New screens now available

[Naekuh]

So i just came back from service.
They could not fix anything, they had to order the headlight replacement.

I asked the advisor about the screen, and about how Tesla was going to handle it.

The advisor said the upper management have not told her anything about customer being responsible for changing the screen, so michidragon im feeling your hurt right now.
She also told me a replacement was suposed to be available this month, but she is not 100% sure at the moment.
There is no "UV" fix for the screen, it seems like it will be a replacement.

As of this moment, there is no ETA on the new screen, only its soon.
Which again makes me wonder what the heck the "C" revision screens are.



So my take on it.
Either Tesla wants to shove negative PR on not replacing screens due to tanking stock prices, and afraid even more will tank with negative PR, or someone at the top of management told everyone "hey we do this, we are digging our own grave" and they will start honoring replacements.

Or.

They again, dont want negative PR resulting in even more tanking stock prices, and crippling future sales, hence they told everyone, to sideball all the yellow screen issues as long as possible until they can maintain a buffer.

Either way the advisor told me she would escalate it, as i have a sunroof, and showed her how nasty the glare was, that it was beyond a "cosmetic" issue, and went along the lines as a defect.
So now im gonna have to wait for my headlight and possibly new screen to come in, and hope they get replaced at the same time.

What im kind of sad is my headlight was wraped with Xpel, and now i have to get that rewraped, so its going to cost me money on some end anyhow.

 

[whitex]

At least they should be consistent with these text messages on the topic. Mine said they were pushing 2019.16.2 to the car, which would fix the pixels within a month. Well, at least I didn't have to wait for that firmware update any longer. But I will re-schedule the service appointment once it's clear the hardware fix is actually ready.

I would reschedule it now for in a month, with a note that you will cancel it if the screen magically fixes itself. Save on wait time.

 

[whitex]

Looks like they are preparing to do the right thing by replacing the yellow screens with clear screens. Even if it takes them a few months to start replacing screens, I'm totally fine with that.

What is your definition of "a few"?

 

[St Charles]

What is your definition of "a few"?

3 months maybe. 6 months definitely!

 

[whitex]

I've heard so many "official" statements on what the fix is going to be from Tesla that I don't have any faith that they're doing anything but buying time and feeding us a line.

The first thing I heard was "firmware", which as on its face ridiculous even though a bunch of people seemed to buy it. Basis on my disbelief is that, of course, you can't alter materials with firmware. I think this was just people "knowing enough to be dangerous", and being wowed by past firmware updates that changed things (Such as performance) that normally couldn't be changed on an average car. But in short, "firmware to fix the pixels" isn't going to do it because the issue isn't "pixels". Later it was said that what this firmware would do would allow the service center to 'paint' a blue gradient border around the screen to counteract the yellow gradient. Problem is, the yellow is reflective, and the issue isn't just one with transmissivity - it's most visible in sun. Finally on the 'firmware' angle someone here was told that 2019.16.2 would fix it magically over the course of a month, 'repairing the cells', whatever that means. (It means nothing, firmware can't fix adhesive / sealant gel.)

My service center then told me about the "UV light frame" which was in vogue as a theory for about two whole weeks. Service techs say that they saw pictures of the thing, a big "frame with fans" that would blast UV light at the screen and either, based on varying theories, undo the yellowing (which makes no sense, as the sun is a hell of a lot more powerful as far as UV goes, than some dinky LEDs) - or according to some, just yellow the rest of the screen to match the border. (A big thumbs up on this one, Tesla!) - Either way, nobody seems to see how this would compete with the sun (Which isn't causing the yellowing, by the way, as tinted/garaged new cars in cold/overcast environments showed the problem too - including mine, over a winter period where we saw almost no sun.)

Then someone was told that there was going to be a 'liquid they applied to the screen'. I don't really even want to get into the physics of applying magic lotion to glass to get to a layer beneath said glass. Not even sure who thunk this one up.

Another person was told that the fix would be contact tape applied around the edges of the display. To reduce the display size and cover up the yellow. Perhaps as the yellowing increased you could take your car in and get thicker borders applied. By the time your warranty is up, you end up with a 6 inch screen. I suggested (without any cynicism at all, right) that replacing the existing bezel with a really big fat one may be a better option.

Today we heard from someone who said that the solution would be "thermal". Here we go back into the issue of it being heat or cold causing this to happen. Happened in my 5 month old car during the Colorado winter (December delivery) where temperatures never got above 40'F. It's not heat. Conversely, many folks in the sunny paradise of California (i.e., the only place Teslas actually exist) where it never gets below 72'F and sunny (even at midnight on Christmas) have had the yellowing border occur. So it's not cold.

So this brings us to what is probably the only logical rationale as to what's causing the adhesive/gel (not pixels) to discolor: Oxidization. A bad seal around the border of the screen causing the material to oxidize. The effect seems to start in one corner and creep slowly around the border of the screen, and grow. So, a manufacturing defect. If it was light, it'd not happen in areas shadowed by the bezel. If it was heat, it'd likely happen uniformly; but again, this occurs in cold environments. (Unless the edge lights for the backlight are causing the excessive heat, which has been suggested.)

So perhaps the new screen versions are simply … sealed better around the edges. But none of these proposed non-replacement solutions seem to hold up to scrutiny, and they change week by week. There's been no definitive, stable, reliable line on what the approach is even going to be. I don't think Tesla even knows yet. I think they're still brainstorming, and throwing things to the (screen?) to see what sticks.

In the end, I strongly believe the only fix for this will be a replacement.

Which is why I went ahead and paid for it -- because, see, I have issues -- and which I absolutely do not suggest anyone does. Now we get to wait and see if Tesla fed me a line about the paid replacement being the non-yellowing revision. It had a different part number; not only a different Tesla part number, but a different manufacturer part number. Each day when I get in the car, you can bet I examine the border. So not sure if it was quite the mental therapy I needed.

I know a lot of this information was redundant but I figured summing it up in one post, "the journey so far", probably was warranted.

Good summary. The reality is that Tesla has no consistent messaging on this issue, so service centers are filling in with whatever they can come up with to pacify angry customers. A "firmware fix is coming" is a standard go-to pacifier (I've been a Tesla customer for over 6 years now, so I've heard it many times). I must give props to whoever came up with the new variant of "after you get the new firmware, give it a month" - some late night tv shopping fan must have come up with that one (as it is similar to the late night products that have 90 day money back guarantee, but you must give it up to 120 days to start seeing results). I must say the other "light frame", "UV", "heat", and other stories are amusing, as they illustrate how fake news is made - start with a tiny grain of plausibility, mix in some scientific sounding terms, and you have a bunch of people believing you. It also doesn't hurt to have a fanboy base ready to swallow anything Elon says, no matter how ridiculous, then defend it when it doesn't come true.

I suspect that the only Tesla corporate decision made for existing owners is to stop paying for screen replacements to stop the cash bleed. I'm sure someone is working on figuring out how to fix it for new cars (cash cow), but for existing owners it's "radio silence" from corporate, filled in by pacifying messages made up by various people to keep customers from boiling over. "Maybe if we ignore it, it will resolve itself" corporate solution.

Edit: I am not paying to fix my car, it removes some of my options to try to force Tesla to fix it under warranty (they might claim for example that they could have fixed it, but customer opted for a new screen instead, and the old screen is long gone since they don't let customers keep them).

 

[AWDtsla]

Good summary. The reality is that Tesla has no consistent messaging on this issue

You mean on anything.

 

[P100D_Me]

3 months maybe. 6 months definitely!

I know what you mean there, but the stark reality is this has been a known issue for a long time, whilst it might not have ever been a priority to fix it for Tesla the mountain of bad screens is piling up, it's not going away, there is no BS firmware fix that will work.

The sceptic in me thinks this delay is also tainted with the concept more cars are running out of warranty, therefore the entire cost will be passed on to the consumer.

 

[SO16]

Coolies if Tesla is doing a 180 and nobody else will have to pay. (No, Tesla will not refund me down the line.)

Too bad. They should.

 

[P100DHG.]

I know what you mean there, but the stark reality is this has been a known issue for a long time, whilst it might not have ever been a priority to fix it for Tesla the mountain of bad screens is piling up, it's not going away, there is no BS firmware fix that will work.

The sceptic in me thinks this delay is also tainted with the concept more cars are running out of warranty, therefore the entire cost will be passed on to the consumer.

If it occurred during the warranty period and documented I don’t see how they could say that. Especially when their response is we know it’s a problem and are working on a solution.

 

[drklain]

Are you sure the glasses darken with UV? If you mean they darken when you hold them up/rotate them against another kind of glass, you are talking about polarized glass (which is not the same thing). There are lenses which darken when exposed to bright light, but those are not triggered by UV light. An there are lens coatings to block some amount of the UV spectrum, but those don't lighten/darken, they just block the UV light all the time.

 

[MP3Mike]

Are you sure the glasses darken with UV? If you mean they darken when you hold them up/rotate them against another kind of glass, you are talking about polarized glass (which is not the same thing). There are lenses which darken when exposed to bright light, but those are not triggered by UV light. An there are lens coatings to block some amount of the UV spectrum, but those don't lighten/darken, they just block the UV light all the time.

Wrong. It is UV that darkens most photochromatic lenses: How Photochromic Lenses Work | Transitions Lenses

When photochromic lenses are exposed to UV light, trillions of photochromic molecules in the lens begin to change structure. This reaction is what causes the lenses to darken.

In the car, the glass in car windshields blocks most UV light. That’s why most photochromic lenses do not provide sufficient darkening in the car.

 

[P100D_Me]

If it occurred during the warranty period and documented I don’t see how they could say that. Especially when their response is we know it’s a problem and are working on a solution.

Because some people are already paying for the changeovers, I've never heard of anyone agreeing to pay for something under warranty nor a company accepting a customer would do it.

 

[FlatSix911]

An easy fix for this issue... just wait until your MCU screen develops a bubble and then replace under warranty.

 

[MP3Mike]

An easy fix for this issue... just wait until your MCU screen develops a bubble and then replace under warranty.

I don't think the yellowing screens develop the bubbles.

 

[FlatSix911]

I don't think the yellowing screens develop the bubbles.

The $64K question... Do the replacement screens yellow over time?

 

[Naekuh]

The $64K question... Do the replacement screens yellow over time?

no one knows...
Tesla says they do, but there is no proof that they dont.

I was told at my last service visit the new screens were not even available, which makes me wonder what the type "C" replacements are.

I was also told there is no early pay 2 fix, UV fix, nor will it be firmware, or offering sacrifices to Elon on a holy alter.
Its supposed to be a replacement which just isn't available yet.

 

[Dale Hoppas]

My 2018 - S 100D, is starting to get the yellow ring around the screen too, My car is now out of warranty. I will keep this screen until it gets really bad to look at or stops working i guess. At 50,000 miles the car starts to break. Thanks Tesla for only 50,000 warranty.

 

[SO16]

My 2018 - S 100D, is starting to get the yellow ring around the screen too, My car is now out of warranty. I will keep this screen until it gets really bad to look at or stops working i guess. At 50,000 miles the car starts to break. Thanks Tesla for only 50,000 warranty.

That is unfortunate. I believe Tesla is still scrambling to find a real fix. And in the meantime they are saying things to placate the owners rather than replacing faulty screens with new faulty screens. That would be an expensive “solution”. Hopefully once Tesla does have a KNOWN fix, they would make everyone “whole”. We shall see.

It would be nice the warranty lasted longer but they seem to be comparable to others.

Here is the Mercedes warranty.

“All new Mercedes-Benz vehicles are covered by our New Vehicle Limited Warranty. It covers defects in material or workmanship for 48-months or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.”

BMW:

“BMW Factory Warranties. ... BMW'sstandard factory warranty takes effect at the initial in-service date (the date the customer takes delivery) or the actual date the car is first used. The bumper-to-bumper portion is applicable for a period of four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.”

Porsche: “

• 4-year/50,000-mile warranty New Car Limited Warranty*.”

 

[whitex]

That is unfortunate. I believe Tesla is still scrambling to find a real fix. And in the meantime they are saying things to placate the owners rather than replacing faulty screens with new faulty screens.

Not exactly. Tesla is saying absolutely nothing, leaving individual service manager or even technicians to fill the information vacuum. A tech could say "we only replace screens for blue cars" and that would become the Tesla message, because there is no corporate message to contradict it. A proper company would have a consistent corporate message, which all service centers would copy. But, that is not how Elon does things, which is probably why the VP of sales and service left, and Elon took over his position.

Hopefully once Tesla does have a KNOWN fix, they would make everyone “whole”. We shall see.

Higher priority for Tesla is to design or obtain a better screen, so that their new car sales are not affected. Fixes for existing customers will come after.

 

[SO16]

A proper company would have a consistent corporate message, which all service centers would copy.

I do agree their communication has LOTS of room for improvement.

I don’t know why the VP of sales and service left. I’d only be speculating.