2015 Tesla Model S: screen or infotainment failure

Filed Nov 8, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · IL

The center touchscreen suddenly went completely black and became unresponsive without warning. Repeated attempts to restart it using the steering-wheel scroll buttons have failed. The black screen prevents me from accessing important vehicle functions, including the rearview camera and other controls plus the sound system is affected so I do not hear any warnings. This creates a serious safety concern while driving. Additionally, the driver's instrument cluster remains black for approximately 20–30 seconds after pressing the brake pedal before the Tesla logo appears and the display becomes operational. This delays access to essential driving information. These problems have occurred during normal vehicle use. The vehicle drives normally once the instrument cluster starts, and its driving range and charging behavior appear unchanged. However, I am concerned that these electronic failures could put me, my passengers, and other road users at risk. The vehicle has been professionally inspected, and I was advised that it likely needs a replacement Media Control Unit (MCU) and 12-volt battery. These components have been identified as needing replacement to address the electronic problems. However, the repairs have not yet been completed. I respectfully ask the federal safety agency to investigate whether these failures represent a broader safety defect affecting other Tesla Model S vehicles, particularly involving the MCU, eMMC memory, touchscreen, and instrument cluster. If a safety defect is identified, I hope appropriate recall action will be considered.

Filed Sep 25, 2026 · Electrical · CA

In XXX I paid $2,176.50 out of pocket for an MCU (media control unit) replacement at a Tesla service center on this 2015 Tesla Model S (VIN [XXX]). The invoice documents a black screen and internal hardware failure — the exact 8GB eMMC defect later recalled under the federal safety agency recall 20V710. I filed for reimbursement under Tesla's General Recall Reimbursement Plan in XXX. Tesla acknowledged receipt on XXX (reference XXX), said the request was 'under review,' and promised an update in 2-3 weeks. Tesla never responded again — no decision, no payment — for over four years despite follow-ups. A second vehicle (2013 Tesla Model S) had a similar MCU repair and was included in the same reimbursement request. Under 49 CFR 573.13(g), a manufacturer must act on a reimbursement claim within 60 days. Tesla violated its own reimbursement plan and the regulation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 14, 2025 · Airbags, Driver assistance · CA

What happened? While driving my 2015 Tesla Model S, the main touchscreen (MCU) began intermittently going black, disabling access to essential vehicle controls, navigation, climate settings, and rear-view camera display. At times when the MCU was functioning, the rear-view camera feed would still display a black screen upon shifting into Reverse, leaving me without any rear visibility. Component or system that failed: Media Control Unit (MCU1) / eMMC memory failure Rear-view camera and/or associated wiring harness Safety risk: The intermittent blackouts of the MCU and loss of rear camera feed created significant safety hazards, especially when reversing or attempting to adjust driving settings while in motion. The loss of rear visibility increased the risk of collision with pedestrians, cyclists, or obstacles. The MCU failure also limited access to defrost/defog controls and turn signal audio feedback. Problem reproduction and confirmation: Tesla Service has confirmed both the MCU1 hardware failure and the rear-view camera malfunction. The problems occurred repeatedly before being inspected. Inspection: The vehicle has been inspected by Tesla Service Center technicians, who diagnosed both the failing MCU1 and the defective rear-view camera. Warning messages or symptoms prior to failure: For MCU: slow system performance, frozen screen, then intermittent complete blackouts while driving. For rear-view camera: black or distorted camera feed when in Reverse, even when the MCU display was otherwise operational. These issues began occurring in June 2025 and became progressively worse until Tesla inspection on July 6, 2025.

Filed Oct 27, 2023 · Driver assistance · WA

1)MCU1 flash memory failure in production from 2012 to 2018, part is available, but would require downing the car to remove/replace. 2)The symptoms of this failure include the loss of indicated gear state and reduced driver visibility from the loss of rearview camera, defrost/defog and exterior signal lighting which increases the risk of an accident. Driver display is black or booting up slowly during this time and the car can be put into gear and driven prior to the display showing DNR gear state making it a safety risk to anyone walking near the vehicle if it was accidently put into gear. 3)Issue was confirmed by Tesla and was told an update to MCU2 hardware at $2250 was needed at the customer (my) expense. The vehicle was under a full Tesla warranty, so I refused and asked them to fix this issue. Tesla Service cleared/freed up some memory but said the issue would return unless I paid to update to MCU2 hardware. The issue has returned as they stated. 4)Yes, by Tesla Service and Tesla Engineering. Both confirmed that this was a known issue with the MCU1 hardware in production from 2012 to 2018 and recommended that I (the customer) update the vehicle to MCU2 hardware for $2250. 5)There are no warning lamps or messages to inform the operator of an issue. Only the black driver display, but that doesn’t prevent the operator from putting the vehicle in gear. The symptoms start with slow driver display boot times and progressively get worse over time losing the rearview camera, defrost/defog and exterior lighting controls. The display lag becomes enough to be able to accidently put the car in drive or reverse without displaying indicated gear state on the dash making it a safety risk to anyone walking near the car.

Filed May 21, 2023 · Electrical · MI

As I arrived home after a 50 mile trip, I pressed the homelink indicator on the central console of my 2015 Tesla model S and found it was inactive (the garage door didn't go up). I then pressed other areas on the central console and found none of them responded to the touch of my finger. This included all functions (e.g., temperature, defroster, lights, rear camera, navigation, radio, turn car off, etc.). Unlike a previous incident that I reported (reference # 11459567) , the center display did not go black, it just became inoperable. This is definitely a safety hazard. It can not be fixed while driving. One must stop the car and exit to turn the car off, or one must stop the car and press 2 buttons on the steering wheel to reboot the center console. This might be difficult to do while driving on the highway. I will reboot the center console the next time I drive the car, and I am sure it will be fixed. However, this is a problem that should not have occurred. (Present software version 2022.8.10.12, updated recently)

Filed Nov 2, 2022 · 50,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH and slowing for a traffic light or signal, the vehicle infotainment system activated and then froze. The contact stated that the digital screen remained viewable however, the touch screen functionality was unresponsive to the touch. The contact stated that once the screen had frozen, he could not access the functions controlled by the touch screen. The contact stated that the failure required a full re-boot of the system. The contact stated that the re-boot time averaged eight to ten minutes. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed physically, and over the air, and determined that the infotainment center console needed to be replaced and the main computer processer needed to be upgraded. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Filed Apr 4, 2022 · Driver assistance, Lights · 56,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2015 Tesla Model S. The vehicle had previously been serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lightning) however, the failure occurred after the recall was repaired. The contact stated that while driving at an 60 mph, the center display screen went black and then rebooted, causing the defroster, the rearview camera display, and the navigational system to become inoperable. The auto pilot function and other unknown warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000. When he reported the failure to Tesla, they believe a firmware update in the near future should fix this problem.

Filed May 7, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 55,000 miles · FL

Touch screen will blank, show unusual characters, not respond, exhibit pixillation, stop rear vision camera from displaying, not play radio or music properly and/or intermittantly, and present navigation information improperly. Media computer was replaced last year, but new computer still has those same and other problems. Happens with vehicle in motion, city and highway, randomly. Evidence indicates this may be related to a memory storage hardware chip inside the media computer, being of too little total capacity. Or related to internet signal from manufacture being unreliable, week, intermittent, or defective.

Filed Feb 2, 2021 · 5 miles · CA

Center display won't turn on and lost left ,right signal. Was extremely dangerous when I want to change lane. Pretty much anything in that 19" display option lost control. Side mirror fold and won't open back normal. This happened when I when to the market and came out the display dark black.

Filed Jan 17, 2021 · Electrical · 88,400 miles · PA

The mcu will go to a black screen while driving and is unresponsive. I am not able to use the window defroster and have to pull over until the unit powers back up. This can take some time and continues to take longer each time this occurs. I have reported the issue to tesla and was told that everything was fine.

Filed Jan 15, 2021 · Driver assistance, Suspension · 74,000 miles · TX

My infotainment mcu goes blank or is completely unresponsive. This will happen intermittently and without warning. Sometimes I get in my car and the screen remains blank for the entire drive, cutting off access to vital performance features of the vehicle, as well as disabling airbags. I've already taken this to tesla under their 'warranty program', but they refuse to do anything other than reset the computer. They will not repair or replace anything.

Filed Nov 21, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 28,000 miles · SC

Tesla model s 2015 90d. I have a service appointment come november 30th 2020 for this but I have had multiple occurrences of the main panel and side panel display go completely crash and black screen on me. Disabling both the "autopilot" v1 feature in mid use on a highway going 60+ MPH, GPS and other important assistant information such as vehicle speed etc(because screens are black). Its a very jarring and dangerous experience going fast on the highway and having the car "crash" in such a way that just gas and breaking are all that are suddenly left working in an instance(especially when you have that auto pilot feature engaged on a turn). I strongly recommend the federal safety agency to continue their investigation towards this as there are likely serious flaws with the emmc system and software these early model s cars released with. I am afraid tesla is going to give me the run around and not handle the situation appropriately, which would generally be a consumer recall when events as dangerous as this occur. I would say these full system crashes have occurred at least 5+ times since I have owned the car in 2015 and it seems like a matter of time before a serious crash could be caused by this faulty engineering . Tesla currently is trying to do as much damage control around it offering to look into a replacement part but no guarantees its covered by their warranty. As a software engineer myself it feels very much like when hardware starts to go bad, like a system internals beginning to fail due to corrupt memory and storage. These early tesla model s'es are a ticking time bomb to public roads(I say this as a tesla fan, when working the cars are incredible to drive, when they dysfunction its a very serious problem because of the nature of these software driven vehicles their hardware/software has to be rock solid).