What 604 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Tesla Model S P90d

THE ONLY MANUAL FOR OPERATION OF MY CAR IS ON SCREEN. THE CAR COMPUTER WILL NOT LOAD THE SCREEN FOR THE MANUAL SO WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO ACCESS ANY SAFETY OR OPERATION MANUALS FOR MONTHS. I AGAIN TOOK MY CAR TO TESLA SERVICE THIS WEEK AND THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID THEY HAVE NO FIX. THERE IS NO OTHER OPERATION MANUAL AND TO WAIT FOR A FIRMWARE UPDATE THEY MAY HELP BUT THEY ARE NOT SURE. THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE THE MCU. MY CAR IS STILL UNDER FULL WARRANTY. WE SUSPECT THE ISSUES WITH LOADING THE MANUAL IS RELATED TO FAILURE OF THE TOUCHSCREEN/MCU. WE HAVE HAD INCREASING EPISODES OF OUR SCREEN GOING DARK REQUIRING US TO PULL OVER AND NOT DRIVE UNTIL COMPUTER REBOOTS. WE ARE UNABLE TO USE OUR BACK UP CAMERA WHEN THE SCREEN IS BLACK. THE MAP FEATURES LOADS VERY SLOWLY. THIS IS A COMPLEX CAR AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK UP INFORMATION REGARDING SAFE OPERATION

NHTSA ODI 11377842

ON 11/25/2020, AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00PM, WHILE IN LINE FOR THE DRIVE THROUGH CAR WASH OF A MOBIL GAS STATION (LOS SERRANOS COUNTRY CLUB DR), MY VEHICLE, A WHITE 2016 TESLA MODEL S, PARTIALLY TURNED OFF. I COULD NO LONGER STEER THE CAR NOR COULD I RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE SCREENS WERE COMPLETELY BLACK. I EXITED THE VEHICLE AND HAD TO WAIT SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET MY VEHICLE RESTARTED. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED (THOUGH I CANNOT REMEMBER THE EXACT DATES OF THE PREVIOUS INCIDENTS), WHERE THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AFTER STOPPING AND I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11376357

VEHICLE MAIN COMPUTER LAGS, REBOOTS, AND COMES UP WITH A BLACK OR GARBLED SCREEN REGULARLY, INCLUDING WHILE DRIVING, ESPECIALLY WHEN A USB STICK IS INSERTED AND/OR THE DASHCAM FUNCTIONALITY IS IN USE. TESLA SERVICE INSISTS IT IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE (FOR OVER 1 YEAR NOW) AND HAS TO DATE REFUSED TO REPLACE ANY HARDWARE DESPITE SPENDING SEVERAL WEEKS OF TIME ATTEMPTING TO FIX THE ISSUES. THE CAR HAS HAD 25 OVER THE AIR FIRMWARE UPDATES AND HAS UNDERGONE TWO SEPARATE COMPLETE FACTORY RESETS SINCE MY INITIAL COMPLAINT TO TESLA IN JULY 2019. SYMPTOMS PREVENT AUDIO FOR TURN SIGNALS AND AUTOPILOT FROM WORKING PROPERLY. PREVENT BACKUP CAMERA FROM OPENING OR DISPLAYING PROPERLY. MAKE USING THE BUILT IN NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS DIFFICULT AND OFTEN DANGEROUS, CAUSING DRIVER DISTRACTION. WHEN THE MCU REBOOTS WHILE DRIVING IT TAKES NEARLY 15 MINUTES FOR THE NAV SYSTEM TO RESTART. MY TEGRA BASED MCU'S EMMC SHOWS ROUGHLY 2400 / 3000 AVG BLOCK ERASES, AND 81 RESERVED BLOCKS, NOT MEETING THE NEW THRESHOLDS SET BY TESLA ENGINEERING FOR REPLACEMENT (WHICH, FOR MY H8G2D APPRENTLY REQUIRE LESS THAN 65 RESVERED BLOCKS REMAINING). THE SYSTEM HAS REGULARLY SHOWN SQUASHFS ERRORS DUE TO CORRUPTED MEMORY.

NHTSA ODI 11376102

CENTER SCREEN (MCU) OFTEN FAILS SO THAT I CANNOT ACCESS THE BACKUP CAMERA, HEADLIGHT CONTROLS, AND MANY OTHER CRITICAL FUNCTIONS.

NHTSA ODI 11376203

MY TESLA HAS HAD SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE THE TOUCH SCREEN BLANKS WHILE DRIVING. SOME ARE FOR 30 SECONDS OR LESS, BUT ONE LASTED ABOUT 5 MINUTES. A LOT OF FUNCTIONS ARE LOST DURING THIS TIME AND WARNINGS AS WELL. I TOOK MY CAR TO TESLA BUT THEY ONLY DID A RESET THAT WAS NO HELP. TWICE I SET UP AN APPOINTMENT FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT BOTH TIMES THEY SAID THEY REMOTELY CHECKED MY CAR AND SEE NO ISSUES. I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM TESLA EXTENDING MY WARRANTY COVERING MALFUNCTION OF A MEMORY CHIP (EMBEDDED MULTIMEDIACARD). ACCORDING TO TESLA, THIS MALFUNCTION MAY RESULT IN A BLANK OR INTERMITTENTLY BLANK TOUCHSCREEN BUT WILL NOT IMPACT THE ABILITY TO DRIVE YOUR CAR. THIS IS EXACTLY MY PROBLEM, BUT WHEN I CONTACTED TESLA THEY SAY THIS IS NOT THE PROBLEM MY CAR HAS. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A DRIVING HAZARD AND NEEDS TO BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY.

NHTSA ODI 11375398

MCU1 FAILING. MANY REBOOTS. KNOWN TESLA ISSUE. RECALL IS NEEDED.

NHTSA ODI 11375008

MAIN CONTROL UNIT (MCU)HAS SHUT DOWN SEVERAL TIMES. THE SCREEN HAS GONE BLACK AND NAVIGATION FUNCTIONS AND MAPS DISAPPEARED. INCONVENIENCE MORE THAN ANYTHING THERE. I HAVE LOST THE BACKUP CAMERA AND DEFROST FUNCTIONS. THE CAR HAS REMAINED PRETTY MUCH DRIVABLE THOUGH I DON'T THINK I HAD TURN SIGNALS (OR AT LEAST THE INDICATION ON DASH). THE CAR HAS BEEN BOTH STATIONARY AND MOVING WHEN THESE THINGS HAPPENED.

NHTSA ODI 11375097

MY VEHICLE HAD THE MCU FAILURE THAT IS WELL KNOWN. NO BLINKERS, NO AUTOPILOT, NO AC/HEATING, NO DEFOGGER ETC ETC. JUST BLANK SCREEN. SOUNDED LIKE THE RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGE ISSUE WITH THE EMMC BUT TESLA REQUIRED ME TO PAY FOR AN UPGRADED MCU SAYING MY ISSUE WS NOT COVERED BY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.

NHTSA ODI 11375147

MY MAIN DISPLAY IS SLOWER TO START UP, RANDOMLY FREEZES, REBOOTS, OR JUST GOES BLACK WHEN I'M DRIVING. THIS IS THE DISPLAY THAT CONTROLS LIGHTS, THE RADIO, THE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM, AND REARVIEW CAMERA. THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM TIMES, INCLUDING WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI 11373996

THE MCU (MASTER CONTROL UNIT) IS THE 17" TOUCH SCREEN DISPLAY THAT CONTROLS MOST OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN PLAGUED OVER IT'S LIVE WITH FREEZE UP'S AND REBOOTS. APRIL 2019, SCREEN LOCKED UP AND WOULD NOT RESTART, WHICH CAUSED VEHICLE TO LOOSE PROPULTION, POWER ASSISTED BRAKES, POWER STEERING, WINDOW CONTROLS (HAD TO USE EMERGENCY MANUAL RELEASE TO EXIT VEHICLE, THEN GO BACK IN AND SQUEEZE BETWEEN THE SEATS TO GET MY DISABLED SON OUT OF THE BACK AS THE BACK DOOR HANDLES DID NOT OPERATE EITHER AND HAD TO TRY AND FIND THE WELL HIDDEN MANUAL RELEASE HIDDEN UNDER THE CARPET WITH NO MARKINGS TO GET THE REAR DOOR OPEN AND HIM OUT OF HIS CAR SEAT). VEHICLE ALSO WOULD NOT GO IN TO PARK, I HAD TO USE MY SHOES (WITH STEEL TOE) UNDER THE WHEELS TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING DOWN AN INCLINE. THIS ALSO PREVENTED THE HOOD FROM BEING OPENED TO POTENTIALLY PULL THE POWER TO THE VEHICLE TO FORCE A RESET AS THE RESET BUTTONS DID NOT WORK. ALSO TRUNK WOULD NOT OPEN AND HAD TO CLIMB THROUGH THE INSIDE TO GET TO THE MANUAL RELEASE FOR THE TRUNK TO GET DIAPERS FOR MY DISABLED SON WHILE WE WAITED 4 HOURS FOR A TOW. ONCE DOORS WERE SHUT, NO WAY TO GET BACK IN. HEAD LIGHTS ALSO WOULD NOT TURN OFF. HAD IT TOWED TO TESLA SERVICE OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS FROM MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WISCONSIN. THEY SAID THE HEADLIGHTS STAYED ON ALL NIGHT, AND THAT THE CAR "FIXED" ITSELF THE OVERNIGHT SOME HOW. NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WOULD BE PROVIDED. THAT WAS THE WORST FAILURE, HOWEVER, IT STILL LOCKS UP AND REBOOTS AT RANDOM TIMES AS IT'S IN USE. EITHER WHILE DRIVING (WHEN THAT HAPPENS I LOOSE TURN SIGNALS AND OTHER SAFETY FEATURES AS WELL AS ABILITY TO CONTROL VEHICLE SETTINGS) OR WHILE PARKED PREVENTING IT FROM BEING DRIVEN.

NHTSA ODI 11373121

THE CAR HAS A DEFECT MCU. ALL SAFETY FEATURE OF THE CAR HAS BEEN DISABLED. I CAN NOT CONTROL CLIMATE CONTROL. I HAVE LOST MY REAR VIEW CAMERA. I CAN NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO ANY SETTING TO MY CAR. I CANNOT TURN OFF MY CAR AND MY CAR IS CONSTANTLY ON. I HAVE TO PULL FUSES TO SHUT OFF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF MY CAR OR MY BATTERY WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT DRAIN WHILE PARKED. I HAVE BROUGHT MY CAR INTO THE A TESLA SERVICE CENTER TO HAVE THE ISSUE REPAIRED. THEY DO NOT HAVE THE PARTS AND KEEP DELAYING THE REPAIR. THE DEFECTIVE MCU IS A KNOW ISSUE, I AM SURPRISED TESLA WILL NOT REPLACE THE UNIT WITH A NON DEFECTIVE UNIT AND WILL ONLY REPLACE IT WITH REFURBISHED PARTS. ALSO, FOR A KNOW DEFECT THAT AFFECTS THE SAFETY OF THE CAR, WHY WONT TESLA KEEP AN AMPLE STOCKPILE OF BOARDS TO REPAIR THE ISSUE. ALL THEY ARE DOING IS PUSHING THE ISSUE FURTHER DOWN THE LINK WITHOUT ANY INTENTION TO PROPERLY FIX THE DEFECTIVE MCU.

NHTSA ODI 11367069

THE EMMC FLASH MEMORY IS FAILING, LEADING TO THE MAIN SCREEN BLACKING OUT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES HAPPENS RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN AT STOP AND WHEN THE CAR IS BOOTING UP. THIS PREVENTS ADJUSTMENT OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS INCLUDING CLIMATE CONTROL, MANUAL LIGHTING, CRUISE CONTROL/AUTOPILOT, MUSIC IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A MONTH, PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. SERVICE CAME OUT TO JUST RESET THE 12V AND UPDATE THE SOFTWARE AND SAID EVERYTHING IS GOOD BUT IT DEFINITELY IS NOT BECAUSE ITS GETTING WORSE DAY BY DAY

NHTSA ODI 11361923

MY INSTRUMENT PANEL AND BIG SCREEN GOES OUT AND IT STARTS TO BOOT LOOP WHILE I'M EITHER DRIVING OR WHEN I GET IN AND I TRY AND DRIVE OFF. MY TURN SIGNALS DON'T WORK AND I CAN'T SEE MY SPEED.

NHTSA ODI 11361442

CAR MCU (MAIN COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE VEHICLE SYSTEMS) FAILED. WHEN THIS HAPPENS YOU LOSE TURN SIGNALS AND A/C AMONG OTHER VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS. APPARENTLY THIS HAS BECOME SO COMMON MOST TESLA OWNERS I HEAR FROM HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THIS AT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. YOU CAN'T USE THE CAR UNLESS IT'S REPLACED AS SO MUCH DEPENDS ON IT (LIKE TURN SIGNALS & OTHER SAFETY FEATURES). TESLA SAYS IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE AND THE FIRST GENERATION (MCU1) HAS A MEMORY ISSUE THAT WILL CAUSE THIS FOR ALL OF THEM EVENTUALLY. YOUR ONLY CHOICE IS A REPLACEMENT (THAT WE ARE TOLD IS DEFECTIVE LIKE THE ORIGINAL) OR A FEW HUNDRED MORE FOR AN UPGRADE TO MCU2 WHICH TESLA DAYS THE DEFECT IS FIXED AND WON'T HAPPEN WITH. I FEEL BECAUSE THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT THAT AFFECTS LEGALLY REQUIRED ITEMS LIKE TURN SIGNALS AND OTHER SAFETY FEATURES, THAT TESLA SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL OR PERFORM THE REPLACEMENT AT NO COST TO OWNERS.

NHTSA ODI 11361583

THE CENTER TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY IS FAILING. THIS DISPLAY CONTROLS MOST FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE FROM CLIMATE CONTROL TO ENTERTAINMENT. CURRENTLY, I AM UNABLE TO ACTIVE THE REAR DEFROSTER OR ADJUST THE CLIMATE CONTROLS. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND THE PROBLEMS WILL GET WORSE OVER TIME.

NHTSA ODI 11354901

MCU BLACKED OUT WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AND WHEN PARKED (SOMETIMES WHILE IN REVERSE). 'AUTOPILOT FEATURES UNAVAILABLE' AND 'CENTER DISPLAY UNAVAILABLE' ERROR MESSAGES. REAR VIEW CAMERA WAS NOT AVAILABLE. CAR STARTUP AND REBOOTS TOOK EXCESSIVELY LONG TIME. NAVIGATION AND VOICE COMMANDS WERE INOPERATIVE OR UNUSABLE DUE TO DELAY / INACCURACY. WEB BROWSER AND SCREEN RENDERING WERE INCREASINGLY DELAYED. ALL HAPPENED THE DAY AFTER FULL SELF DRIVE UPGRADE WAS INSTALLED ON 6/26/2020 WITH 30K MILES. TESLA REPLACED REAR CAMERA, WIRING FROM REAR CAMERA TO MCU (8/10/2020 WITH 31.4K MILES) AND, ULTIMATELY, THE REPLACED THE MCU WITH THE SAME OLD MCU (TEGRA CHIPSET, 8GB EMMC ON 8/26/2020 WITH 31.5K MILES). LOGS WITH DATES, TIMES AND SYMPTOMS AVAILABLE, ALONG WITH TESLA SERVICE REPAIR INVOICES WITH DATES, MILEAGE AND PARTS REPLACED.

NHTSA ODI 11354519

THE EMMC FLASH MEMORY IS FAILING, LEADING TO THE MAIN SCREEN BLACKING OUT FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BOTH WHILE DRIVING AND WHEN AT STOP AND WHEN THE CAR IS BOOTING UP. THIS PREVENTS ADJUSTMENT OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS INCLUDING CLIMATE (FANS, DEFOG, AC), MANUAL LIGHTING, CRUISE CONTROL/AUTOPILOT, ETC. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A MONTH, PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE. TESLA IS TELLING US WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE FLASH MEMORY (~$500, BUT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THE PROBLEM WON'T REOCCUR), OR REPLACE OR UPGRADE THE MCU (~$1500-2500). THE CAR WAS RECENTLY UPGRADED TO FULL SELF DRIVE HARDWARE (PAID FOR IN 2016) AND OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THAT THIS CONTRIBUTES TO THE MEMORY DYING, SO WE CONTEND THIS DESIGN FLAW SHOULD BE REPAIRED BY TESLA FOR FREE.

NHTSA ODI 11352816

MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) STOOPED WORKING DUE TO A CHIP FAILURE. THIS RESULTED IN A BLANK MAIN SCREEN (WHICH CONTROLS MANY FUNCTIONS OF THE CAR). THE AC DID NOT WORK, NOT DID THE TURN SIGNALS, OR REVERSE CAMERA. I HAD THE FAULTY CHIP REPAIRED AT MY EXPENSE AND CAR FUNCTIONS FINE NOW. TESLA IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, AND IS UNWILLING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOMETHING THAT CAN CLEARLY CREATE AN UNSAFE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11350583

THE CENTER SCREEN (INFOTAINMENT CENTER) WENT BLANK ON ME AND I COULD NOT CONTROL MAIN FEATURES. I COULDN'T CONTROL MY SUNROOF WHICH WAS LEFT OPEN TO VENT. I COULDN'T USE MY REAR VIEW CAMERA. ALL SENSORS WERE NOT WORKING. THE AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATER WAS MY WORKING AND I COULD NOT CONTROL THEM. DEFROSTER AND RADIO WERE NOT WORKING AS WELL. I COULD NOT CONTROL THE HEADLIGHTS AND CERTAIN DRIVING MODES.

NHTSA ODI 11349272

THIS IS AN ON GOING PROBLEM WITH THE LARGE CENTER SCREEN THAT CONTROLS ALMOST EVERYTHING EXCEPT DRIVING THE CAR. IT WOULD FREEZE AND STOP ALL CONTROL OF NAVIGATION, AC, AUDIO, OTHER AUXILIARY FUNCTION. I HAD IT REPAIRED AT LEAST 10 TIMES. MOST RECENT PROBLEM IT HAS FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS IS ALL AUDIO FUNCTION STOPPED WORKING. NO AUDIO AT ALL, EVEN WHEN TURN SIGNAL WAS ON. IT TAKES MORE THAN ONE MINUTE TO START UP THE VEHICLE EVERY TIME.

NHTSA ODI 11348880

THE MCU FAILED EARLY WHICH CAUSES THE ENTIRE CAR TO BE UNDRIVABLE. THE CAR WILL NOT UNLOCK AND THE DRIVER DOES HAS ACCESS TO THE VEHICLE. APPARENTLY THIS WAS KNOWN FLAW BY TESLA AND INSTEAD OF FIXING IT UNDER WARRANTY, THEY ARE CHARGING THE OWNERS $2000-$5000 TO REPAIR.

NHTSA ODI 11344252

MCU FAILURE JUST OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY CAUSEING LACK OF SAFETY FEATURESSUCH AS LOSS OF BACKUP CAMERA, LOSS OF TURNING SIGNALS, LOSS OF EMERGENCY HAZARD LIGHTS, LOSS OF HEADLIGHT CONTROLS, UNLOCKING DOORS FROM INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. FEE TO REPLACE THESE BASIC SAFETY FEATURES WAS $2000

NHTSA ODI 11343714

HANDLE ON PASSENGER SIDE FAILED, COULD NOT OPEN DOOR. TOUCHSCREEN FAILURE, LOSS OF ALL SYSTEMS EXCEPT BASIC DRIVING FUNCTIONS, THIS HAPPENED AFTER TURNING ON CLIMATE MODE. NOW CLIMATE MODE IS CONSTANTLY ON RUNNING THE A/C FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS

NHTSA ODI 11343145

MY MAIN CENTER DISPLAY WENT BLANK. FAILED TO COME BACK AFTER MULTIPLE REBOOT ATTEMPTS. CLIMATE CONTROL, GPS, SUSPENSION, BACKUP CAMERA, AND MOST FUNCTIONALITY LOST. FIRST NOTICED WHEN STATIONARY IN MY GARAGE.

NHTSA ODI 11342834

THE MAIN SCREEN IN MY TESLA OFTEN EXPERIENCES LONG START TIMES, SHUTS OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY OR SURFACE STREET, LIMITING ABILITY TO CONTROL HEADLIGHTS, REAR VIEW CAMERA, OR OPERATE DEFROSTERS AND TURN SIGNALS. ONE INSTANCE, I WAS UNABLE TO SWITCH ON HEADLIGHTS WHILE DRIVING. ANOTHER TIME I WAS UNABLE TO ACTIVATE MY LEFT TURN SIGNAL WHILE DRIVING, INSTEAD THE CAR ACTIVATED A PORTION OF THE LEFT HEADLIGHT. I FREQUENTLY NEED TO FOLLOW A REBOOT PROCESS ON VEHICLE START IN ORDER TO DRIVE. THE DELAY IN OR NEED TO REBOOT PRIOR TO VEHICLE STARTUP HAS BEEN OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY IN RECENT MONTHS. I'VE ALSO EXPERIENCED GARBLED DISPLAY GRAPHICS WHILE DRIVING, REQUIRING THE NEED TO REBOOT (ONE OR MORE TIMES) TO OPERATE VEHICLE FUNCTION. THE VEHICLE IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND SERVICE CENTER INFORMED ME THAT THE MCU COMPUTER WILL FAIL IN APPROX. 1-1.5 YEARS, BUT COULD NOT BE REPLACED NOW.

NHTSA ODI 11342668