NHTSA Complaint #11340296 — 2014 TESLA MODEL S

WHEN STARTING MY VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE'S CENTER CONSOLE SCREEN DID NOT POWER ON. THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER (BEHIND STEERING WHEEL) DID POWER ON, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS VERY SLOW (ABOUT 2 MINUTES) BEFORE IT COULD BE PUT INTO "DRIVE" (THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SAID THAT VEHICLE WAS POWERING UP). I THEN ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE CENTER CONSOLE SCREEN (MCU) MANUALLY (BY PRESSING BOTH BUTTONS ON STEERING WHEEL FOR 20 SECONDS), BUT NOTHING HAPPENED. I BEGAN DRIVING, AND NOTICED SEVERAL FUNCTIONS WERE NOT WORKING: WHEN INDICATING TURN SIGNALS, THERE WAS NO SOUND, AND USING A LARGE GLASS WINDOW TO VERIFY, THE EXTERIOR TURN SIGNALS WERE NOT LIGHTING UP. THE REAR VIEW CAMERA AND PARKING SENSORS WOULD NOT ACTIVATE WHEN CAR WAS IN "REVERSE" GEAR. HEADLIGHTS WOULD TURN ON AUTOMATICALLY WHEN IT WAS DARK, BUT I HAD NO DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS (ALSO VERIFIED WITH GLASS WINDOW). I COULD ALSO NOT MANUALLY TURN HEADLIGHTS / DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHTS ON OR OFF. THE CLIMATE WAS OFF, AND COULD NOT BE CONTROLLED. CHARGING WAS LIMITED, THE VEHICLE WOULD CHARGE BUT A MUCH SLOWER RATE THAN USUAL (THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SAID IT WAS CHARGING AT ONLY 8 / 40 AMPS 240V). I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE FOR A WEEK, FOR SHORT DISTANCES, AND THE VEHICLE REMAINED IN THE SAME STATE. SEVERAL MONTHS PRIOR, I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO TESLA FOR SERVICE, BECAUSE OF CONSTANT RESTARTS OF MCU EVERY TIME VEHICLE WAS STARTED, AFTER A SOFTWARE UPDATE. I WAS TOLD TO UPDATE TO NEXT AVAILABLE VERSION, WHICH DID RESOLVE THE ISSUE. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED THIS IS THE FIRST SYMPTOM OF MCU FAILURE, AND I WOULD EXPERIENCE FREQUENT RESTARTS OF MCU WHILE DRIVING AFTERWARDS (WHICH I DID) UNTIL THE UNIT WOULD FAIL ENTIRELY (WHICH IT ALSO DID). I AM SURPRISED TESLA DID NOT WARN ME OF ANY OF THESE THINGS WHEN I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE, INSTEAD WAITING UNTIL VEHICLE BECAME UNSAFE TO DRIVE.