The feds have gotten some information about 158,000 cars over worries that their touch-screen displays could come up short following a couple of years.
The screens represent a safety hazard since they permit drivers to control a few key highlights in Tesla’s Model S cars and Model X SUVs, including the reinforcement cameras and cooling frameworks that de-mist the windows, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Drivers can fail to keep a grip on those capacities if the displays fizzle, expanding the danger of an accident, controllers told the electric-car producer in a Wednesday letter.
NHTSA asked Tesla to either review the unsafe vehicles and tell their proprietors about the issue or clarify why a review isn’t required. The influenced cars incorporate Model S’s from the 2012 through 2018 model years and Model X’s from 2016 through 2018, authorities said.
At the base of the issue is the processor Tesla utilizes in the displays, NHTSA says. Every one has a Nvidia-made memory chip with eight gigabytes of limit, some portion of which is spent each time the car is turned on, as indicated by the letter.
In the end the chip hits full limit — which can occur following five to six years — and the screen turns into a futile dark square shape, NHTSA says.
“During our survey of the information, Tesla gave affirmation that all units will definitely bomb given the memory gadget’s limited stockpiling limit,” Stephen Ridella, director of NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation, said in the letter.
NHTSA, which began researching the issue in June, said Tesla has attempted to address the issue with “over-the-air” programming refreshes, yet those are “procedurally and considerably lacking,” the office said.
It’s unsure whether Tesla will give a review for the influenced cars. The company — drove by billionaire chief executive Elon Musk — didn’t promptly react to a solicitation for input early Thursday.
NHTSA’s letter came under two months after Tesla reviewed in excess of 9,500 vehicles in the US over worries about pieces of their rooftops taking off and free jolts meddling with the driver’s capacity to direct.
In October, the company reviewed around 30,000 vehicles in China over potential suspension issues, which Tesla supposedly asserted were brought about by “driver abuse” instead of any deformity.