NHTSA Closes 3-Year-Old Probe Into Tesla Model X, S Vehicles Over Failure Of Touchscreen, Loss Of Rearview Camera Display

The U.S. auto safety regulator on Friday said that it has closed its three-year-old investigation into Tesla Inc‘s TSLA Model S and X vehicles over concerns about loss of rearview camera display.

What Happened: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration commenced the investigation in November 2020. It involved 158,716 units of model year 2012-2018 Model S sedans and model year 2016-2018 Model X SUVs equipped with NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device.

As part of the investigation, NHTSA identified that the 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device used in the vehicles would become fully consumed and be no longer operational in 5-6 years leading to a failure of the media control unit despite the expected life cycle of the vehicle being longer.

The lack of operationality of the media control unit will leave the rearview camera dysfunctional and cause a loss of defrosting and defogging setting controls, among others. The failure will also affect the Autopilot advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and turn signal functionality due to the possible loss of audible chimes, driver sensing, and alerts associated with these vehicle functions, the NHTSA said before issuing a recall request to Tesla.

While the company disputed the findings, it issued a recall nevertheless for vehicles equipped with the flash memory device on January 29, 2021, and provided a free hardware remedy.

Investigation Closure: NHTSA on Friday said that it has deemed the recall sufficient to address its concerns and closed the investigation.

“Based on available information, at this time, Tesla's recall appears to address the unreasonable risk to motor safety presented by the premature failure of the component. Accordingly, the investigation is closed,” the agency said.

However, NHTSA will continue to monitor the issue to ensure the effectiveness of the recall.

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