Tesla Will Recall 135,000 Vehicles For Faulty Touchscreens

• The recall involves the Model S and Model X.

• The touchscreen could fail and increase the risk of a crash.

The investigation in this issue dates back to June of 2020 and by November, they’d looked into 12,523 claims and complaints. The NHTSA determined that the touchscreen failures actually posed a significant safety issue and formally asked Tesla to address the situation.

While a screen might be an accessory in most modern cars, in all Tesla models, it’s the central access panel by which all features are controlled. This includes the rearview camera and HVAC controls. Tesla eventually acknowledged the problem but, as reported by Reuters, they responded with the following: “the driver can perform a shoulder check and use the mirrors. If the screen is not visible to control the climate control and defroster settings, the driver will be able to manually clear the windshield.”

The NHTSA shared a fact handed to them by Tesla that all screens will eventually fail given the device’s finite storage capacity. In a formal letter dated January 13^th, the NHTSA requested a recall and gave Tesla up until the 27^th of January to respond. Tesla responded on the 27^th to go ahead with the recall.

The NHTSA’s probe concluded that the 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles pose a safety issue. The recall will begin on March 30^th for 134,951 affected vehicles.