UV Worked great on my badly yellowed screen

[pinball_player]

My current screen (which is a replacement from about 1.5 years ago) started to slightly yellow. I was in for service for other issues, and the Watertown service center performed the UV 'treatment' and now the screen looks brand new.

I was told that the trim needs to come off to perform the treatment with the UV device.

I concur that this service actually works!

 

[Skotty]

Didn't cost anything. My car is still under warranty, though several texts I received from Tesla said that this is a one time courtesy gesture and that the issue is not covered by the warranty. I don't accept that, I did not signal my agreement with that in any way, and I did not discuss this with anyone at Tesla in person. If the issue comes back I plan on fighting to get the screen repaired or replaced under warranty.

That makes no sense. Of course it's covered by the warranty (unless it's just the drivetrain warranty you are talking about).

 

[bob_p]

Our 2017 S 100D has already had the display replaced once - and now has the yellow band again.

And our 2018 X 100D is now showing the same problem.

Since this doesn't impact operation, will just plan to get this taken care of the next time either vehicle needs service.

At least it won't require replacing the display again...

 

[docbrown]

That makes no sense. Of course it's covered by the warranty (unless it's just the drivetrain warranty you are talking about).

Have you been following this issue at all? Many people have reported that Tesla has told them that it is not covered under warranty. Here are 2 examples of responses I've received from Tesla:

This one from August:

"Tesla has reviewed the cosmetic issue regarding a yellow border forming around the edges of the touchscreen & has determined this has no impact on performance or reliability of the touchscreen. We are able to repair the existing touchscreen to remove the yellow border. At this time, the engineering team is still validating the procedure to repair, once it is released, we can perform the repair to your vehicle as a goodwill gesture. "

And this one from my most recent appointment:

"The yellow condition is not a defect and is not covered under warranty. However, Tesla has developed a procedure which uses ultraviolet light to remove the yellowing condition for a period of time and we will apply it as a one-time goodwill gesture. Please note that this is NOT a treatment that removes the yellowing condition permanently."

 

[cucubits]

Please note that this is NOT a treatment that removes the yellowing condition permanently

So are there any hints on what causes this condition? Maybe some protective screen would help avoid this? Or is it appearing from heat?

 

[Skotty]

Have you been following this issue at all? Many people have reported that Tesla has told them that it is not covered under warranty. Here are 2 examples of responses I've received from Tesla:

This one from August:

"Tesla has reviewed the cosmetic issue regarding a yellow border forming around the edges of the touchscreen & has determined this has no impact on performance or reliability of the touchscreen. We are able to repair the existing touchscreen to remove the yellow border. At this time, the engineering team is still validating the procedure to repair, once it is released, we can perform the repair to your vehicle as a goodwill gesture. "

And this one from my most recent appointment:

"The yellow condition is not a defect and is not covered under warranty. However, Tesla has developed a procedure which uses ultraviolet light to remove the yellowing condition for a period of time and we will apply it as a one-time goodwill gesture. Please note that this is NOT a treatment that removes the yellowing condition permanently."

Doesn't matter what they say. It's covered, and if it's not covered, courts would say it should be covered. No one in their right mind would suggest a computer screen turning yellow within a year is something that should be considered normal operation.

It's covered, even if Tesla doesn't want it to be.

 

[docbrown]

That makes no sense. Of course it's covered by the warranty (unless it's just the drivetrain warranty you are talking about).

Not to mention this 74 page, 1466 post (and counting) thread about how to take Tesla to arbitration to force them to repair or replace the yellow screen, with plenty of examples of people being told that it's not covered under warranty: Yellow screen? Force Tesla to Replace it!

So are there any hints on what causes this condition? Maybe some protective screen would help avoid this? Or is it appearing from heat?

Good question. Now that my screen is repaired, I'd love to know how to take steps to prevent it from happening again.

 

[docbrown]

Doesn't matter what they say. It's covered, and if it's not covered, courts would say it should be covered. No one in their right mind would suggest a computer screen turning yellow within a year is something that should be considered normal operation.

It's covered, even if Tesla doesn't want it to be.

Read the thread I linked above. Plenty of people have gone to arbitration and lost.

 

[docbrown]

Doesn't matter what they say. It's covered, and if it's not covered, courts would say it should be covered. No one in their right mind would suggest a computer screen turning yellow within a year is something that should be considered normal operation.

It's covered, even if Tesla doesn't want it to be.

Anyway, I think we're in agreement that Tesla's position on this is ridiculous. But it is what it is.

 

[jboy210]

In another thread, someone said that they tried this and it didn't work. I think the cheap UV lights available on ebay and Amazon typically emit UV in the 365 - 420 nm range. Perhaps the adhesive used in the Tesla displays needs UV under 300 nm.

Makes sense. I know the coatings people are putting on porous countertop materials, paints, etc to make them impermeable to staining use curing lights less than 300 nm. As a result, there are UV curing lights out there. But they are not cheap.

 

[D.E.]

I’d thought it was UV light that caused the yellowing, that must be wrong. Does anyone know what actually makes them yellow?

Why do they need to remove the bezel, the screen under the bezel won’t be seen anyway. Could it be that the yellowing starts at the edge and moves inward, so if the hidden edge isn”t decolorized then does the visible edges will yellow more quickly?

This is pretty amazing that they can do it at all. Has anyone actually replaced the 17” screen themselves? I did find the manufacturer and the model number. The screens are available as far as I can tell and they are cheaper than Tesla doing it. I’ve replaced a screen on a laptop and that wasn’t all that difficult. These are industrial product screens.

 

[docbrown]

Why do they need to remove the bezel, the screen under the bezel won’t be seen anyway. Could it be that the yellowing starts at the edge and moves inward, so if the hidden edge isn”t decolorized then does the visible edges will yellow more quickly?

I can think of 2 reasons to remove the bezel:
- So that the UV light can get to any part of the screen that is under the bezel
- To keep it from getting damaged by the UV tool

 

[Azathoth]

I'd guess the fix uses short wavelength ultraviolet in the UV-C spectrum, which is commonly used to cure inks, sealants, and adhesives. My previous company worked with medical-grade UV-C (254 nm wavelength) mercury arc tubes for epidermal germicidal treatments. High intensity UV-C can rapidly cause skin damage and Photokeratitis (corneal damage) if viewed directly for even short time periods, hence the need for a protective shield. It can also bleach and/or degrade many plastics, not unlike long-term sun exposure.

My theory is that the yellowing displays were insufficiently cured by either the manufacturer or Tesla during assembly, or used a defective adhesive that yellows over time. The UV treatment either completes the cure or bleaches the yellowing adhesive.

It's possible that If the adhesive/sealant is not defective but just under-cured, the treatment *could* be permanent. No one knows yet, of course.

 

[Skotty]

Do Model 3's have the yellow banding problem?

Have to say, I'm a bit worried now. Just ordered a Model 3, and have yellow banding on my S. I can live with it on the S, but knowing I might have this on a new 3 within a year and have it not be covered under warranty gives me pause.

 

[docbrown]

Do Model 3's have the yellow banding problem?
.

Out of everything I've read about this, I haven't seen a single report of this happening on Model 3's.

 

[KArnold]

Now that my screen is repaired, I'd love to know how to take steps to prevent it from happening again

Don't drive in sunlight?

I did arbitration and won. They tried the machine and it failed - they didn't even call to see what I thought. Screen replaced but only warranty because of arbitration. Tesla lawyer kept pointing to warranty exclusions which includes a phrase referring to "damage by sunlight". But plenty of people have debunked the "sunlight causation" theory.

 

[bktiger86]

I just got my 2017 Model S back and I did the UV fix. It did make the yellow go away. I will have to check to see how long this will last.

 

[jboy210]

When I last talked to my local SC this summer they said there were only 2 or 3 prototype machines floating around the country. Are all service centers now performing this procedure?

 

[David in NC]

Mine is in for the fix today, free under warranty.
Despite all the complaints elsewhere, I have had nothing but positive experiences with Raleigh NC SC, even got an unexpected loaner today.

 

[Compubits]

My 17" touchscreen was considered the worst my service center ever came across, and they put this in writing in an email to me. The screen started yellowing in December 2018 after I'd owned the car for 11 months. The screen was finally remedied on November 2, 2019. So for half the time I've owned the car, I've had to live with a yellowed screen, because Tesla kept promising in writing (emails) to fix it. In the interim, I moved from Boca Raton to Jacksonville, Florida. So the service center that performed the UV Magic was in Jacksonville.

I was one of the skeptics about UV. I am thrilled with the results of this UV treatment so far. I'll let everyone know if this changes. My screen went from having a 2" wide frame of tobacco discolored ugliness, to a factory-fresh crisp looking beauty. I have looked with a magnifying glass and there is no sign of yellowing anywhere.

Here is the before UV photo (page down to see the after photos):

View attachment 473485

Here are two after UV Treatment photos:

View attachment 473488

View attachment 473489

Hi Kevin
I am based in London, UK and I had the yellow border in my MX which is about 6 months old and they SC fixed it using UV when it went in for some other issue of lights coming on at ramdom. Apparently there are only two of such devices in UK! so I was lucky to have it fixed so quickly.