Cracked Main Screen = Bad Time

[kbecks13]

Soo on my way home yesterday i was going to place my phone in the charging cradle and accidentally tapped the bottom edge of the car dash screen with the top of my phone. I didn't think much of it at the moment, but then 15 minutes later my touchscreen started to freak out and was totally unresponsive to my inputs.

Turns out my car screen is cracked and this has a major impact on it's usability. I essentially cannot use the screen anymore and that means i can't access the cars sub-menus, adjust lights/windshield wipers etc. Called Tesla and they said the earliest i could get an appointment was 3 weeks from now, which kinda sucks. Really hoping they don't make me pay for this as glass fractured MUCH to easily and i suspect it had high internal stress remaining from the manufacturing process.

Wanted to post this as a PSA to everyone else, be VERY careful with your screens and really think about getting one of those glass screen protectors!

 

[PoitNarf]

That sucks. Did you have any sort of screen protector? If not I wonder if having one would have prevented this.

 

[mswlogo]

Maybe a screen protector might be worth it not to avoid scratches but to avoid cracking it.

Thanks for heads up.

Sorry for your headache.

Please post how they handle it.

 

[Thunder7ga]

Hmm...I hadn't really thought much about a screen protector before, but this has me wondering now to help prevent stuff like this that could happen. That stinks dude.

 

[kbecks13]

That sucks. Did you have any sort of screen protector? If not I wonder if having one would have prevented this.

Nope, i'm thinking about the glass ones that take impact damage.

Maybe a screen protector might be worth it not to avoid scratches but to avoid cracking it.

Not a regular protector, but one like this: Tempered Glass Screen Protectors | BodyGuardz®

I've used them on phones before and they really help, seems like something that should come standard on the car since the screen is so important!

Meanwhile, my car keeps navigating me to random locations and turning on my seat heaters

 

[astrowunder]

I bought the abstract ocean matt protector- It's very nice and tones down fingerprints and glare.

 

[RayK]

@astrowunder : How much does it cut down on the sharpness of the display?

edit: I realize it's a subjective question, but is it something you noticed right away or does it become 'invisible' after awhile?

 

[BLKMDL3]

The Elon accessories work great

 

[thirdy]

I got this and it's great

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKGDC5M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[SMAlset]

Sorry that happenened. Looked at your cracked screen image photo. So are you continuing to see the car status (PNRD and speed) along with map? Will Nav put up directions for you? Makes you think about what you can control with input from the stalks/phone app/voice.

 

[iaonbb]

I bought the abstract ocean clear one and installed it an hour after I picked up the car. Can't tell it's there and works perfectly. Highly, highly recommended.

 

[kbecks13]

Sorry that happened. Would love to see a few pics of your screen display to see what you see experiencing though.

It's hard to do without a couple minute video, but basically most areas of the screen just don't respond to touches and when you try to touch something it will trigger tons of other phantom touches that results in tons of things being pressed that you don't want (like navigating places, activating seat heaters, moving map to Alaska, opening seat settings, playing random audio etc.)

 

[SMAlset]

Gremlins in your screen then.

 

[BenR]

It's hard to do without a couple minute video, but basically most areas of the screen just don't respond to touches and when you try to touch something it will trigger tons of other phantom touches that results in tons of things being pressed that you don't want (like navigating places, activating seat heaters, moving map to Alaska, opening seat settings, playing random audio etc.)

This sounds like exactly what happened when I DID try to install a screen protector on it. Had to remove it and go "naked."

 

[lotusland]

Tesla should consider an emulator mode over bluetooth. This would allow one to use a phone or iPad as the main control tablet in an emergency. It would not be ideal but could make a 3-week delay much more tolerable. To some extent it would also future-proof the car in the event the main screen becomes unavailable at some point. Even if they just provided the basic controls it would be invaluable in an emergency.

 

[David99]

That's the major downside of having no physical controls and everything through a touch screen. If it breaks you lose control over everything that is handled by the touch screen. And in this case that's most of the car's features. Service centers are always overbooked. They really need to have a priority system for issues that disabled the car but could be fixed quickly. Swapping out a screen would take maybe 1-2 hours. A mobile service technician should be able to do it.

 

[whatthe2]

@astrowunder : How much does it cut down on the sharpness of the display?

edit: I realize it's a subjective question, but is it something you noticed right away or does it become 'invisible' after awhile?

I’ve got the AO Matte as well and it’s a little less sharp, but got used to it very quickly. The reduced glare and reduced fingerprints definitley make up for it.

People that see it for the first time don’t even realize there is a screen protector on there. I think I just noticed the difference initially since I went without one for six weeks. Very happy with it.

 

[Jaywlker]

This sounds like exactly what happened when I DID try to install a screen protector on it. Had to remove it and go "naked."

You might try installing your screen protector from the “clean screen” mode, or by installing the screen protector and then rebooting the display by holding down both steering wheel detentes whilst pressing the brake.

 

[Gavyne]

That's rough, I do hope Tesla in the future will prioritize replacement for the brain of the car. It is indeed a very important part of the car and should receive priority in getting fixed.

With that said, can't you share navigation routes from your mobile to Tesla, wouldn't that still allow nav to work? Also voice commands still work right? That's operated by the wheel buttons. So you should still be able to get most of the functions to work in the car without having to touch the screen.

 

[PoitNarf]

Wouldn’t this be a part that a mobile ranger would be able to replace?