2015 TESLA MODEL S Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TESLA MODEL S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A LOUD SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PLUGGED UP AND CHARGING. THE CONTACT DISCONNECTED THE CHARGER IN FEAR THAT THE BATTERY OR THE ENGINE MAY EXPLODE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO BE FULLY CHARGED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,874.

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

WHILE BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY, I NOTICED THAT THE CENTER SCREEN (MCU) WAS NOT TURNING ON. AFTER TRYING SEVERAL SYSTEM RESETS, I GAVE UP AND USED OUR OTHER VEHICLE FOR THE TRIP. AFTER SCHEDULING A SERVICE APPOINTMENT, I WAS CONTACTED BY A TESLA SUPPORT TO FURTHER DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT. THE MEMORY CHIP (EMMC) IN MY VEHICLE'S MEDIA CONTROL UNIT (MCU) HAS FAILED, WHICH PREVENTS THE MCU FROM FUNCTIONING. THE MCU CONTROLS MANY ASPECTS OF THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING LIGHTING, SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENT, CLIMATE CONTROL, NAVIGATION, ACCESSORIES, ENTERTAINMENT, VEHICLE STATUS, ETC. WITHOUT THE MCU, THE VEHICLE IS STILL DRIVABLE, BUT IN A SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED STATE. THE BACKUP CAMERA IS NOT AVAILABLE, THE CLIMATE SYSTEM IS OFF AND CAN NOT BE TURNED ON. VARIOUS AUDIBLE WARNINGS CAN OCCUR SPURIOUSLY, LIKE THE CHIME FOR AN OPEN DOOR OR HATCH, AND OBSTACLE PROXIMITY. TESLA IS AWARE OF THE EMMC FAILURE IN THEIR EARLIER VEHICLES (THOSE EQUIPPED WITH MCU VERSION 1, LIKE MINE), AND OFFERS A TO REPACE THE MCU WITH A REFURBISHED UNIT FOR $1100, OR AN UPGRADE TO MCU2 (WHICH INCLUDES THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER COMPUTER/SCREEN AS WELL) FOR $2500. THIS SERIOUS ISSUE IS DUE TO A DESIGN DEFICIENCY OF THE VERSION 1 MCU. TESLA SHOULD ORDER A RECALL OF ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES AND DO THE REPAIR AT NO COST TO THE OWNER.

THE MAIN COMPUTER SCREEN (MCU), ON MY 2015 TESLA MODEL S WENT COMPLETELY BLACK WHILE DRIVING IN THE CITY. I AM NOT ABLE TO READ OR CHANGE ANY CONTROLS ON THE CAR OR COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMPUTER PROGRAM.

THE EMMC CHIP IN THE MEDIA CONTROL UNIT FAILED RESULTING IN THE LARGE TOUCH SCREEN NO LONGER WORKING. I LOST CONTROL OF THE TURN SIGNALS, CLIMATE CONTROL, REAR VIEW CAMERA, CHARGING, NAVIGATION, AND AUDIO. IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM DESCRIBED IN YOUR PE 20-010 INVESTIGATION DOCUMENT.

TOUCH SCREEN BLANK, MCU FAILED. NO REAR BACKUP CAMERA, TURN SIGNALS, AIR CONDITIONING. SLOW TO START, CREEP MODE FAILED AMONG OTHER PROBLEMS.

THE CENTER SCREEN/MCU SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING (WENT BLACK). TRYING REBOOT/STANDARD TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS HAS NOT YIELD ANY SUCCESS. AFTER A FEW DAYS, MANY OTHER FEATURES, INCLUDING BLINKERS (EXCLUDING EMERGENCY/FLASHERS LIGHTS, WHICH ACTIVATE BUT LACKING SOUND) STOPPED WORKING. MADE AN APPOINTMENT THROUGH TESLA APP, WITH DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE, ON 6/24 FOR 6/30 (EARLIEST AVAILABLE DATE); ON 6/26, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL THAT THE APPOINTMENT HAD BEEN MOVED TO A SERVICE CENTER FOR 7/7. ON THE SAME DAY (6/26/2020) AND ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER INITIAL RMAIL, I RECEIVED ANOTHER EMAIL THAT MY APPOINTMENT HAD BEEN CANCELED "PER YOUR REQUEST", BUT I HAD NOT REQUESTED A CANCELLATION. I VISITED TESLA'S SERVICE CENTER IN SAN DIEGO - MIRAMAR BETWEEN 7/7-7/10 TO INQUIRE ABOUT SERVICE CANCELLATION AND REQUEST A SERVICE FOR MY CAR, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD CANCELLED MY APPOINTMENT DUE TO PARTS UNAVAILABILITY AND I WOULD BE CONTACTED LATER ONCE PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE TO SCHEDULE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT; HOWEVER, THE SERVICE CENTER REFUSED TO LOOK AT/EVALUATE MY CAR WHATSOEVER "DUE TO COVID" AND TOLD ME THAT BASED ON OTHER SITUATIONS, THEY'RE VERY SURE THE MCU NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY REPLACED (~$1500 OUT OF POCKET COST) BUT THEY DO NOT HAVE A REPLACEMENT YET; I EXPLAINED MY BLINKERS AND MANY OTHER SAFETY FEATURES (REARVIEW CAMERA, CLIMATE CONTROL, "AUTO-PILOT", ETC.) ALSO NOT WORKING AND THEY MENTIONED THOSE SHOULD TYPICALLY CONTINUE TO WORK AFTER A MCU MALFUNCTION BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE A LOOK AT THE CAR UNTIL THEY RECEIVE REPLACEMENT MCU. IT'S NOW PAST 8/3 AND I STILL HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM TESLA ON PATH TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE/NEW SERVICE APPOINTMENT. IT'S ALSO WORTH MENTIONING I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING CAR'S CURRENT MILEAGE (LAST UPDATE ON APP FROM 6/23 READS 103,683 MI) OR OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE DUE TO THIS ISSUE AS WELL.

MCU FAILED ON MY CAR. BLINKER SOUND WOULDN'T WORK AND THUS DIDN'T KNOW IF SIGNALS WERE WORKING OR NOT. AC/DEFROST WASN'T WORKING EITHER. DURING THE WINTER THIS WOULD BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE OF FOGGING. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. I PULLED OVER AND A RESTART OF THE MCU BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE BUT AM CONCERNED THAT THE DOCUMENTED WEAR-OUT OF THE EMMC NAND FLASH IS CAUSING MY MCU TO FAIL PREMATURELY.

THE MCU FAILED WHILE WE WERE TRAVELING, WHICH BASICALLY LOCKED THE CLIMATE CONTROL, ACCESS TO SUSPENSION, SPEED CONTROL, AUTOPILOT, NAVIGATION, RADIO, TURN SIGNALS, AND BACK UP CAMERA.

MY MEDIA CONTROL UNIT FAILED IN THE VEHICLE MAKING IT UNSAFE TO OPERATE AS THE TURN SIGNALS, DEFROST, HEADLIGHT CONTROLS, AMONG MANY OTHER FEATURES OF THE VEHICLE WERE NO LONGER ACCESSIBLE OR FUNCTIONING.