NHTSA Complaint #11383654 — 2017 TESLA MODEL X

ON MULTIPLE OCCASSIONS (SOMETIMES WHILE STATIONARY AND SOMETIMES WHILE MOVING), THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) HAS BECOME INOPERABLE. IF IT OCCURS PRIOR TO A TRIP, THIS MEANT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DRIVE FOR THE SEVERAL MINUTES IT TAKES TO PERFORM A RE-BOOT. WHEN IT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING, IT MEANT THAT THE FOLLOWING SYSTEMS COULD NOT BE USED AND/OR ADJUSTED: THE REAR VIEW CAMERA, THE RADIO VOLUME, THE TEMPERATURE CONTROL, THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM, AND POSSIBLY OTHERS. I HAVE PROVIDED TESLA WITH TIME STAMPS OF ALMOST ALL FAILURE EVENTS AND TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THEIR SERVICE CENTERS 3 DIFFERENT TIMES. ALTHOUGH AN ASPECT OF THIS MCU (THE "EMMC") IS KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE AND THE VEHICLE IS UNDER WARRANTY, TESLA HAS REPEATEDLY REFUSED TO REPLACE THE MCU. INSTEAD THEY HAVE, ON THE LATEST SERVICE APPOINTMENT, INDICATED THERE ARE "FPGA ERRORS" AND THERE IS A "FIRMWARE BUG" THAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM AND THAT THIS FIRMWARE BUG WILL BE ADDRESSED WITH A PENDING FIRMWARE UPDATE. IN THE MEANTIME, THEY SUGGEST PERFORMING A "RE-BOOT" OF THE SYSTEM EVERY TIME IT FAILS. I AM WORRIED THAT THIS MAY CAUSE FOR AN UNSAFE DRIVING SITUATION AND HOPE THAT THE NHTSA WILL COMPEL TESLA TO RECALL VEHICLES FROM THIS ERA (FROM WHICH THE MCUS ARE KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE).