NHTSA Complaint #11343562 — 2015 TESLA MODEL S

WHEN TURNING ON MY VEHICLE, I NOTICED BUBBLES HAD FORMED AT THE TOP RIGHT EDGE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SCREEN. AFTER A BIT OF ONLINE RESEARCH, IT TURNED OUT THAT THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS IN TESLA MODEL S'S AND X'S. IF I HAD LET THE PROBLEM PROGRESS, THE LIQUID IN THE SCREEN WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY FLOWED OVER OTHER COMPONENTS BEHIND THE DASH AND STARTED DRIPPING OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE DASH ONTO THE DRIVER'S LEGS OR CARPET. TESLA CHARGES ABOUT $1400 TO REPLACE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SCREEN WITH AN IDENTICAL UNIT THAT MAY DEVELOP THE SAME PROBLEM AFTER ABOUT 4 YEARS SERVICE. I OPTED TO REPLACE THE SCREEN MYSELF FOR ABOUT $300 FOR A NEW OEM SCREEN SOLD BY AN ONLINE ENTREPRENEUR, AND A FEW OF HOURS OF WORK TO DISASSEMBLE THE DASH, REMOVE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COMPUTER, REPLACE THE SCREEN, AND REASSEMBLE THE DASH. TESLA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. TESLA SPEC'ED A SCREEN THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS HOLD UP TO THE CLIMATE RIGORS OF A CAR INTERIOR. THIS MAY NOT WARRANT A FULL RECALL, BUT TESLA SHOULD OFFER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS COMPONENT, AND PERFORM THE REPAIR AT NO COST THE THE OWNER