Running Steam with USB or SSD installed can cause software crash WHILE DRIVING!

[alexbpm]

I am surprised this isn’t being discussed by all the major EV news oulets, as it’s a huge liability and making my Model S Plaid inoperable at times. Nutshell: If you installed Steam to play games after the December update and you’re using a USB stick or SSD in the glovebox…there is a known issue of this causing a memory leak that will crash the software in the vehicle while driving. Essentially your car will not be able to move forward or in reverse, and all of the displays freeze and become inoperable before crashing and rebooting. This happened to me when pulling out of my driveway and left my car frozen in the middle of the road with oncoming traffic with no way of being able to move. I had to wait several minutes for the vehicle to notice it was frozen, and then reboot itself. I have confirmed with my local Tesla service center that is in fact what is occurring and is known issue.

The Details: per the internets suggestion, I installed a Samsung T7 SSD in the glovebox to install steam games. Followed the vehicle prompts to format the drive and all seemed well. After a few days, the issue above occured and the vehicle froze mid drive. My service tech called after checking the event log in the vehicle and said and I quote “I did a little more digging and it turnst out steam was using 8GB of memory at the time of the issue. Please remove the SSD as this is causing issues, and install a 256GB Samsung USB drive of the same model as the 64GB USB stick that comes in the glovebox from the factory. My Model S Plaid only has a 16GB driver which is shocking considering steam games can get over 50GB.

So I ditch the SSD, and install the 256GB Samsung USB Stick in ensure stable performance as the tech suggested. A few days later, same issue. Stuck in the middle of the road. A second tech from my local Tesla service center reached out and said that Steam was yet again using up too much system memory, and that Steam files cannot be saved to SSD OR a USB stick because that will result in a memory leak and use so much system memory that the vehicle software will crash. Are you kidding me? This is like step 1 quality assurance when you test a new feature. Didn’t anyone at the factory use an SSD drive or USB stick to support steam? Nobody thought to check expanded memory functionality with Steam? My 2022 MS Plaid only has 16Gb of onboard memory and Tesla knowingly released Steam into the wild which contains 20GB-50GB games all day long? What did they think would happen? It’s really infuriating that Tesla would release Steam in a Christmas firmware update in this state. Crashing vehicle software around the world and leaving drivers vulnerable in this way. I just hope people who are using Steam to play games in their vehicles with either a USB Stick or SSD become aware of this issue and take precautions. For now, you’re stuck with the internal 16gigs if you want a working vehicle.

 

[vcor]

Ok, can't answer about the bug, but you have a few details wrong. Your vehicle has 16 GB of RAM, and likely 256 GB of internal flash memory, used in part to store games, if you are not using an external drive to hold the games. So storing a 50 GB game in the internal flash memory should not be a problem. If you want to store a lot of games, then external storage is needed, and it sounds like the use of external memory for games is buggy. Best to avoid external storage until it gets sorted out.

I'm not aware of any games that Tesla includes that can't fit into 16 GB of RAM. Note that the latest PS5 and Xbox also have 16 GB RAM. Games are designed to pull items it needs at the moment into RAM from flash memory, and that is why you don't need 50 GB of RAM.

 

[alexbpm]

Ok, can't answer about the bug, but you have a few details wrong. Your vehicle has 16 GB of RAM, and likely 256 GB of internal flash memory, used in part to store games, if you are not using an external drive to hold the games. So storing a 50 GB game in the internal flash memory should not be a problem. If you want to store a lot of games, then external storage is needed, and it sounds like the use of external memory for games is buggy. Best to avoid external storage until it gets sorted out.

I'm not aware of any games that Tesla includes that can't fit into 16 GB of RAM. Note that the latest PS5 and Xbox also have 16 GB RAM. Games are designed to pull items it needs at the moment into RAM from flash memory, and that is why you don't need 50 GB of RAM.

Wow, a lot of misinformation here. Only 16GB of storage is allocated to Infotainment in a 2022 MS Plaid (I’m assuming its the same for the standard MS), which you can easily verify by selecting the Software tab and clicking the link to display additional vehicle info (image attached). I believe the 256GB internal flash memory you’re quoting is for overall storage, which is allocated for different processes as Tesla sees fit.

Also I think you’re confusing RAM (random access memory) which is used as temporary memory, with storage. My complain is in regards to limited storage, not RAM. It is irrelevant whether the OS can pull what it needs from RAM if there’s not enough storage to install any Steam games to begin with. It’s also irrelevant whether or not Tesla includes games that can fit within the allocated 16GB of storage, because this discssion is in regards to Steam games which in most cases are very large in size and must be downloaded and are not included from the factory.

In case you’re not a gamer, Steam is a platform that allows users to purchase and download the vast majority of popular games released today. Some titles like Final Fantasy and Call of Duty can be between 100GB and 250GB, so external storage is a necessity. So if having external storage to play Steam games is a necessity, and it certainly is based on the large game capacity requirements I’ve explained above, then we’re dealing with a major issue here. If using an SSD or USB Stick is going to crash the system software and leave you stuck in the middle of a road, we need Tesla to acknowledge the issue and let owners know.

 

[Zuikkis]

Isn't there gear change buttons in the center console, as pictured?

On older Teslas it's really common practice to reboot the misbehaving infotainment while driving. Or it would reboot or crash on its own. I drove my 2013 car two weeks with a blank display when the eMMC died.

 

[dmurphy]

View attachment 901968

Isn't there gear change buttons in the center console, as pictured?

On older Teslas it's really common practice to reboot the misbehaving infotainment while driving. Or it would reboot or crash on its own. I drove my 2013 car two weeks with a blank display when the eMMC died.

Exactly. It’s important to know where these buttons are, as they ARE functional even if the display computer is offline.

Might be good for OP to review the owners’ manual, or even the owners’ intro videos.

 

[vcor]

...Also I think you’re confusing RAM (random access memory) which is used as temporary memory, with storage. ...

No - I'm not confused. Did you not read the hardware information from the image you made? It clearly states "Infotainment RAM 16 GB", not flash memory. Now there is no description of the total internal flash memory. Others have said it's 256 GB, but I have no way to confirm that. It's also unclear how much of that 256 GB is available to store games, but there are games in the 50 GB range that can be run without external storage, so it has at least that much. Others have stated older Plaids that don't support Stream have only 128 GB of storage. It would be logical that cars with 256 GB of flash has at least 128 GB available to store games. To be clear, I've not personally verified the amount of internal storage, but I have no reason to doubt others. The last generation of MCU2 includes 64 GB of flash memory. With MCUZ, jumping to 128 GB and then 256 GB are reasonable numbers.

 

[WilliamG]

Just chiming in here to say I have a 500GB NVMe SSD in my glovebox for Steam + Sentry, and haven't had any car software crashing of any sort. So the issue may be limited to certain cars or a fault elsewhere. Also, as @vcor has mentioned, there's clear a fundamental misunderstanding over RAM and storage space on the part of @alexbpm. I mean heck, Steam even shows you when you're about to install a game how much space you have on the car's built-in storage, which is 78.2GB.

 

[manole]

I’ve been experiencing something similar but never when driving. Steam crashes for me frequently, almost every other time I launch it moments after it boots up. One thing I have in common with the OP is a Samsung T7 SSD. This post has me wondering if that has something to do with it. However, I do believe this was happening before I installed the SSD.

 

[laakness]

I have a 1TB SanDisk SSD and have not had this issue yet.

 

[alexbpm]

Exactly. It’s important to know where these buttons are, as they ARE functional even if the display computer is offline.

Might be good for OP to review the owners’ manual, or even the owners’ intro videos.

This is not accurate, at least not in my case. The first thing I did upon system crash is to attempt to use the center console buttons to place the car in drive. They were inoperable

 

[dmurphy]

This is not accurate, at least not in my case. The first thing I did upon system crash is to attempt to use the center console buttons to place the car in drive. They were inoperable

They are supposed to be functional even if the MCU is completely offline.

I’d like to test this once my S gets here — that’s the kind of thing Tesla needs to fix if it doesn’t work.

Sorry!

 

[alexbpm]

I have a 1TB SanDisk SSD and have not had this issue yet.

How long have you been using the SSD? What model? Did you format the drive within the Steam app for the purposes of game saves?

 

[laakness]

How long have you been using the SSD? What model? Did you format the drive within the Steam app for the purposes of game saves?

Got the drive Jan 21st.
2022 Model S LR
Formatted by the car/Steam app where it prompts and says that 64GB or something will be used for dashcam, the rest for Steam.

 

[alexbpm]

Just chiming in here to say I have a 500GB NVMe SSD in my glovebox for Steam + Sentry, and haven't had any car software crashing of any sort. So the issue may be limited to certain cars or a fault elsewhere. Also, as @vcor has mentioned, there's clear a fundamental misunderstanding over RAM and storage space on the part of @alexbpm. I mean heck, Steam even shows you when you're about to install a game how much space you have on the car's built-in storage, which is 78.2GB.

View attachment 902115

Sadly I cannot edit my original post to include that it was the Tesla service technician who was adamant that my MS Plaid had 16GB of storage, no more. Not a good sign if the service reps dont understand their own vehicles. I understand the differences between storage and RAM, but that distinction should not distract anyone from what is being discussed here. Which is a vehicle becoming inoperable while driving or between gear changes due to steam running with external storage. I’m shocked anyone would downvote my original post based on how hazerdous this bug is, which is not caused by user error but a fundamental flaw that was overlooked by Tesla QA prior to release.

 

[alexbpm]

Got the drive Jan 21st.
2022 Model S LR
Formatted by the car/Steam app where it prompts and says that 64GB or something will be used for dashcam, the rest for Steam.

That’s exactly how I set it up as well. I’ve just had it installed a few weeks longer than you. Please report back if you do experience any issues

 

[WilliamG]

Sadly I cannot edit my original post to include that it was the Tesla service technician who was adamant that my MS Plaid had 16GB of storage, no more. Not a good sign if the service reps dont understand their own vehicles. I understand the differences between storage and RAM, but that distinction should not distract anyone from what is being discussed here. Which is a vehicle becoming inoperable while driving or between gear changes due to steam running with external storage. I’m shocked anyone would downvote my original post based on how hazerdous this bug is, which is not caused by user error but a fundamental flaw that was overlooked by Tesla QA prior to release.

Because, as we've said, - this is only affecting you, it appears. Many of us are using external storage without any issue, myself included. If it's a strange bug with your car, - that's unfortunate, but it doesn't warrant yelling how the car is terrible and dangerous etc etc.

 

[laakness]

Do you have any correspondence with Tesla that you could share with them indicating it's a known bug/issue? I agree that saying it's this world wide problem is a bit dramatic but I'd be pissed too. We just need to come at this with a bit more data I think.

I don't need to play Steam for any real reason so I might just unplug my drive for a bit and flip the thumb stick back in.

 

[WilliamG]

Do you have any correspondence with Tesla that you could share with them indicating it's a known bug/issue? I agree that saying it's this world wide problem is a bit dramatic but I'd be pissed too. We just need to come at this with a bit more data I think.

I don't need to play Steam for any real reason so I might just unplug my drive for a bit and flip the thumb stick back in.

Why would you unplug your drive if you're not having issues? There's thousands of S/X cars out there with Steam. This complaint is the first I've heard of it, and I basically live on the Tesla forums.

 

[laakness]

Why would you unplug your drive if you're not having issues? There's thousands of S/X cars out there with Steam. This complaint is the first I've heard of it, and I basically live on the Tesla forums.

Fair enough, I only got the drive to store a few larger games. My use of Steam is almost nonexistent, only charge at home when not on a road trip, and my wife uses the car 4 out of 5 days of the week.

So basically it changes nothing for me to unplug the drive while I wait for the OP to show his chat records. I'm just low risk and know most users don't go on car forums.

 

[WilliamG]

Fair enough, I only got the drive to store a few larger games. My use of Steam is almost nonexistent, only charge at home when not on a road trip, and my wife uses the car 4 out of 5 days of the week.

So basically it changes nothing for me to unplug the drive while I wait for the OP to show his chat records. I'm just low risk and know most users don't go on car forums.

I’ve been running Steam for weeks and weeks without issue. I’d suggest you continue doing like you’re doing, and not worry about it. Hopefully the OP can figure out his issue.