TOWED 3 TIMES. "TOUCHSCREEN UNRESPONSIVE". WITHOUT THE TOUCHSCREEN, YOU CAN DO VERY LITTLE WITH THE CAR. ON OR ABOUT 2015 I HAD COMPLAINED TO THE SERVICE DEPT. THAT I THOUGHT I HAD A CRACKED SCREEN. THE COST OF REPAIR WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY..OK, I THOUGHT I COULD LIVE WITH A COSMETIC PROBLEM BUT IT WAS NOT COSMETIC. OVER THE PAST 2 WEEKS, WHEN I PLACE MY HAND IN THE SMALL STORAGE AREA BELOW THE SCREEN, I FOUND A VERY STICKY LIQUID ON MY HAND. IT WAS FLUID LEAKING FROM THE SCREEN WHICH I WAS TOLD NOT TO TOUCH BECAUSE THAT LIQUID IS CONSIDERED A CARCINOGEN. I AM UNABLE TO USE THIS CAR FOR FEAR I WILL BE STUCK FAR AWAY FROM HOME AND REQUIRE ANOTHER TOW. I VISITED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT IN DEDHAM, MA AND THEY WERE UNSURE WHICH SCREEN MATCHES MY VEHICLE. THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THE SCREEN AND THE MCU WOULD BE APPROX. $2600 INCL LABOR. NO ONE WAS AVAILABLE TO OFFER ME A DEFINITIVE COST. I WAS TOLD THE WARRANTY FOR THE REPLACEMENT WOULD BE 1 YEAR. PERHAPS WITHIN 2 YEARS I WILL AGAIN HAVE TO SPEND ANOTHER 2600 FOR LIQUID LEAKING FROM THE SCREEN. PLEASE HOLD TESLA ACCOUNTABLE. I'M HOPING THAT IF THE RECALL IS SUCCESSFUL, I WILL BE REIMBURSED FOR THE MONEY SPENT. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL FOR THE HEADLIGHTS. TAKING ANY TURNS AT NIGHT WAS A DANGER. THEY NEW IT WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE LATER MODELS DIDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM. BECAUSE THE TOUCHSCREEN IS NOT FUNCTIONING, THE PICTURE I AM ABLE TO PROVIDE MAY NOT BE OF MUCH HELP. THE PICTURES ARE FROM THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE SCREEN. SCREEN NOT WORKING MAY HAVE TO REQUIRE THE 4TH TOW. THIS CAR IS DANGEROUS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331157

OCCASIONALLY, THE VEHICLE CENTER DISPLAY HAS VARIOUS ISSUES: BLUETOOTH WILL DISCONNECT, VOICE COMMANDS WILL STOP WORKING, THE CAR WON'T START WHEN I GET IN IT (THE CENTER SCREEN WILL REMAIN BLACK UNTIL I EXIT THE VEHICLE THEN SHUT THE DOOR THEN RE-ENTER IT. IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE FOR ME, WHERE I MOVED MY CAR OUT OF A PARKING SPOT, EXITED THE VEHICLE TO CHECK SOMETHING, THEN THE CAR WAS TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE AFTER GETTING BACK IN. IT TOOK ME UPWARDS OF 5 MINUTES TO GET THE VEHICLE STARTED AND OUT OF PARK AND INTO DRIVE. LUCKILY, I WAS IN A LOW-TRAFFIC PARKING LOT, BUT IF THIS WAS A BUSY AREA IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR ISSUE. THE CENTER DISPLAY HAS BEEN REPLACED IN THIS VEHICLE BEFORE AS WELL. I AM AFRAID THAT MY CAR IS APPROACHING THE INEVITABLE EMMC FAILURE WHERE THE FLASH MEMORY WEARS OUT AFTER TOO MANY WRITE OPERATIONS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330715

TOUCHSCREEN FAILURE. THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE 8GB EMMC NAND FLASH MEMORY CHIP IN THE NVIDIA TEGRA 3 PROCESSOR. TESLA PROVIDED FREE LOANER CAR. REPLACEMENT MEDIA CONTROL UNIT ON ORDER FOR YOUR VEHICLE. THEY CURRENTLY ARE ON A GLOBAL BACK ORDER BUT TESLA SAID THEY ARE WORKING WITH SUPPLY CHAIN TO PRIORITIZE VEHICLES ON SITE. TOTAL FOR REPLACEMENT IS $1,516.32. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330761

LOST TOUCHSCREEN ENTIRELY WHICH MEANT I HAD NO TURN SIGNALS! REQUIRED TRIP TO TESLA TO FIX. HEARD YOU WERE HEARING ISSUES ABOUT THIS. CONCERNED SCREEN WILL FAIL ONCE OUT OF WARRANTY. NOT SAFE TO DRIVE WITHOUT SIGNALS! *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330756

WHILE MOVING OR STILL INTERFACE/MCU THAT CONTROLS NAVIGATION, CLIMATE CONTROL, AUDIO EQUIPMENT, ETC. RUNS VERY SLOW AND SOMETIMES RESETS ITSELF WHILE UNDERWAY. THIS IS DISTRACTING IF IT OCCURS WHILE DRIVING. MOST RECENTLY THIS OCCURRED WHILE MERGING ONTO I95 AT NIGHT. ALSO, CAR IS NOW SLOW TO "BOOT UP" ON MOST DAYS TO THE POINT I'M SOMETIMES CONCERNED IT WON'T START. FINALLY, RECENTLY THE CAR WOULDN'T ACCEPT CHARGE FROM HOME CHARGER. A SOFT REBOOT OF THE MCU ALLOWED ME TO CHARGE. CONCERNED THE PROBLEM MAY REOCCUR WHEN ON LONG TRIP LEAVING ME STRANDED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330873

THE ELECTRONIC TOUCHSCREEN THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO MOST OF THE CARS FUNCTIONS STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR WOULD NOT WORK TO BASIC STANDARDS ONCE THIS HAPPENED. CAR WAS IN MOTION AT THE TIME ON CITY STREETS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330464

TESLA MAIN COMPUTER IS DESIGNED TO FAIL AND DISABLE THE ABILITY TO TURN ON THE HEADLIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, REAR VIEW CAMERA, AND SO ON. THE MAIN COMPUTER LOGS EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN THE CAR EXCESSIVELY (THEY DO THIS SO PRESS REVIEWS CAN BE REFUTED, IT HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES) BUT THAT LOGGING CAUSES THE CHIP TO FAIL. THE SOLUTION IS TO TURN OFF LOGGING BUT THEY REFUSE, SO THESE COMPUTERS FAIL PREDICTABLY ON SCHEDULE. ALL TESLAS ARE AFFECTED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330473

THE TOUCHSCREEN CONTROLS ARE VERY SLOW. THE TOUCHSCREEN FAILS INTERMITTENTLY, SOMETIMES RENDERING THE BACK UP CAMERA INOPERABLE WHEN DRIVING IN REVERSE. FREQUENT REBOOTING IS REQUIRED WHEN IT HANGS UP. A NOTICEABLE DETERIORATION HAS OCCURRED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330470

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) MALFUNCTIONED AND WAS PERMANENTLY DISABLED. DUE TO THE FAILURE, THE BACKUP CAMERA FAILED TO DISPLAY. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE ANY AUTOMOTIVE ADJUSTMENTS DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. DUBLIN TESLA LOCATED AT 6701 AMADOR PLAZA RD, DUBLIN, CA 94568, WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED.

NHTSA ODI 11330490

MEDIA CONTROL UNIT FAILED WHILE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEALER AFTER A DRIVE UNIT FAILURE. THE UNIT BEGAN MALFUNCTIONING A FEW DAYS BEFORE. THE DIRECTION INDICATORS AND RADIO WERE WORKING INTERMITTENTLY WITH THE AUDIO BLANKING OFF AT 12 SECOND INTERVALS. THIS COINCIDED WITH A DRIVE UNIT FAILURE. THE CAR HAD TO BE TAKEN TO TESLA BY A FLAT BED. WE WERE CHARGED NEARLY $3000 FOR THE REPAIR. SERVICE INVOICE ATTACHED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330510

SCREEN STOPPED WORKING. TESLA SAYS THAT THE CONTROLLER BOARD FOR THE SCREEN FAILED. AS A RESULT, CAR WAS UNABLE TO CHARGE, A/C DISABLED, NO RADIO, NO BACKUP CAMERA, ETC. TESLA HAD TO REPLACE THE CONTROLLER, AT A COST TO ME OF OVER $2500.

NHTSA ODI 11330512

TOUCH SCREEN LEAKING LCD FLUID BOTH MAIN DISPLAY AND DRIVERS DISPLAY. SEEMS LIKE MANUFACTURER DEFECT IT ALSO KNOWN THESE TOUCH SCREENS WILL FAIL EVENTUALLY DISABLING REAR VIEW CAMERA. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330514

THE MIDDLE CONSOLE SUDDENLY BLACKED OUT AND WOULD NOT REBOOT. THIS RESTRICTED DRIVE FUNCTIONS INCLUDING REVERSE CAMERA, NAVIGATION, AIR CONDITIONING ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, NO ENTERTAINMENT IN THE VEHICLE. THE BLACKOUT OCCURRED AS I WAS AT A STOP SIGN IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD. I GRAVELY FEARED THE CAR WOULD SIMPLY TURN OFF IN TRAFFIC AS IT FELT LIKE IT WAS STALLING / DRIVING DIFFERENTLY. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY CAR TO A SUPER CHARGER TO SEE IF THAT WOULD HELP. I WAS TOLD BY A REMOTE TESLA OPERATOR THAT THE DISRUPTION WAS DUE TO SOFTWARE ATTEMPTING TO UPDATE - WHICH, WAS NOT PROMPTED AS IT TYPICALLY DOES. COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED BY THIS MALFUNCTION, THE NEXT DAY THE CAR WOULD NOT UNLOCK IN THE TYPICAL FASHION BY KEY DETECTION. IT ALSO WOULDN'T CONNECT TO THE APP TO UNLOCK. I AGAIN CALLED TESLA AND THEY ATTEMPTED A REMOTE UNLOCK WHICH WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THEY SUGGESTED HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO TESLA FOR A FEW. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO UNLOCK THE CAR BY DOUBLE CLICKING THE KEY FOB - WHY DIDN'T THE TESLA AGENT MAKE THAT SUGGESTION RATHER THAN SUGGESTING AN EXPENSIVE TOW?? I ENDED UP PAYING TO REPLACE THE MCU. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330516

THE MAIN TOUCHSCREEN ON MY 2012 TESLA S HAS STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY- TOTALLY BLANK, RESULTING IN NO REARWARD FACING CAMERA, LOWER CHARGING RATES, NO CONTROL OVER SUSPENSION HEIGHT OR STEERING STIFFNESS; NO A/C, NO HEAT, NO SUNROOF CONTROLS, NO WIFI, NO BLUETOOTH AND NO CELLULAR; NO MAP, NO GPS. NO RADIO. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330544

THE MCU WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING. LOST ANY OF THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF THE CAR INCLUDING BACK UP CAMERA. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330536

RE: NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE20010 HELLO I SAW THAT AN INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED FOR THE MCU GOING COMPLETELY DEAD. MY CAR WAS AFFECTED (OCCURED FEB 21ST, 2018 AND MCU REPLACED AROUND MARCH 8TH, 2018 AT MY EXPENSE). I WOULD BE WILLING TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION NEEDED. THANKS

NHTSA ODI 11330537

TOUCH SCREEN DOES NOT WORK. TESLA SAYS MCU MUST BE REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330563

THE CENTER MEDIA TOUCHSCREEN (MCU) IN MY VEHICLE STOPPED FUNCTIONING AND SEVERAL FUNCTIONS CEASED WORKING. INITIALLY I RECEIVED A "TOUCHSCREEN UNRESPONSIVE" MESSAGE WHILE DRIVING SO WHEN I STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT I ATTEMPTED TO REBOOT THE MCU USING THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS. THE SCREEN STARTED THE REBOOT PROCESS BUT EVERYTHING THAT WAS ON INCLUDING HVAC AND RADIO TURNED OFF FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY DRIVE AND WERE INOPERABLE UNTIL AFTER THE SCREEN WAS REPLACED. THE TOUCHSCREEN NEVER TURNED BACK ON. MANY FUNCTIONS DID NOT WORK WHEN THE MCU DIED WITH THE ODDEST ONE OF ALL BEING THAT I HAD NO TURN SIGNAL SOUNDS WHICH I THINK ARE CREATED BY THE CARS AUDIO SYSTEM AND THE MCU. WITH THE LOSS OF THE MCU, I LOST THE USE OF MY BACKUP CAMERA AND MY HVAC WHICH WAS STUCK IN AN OFF STATE SO I HAD TO ROLL DOWN MY WINDOWS IN ORDER TO HAVE ANY AIRFLOW IN THE CABIN. THANKFULLY I DID NOT NEED THE FORWARD OR REAR DEFROSTER BETWEEN WHEN MY SCREEN STOPPED WORKING AND IT WAS REPLACED AS BOTH ARE CONTROLLED VIA THE MCU AND WERE UNAVAILABLE. CHARGING AT HOME WAS EXTREMELY LIMITED AND MAXED OUT AT VERY LOW AMPERAGE AND I WAS UNABLE TO CHANGE THE CHARGING AMPERAGE DUE TO THE INACCESSIBLE TOUCHSCREEN. I DID NOT TRY A DC FAST CHARGER. MOBILE APP CONTROL WAS UNAVAILABLE SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO USE IT TO ADJUST MY HVAC OR CHARGING SETTINGS. THE CONTROLS FOR ADJUSTING THE ACTIVE AIR SUSPENSION WERE ALSO NOT AVAILABLE HOWEVER THE CAR APPEARED TO SET ITSELF TO A NORMAL RIDE HEIGHT. NO STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS (HVAC, RADIO, SUNROOF, VOICE COMMANDS) WORKED AND MY HEADLIGHTS WERE STUCK IN AUTO MODE THAT WAS THE SECOND MCU IN MY CAR, PREVIOUSLY BEING REPLACED ABOUT 14 MONTHS EARLIER DUE TO THE SCREEN ADHESIVE FAILING WHICH CAUSED AIR BUBBLES TO FORM WITHIN THE TOUCHSCREEN. I THINK THE CAUSE OF THE MCU FAILURE WAS EMMC FLASH REACHING ITS MAXIMUM WRITE LIFETIME DESPITE THE PRIOR REPLACEMENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330553

MAIN TOUCHSCREEN UNRESPONSIVE OR BLACKED OUT. NO CONNECTIVITY AND ERROR 'TOUCHSCREEN UNRESPONSIVE'. REBOOT FIXES FOR ABOUT AN HOUR THEN FAILS AGAIN. HAPPENS CONSISTENTLY NOW EVERY TIME THE CAR IS PARKED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330593

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AT START-UP THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) MALFUNCTIONED. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE REAR CAMERA, HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONER, GPS AND WEB BROWSER TO BECOME INOPERABLE AND FOR THE BATTERY TO BECOME DRAINED. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO TESLA LOCATED AT 135 US-22, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, NJ 07081, TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 110,000. *BF*JB

NHTSA ODI 11330600

MY SCREEN AND BACK-UP CAMERA BOTH FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330610