December 17, 2024 – According to a report by Electrek, a significant number of new Tesla vehicles have encountered failures in their autopilot computers, resulting in the malfunction of various features including active safety functions, cameras, GPS navigation, and range estimation. This widespread issue has placed considerable strain on Tesla’s after-sales service.
Electrek, through internal sources and acquired documents, has confirmed that the problem is linked to Tesla’s latest version of the HW4 (sometimes referred to as AI4) in-vehicle autopilot computer. Sources revealed that these computers, with an internal codename of AI4.1, have experienced short circuits. While the specific cause remains under investigation, one possibility suggested by a source to Electrek is a short circuit triggered by the low-voltage battery during the camera calibration process.
Tesla owners have reported that the computer failures occurred after driving their new cars for just a few tens to hundreds of miles. The impacted features are numerous and crucial, affecting not only active safety functions and cameras but also essential systems like GPS navigation and range estimation. Internal sources indicate that the issue has affected a broad range of vehicles produced over the past few months and equipped with the new computers.
Two sources claimed that Tesla has received a substantial number of complaints regarding this matter but has not yet issued a related service announcement. One source stated that Tesla’s after-sales department has been instructed to downplay any safety concerns associated with the issue, in an effort to avoid giving car owners the impression that their new vehicles are undrivable.
It’s worth noting that this problem has emerged at a critical time, as Tesla is striving to deliver a large number of cars to avoid its first annual delivery decline in ten years.
Although a rearview camera malfunction violates federal safety regulations and could potentially lead to a mandatory recall of the vehicles, it remains unclear whether Tesla has reported this issue to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
According to the report, Tesla’s primary remedial action at present is to replace the faulty computers. However, the company is also exploring the possibility of providing a temporary solution by pushing a software patch. Tesla’s after-sales service is currently overwhelmed by this issue, with some repair appointments being postponed until next year.
