Hardware problems in electronics have so far not often become the cause of Tesla product recalls, since the high level of software control penetration allowed the company to eliminate many defects with over-the-air firmware updates. However, a defect in on-board computers discovered last year could lead to more serious consequences.
Image Source: Tesla
The Electrek resource, which published detailed material on this topic back in December, explains that since July last year, many buyers of fresh Tesla electric vehicles of various models have encountered a sudden failure of the on-board computer. The car in this state retains the ability to move, but loses many important functions such as active safety systems, displaying images from on-board cameras on the display, automatic control of the windshield wipers and high beams, as well as navigation and the function of calculating the power reserve on the remaining charge.
Moreover, since the image from the rear view camera also disappears as a result of the failure of the on-board computer, this problem eventually ended up in Tesla’s report sent to the American agency NHTSA, which is in charge of road safety. As the source explains, on a number of Tesla electric vehicles, with the exception of the Cybertruck pickup truck, released between 2023 and 2025, when the on-board computer was started under certain conditions, a short circuit occurred, disabling it. Typically, the problem manifested itself more often when operating the machine in cold climates. Apparently, this explains why customer complaints became more frequent towards the end of the year. As of December 30, Tesla had recorded 887 warranty claims, and it began an internal investigation on November 21 last year.
On December 18, Tesla began distributing a software update for the on-board computers of “at-risk” electric vehicles, which changed the voltage supply sequence to individual on-board computer units, reducing the likelihood of system failure as a result of a short circuit. For preventive purposes, all Tesla electric vehicles will receive updates, but if the on-board computers of individual units fail before receiving such an update, the company recognizes this as a warranty case and will replace the faulty unit at its own expense. The problem is that victims now have to wait up to several months for replacements.
According to Tesla’s filing with NHTSA, the recall campaign will affect 239,382 electric vehicles, including Model 3 and Model S from model years 2024 to 2025, Model Y and Model X from model years 2023 to 2025. The need for a software update will be determined by a combination of the version of the on-board computer and software. Deprivation of useful functions is not the main manifestation of the problem. In some cases, the on-board computer continues to partially function, but freezes in auto-update mode, which significantly increases the charge consumption of the traction battery, consuming up to 5 kWh per day without any payload.