NHTSA Complaint #11384714 — 2013 TESLA MODEL S

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number 11384714
Vehicle 2013 TESLA MODEL S
Component ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Date of Incident
Date Filed
Mileage 92,000 miles
Crash No
Fire No
Injuries 0
Deaths 0
Vehicle Towed No
State NY

Consumer Description

IN JUNE 2019 I NOTICED THE CONTROL SCREEN OF MY 2013 TESLA MODEL S GOING BLANK RANDOMLY WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION AND THEN RE-ACTIVATING AFTER MINUTES, HOURS OR UNTIL THE CAR SAT BEFORE BEING DRIVEN AGAIN. THIS CONTINUES AND I AM UNABLE TO ACCESS THE SCREEN TO SELECT THE BACKUP CAMERA AS THE SCREEN FREEZES AND DOES NOT ALLOW USE OF ANY FEATURES. PERIODICALLY THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS WILL NOT EXTEND WHILE DRIVING UNTIL WE HAVE DRIVEN FOR 5 TO 30 MINUTES. I HAVE REPORTED THE SCREEN BLANKING ISSUE AND MIRRORS TO TESLA SERVICE IN SYOSSET NY AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT IS RELATED TO MY MODEL S BEING AN OLDER MODEL WITH AN OLDER COMPUTER THAT HAS TO 'CATCH UP' TO WHAT IS BEING SELECTED ON THE SCREEN. THE SOFTWARE IT IS RUNNING IS REALLY INTENDED FOR NEWER MODELS THAT HAVE A FASTER COMPUTER. I WAS TOLD THAT SINCE THE CAR WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY, TESLA WOULD HAVE TO CHARGE ME TO DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM AND WOULD PROBABLY REACH THE CONCLUSION THAT TESLA SERVICE TOLD ME. I RECENTLY READ ABOUT TESLA'S WARRANTY ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM: TOUCHSCREEN COMPONENT ' 8GB EMBEDDED MULTIMEDIACARD (EMMC) IN MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU). IT APPEARS THAT WHAT IS DESCRIBED IN THIS WARRANTY ADJUSTMENT IS IDENTICAL TO THE SYMPTOMS WITH MY TESLA AS I AM UNABLE TO ACCESS THE SAFETY FEATURES, REAR CAMERA AND SIDE VIEW MIRRORS. MY CAR HAS 113,500 MILES AND THE PROGRAM ONLY COVERS CARS WITH LESS THAN 100,000 MILES. I FEEL THAT I WAS MISLED BY TESLA SERVICE AS I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM PRIOR TO THE CAR GOING OVER 100,000 MILES AND WAS ADVISED THAT THIS WAS NOT AN ISSUE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. IT SEEMS THAT TESLA IS AVOIDING A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH OLDER MODEL S CARS SUCH AS MINE. I BELIEVE TESLA SHOULD REPLACE THE MCU UNIT OF MY MODEL S FOR NO CHARGE AS THEY KNEW THIS PROBLEM EXISTED AND MISLED ME TO THINK THAT THE ISSUES WITH MY BACKUP CAMERA AND MIRRORS WAS NOT RELATED TO ANY ISSUES WITH THE MODEL S.

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