The computer that enables Tesla to claim that its vehicles have “full-self driving” capability is having some pretty serious issues right now. The computers are failing, and it’s nearly bricking some owner’s Tesla’s.
We’ve known for a while just how big of misnomer Tesla’s “full self-driving” is. Recently the computer that enables the tech has been failing, rendering the self driving useless as a deep dive report from Electrek found out. As some Tesla owners recently detailed to Electrek, those self-driving computer failures are causing other features to malfunction or, in some cases, stop working completely. One Tesla owner wrote just what has gone wrong with their Model Y in Electrek’s comments:
We had the same issue on our Model Y 2024. Bought it new at the end of June. The problems started in October. I noticed some glitches on the screen, bluetooth and wifi stopped working. Tried to reboot and went into an infinite loop. Tesla had to tow the car and they almost made me pay because it was too far. In the end they gave us a model 3 for a week until they replaced the computer. I hope they didn’t replace it with the same model.
Other owners have taken to venting their frustration on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration complaint pages for the Model 3 and Model Y, like one owner who detailed how the failure of their FSD has rendered driving assistance features and cameras useless.
The FSD feature for which we have paid in full to Tesla does not work. No cruise control and no Assisted Steering Control or Cruise Control works. As per their Service Department, AP4 Car Computer has internal short and camera can not communicate for above mentioned features.
Most other complaints involve the same thing: FSD computer failures making things like assistance features, airbags, navigation, cameras, etc. inoperable or even bricking the vehicles themselves.
As Electrek pointed out, Tesla’s fix for this is two fold; One is to replace the computer entirely.
When the computer fails, many vehicle features stop working, like active safety features, auto wipers, auto high beams, cameras, and even GPS, navigation, and range estimations. Tesla’s fix was to replace the computer completely, but sources also mentioned a temporary software fix to enable some of the features in the meantime.
The downside is that those who need to get the computer replaced face Tesla’s quality service department, which means long wait times; some customers are sitting with vehicles they can’t drive while they wait over two months for a replacement.
Another fix involved a software update, but that seems to make things worse. Owners have reported that their batteries have been draining since the update, with some even describing it as “battery degradation.”
On top of the previously mentioned disabled features, customers have voiced other problems living with their brand-new vehicles without a working computer. The computer appears to get stuck in an “auto-update loop”, which drains the battery faster. A customer with this issue estimated that his Model 3 is consuming about 5 kWh per day when parked, doing nothing with this computer issue. Some owners expressed concerns about faster battery degradation and wear on other components because of this issue. It’s also a major issue for people who don’t have home charging yet, and their vehicles are stuck discharging faster with this issue.
This latest FSD issue seems to be the cherry on top of a crap filled sundae that’s been melting for a while now. From having driver intervention nearly 80 times in 1,000 miles to driving onto train tracks to even plowing into and killing a deer without stopping, it’s amazing the Feds haven’t stepped in to stop FSD’s supposed development.
