Refreshed Tesla Model X issues: frozen camera, brake fault, high voltage system fault, etc.

[mr-dmitry]

When you have no errors, you may still confirm that you have the "computer overheating issue" when the temperature reading is disappearing every few seconds:

 

[wk057]

A few screenshots for unbelievers. They do not show all errors. When the car shows that it's not safe to drive (e.g. a brake fault), you can't know for sure if it's an erroneous fault message or a true fault. I would never drive with such an error. And just a reboot wasn't a proper solution because the errors promptly reoccured, getting worse over time - up to false input from physical controls and a non-responsive computer that didn't even restart.

These don't appear related at all to the infotainment computer, and look like something causing contention or some other issue on a CAN bus causing inter-module communication problems. (The infotainment computer has no direct link to the CAN bus and couldn't cause these errors even if it wanted to.)

Could be a number of causes... but zero of them have anything to do with the infotainment computer.

 

[mr-dmitry]

These don't appear related at all to the infotainment computer, and look like something causing contention or some other issue on a CAN bus causing inter-module communication problems. (The infotainment computer has no direct link to the CAN bus and couldn't cause these errors even if it wanted to.)

Could be a number of causes... but zero of them have anything to do with the infotainment computer.

I agree that the issue might not be with the computer. The computer overheating theory was introduced by multiple Tesla technicians after the first service appointment. I know that the same happened to another affected owner.

 

[jboy210]

When you have no errors, you may still confirm that you have the "computer overheating issue" when the temperature reading is disappearing every few seconds:

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Just curious, but do these issues occur when charging to lower states of charge?

Edit - never mind, I see 100% of charge is required. That is something I never do, so that may explain while I never see these issues.

 

[sorka]

Do I have the "computer overheating issue" in my refreshed Tesla Model X?​

You can learn this by trying to reproduce the issue (please see the disclaimers below). You will need both:

1. Charge the car to 100% and take a long trip until you use almost all the charge.
2. When stopped, launch the Camera app and check if it's promptly updating the image. Or use a supercharger and charge the car up to 100%. Then watch for any issues or errors for the next hour.

Disclaimer: The issue may occur while you're still driving. A severe accident leading to severe injuries or death may occur. By testing your car for the issue, you're acting at your own risk and you take full responsibility for your actions.

Disclaimer: It may not be safe to drive after the issue occurs. A severe accident leading to severe injuries or death may occur. Please call Roadside Assistance to evacuate the car to a Tesla Service or proceed at your own risk after cooling down the computer. The issue may reoccur at any time.

What happens when the "computer overheating issue" occurs?​

The issue causes a huge range of other errors and problems. The list below is not exhaustive:

• False input from physical controls (a severe accident leading to severe injuries or death may occur)
• Frozen camera (extreme risk of an accident when relying on the outdated feed from the camera)
• Brake fault (can't drive)
• High voltage system fault (can't charge)
• Park brake fault (parking brake functions degraded)
• Turned off computer not responding on the restart command (access inside the car may be impossible)
• Steering assist reduced (steering may require increased or inconsistent effort)
• Black side cameras (can't use Autopilot, driver-assistance and active-safety features)
• Dyno mode enabled (can't drive)
• Powertrain requires service (speed and power may be limited)
• Air suspension requires service (suspension may not be level)
• False closed-door indicator when the door is open (check the doors visually)
• Not working outside temperature indicator (severe issues usually follow promptly)
• Uncontrolled software behavior, e.g. staring playback, increasing the volume to 100%, uncontrolled windows and alerts
• False and missing navigation instructions while using Navigate on Autopilot
• Variety of charging errors
• Spontaneous error beeps of different sounds
• Sudden computer restarts

How can I cool down the computer?​

The following instructions are unofficial and the result is not guaranteed:

1. Clear errors: Close all doors. Choose "Service" - "Power Off". Do not press any buttons or open the doors for at least 2 minutes.
2. Turn off "Safety" - "Turn on Sentry Mode Automatically".
3. Turn off the Sentry Mode.
4. Leave the car and lock it.
5. Unload the Tesla app from the memory of the phone.
6. Wait for at least 1 hour staying at a distance from the car.
7. Clear errors: Close all doors. Choose "Service" - "Power Off". Do not press any buttons or open the doors for at least 2 minutes.

It's not recommended to hold two wheel buttons for clearing errors because some errors persist in that case even though the power cycle clears them.

Disclaimer: It may not be safe to drive after the issue occurs. A severe accident leading to severe injuries or death may occur. Please call Roadside Assistance to evacuate the car to a Tesla Service or proceed at your own risk after cooling down the computer. The issue may reoccur at any time.

What is causing the "computer overheating issue"?​

Tesla currently doesn't know what is causing the issue or how to fix it. But the technician at the Tesla Service mentioned that such symptoms were likely caused by computer overheating. Therefore, we call it the "computer overheating issue". But the actual cause of the problem remains unknown.

What Tesla is doing to address the "computer overheating issue"?​

Based on my personal experience with Tesla Service:

• Tesla is trying to solve a hardware problem in software. This is absolutely unprofessional of them. As an experienced computer engineer, I know that no hardware issues can be fixed in software (without changing the effective specification of the hardware).
• Tesla claimed that the issue was resolved in software update 2022.8.3. But that turned out to be false.
• The technician at the Tesla Service performed an air purge on the cooling system. But this didn't resolve the problem.
• The technician at the Tesla Service promised to replace the computer if the issue re-occurred. But later he said that it would be replaced only "in case the replacement is needed".
• The Tesla Service scheduled the second appointment for diagnosis 41 days after the problem was discovered and 31 days after claiming that the problem was resolved at the first appointment.
• Currently, there is no known solution to the "computer overheating issue". Tesla isn't even sure that the actual cause of the problem is computer overheating.

What can I do if I have the "computer overheating issue"?​

We suggest considering the following options. Please let us know what you think.

• Due to the severity of the problem and high risks to the drivers, passengers and other people, we suggest requesting NHTSA to issue an immediate recall of all refreshed Tesla Model X until the actual cause of the issue is identified and a proven fix is offered.
• Due to the severity of the problem and high risks to the drivers, passengers and other people, we suggest requesting all states to terminate the registration of all registered Tesla Model X until the actual cause of the issue is identified and a proven fix is offered.
• For owners who financed or leased the car through Tesla Financing Services, we suggest requesting to pause due payments until the actual cause of the issue is identified and a proven fix is offered.
• For all owners of the refreshed Model X, we suggest requesting Tesla to offer a return window. Those who decide to return the car must be able to purchase another car of any model using prices that were active at the moment of the original order of the refreshed Model X. Their order must be placed at the begging of the waiting line by Tesla.
• Owners with the confirmed issue can take individual action in court against Tesla with the suggested compensation of $1,000,000 for every driver and passenger who used the car on long trips for endangering their lives.
• Owners with the confirmed issue can take class action in court against Tesla with the suggested compensation fund of $1,000,000,000 for endangering the lives of the drivers and passengers who used the car on long trips. If you know a lawyer with previous experience winning class actions, please share their contacts.

Theres some good information here but there's also a lot of statements that I have not seen backed up by other posts or sources here. Can you please fix this to put supporting links for all of the claims....especially the ones related to losing control of the vehicle, causing crashes, and death?

 

[aus1ander]

I just picked up my car and the service manager is convinced it’s all software and there is nothing physically wrong with the car. They reported the issue to Tesla engineering. I suggest everyone experiencing this issue to make service appointments and let them look at it. Demand they report it to Fremont. If the issue does not get resolved, lemon laws do apply. I will wait a couple more updates and if it still persists, I’m taking it back again.

To anyone saying not to make a big deal about it, it’s all fine when it’s not happening to your $120K car, but it stinks when it’s you. Long drives and Supercharging is a basic expectation from buying any new Tesla. The car throwing errors and freaking out everytime you try to Supercharge is not acceptable.

 

[mr-dmitry]

Theres some good information here but there's also a lot of statements that I have not seen backed up by other posts or sources here. Can you please fix this to put supporting links for all of the claims....especially the ones related to losing control of the vehicle, causing crashes, and death?

The car itself showed the following and other similar messages:

All mentioned issues actually occured to my car. I have photos and videos supporting this statement.

 

[BamaATL]

I just picked up my car and the service manager is convinced it’s all software and there is nothing physically wrong with the car. They reported the issue to Tesla engineering. I suggest everyone experiencing this issue to make service appointments and let them look at it. Repeatedly if necessary. If the issue does not get resolved, lemon laws do apply. I will wait a couple more updates and if it still persists, I’m taking it back again.

To anyone saying not to make a big deal about it, it’s all fine when it’s not happening to your $120K car, but it stinks when it’s you. Long drives and Supercharging is a basic expectation from buying any new Tesla. The car throwing errors and freaking out everytime you try to Supercharge is not acceptable.

Thanks. I would also suggest that everyone make use of the Bug Report functionality. On our last trip I filed a Bug Report every time I had to reboot due to the issue. The SC advisor told me that it adds an entry in the log and aids in the remote support triaging of the logs. While working with remote support while on my trip, they confirmed this and indicated that they were using my Bug Reports to find the timing of my issue and were able to identify the same issue every time.

The more information we can provide, the higher likelihood of a quick resolution.

 

[mr-dmitry]

The current number of known affected owners is 6, and it keeps growing.

 

[aus1ander]

The current number of known affected owners is 6, and it keeps growing.

This guy on Youtube made a whole video on it.

 

[BamaATL]

As fyi, 2022.12.3 is out. We'll see if this helps in any way. It is rumored to be a fix for the rear restraint.

 

[wk057]

I agree that the issue might not be with the computer. The computer overheating theory was introduced by multiple Tesla technicians after the first service appointment. I know that the same happened to another affected owner.

I think given that almost none of the issues noted could possibly be caused by a "computer overheating issue" that the opening post and title of this thread need some adjustment to squelch the misinformation.

( moderators)

 

[mr-dmitry]

I think given that almost none of the issues noted could possibly be caused by a "computer overheating issue" that the opening post and title of this thread need some adjustment to squelch the misinformation.

The last known official position of Tesla technicians is that these issues are caused by computer overheating. And they actually occur only after prolonged use of the car implying likely overheating. Most of the issues go away after cooling down for an hour even without a restart.

 

[wk057]

The last known official position of Tesla technicians is that these issues are caused by computer overheating.

(* citation needed)

Regardless of what you claim Tesla's position on this issue is, none of the noted issues can be caused by a malfunctioning/overheating/broken infotainment computer. That's not how the vehicle works at all, and not how it was designed from day 1 of Model S production 10 years ago.

You can completely smash the computer, screen, etc... remove them from the car entirely, and the car will still function. You can still drive it. You can still control it safely without issues. Sure, you'll be missing out on some feedback and some features, but it will work just fine.

So the entire premise of the claim in the original post is just completely false.

 

[bhzmark]

Could someone just start over on this issue with a new Original Post that doesn’t start off will all the nonsense in this OP. If this is really an issue.

FWIW In my Model S plaid I was on a road trip and supercharged twice during the trip and the car threw a bunch of errors during (or maybe just after) the supercharges. I shrugged my shoulders and rebooted and it was fine. Haven’t had a problem for many thousand miles since then.

 

[MP3Mike]

I think that warning pretty much applies to everything in the world.

 

[mr-dmitry]

I think that warning pretty much applies to everything in the world.

The context there was:

So, it applies to driving the car.

 

[wk057]

My bottom line here is that none of the noted issues in the OP can possibly be caused by any issue with the "computer", overheated or not. (Seems highly unlikely any kind of overheating is related to anything here whatsoever, also.)

That said, I've seen all sorts of issues with these cars over the years with various causes.

*IF* (big "if") there's some software issue related to supercharging or some other use case that somehow causes CAN bus saturation on the newer models, I could see erroneous errors popping up as these modules drop needed messages due to bus contention, as I noted earlier.

In fact, Tesla had a problem with this on early AP1 vehicle firmware (v2.7.56? been a while...) where the CH CAN bus had a lot of diagnostic/dev/debug info on the bus and it was pushing the bus to its limit, which could occasionally cause the DAS setup to crap out as a result ("Driver assistance features unavailable"). They pretty quickly fixed this in an OTA, though.

So could there be some issue? Sure. Is it caused by overheating. No. Is it dangerous and a billion dollar lawsuit? Also no. And, lol.

 

[mr-dmitry]

Is it dangerous and a billion dollar lawsuit? Also no. And, lol.

Let the court decide (if we get there).

 

[ohmman]

Moderator Note: I have done a slight renaming of the thread, and have made a tiny edit to the OP - I moved the section about why it's being called a "computer overheating issue" to the very top, before the description of the owner's issues, so that readers understand this is the specific owner's terminology based on a discussion with a Tesla Service technician.