NHTSA Opens “Preliminary Evaluation” Into Tesla Model S Touchscreen Issues

The U.S. NHTSA has opened a preliminary evaluation into Tesla Model S vehicles due to reports about the car’s touchscreen having issues. The investigation covers 63,000 Model S vehicles and is tied to “complaints of media control unit failures due allegedly to early memory wear-out,” according to Yahoo.

The investigation “covers 2012-2015 model year vehicles and comes after [the NHTSA] received 11 complaints alleging failures.”

The touchscreen failure can lead to “loss of audible and visual touchscreen features, such as infotainment, navigation, and web browsing and loss of rear camera image display when in reverse gear.”

Meanwhile, while the NHTSA piddles around with touchscreen issues, we reported just hours ago about a Tesla in Germany that crossed the center lines of a roadway and slammed, head-on, into oncoming traffic, killing 3 people. That was the latest in a long line of suspicious looking Tesla accidents and fires, some of which involving autopilot and others resulting in deaths. 

“Another day, another article where we reach the inevitable conclusion of being absolutely dumbfounded that the NHTSA and the NTSB still allow Tesla vehicles on the road,” we wrote just hours ago, while posting photos of yet another accident scene. 

We have urged the NHTSA and NTSB to take strict action to limit the potential danger of Teslas on the street. In addition to touchscreen issues, we have also written about Model Y quality issues (such as the car’s backseat falling off and seatbelts being defective) and have posted a litany of stories involving sudden unintended acceleration events and spontaneous vehicle combustion.

Even Kelly Blue Book was recently forced to make note of the awful quality of the Model Y it recently tested on its YouTube channel: “As for quality issues. Our car’s b-pillar trim doesn’t fit right and neither does this lower bumper trim, the rear door alignment is slightly off, the rear seats are similarly uneven, and there’s a loud rattle coming from the rear somewhere.”

We also recently highlighted a Tesla Model 3 travelling through China that reportedly crashed at high speeds and caught fire as a result of a braking system failure.

The vehicle was reportedly traveling at 127 km/h before the driver lost control due to the braking system failure. As of now, it is unknown whether or not the driver survived the wreck. 

Internet users are speculating that “a system upgrade automatically started while the car was driving” but no definitive cause of the crash has been confirmed yet. 

But go ahead, NHTSA, keep looking into “touchscreen issues”…