TESLA has been asked by the US safety watchdog to recall almost 160,000 cars to replace the giant infotainment screens, warning that they control many of the cars’ safety functions and that failure of the screen could lead to injury or death.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) has asked Tesla to recall approximately 158,000 Model S and Model X vehicles that could have a problem related to their display screen, backup camera, window defogger and defroster, and other safety-related functions, the agency said in a letter sent to Tesla.

The US Consumer Reports organisation said the NHSTA said failure of the backup camera or window defroster and defogger can lead to injury or death.

Tesla has already replaced 12,588 media control units (MCUs) at the centre of the problem that relate to the central touchscreen that is the hallmark of the brand’s cars. One US customer has had the MCU replaced three times.

MotorTrend magazine in the US said the problem lies with the MCU that runs the central display screen.

“If it fails, the screen goes dark, which means that neither the backup camera nor the climate controls will be displayed,” it said.

“Because Tesla displays its climate controls on the centre screen, that means there’s no way to turn on the defroster or defogger.

“A rearview camera and defroster are required by federal law. This is why most cars, even those with video-screen climate controls, have a separate defroster button.

“The NHSTA states that a failed MCU can also affect other safety systems, including Autopilot and the turn signals.”

The problem is the MCU’s Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and its 8 GB of flash memory.

“Tesla installed the processor in about 158,000 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model Y vehicles,” MotorTrend said.

“The flash memory, which is accessed when the car is started, has a lifespan of about 3000 program-erase cycles. According to the NHTSA, that equates to five to six years of normal usage before the system packs up.

“The agency says Tesla has confirmed that all MCUs will inevitably fail due to the design, and the NHTSA says it has already identified some 12,588 incidents related to MCU replacements.”

For now, the NHTSA has requested that Tesla issues a recall and the administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has not made a final decision that the affected Model S and Xs have a safety-related defect.

Tesla now has to respond to the ODI and make the argument that the cars aren’t defective – or otherwise.

If Tesla doesn’t issue the recall or provide a satisfactory response, the NHTSA can declare the issue a defect and force a recall.

Consumer Reports’ vice-president for advocacy and also a former NHTSA deputy and acting administrator David Friedman said: “Tesla needs to step up and put the safety of its customers first, and, failing that, at least follow the law, which makes clear they must recall these vehicles and fix the defect right away.”

“NHTSA should use its full resources to secure the recall and hold Tesla accountable for its failure to do so, since the records clearly show the automaker knew about this defect for a long time.”

Consumer Reports (CR) said it had received complaints about the screen.

“In our Auto Reliability Surveys, a 2018 Model S owner from New Jersey wrote: ‘Driving along and the entire display and dashboard goes black. Cannot monitor speed or anything else, but the car continues to operate’.”

“An owner in Michigan shared the experience he had with his screen: ‘It just goes blank and none of the features are accessible’.”

A California owner of a 2017 Model S said in a CR survey: “After one of Tesla’s automatic software updates, my screen stopped working correctly, froze sometimes, would turn off and on every 10 seconds, GPS would freeze, music would play for 10 seconds, stop and then start again, etc. Because it also controls the climate, it’s problematic. And worst of all, took a month to get an appointment to have someone look at it. Not what I expect from a $US100,000-plus car.”

Another 2017 Model S owner wrote in a recent survey: “On start the central display failed to boot up. In fact after several attempts, the service people had to replace the entire central console (screen).”

“As these examples illustrate, problems can and do happen with the screens,” CR said.

“Looking at the history of in-car electronics for these vehicles, we find a track record of below-average reliability for the Model S and a rocky one for the Model X.

“The need to replace hardware in a new, expensive vehicle can be frustrating and inconvenient, especially if it has to be done more than once,” CR said.

“Another owner from Washington state said he had the MCU replaced three times on a 2012 Model S with 41,000 miles, and had to pay $2200 for the last repair because it was out of warranty.”

Mr Friedman said: “It is good to see NHTSA acting on this, and we hope to see the agency lean into its role as an aggressive watchdog for consumers in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”

By Neil Dowling