Tesla Asked to Recall 158,000 Cars Due<br />to Defective Touchscreen Display.<br />The National Highway Traffic Safety<br />Administration (NHTSA) has requested<br />a recall of about 158,000 Tesla vehicles. .<br />The recall request applies to Model S cars<br />built between 2012 and 2018 and Model X SUVs<br />built between 2016 and 2018. .<br />According to a letter sent to Tesla by<br />the NHTSA, the defect was found in the<br />media-console units (MCU) of these vehicles.<br />The mentioned models are fitted with<br />a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and an<br />integrated 8G flash memory device. .<br />When the car is started, a portion of the<br />memory storage is used. Once full, the<br />car’s MCU fails to work properly. .<br />If the vehicle’s touchscreen display doesn’t work,<br />the driver cannot access controls such as the rear-view<br />camera, heating, air conditioning and defrosting. .<br />The vehicle's autopilot feature could also<br />be negatively affected, as well as the ability<br />to hear the car’s indicators. .<br />The NHTSA believes that on average this<br />inevitable failure will happen within five to six years. .<br />Tesla is aware of the problem and<br />has so far attempted to remedy it with<br />over-the-air software updates. .<br />The NHTSA believes that <br />will only be a temporary solution.<br />Tesla has until January 27 to<br />respond to the request.<br />The NHTSA wants Tesla to either recall the<br />cars or formally notify customers of the issue<br />and explain why a recall isn’t necessary.
