The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Friday the closure of its investigation into the loss of rear-view camera images in nearly 160,000 Tesla Model X and Model S vehicles.
This decision comes after Tesla’s recall of almost 135,000 vehicles in 2021, which the auto safety regulator believes addresses the risks associated with the failure of a media control unit. NHTSA will continue to monitor the effectiveness of Tesla’s recall.
The recall was initiated by Tesla following pressure from NHTSA after the agency formally requested it in a letter.
The safety issues related to touchscreen failures include the loss of rearview camera images, exterior turn-signal lighting, and windshield defogging and defrosting systems.
These issues could decrease driver visibility, particularly in inclement weather conditions. The failure could impact the Autopilot advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and turn signal functionality due to the potential loss of audible chimes, driver sensing, and alerts.
Last week, NHTSA launched a separate investigation into Tesla’s recall of 2 million vehicles in December aimed at enhancing Autopilot safeguards.
The initial probe into media control unit (MCU) failures was opened in June 2020 in response to complaints about touchscreen displays not functioning.
While NHTSA initially sought a recall of 158,000 vehicles, the recall did not include some vehicles with upgraded processors built after March 2018.
NHTSA emphasized the finite lifespan of the MCU, asserting that a 5- or 6-year expectancy for a component integral to driver safety functions is insufficient.
Tesla acknowledged that all units would eventually fail due to the MCU’s finite storage capacity. As of February, approximately 104,000 of the 135,000 recalled vehicles have been repaired.
Tesla recently recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks to address an accelerator pedal pad issue that could potentially become lodged in the interior trim.
