Tesla Recalls 130K Cars Due To CPU Error In Infotainment System

Tesla has pulled its products back from the market. (photo: twitter @tesla)

JAKARTA – Tesla had to make a bitter decision again. The electric car manufacturer, led by Elon Musk, had to recall 130,000 cars because of an issue that caused the CPU in a vehicle's infotainment system to overheat during fast charging.

This has the potential to damage the car's touchscreen or go completely blank as The Associated Press recently reported. The electric car maker actually started rolling out an over-the-air (OTA) update on May 3 to fix the issue on the affected vehicles, which include the 2022 Model 3 and Y, as well as the 2021 and 2022 Model X and S.

"During fast charging or preparation for fast charging, the infotainment central processing unit ("CPU") may not cool enough to prevent higher-than-expected temperatures, which could cause the CPU to slow down processing or restart," reads a recall notice from the Administration. National Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA) reading.

“Slower processing or restarted processing may cause the center screen display to become sluggish or appear blank.”

The recall doesn't say exactly what caused the problem or how a software update would solve it, but it appears to have something to do with how the vehicle conditions the battery for Supercharger use.

As NHTSA notes, this issue can prevent drivers from using their backup cam, switching to using the touchscreen, as well as adjusting their windshield wiper speed (some Tesla models adjust windshield wiper speed automatically and only place manual speed control in the center of the touchscreen) .

While it's unclear how widespread the issue is, NHTSA said Tesla "identified 59 warranty claims and 59 field reports" potentially related to the issue and that the company is not aware of any injuries or deaths caused by it.

Tesla started shipping vehicles with AMD Ryzen-based chipsets supporting the infotainment system last year. However, Tesla did not indicate whether the new processor was part of the problem. Earlier this year, some drivers noticed a slight decrease in driving range in cars equipped with Ryzen CPUs when compared to older Teslas that came with the Intel Atom.

Tesla has issued a number of recalls over the years, including one that couldn't be fixed with an OTA update. Last December, the company recalled nearly half a million Model 3 and Model S cars due to a malfunctioning trunk latch system. Recently, Tesla recalled another 579,000 cars to remove the "Boombox" feature that NHTSA was arguing about.