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2016 Tesla Model S driver assistance complaints

Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 78, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2016 Tesla Model S driver assistance problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Nov 12, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · 38,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the center display inadvertently went blank and froze, causing the contact to have to restart the center display. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact received a recall notification for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the manufacturer had not returned his calls for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Oct 22, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · NH

My Tesla is under a recall for bad memory. My Tesla constantly reboots. I often have to wait several minutes from when I get in the car until it is ready to drive with all functions. I sometimes am forced to drive with the center screen not working. This takes away my backup camera. A required safety feature. Tesla says the part is not available. I request a reliable loaner until they get the part repaired under recall.

Filed Aug 24, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · WI

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the display screen had gone completely blank without warning while driving. The contact was unable to use certain electrical features. The contact then received a recall notice for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). Despite multiple appointment being made to service the recall, the contact was informed that the parts remained unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Aug 16, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 30,000 miles · CA

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 the federal safety agency 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.

Filed Jul 21, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · 10,000 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument screen inadvertently went black. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled to the side of the road and then drove the vehicle to his destination. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, he was not able to schedule the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Jul 1, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · 45,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received a recall notice for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, after diagnosing the vehicle, the dealer informed the contact that the recall repair would not be completed on the vehicle. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH, the instrument panel temporarily blacked out while the GPS was in use. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the vehicle memory needed to be cleared. The memory was cleared however, the failure persisted. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000. Parts Distribution disconnect.

Filed Jun 24, 2021 · Driver assistance · OH

My Vehicle is part of the eMMC Media Chip Recall. I have tried repeatedly in past 6 months to have Tesla repair my vehicle, which continues to suffer screen blackouts daily during operation. These blackouts render my backup camera blank, creating a major safety concern. Each time I schedule an appointment, Tesla will cancel and tell me they do not have the part. They are not complying with the federal safety agency recall. I cannot in good faith believe their excuse that part is unavailable given the massive volume of cars they are producing quarterly.

Filed Jun 22, 2021 · Driver assistance · CA

Car's central console locks up or goes blank while driving. This creates a driving hazard as drive must take his eyes off the road and try to restart the console. Tesla sent out a notice by mail in March that a recall was issued and that Tesla would replace the defective parts. Tesla sent a secondary notice in April. They will not take calls concerning this issue and have not provided an estimated repair date. No communication on this recall has been made by Tesla for 90 days.

Filed Jun 11, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · CA

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 21V035000 (Back Over Pretention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that occasionally the display failed to operate as designed. Additionally, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Jun 9, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AZ

This automobile has had the Tesla recall completed, replacing the 8GB with the 64GB. However, this fix is temporary and after a few months the control and information screens are malfunctioning and with ever-increasing frequency. I understand Tesla’s recent update ensures basic driving functions will continue to be operational during a screen blackout but it’s at best distracting and at worst plain dangerous depending on how lights/HVAC are set prior to the screen freeze, not to mention distractions associated with a sudden loss of navigation and an inability to control other components. As a frequent highway driver this is dangerous, even after experiencing various versions of this event. Per Service Dept., the only existing actual (non-temporary) repair for this is replacement with the newer version of the MCU, yet Tesla insists on using language as a loophole, calling the MCU2 an upgrade- which it was, but now as the sole remedy to restore previously existing functionality and safe operation of the effected vehicles, this should not be categorized as an option or an upgrade. Owners should have a better course of action than having to pay for an unwanted “upgrade” to regain original functionality.

Filed Jun 9, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · GA

The contact owns a 2016 Tesla Model S. The contact stated that the center console screen was blank which caused several other electrical failures. The contact then received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V035000 (Back Over Prevention, Visibility, Exterior Lighting). The dealer was contacted and informed that the parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed May 22, 2021 · Driver assistance, Visibility · CA

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 the federal safety agency has required Tesla to issue a recall to repair a blank screen chip issue.

Filed Apr 27, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · 83,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 tesla model s. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the center display screen would not turn on or would black out. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that he would be contacted when the hardware emmc upgrade was available. The failure mileage was 83,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Apr 5, 2021 · Driver assistance, Lights · 15,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 tesla model s. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the mcu screen intermittently became inoperable. During the failure, the rear view camera and exterior turn signals were inoperable. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 21v035000 (back over prevention, visibility, exterior lighting). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.

Filed Jan 27, 2021 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 89,000 miles · CA

When stationary or in motion, both on city streets and highways, and even turning the following is true. The center infotainment stack becomes completely frozen and unusable. Following this, it will automatically restart, however during this entire time, vital safety features controlled through the center infotainment stack are unavailable, including back up camera functionality. I have applied for the warranty program tesla has for replacing the mcu1, however, each time they inform me my car does not meet the requirement without elaborating any further. However, this is clearly a safety issue that they are ignoring.

Filed Jan 25, 2021 · Driver assistance · 61,000 miles · ID

Touch screen stops working, removes backup camera feed and all audio alerts are silenced. This is a direct result of the emmc failure in the mcu touch screen.

Filed Jan 18, 2021 · Driver assistance · 96,000 miles · NJ

The main computer in the car goes blank. This affects all parts of the car. It has happened while stationary and in motion. When it shuts off you lose control of all systems including: navigation, emergency braking, lane assistance, use of cameras, all access to safety features. I have read there is a recall but when I contacted the manufacturer they refused to fix the issue.

Filed Jan 18, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 12,500 miles · MA

The display screen has not been working properly. Sounds including voice navigation and turn signals have stopped working. Resetting the screen foxes the issue for 1 day but then returns. Other safety sounds including proximity sensors are also not working.

Filed Dec 27, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 36,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed Dec 26, 2020 · Driver assistance, Lights · 71,000 miles · FL

Prior to 10/2/2020 numerous reboots usually after being parked. Had to wait excessive time since I had pin to drive enabled. Disabled pin to drive since I was getting stuck. It is embarrassing and not a good reflection on tesla products to have to wait 5 minutes to move your car. Something is wrong. 10/2/2020 while driving on I 40 noted there was a lack of turn signal sounds. Noted navigation did not seem to be updating to current position. While on autopilot the car started to drift toward an exit. The autopilot had disengaged with no warning sound' nothing. Continued to steer manually. Screen went black. Ac stopped. After several minutes the screen rebooted. Had to re-input destination. 10/3/2020. Went to ashland nc supercharger to top off before getting on the blue ridge parkway. Was only getting 4 kw to start finally giving up after 30 minutes achieving a maximum of 10kw. When I unplugged I got a warning "reduced power, systems shutting down. Service required. Vehicle may not start". The screen went black and after time finally restarted and I was able to continue. Later in cherokee nc the screen again rebooted after charging at a j1772 station. 10/4/2020. While driving with on i95 near st augustine I noted the loss of turn signal sound again. The navigation was frozen again. Again there was no sound or warning disengaging or engaging autopilot. The screen went black. The AC went off. I observed the tesla t come up then the screen went black again. Then the tesla t came up a second time and after several minutes the controls started working again. Again at nov 19@ 7:03 pm: driving west in I-4 stanford, fl. Same as on 10/2. Loss of autopilot, loss of turn signal sound, loss of climate control, loss of music. Took 6 minutes to reboot. Took an additional 5 minutes for navigation to restore. There are more instances but I am out of characters.

Filed Dec 15, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 18,000 miles · CA

Multiple center screen failures experienced since october 2020. Most notable highway driving incidents listed below. 18nov2020 while driving center screen became unresponsive. The driver seat heater was stuck on level 3. The turn signal sound continued after the turn signal was turned off. Climate controls couldn't be turned off. No response to radio selections. 10 mins later the radio came on at a very loud volume, but unable to reduce or mute volume. Volume muted after 10 mins. The screen rebooted, no cell signal. 19nov2020 driving, the touch screen went black. Attempted to reboot using the scroll buttons several times. It did not respond. I rebooted the driver's screen, then the center screen began to reboot. The tesla symbol appeared and disappeared 4 times over 5 minutes before the center screen came on. Car unable to connect to cell services for several days. 26nov2020 driving, all systems appear to be normal accept there's no volume, and no turn signals. Center screen went black. Cannot stop ventilation. 4 hours after parking car the ventilation is still on, but the driver screen shows that the ventilation is off. Center screen does not respond to reboot attempts. Battery power getting low. Finally recovered center screen after 36 hours. 02dec2020 center screen went black and did not come back on. Request for appointment with tesla made. Earliest appointment is 21dec2020. Have not been able to reboot center screen after many attempts. 12 days later and screen is still not recoverable. When the center screen goes black the following features are out of commission: turn signals back up camera climate control & seat heaters(if on, I cannot turn it off) hazard lights tire pressure sensors autopilot features adaptive cruise control lane departure warning blind spot warning infotainment charging controls

Filed Nov 23, 2020 · Driver assistance · 80,000 miles · VA

While driving the touchscreen became unresponsive and all functions associated with the touchscreen including traffic adaptive cruise control on the highway and the rear view camera while in reverse were inoperable.

Filed Nov 17, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 120,000 miles · FL

Main control unit (mcu)has shut down several times. The screen has gone black and navigation functions and maps disappeared. Inconvenience more than anything there. I have lost the backup camera and defrost functions. The car has remained pretty much drivable though I don't think I had turn signals (or at least the indication on dash). The car has been both stationary and moving when these things happened.

Filed Nov 11, 2020 · Driver assistance, Lights · 68,000 miles · CA

2 weeks ago I was driving down the freeway at night. My infotainment unit turned black, I lost: 1.. Auto pilot 2. Hvac 3. Exterior lights 4. Radio 5. Maps, blinkers when I contacted tesla, they said nothing was wrong with my car. We could have easily got into an accident losing these vital things. How do you get tesla to fix this and what is the right fix?

Filed Nov 5, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 78,000 miles · WI

The mcu (master control unit) is the 17" touch screen display that controls most of the functions of the vehicle. Vehicle has been plagued over it's live with freeze up's and reboots. April 2019, screen locked up and would not restart, which caused vehicle to loose propultion, power assisted brakes, power steering, window controls (had to use emergency manual release to exit vehicle, then go back in and squeeze between the seats to get my disabled son out of the back as the back door handles did not operate either and had to try and find the well hidden manual release hidden under the carpet with no markings to get the rear door open and him out of his car seat). Vehicle also would not go in to park, I had to use my shoes (with steel toe) under the wheels to keep the vehicle from rolling down an incline. This also prevented the hood from being opened to potentially pull the power to the vehicle to force a reset as the reset buttons did not work. Also trunk would not open and had to climb through the inside to get to the manual release for the trunk to get diapers for my disabled son while we waited 4 hours for a tow. Once doors were shut, no way to get back in. Head lights also would not turn off. Had it towed to tesla service of highland park, illinois from milwaukee county, wisconsin. They said the headlights stayed on all night, and that the car "fixed" itself the overnight some how. No additional information would be provided. That was the worst failure, however, it still locks up and reboots at random times as it's in use. Either while driving (when that happens I loose turn signals and other safety features as well as ability to control vehicle settings) or while parked preventing it from being driven.

Filed Aug 2, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · OH

My main center display went blank. Failed to come back after multiple reboot attempts. Climate control, GPS, suspension, backup camera, and most functionality lost. First noticed when stationary in my garage.

Filed Jul 31, 2020 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 108,130 miles · CA

Mcu1 failure. Not able to have access to control panel for AC, power charging, main contol screen is black and unresponsive

Filed Jul 30, 2020 · Body, Brakes · 26,000 miles · NY · crash

Please see the attached report I filed on safer car.gove and the letter I wrote to tesla. I have not got response to any of those.. .this problem happened after I had successfully turned the car 90 degree to park headon. The car had to be at a very low speed at that time. Then when I as just a couple of feet from the curb, the car accelerated out of control. If you get the report from tesla, you will find that car could not have accelerated this fast even if I had pressed the accelerator pedal by mistake. Many other drivers have experienced the same problem. It is a serious problem and please don't take it lightly. I asked tesla to give me the report of that time and they did not give. We all feel that tesla has become so mighty that it doesn't care. We depend upon you for our safety. So please do full enquiry.*dt

Filed Jul 23, 2020 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 84,000 miles · NY

The main computer turns right off a couple times a day. When this happens while driving, most safety features are disabled and the cars electronic stop working. The cpu is known to have issues because a chip inside gets overloaded and does not clear itself properly. A recall should be had to replace this chip that does not remove the cashe properly.

Filed Jul 20, 2020 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 60,838 miles · CO

Tesla mcu (media control unit) has well known and documented emmc chip that will fail on all model s and x cars from 2012 to summer 2018. This was a result of tesla engineering writing their logs to the emmc which has limited number of write cycles, tesla has since resolved where logs are written but the damage has been done. Tesla refuses to accept this mistake and will charge users $1300+ to replace. When this issue occurs the following safety issues happen blinkers do not work. Drive after a 30 second timeout no aeb (advanced emergency braking) no controlling suspension height no manual control of headlight lights no blinker sounds steering mode defaults to some setting (e.g. If I have it set to sport, during reboot of mcu is changes to standard or comfort, not sure but I can feel the steering wheel take less effort to turn than my normal sport mode) no HVAC (heat, cool, vent) no defrosters no seat heaters no steering wheel heaters no radio/streaming no app connectivity to control the car no ability to see the car charge status from app trip a/b profiles user settings homelink bluetooth pairings no rear view camera this issues happening to all models world wide reference this post to see the hundreds of users that are affected by this and force to seek alternative methods of repair that is not tesla approved. At which at any point tesla could remove features from cars for not using one of their approved service centers. Which appointments are over one month out, forcing most users to drive their car in unsafe manors

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