According to the report, the 8GB flash memory chips in the vehicles\u2018 Nvidia Tegra 3 computer that powers the car\u2019s infotainment unit are reaching their program-erase cycle limits. Transport safety authorities in the US have received more than 16,000 complaints of system failures.<\/p>\n
[Read: Neural\u2019s market outlook for artificial intelligence in 2021 and beyond<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n In the simplest terms possible: a program-erase cycle limit is the amount of times a memory chip can have data written to it, read, deleted, and then written to again, before it can no longer function. It\u2019s how the lifespan of solid state hard drives is calculated<\/a>.<\/p>\n An investigation conducted by the US\u2019 National Highway Traffic Safety administration<\/a> (NHTSA) the failures are occurring on systems that have been in service for three to four years.<\/p>\n The NHTSA says the storage failure results in \u201closs of rearview\/backup camera, loss of window demisting system.\u201d In reality, those are inconveniences, the really concerning part is that Tesla\u2019s ADAS and Full Self Driving systems can also be affected by this component failure. Turn signal chimes and driver sensing systems are also affected.<\/p>\n This could, in the worst of circumstances, result in a system failure when the driver least expects it and is driving on Autopilot (which shouldn\u2019t really be called that<\/a>).<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all bad, though. This doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue that will appear in newer Teslas later down the road. Newer models fitted with Intel-powered hardware shouldn\u2019t fall foul to this failure as they don\u2019t use the Tegra 3 chips with built-in eMMC memory that Nvidia-equipped Teslas do.<\/p>\n Tesla has reportedly issued an over-the-air update in an attempt to reduce the rate that the flash chips are wearing out. According to the NHTSA, Tesla says its has reduced memory usage, improved error correction, and storage management.<\/p>\n Ultimately though, it is only just buying some Tesla owners a little more time. The chips are expected to fail eventually, and when they do the whole system will need to be replaced.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s add that to the list of reasons to be careful when buying a used Tesla<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>SHIFT<\/a> is brought to you by Polestar. It\u2019s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance.<\/span><\/i> Find out how<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Published November 17, 2020 \u2014 12:38 UTC <\/p>\n
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