What 365 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Tesla Model S 75d

THE MCU (LARGE TOUCH SCREEN CONTROL PANEL) HAS BEEN REBOOTING RANDOMLY FOR YEARS WHILE DRIVING RENDERIMG SOME CAR FUNCTIONS NON FUNCTIONAL INCLUDING TURN SIGNAL. TODAY IT TURNED OFF COMPLETELY LEAVING THE CAR DRIVABLE BUT HANDICAPPED AND I AM UNSURE IF IT SAFE TO DRIVE. I UNDERSTAND TESLA KNOWS ABOUT THE EMMC FAILURE THAT CAN CAUSE THIS ISSUE YET THEY DON'T WARN CUSTOMERS ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL ISSUE ESPECIALLY WHEN UNDER WARRANTY AND WHEN IT COULD CAUSE DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE LEAST TESLA COULD DO IS TELL CUSTOMERS ABOUT WHAT DANGERS MAY BE PRESENT AND THAT SOME LEGAL BASED FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE LIKE THE TURN SIGNALS WILL BE INOPERABLE. IT'S UPSETTING THAT TESLA KNOWS ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND IS NOT INFORMING CUSTOMERS.

NHTSA ODI 11338834

ON MAY 19TH, I ATTEMPTED TO START THE CAR BUT FOUND THAT THE MAIN CENTRAL TOUCHSCREEN WOULD NOT TURN ON. MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO START, INCLUDING ALL AVAILABLE REBOOT OPTIONS AS INSTRUCTED BY TESLA TECH SUPPORT VIA PHONE FAILED TO RESTART THE SCREEN. BECAUSE SERVICE HAD TO BE PERFORMED AT THE DEALERSHIP IN ATLANTA, I WAS FORCED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITHOUT THE TOUCHSCREEN. WHILE BASIC FUNCTIONS WERE AVAILABLE, THE LOSS OF THE TOUCHSCREEN CREATED A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE. I HAD TO DRIVE ROUGHLY 75 MILES ON THE INTERSTATE DURING A HEAVY RAINSTORM. THE LOSS OF TOUCHSCREEN MEANT I HAD NO CLIMATE CONTROL--NO A/C OR DEFROST FUNCTIONS--SO VISIBILITY WAS GREATLY IMPAIRED AND I WAS REDUCED TO PERIODICALLY (AND DANGEROUSLY) WIPING THE WINDSHIELD WITH A TOWEL TO MAINTAIN VISIBILITY. THERE WERE MULTIPLE OTHER IMPACTS, INCLUDING LOSS OF ALL AUDIO AND BLUETOOTH, NAVIGATION, AND I WOULD WORRY THAT SOME OF THE ELECTRONIC SAFETY SYSTEMS LIKE COLLISION AVOIDANCE MIGHT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED IN WINTER DURING A SNOWSTORM, THE IMPACT COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN MORE DANGEROUS. THE PROBLEM TURNS OUT TO BE WELL KNOWN BY TESLA. IT WAS A DEFECTIVE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT. THIS UNIT USES A FLASH MEMORY CHIP, HARD-SOLDERED TO THE CIRCUIT BOARD AND THUS NOT REPLACEABLE WITHOUT REPLACING THE ENTIRE BOARD. THE MEMORY CHIP HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF READ-WRITE CYCLES, AND DUE TO THE TESLA'S PROGRAMMING, DATA ARE CONSTANTLY WRITTEN TO THE CHIP DAILY (AND THIS IS NOT A USER-DEFEATABLE OPTION). REPLACEMENT WAS DONE BY THE DEALER, FOR A COST TOTALING 1868.07, NOT COVERED BY ANY TYPE OF WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 11338530

THE MCU UNIT - MEDIA CONTROL UNIT - IS FAILING. SIGNAL LIGHT INDICATOR DOES NOT MAKE A SOUND, THE WARNING SOUNDS FOR BEING TOO CLOSE TO AN OBJECT ARE GONE. OTHER WARNING BEEPS, CHIMES, BELLS, ETC. ARE GONE. SOME INDICATORS ON THE DISPLAY SCREEN ARE INOPERABLE. THE TOUCH SCREEN DOES NOT RESPOND TO TOUCH FOR SOME FEATURES/CONTROLS. ALL OF THE CAR'S CONTROLS ARE ON THE TOUCH SCREEN. MY CAR IS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD. IT IS SOLID STATE CIRCUITRY. HOW CAN IT FAIL ? MY WARRANTY HAD JUST EXPIRED. OF COURSE. THIS IS AN ELECTRONICS PROBLEM OF A KEY COMPONENT OF THE VEHICLE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS DUE TO POOR DESIGN OR DEFECTIVE COMPONENTS BUT IT IS A SERIOUS ENOUGH PROBLEM THAT I FELT I SHOULD REPORT IT.

NHTSA ODI 11338595

MY MCU JUST WENT BLACK AND NEVER CAME BACK ON. IT HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR 5 DAYS. I AM UNABLE TO CHARGE THE CAR, AND NO CLIMATE CONTROLS, AND ALSO NO REAR VIEW CAMERA. I HAVE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT IN 2 WEEKS, AND THEY REFUSE TO UPGRADED THE MCU1 TO AN MCU2 WHICH WILL HAVE LESS CHANGE OF HAVING THIS FAILURE IN THE FUTURE.

NHTSA ODI 11338141

SEE NHTSA ACTION # 20010. MEDIA CONTROL UNIT FAILED 7/8/2020 @ 5:04 PM WHEN RETURNING TO THE CAR AFTER A BRIEF STOP, IN A PARKING LOT. CAR TOOK SEVERAL MINUTES TO "REBOOT" TO DRIVABILITY, BUT CENTER SCREEN IS STILL DOWN. BACKUP CAMERA AND BLINKERS (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE, CONFIRMED) ARE NOT WORKING. ADDITIONAL ITEMS DOWN INCLUDE DEFROSTERS, AUTO TILT MIRRORS FOR REVERSING, SEAT HEATERS ARE STUCK ON (FROM WHEN I HAD LAST USED THEM), SUNROOF WON'T OPEN (IT IGNORES STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS). BRAKE LIGHTS ARE STILL FUNCTIONAL, SO I DROVE IT HOME. CALLED TESLA AND WAS TOLD THAT THE REPLACEMENT MODULE IS OUT OF STOCK AND IS NOT EXPECTED FOR MANY WEEKS. IN THE MEANTIME, THE CAR IS UNDRIVABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11338322

MAIN SCREEN TURNS OFF. THE 17" CENTER SCREEN FREEZES AND THEN TURNS OFF NOT LETTING USE REST CAMERA, DOOR UNLOCK, AND HVAC.

NHTSA ODI 11338050

MEDIA CONTROL UNIT THAT CONTROLS THE CAR STOPPED FUNCTIONING ALTOGETHER. CAR WAS NOT OPERATIONAL.

NHTSA ODI 11337718

THE CONTROL TOUCHSCREEN IN MY 2014 TESLA MODEL S KEPT REBOOTING ITSELF FOR NO APPARENT REASONS. SOMETIMES, IT DID THAT WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. THE SCREEN WENT DARK (BLANK) FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND I LOST ACCESS CONTROL TO THE CAR. THOSE CONTROL FEATURES CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE TOUCHSCREEN. IT HAPPENED QUITE A FEW TIMES WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING AND SHE WAS EXTREMELY SCARED TO CONTINUE DRIVING. BOTH SHE AND I HAD TO SAFELY PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD/HIGHWAY AND WAITED UNTIL THE SCREEN CAME BACK. WE'RE AFRAID THAT ONE OF THESE DAYS, WE WILL LOSE FULL CONTROL OF THE CAR WHICH MAY IN TURN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11337436

MCU FAILED AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE MY CAR. IF I WAS TO DRIVE NO TURN SIGNALS WERE ACTIVE AND YOUR UNABLE TO CHARGE.TESLA CHARGED ME 1500 DOLLARS FOR A REPLACEMENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331870

SCREENS GO BLANK AT TIMES AND IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING. SCREEN IN PICTURE IS DELAMINATING. THIS HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES, NOT JUST A SINGLE OCCURRENCE.

NHTSA ODI 11331772

WHILE PARKED WITH THE SUNROOF OPEN, WHEN I WENT TO RE-ENTER THE VEHICLE, THE MAIN SCREEN (MCU) REMAINED BLANK AND NEVER CAME BACK TO LIFE. WHILE DRIVING HOME, I WAS UNABLE TO USE TURN SIGNALS, ADJUST BASICALLY ANY DRIVING ITEMS INCLUDING SUSPENSION, DRIVE MODE, STEERING CONTROLS, HVAC, LIGHTS, OR CLOSE THE SUNROOF. THE CAR WAS TECHNICALLY ABLE TO BE DRIVEN, BUT I ALSO HAD NO LIGHT CONTROL, NO BACK UP CAMERA, AND IT COULD ONLY CHARGE AT A BASICALLY UNUSABLE SPEED. TESLA'S ONLY FIX WAS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MCU UNIT.

NHTSA ODI 11331412

CENTER DISPLAY WENT BLACK. CAR WAS STATIONARY. NO AC, NO BACK UP CAMERA,NO BLINKERS ETC.

NHTSA ODI 11331501

THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) FAILED ON MY TESLA IN JANUARY 2020. THE MCU CONTROLS SAFETY FEATURES SUCH AS FRONT AND REAR DEFROST, HAZARD LIGHTS, HEADLIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS AND CHARGING FOR THE MAIN BATTERY. THE EMMC CHIP FAILED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO BE INOPERABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11331593

MCU UNIT HAS A DESIGN FLY WHERE IT WILL BE INOPERABLE CAUSING A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331592

MCU THE MAIN DISPLAY IS SLOW TO RESPOND AND INTERNET ACCESS DOES NOT WORK AS IT SHOULD. SCREEN BLINKS/TURNS OFF RANDOMLY. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331617

VEHICLE'S MCU GOES BLACK AND REBOOTS WHEN IN FLIGHT. LOSS OF ABILITY TO CONTROL KEY VEHICLE FEATURES.

NHTSA ODI 11331638

WHILE STATIONARY, JUST AFTER GETTING INTO THE CAR WHICH IN THIS CAR IS HOW IT TURNS ON, MCU IS FAILING DUE TO EXCESSIVE LOGGING ISSUE. MAIN SCREEN GOES BLACK RANDOMLY. LOSE CONTROL OF MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF CAR, INCLUDING AC.

NHTSA ODI 11331369

THE MCU STOPPED WORKING, I'M LEAD TO BELIEVE BASED ON FORUMS I'VE READ ON, THIS IS DUE TO THE EMMC FAILING DUE TO TESLA HAVING A DESIGN FLAW AND ALSO HAVING EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF UNNECESSARY LOGGING TO THE CHIP. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331262

THE MAIN SCREEN ON MY 2014 TESLA S RECENTLY WENT OUT AND SOME RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS THAT MANY OTHERS EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES. TESLA SENT A TECHNICIAN AND SAID IT IS THE MCU (MEDIA CONTROL UNIT) CHIP THAT WENT BAD AND A REPLACEMENT WILL COST $1,500+ THE TESLA TECHNICIAN SAID THE CAR IS DRIVABLE BUT THE BLINKERS DO NOT WORK, ALONG WITH THE BACK UP CAMERA AND PARKING SENSORS. HE STATED THOSE THINGS ARE INTEGRATED WITH THE MAIN MCU UNIT AND WHEN THE MCU GOES OUT, THOSE THINGS WILL NOT FUNCTION. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING MY VEHICLE WITHOUT THE FUNCTION OF THE BLINKERS AS IT COULD PRESENT A HAZARD. THERE HAS BEEN REPORTS SIMILAR TO MINE WHERE TESLA ADDED A FINITE MEMORY CHIP TO THE MCU SYSTEM THAT DETERIORATE AND WILL FAIL AFTER A LENGTH OF TIME AND BECAUSE TESLA UPDATE THE SOFTWARE IN THE CAR VERY FREQUENTLY, THE WEAR ON THE MEMORY CHIP DETERIORATE AT AN ACCELERATED RATE. THE TESLA TECHNICIAN SAID THAT THE NEW CHIP SHOULD HAVE 4X THE CAPACITY AND SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER, BUT WILL COST $1,500 TO REPLACE SINCE MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. WITH THE SAFETY ISSUES MENTIONED, I AM WEARY ABOUT DRIVING MY CAR, ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHWAY - NOT BEING ABLE TO USE THE TURN SIGNALS. IF THIS IS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, I DO NOT WISH TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT TO HAVE IT FIXED. THANK YOU *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331048

MCU 17" BLACK SCREEN. CAUSED ISSUE WHERE CAR WOULD NOT CHARGE ABOVE .5KW ADDITIONALLY BACKUP CAMERA NO LONGER WORKED. I HAD A 3RD PARTY REPAIR THE FAILED EMMC WHICH RESOLVED THE PROBLEM. THIS HOWEVER IS A MUCH LARGER ISSUE. HTTPS://TESLAMOTORSCLUB.COM/TMC/THREADS/CONSOLIDATED-EMMC-THREAD-MCU-REPAIR-BLACK-CENTER-SCREEN.181124/ HTTPS://TESLAMOTORSCLUB.COM/TMC/THREADS/FEDS-INVESTIGATE-FAILING-MCUS.197384/. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11331169

MY EMMC CHIP FAILED IN MCU WHEN VEHICLE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD WITH LESS THAN SIXTY THOUSANDS MILES. NO REAR VIEW CAMERA, NO ACCESSORIES ARE WORKING, NO AC, TOUCH SCREEN WENT BLACK. WITH 'PIN TO DRIVE' ACTIVATED CAR BECOMES A BRICK: YOU CAN'T ENTER PIN BECAUSE SCREEN DOESN'T WORK - CAN'T START/DRIVE. REPLACEMENT WITH REMANUFACTURED UNIT (NOT EVEN NEW) COST $2000!!! *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330725

VEHICLES MCU (MIDDLE CONTROL UNIT) STOPPED WORKING. BLINKERS WOULD NOT WORK, SO I WAS UNABLE TO SIGNAL WHILE DRIVING. THE REARVIEW CAMERA STOPPED WORKING AS WELL AND THE AC SYSTEM WAS STUCK ON. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330721

I WENT TO TURN ON MY CAR IN THE MORNING AND THE MCU WAS SHOWING A CHECKER PATTERN OF ERRORS. AS I DROVE THE GPS DID NOT UPDATE MY LOCATION. WHEN I GOT BACK IN THE CAR THE MCU WAS COMPLETELY DEAD BLACK. THE CAR HAS ALREADY HAD THE MCU REPLACED ONCE IN 2017, 3 YEARS AFTER DELIVERY FROM TESLA. 3 YEARS LATER IT DIED AGAIN AND I'M HAVING TO REPLACE IT OUT OF WARRANTY FROM TESLA. THE BILL IS EXPECTED TO BE $2000 AND THE CAR IS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE SERVICE CENTER FOR OVER A WEEK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330734

WHEN I WENT TO START THE CAR THE CENTRAL TOUCHSCREEN FAILED. COULD NOT CONTROL THE LIGHTS, A/C, HEATING, COULD NOT RECHARGE THE CAR. TESLA CHARGED ME OUT OF WARRANTY OVER $2000 TO REPLACE THE TOUCHSCREEN WITH A REFURBISHED ONE. THEY REFUSED TO GIVE THE OLD PART TO ME EVEN THOUGH THIS WAS REPLACED IN NEVADA WHERE THE LAW STATES THAT THEY HAVE TO GIVE THE OLD PARTS BACK TO THE OWNER. I HAD TO PAY THEM ANOTHER $1000 TO GET THE PART BACK AS IT CONTAINED SO MUCH PRIVATE INFORMATION. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330856

DUE TO RECENT NEWS THIS WEEK OF NHTSA INVESTIGATING THE TESLA MODEL S FROM 2012 TO 2015 REGARDING THE FAULTY SCREEN, I WANTED TO REPORT THAT I HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM. THE LARGE SCREEN CALLED MCU OR MEDIA CONTROLLED UNIT ON MY MODEL S WOULD HAVE PROBLEMS OF BLACKING OUT WHILE DRIVING OR WHEN TRYING TO START FROM A PARKED POSITION. ULTIMATELY, IT SHUT DOWN ALTOGETHER. I HAD REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO TESLA WHEN THE SCREEN BLACKOUT PROBLEMS WERE HAPPENING IN 2018 AND 2019 BY CALLING CUSTOMER SERVICE. TESLA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE TOLD ME TO REBOOT THE SYSTEM BY HOLDING DOWN THE TWO SCROLL BUTTONS. AFTER MULTIPLE REBOOTS OVER A PERIOD OF 6+ MONTHS, THE SCREEN BLACKED OUT PERMANENTLY, AND THE REBOOT SOLUTION NO LONGER WORKED. I HAD TO GET THE PROBLEM FIXED AT A COST OF $2,614.50. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11330936