Tesla is recalling nearly 135K vehicles to fix their touchscreens

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Tesla has announced that it is “voluntarily” recalling nearly 135,000 Model S and Model X vehicles to fix a major issue with their in-dash touchscreens. The issue? The eMMC storage in the touchscreen units isn’t up to the task it’s used for, causing it to prematurely degrade and cause issues with the whole unit.

The voluntary recall was the result of the NHTSA’s findings after investigating over 16,000 complaints of touchscreen failure in Tesla vehicles. Last month, the regulatory body sent Tesla a letter that informed the carmaker of the findings, and with their recommendation, which was to replace the touchscreen units in every affected vehicle.

It seems that Tesla is doing just that, before the NHTSA formally sought a recall. Tesla’s letter to the NHTSA states that it will issue the recall, “in the interest of bringing administrative closure to the investigation and to ensure the best ownership experience for our customers.”

The fix for the issue covered by the recall seems to be the installation of a new, larger eMMC storage card. Owners who already paid for out of warranty repairs to rectify this may be able to claim reimbursement. Tesla has also been offering complete MCU upgrades, which will fix the issue and add additional functionality.

The recall will start on March 30.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.