Wiper problems of the 2016 Tesla Model S

My 2016 Tesla Model S (45,500 miles) is experiencing a complete failure of the media control unit (mcu1), resulting in a total loss of the rearview camera display and defrost/defogging controls. This is a critical safety hazard. The unit was previously replaced by Tesla in 2021 under NHTSA recall 21v-035. However, this replacement part has failed again after only a few years of low-mileage use. Tesla service is refusing to provide a free repair or a goodwill discount for an mcu2 upgrade, claiming the 'recall repair' only had a 1-year warranty. It is unacceptable that a safety-critical component replaced under a federal recall fails twice in 45,000 miles. Tesla has failed to provide a permanent fix for the emmc defect identified by NHTSA. By refusing to restore the camera functionality without charging full price, Tesla is knowingly allowing a safety defect to persist. I request an investigation into these premature failures of recall-replaced components.

The center touchscreen in my Tesla Model S developed a yellow discoloration and later began leaking a sticky fluid from the edges of the display. This fluid appears to be seeping from inside the screen and emits a noticeable odor. The touchscreen is the primary interface for controlling most of the vehicle’s safety-critical systems, including the backup camera, gear selection, climate control, lights, and driver assistance settings. The leak causes visible streaking and distortion on the display. This directly impacts the rearview camera feed — making it harder to see obstacles or pedestrians when reversing — which is a federally mandated safety feature under fmvss 111. The problem worsens in hot weather and may result in fluid dripping onto electronics below, creating an electrical hazard or sudden display failure while driving. This appears to be a known design flaw in which the adhesive or seal inside the display fails over time. The issue can impair visibility of safety alerts, rearview camera images, and vehicle status, posing a significant safety risk to occupants and others.

When vehicle is placed in park the wipers engage continuously on the intermittent setting. This occurs every time the car is put in park regardless of the weather. These uncontrolled wipes on a dry windshield are causing damage to my windshield and the wipers.

The screen frequently locks up, during which time the defrost controls and backup camera are inoperable. Tesla seaside initially agreed to perform the emmc recall, but now with my car in the shop and me stranded an hour from home, they will not agree to perform the recall unless I agree to pay $2200 for a new screen as well, as the adhesive holding the screen is failing.

The main screen has been going black approximately every 2 minutes while I am driving. It flashes off and then back on. I lose my backup camera, and all access to other features such as defrost, which can be scary, not to mention distracting. This issue started in may 2023, and I brought the car in. An upgrade to the 64gb emmc (originally was an 8gb chip) was performed in may. I believe Tesla was asked to, but would not, recall cars with this issue; they would only upgrade the chip. In August, 2023 we had issues again. They "reflashed" the unit and it was ok, but only for a couple of weeks. In addition to the recall, I have a warranty, but they will not replace the the computer unit without charging repairs to me. They tell me the hardware is outdated and the only true fix is to upgrade (at my cost - $2,000) to the "infotainment" system. Since the upgrade to the 64mb chip has not worked, I believe they are required to do more, but they are telling me they will not, unless I pay. For some owners, I believe the upgrade was sufficient, but it has not been my experience. I have tried to reach someone above the service center manager, but it is impossible to get to a person. I have filled out contact forms on their website, with no response. I believe Tesla is putting my safety at risk because they will not perform what they know is the only true remedy.

Bubbles first appeared in the dashboard / instrument control panel display on the driver side on 3/25. The bubbles have been moving around over time and at some points while I've been driving (unable to take a photo), have travelled to the speedometer blocking my visibility of current speed.

Tesla has released new firmware 11 software, version 2021. 44. 25. 2, for the master computer screen which is what controls all the software controlled functions of the vehicle. During the update, which was not communicated in advance of the update, Tesla did a complete user interface change & redesign. This materially changed how the vehicle functions from a usability standpoint and a safety standpoint. With the said user interface update and change (again, complete redesign), Tesla changed locations of "buttons" to activate functions required for safety. One major change (among too many to be able to list in a safety complaint) was window defroster/defogger, to keep windows clear of fog & frost. Tesla has moved buttons and options which were directly accessible with a single touch and no menu changes, and has moved said changes into sub-menu's. Doing this now requires the driver to take their eyes off the road, and at least one hand off the wheel for an extended length of time to navigate sub-menu's to find the placement of the button to activate defrosters. Instead of a fraction of a second glance to hit the button, now requires 2-5 seconds of looking to find it. Same goes for heat/ac controls. Further, the redesign materially changes the functionality of the vehicles menus, and completely changes the functionality of every and all options under the menu's. Again, Tesla did this with no prior notification that such a change would be taking place. Further, Tesla service will not reverse the software changes. Tesla, with this update, has focused more on a stupid "holiday light show", and providing more games to the driver. I do not want a stupid light show or games. I want my vehicle to operate how it was advertised in a usability manor that does not decrease safety.

The emmc failure of Tesla Model S/x manufactured from 2012 to mid 2018 has forced Tesla to issue a recall to replace the aforementioned emmc chip. A failure in that chip means the ac controls stop working, as well as some lightning signals and the rear camera. I experienced the failure before Tesla issued a recall, when my vehicle had ~29000mi. Since the vehicle was not safe to drive, I did the repair myself: I bought an emmc chip, I took out the tegra daughterboard from the vehicle and brought it to an specialized electronics shop, they replaced the emmc chip and I copied the contents of the old memory chip into the new one. Once Tesla offered the recall, they also offered a reimbursement for those who had paid out-of-pocket for this repair through an online form. I filled the online form, uploading invoices for the emmc chip and the electronics repair shop work, but they denied my reimbursement. Because of that, I feel that Tesla has not honored the recall in my case.

My 2016 Tesla (manufactured in 01/2017, mileage of 60,400) had the issues with the instrument screen blackout several times. Each time, I lost control of the touch screen, which caused the loss of rear camera view, ac, light and drive control, etc. , especially the fogged up on windshield. This is a dangerous issue. I sent my car to Tesla service center (tsc) in matthews, nc on 1/16/21 and they refused to repair my emmc as my car's instrument screen could restart up and was not completely dead. Andy at tsc told me that I'd have to wait for my car to die completely and touch screen becomes dead and cannot be restarted in order for them to service it under the extended warrantee. Ironically, I picked up my car from tsc this past weekend and on my driving home on highway I-85 south outside charlotte, nc, I lost my touch screen again (see attached pictures). It is outrageous for Tesla to ignore this problem. By asking owners to experience a complete touch screen failure before warrantee services can be activated, Tesla is committing serious crimes by putting drivers in danger!.

I am sure you are aware of this problem which was just announced for recall - central mcu unit causes black screen which stops majority of car functions to operate. However - here is a new twist! my unit was replaced 2 weeks ago and within 48 hours the problems ongoing black screen problems re-appeared twice (please, see attached image). Brought back the vehicle to Tesla repair center and after a week Tesla's response - "we reset errors and you are all set". These original mcu1 units are flawed and are a danger to drivers because problems can happen any time - while you are driving, backing-up, parking or charging. These issues cannot be rectified on the road and are a total hazard. Replacing one dead mcu1 with another one is simply delaying the inevitable. Tesla is aware of the fundamental design problems which is why they not only introduced a more stable mcu2 but also have been very proactively pushing customers to purchase it.

The multi-media screen when blank and would not reboot in Dec. 2020. It had gone blank before many times over the years (more than I think most cars) but always I was able to reboot the car/computer. I had complained a couple of times at the service center going back a few years and got advice to reboot. Lately it had been happening quite frequently. This time it would not work. I called Tesla and the rep asked if the turn signals worked and I confirmed that they did not. He indicated that this was a safety issue and I should not drive the car and schedule a repair ASAP. Meanwhile, I had already received a notice in the mail of a volunary repair that telsa would do if the screen went out and woudl not rebooot. I was able to get an earlier appointment than the 2 week one that was offered by going into the Tesla service center (as they had advised I could try to do). I was later told that they would not voluntarily repair this for me and I would have to pay. It took them a number of days to get back to me on this. Tesla service center rep and manager indicated that even though the end result of my issue was the same -- no screen, no rear back up camera, no turn signals, no defrost presumably -- my issue was caused by a defective audio chip for the display and not the defective multi-media chip. I had the same safety issues but they required that I pay out of pocket fo the repair. They explained that Tesla had figure out a less expensive way to swap out the mulit media chip but for the audio chip it required a full replacement of the panel or something and that cost them more. I asked about who can I escalate this to and was told I woudl hae to write the legal department. I wrote the legal department on March 12, 2021 to request a refund. They have still not written me back or even acknowledged my letter. Since I wrote my letter to Tesla, my undestanding is that NHTSA has required Tesla to issue a recall to repair a blank screen chip issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the instrument panel inadvertently turned blank and the defroster became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated he was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not repair the vehicle; however, the vehicle memory was reset. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer who informed the contact that they could not assist and advised him to depress an unknown button on the instrument panel to record the time of occurrence whenever the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred shortly after receiving the recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting). The contact stated he had not been contacted by the dealer for the recall repair as advised in the recall notification he received. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

The only manual for operation of my car is on screen. The car computer will not load the screen for the manual so we have been unable to access any safety or operation manuals for months. I again took my car to Tesla service this week and the service department said they have no fix. There is no other operation manual and to wait for a firmware update they may help but they are not sure. They refused to replace the mcu. My car is still under full warranty. We suspect the issues with loading the manual is related to failure of the touchscreen/mcu. We have had increasing episodes of our screen going dark requiring us to pull over and not drive until computer reboots. We are unable to use our back up camera when the screen is black. The map features loads very slowly. This is a complex car and we need to be able to look up information regarding safe operation.

The car has a defect mcu. All safety feature of the car has been disabled. I can not control climate control. I have lost my rear view camera. I can not make any changes to any setting to my car. I cannot turn off my car and my car is constantly on. I have to pull fuses to shut off certain aspects of my car or my battery will have significant drain while parked. I have brought my car into the a Tesla service center to have the issue repaired. They do not have the parts and keep delaying the repair. The defective mcu is a know issue, I am surprised Tesla will not replace the unit with a non defective unit and will only replace it with refurbished parts. Also, for a know defect that affects the safety of the car, why wont Tesla keep an ample stockpile of boards to repair the issue. All they are doing is pushing the issue further down the link without any intention to properly fix the defective mcu.

Tesla Model S center touchscreen and associated assistance &infortainment features have become unstable and perform correctly only intermittently. Would have checked more boxes above in terms of systems affected but only allowed 3. Backup camera slow to come up (when working). System shutdowns and reboots occur while driving and parked. Backup camera, climate control, defogging systems, head light control, vehicle lock/unlock, turn signal indicator noice, and all driver assistance such as automatic breaking, adaptive cruise control, navigation etc are affected when this occurs. Variety of errors with entire touchscreen system including lack of response to voice commands, phone connections and audio controls occur nearly every day whether connected to wifi, lte, driving or stationary. Audio system will sometimes change volume when these errors occur or will be unavailable to change to a safer volume. Issues have been occurring for the past year at least but have become much worse over time. Have repeatedly brought up these concerns with manufacturer who states system is performing according to manufacturer standards and/or "known firmware issue". These issues absolutely affect driving safety.

The center touchscreen display is failing. This display controls most functions of the vehicle from climate control to entertainment. Currently, I am unable to active the rear defroster or adjust the climate controls. This is a known issue and the problems will get worse over time.

VIN: [xxx] while driving air suspension has wildly activated. Unable to manually turn headlights on at night. Entertainment system has, uncommandedly, activated on full volume and unable to reduce/mute. Bluetooth link disconnected from phone eliminating handsfree ability mid-call. Mcu (media control unit)/mainscreen has rebooted on its own, with high outside heat, phoenix, arizona< shutting off cabin cooling for as long as 5 minutes. These are primary safety concerns and major distractions. Additionally, there is frequent loss of gps/navigation position, false aural warnings and sometimes a completely unresponsive mcu that a reset sometimes/temporarily clears. This has happened since the summer through now both locally within the phoenix, arizona area, parts of northern arizona, nevada and California at different times, elevations, climates and time of day. I have video that I can share with you if needed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Main display failure. Unable to visualize controls. Temp over 100 degrees in car. Could not defog windows. Unable to out car in drive or reverse.

My mcu failed which caused a series of safety issues. The backup camera no longer works. I can not control exterior lights. I cannot use the front or rear defroster which is problematic since the ac is stuck on the on position which causes condensation to form on the windshield, but without defrost control I cannot effectively clear the window. In additional all sounds are disabled which means safety systems such as turn signals and other warnings such as forward collision warning do not work nor can these systems be adjusted.

The main control screen has been intermittently inactive or black. Almost everything in the car is controlled by this screen. I have asked them to fix it for over two years on over six occasions with no resolution. The screen now at 64k miles is totally dead and will not restart. It disables the ability to charge the motor drive system battery, the ac heat and defroster system, control of the lights and wipers. According to thousands of web pages this issue is caused by software disabling the main file system memory chip prematurely. Telsa service wants me to pay $1146 to fix this out of warranty even though I complained about it multiple times during warranty. It makes the car useless and unsafe and there should be a factory recall issued.

The main touched which controls majority of car functions just randomly freezes. The car is drivable, but barely. Ac blows air at full blast but doesn't cool, signals don't work, lights are stuck either on or off. Etc. Can't lock the door. Defrost cannot be activated. So it's not trivial.

Center screen shut off while driving due to a 'mcu' failure (diagnosed by Tesla service). I lost ability to control taillights, rearview camera, high beams, climate control, charging information, navigation, passenger airbag indicator. I was driving on a multi lane highway when it failed. Drivetrain, brakes and steering seem unaffected. At Tesla service they tried to diagnose, and one of the resets disabled turn signals, which is a legal issue in addition to safety. The screen had rebooted several times on its own in the preceding weeks.

First time: mcu went blank 2 25 2020 2016. 5 ms 75d 92,180k miles mfd by Tesla 7/16 build date. Drivivg to Tesla service center charlotte, nc. First repair 25 Feb 2020: "concern: customer states the touchscreen is blank confirmed mcu was blank and did not respond. Performed 12v reset and display did not come back on. Necessary to manually install firmware update and then install a second package using over the air method. Firmware packages successfully installed and center display return to operation. High memory usage was due to satellite map data. If this symptom returns, replacement of the mcu will be necessary. Correction: general diagnosis price $175. 00 second time: mcu went blank 3 30 2020 Tesla service center removed and replaced the mcu. Total cost to me amount . . . $1,544. 40. My safety issue was the ac and heat and defrost inoperative. Along with my Model S unable to charge and loosing charge. When my black screen happened my ac/heat did not go to default. . . It just didn't work. I live on a mountain and when I was driving to the Tesla SC in charlotte 117 miles away, on a cold morning the windscreen fogged up. I had to wipe it with a rag on a stick. Other owners have mentioned this on youtube. Com videos as a safety issue. . Read more...

Front windshield has ghosting affect when viewing lights at night. This is most visible with led lights such as new car tail lights and newer traffic lights. Lights appears to have multiple version of the same image with an additional set being above the actual light and another set below. These additional lights make it very distracting and difficult to see when there are multiple sources of lights such as heavy traffic. Car was tested by a Tesla service center and they said the multiple images were within specs and a replacement windshield was not necessary. The problem happens every time the car is driven at night when other cars have their headlights and tail lights turned on. The problem only happens when viewing through the front windshield.

Immediately after purchase of the vehicle from Tesla and on my way home from the dealer, I rolled my driver-side window down, then attempted to roll the window up upon entering the freeway. The window went half-way up, then rolled back down automatically. I attempted many times to roll the window up, but it would not go up. On the freeway, this caused a safety issue due to wind and debris entering inside the vehicle and causing safety problems for me. I took the car back to Tesla for repair. They indicated they fixed the problem, but this issue has occurred 6 more times, and each time I take the car in, they indicate it has been fixed, while the problem occurs again, not just with the driver-side window, but with other windows as well. I am seriously concerned about my safety and the safety of my family. This issue has occurred in various situations causing serious safety issues: 1. I took my car to big bear to ski, and the problem occurred in extremely cold temperature, exposing me and my family to extreme temperatures while attempting to operate the vehicle with the window down and unable to maintain cabin temperature for a few hours while trying to come back from the trip. 2. In two instances this issue occurred in the rain, causing water to enter the cabin and interfering with visibility and safely operating the vehicle. 3. In one instance this issue occurred while I was passing a place where landscaping sprinklers were on and I was sprayed in the face with water, seriously jeopardizing my visibility and I had to stop in place to clear my face from water before being able to see again and safely resume operation of the vehicle. 4. There are many more instances. Tesla is refusing to take back the vehicle as a lemon, despite repairing the vehicle 7 times all together, with the problem still occurring intermittently. I refuse to let my family drive the vehicle for fear of their safety, and I only drive it myself under very limited circumstances.

Media control unit screen cycles on and off while driving, causing a total loss of critical safety controls including lighting, defrosting, and reverse camera capabilities. Tesla recorded this complaint previously as a cosmetic issue and agreed to fix under warranty, only to later retract.