Tesla Model S and X faulty touchscreen recalled in Australia
Tesla has announced a voluntary recall in Australia of the Model S and X luxury EVs to fix a fault that blanks out the centre display touchscreen.
The recall covers 2508 Teslas sold in Australia between May 1 2014 and June 30 2018. Of the 2508, 1677 were Model S and 831 Model X.
The Australian recall follows on from an NHTSA investigation of 159,000 Model S and X in the USA for touchscreen issues. Tesla ended up recalling more than 130,000 vehicles there and the recall also flowed through to other countries including China.
The Product Safety Australia recall notice advises the screen may black out and the reversing camera, exterior turn signal lighting and windshield defogging and defrosting controls may not work.
All the affected vehicles are fitted with an 8GB embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) in the media control unit. It is replaced in the recall by a 64GB card and software is updated.
Tesla says the eMMC becomes faulty “due to accumulated wear”.
“We are not aware of any accidents or injuries resulting from this condition,” Tesla states in an FAQ on its website.
“There is no risk to vehicle drivability if the eMMC malfunctions, including no effect on acceleration, braking or steering.”
Tesla says as a first step Model S and X drivers who are encountering difficulties should check if they are running a software release older than 2020.48.12. If they are they should update. More info on that can be found here.
Tesla says the newer software will ensure the retention of all safety items even if the 8GB eMMC is faulty and the screen goes persistently blank, or the car issues a vehicle alert signalling memory storage device degradation.
Tesla says Model S and X owners who have previously paid for these problems to be fixed, could now be eligible for a refund.
The fix will take approximately 75 minutes in the Model S sports sedan and 90 minutes for the Model X SUV.
New generation Model S and X have been announced in the USA with the touchscreen switching from portrait to lansdscape orientation. Sales in Australia don’t start until 2022.
