Complains about Tesla’s touch screens
US government furthers investigation into Tesla camera failures
American safety regulators are continuing their investigation into complaints that Tesla’s giant touch screens can fail and, as a result, can cause the cars to lose the rear camera display and other functions. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report, about 159,000 cars could be affected by this problem.
So far, no decision on recall
The agency said an engineering analysis has been opened to assess the scope and safety-related consequences of the apparent defect, which could determine whether or not the models need to be recalled. Tesla press officers have not commented yet on this issue.
Failure of the touchscreen can result in loss of the rear camera image display when reverse gear is selected, reducing rear visibility when backing up, the agency’s report said. The touchscreen failure can also affect defogging ability and audible chimes relating to driver assistance technology, autopilot and turn signals.
The preliminary investigation started in summer
A preliminary investigation was opened in June covering 63,000 Model S vehicles with screens controlled by flash memory devices with finite lifespans based on the number of program and erase cycles. The screens can fail prematurely because the memory can wear out. The same screens and processors were used in 2012 through 2018 Model S and 2016 to 2018 Model X vehicles built through early 2018.
