Tesla recalls 239,382 vehicles over rearview camera problems
Software snafu can fry computer components for owners of Musk's electric buggies
Days after the US's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) began an investigation into the company's Actually Smart Summon technology, Tesla is is now recalling almost a quarter of a million vehicles over a separate issue – glitches with rearview cameras on some models.
239,382 Teslas are affected from the 2023 – 2024 Model 3 and S ranges and the 2023 – 2025 Model X and Y ranges. The problem is that a computer circuit board might short, resulting in the vehicle losing access to the rearview camera image [PDF].
From November 21, 2024, Tesla noted an increase in car computer replacements due to a power shorting malfunction. It traced the problem to software releases prior to 2024.44.25.3 or 2024.45.25.6 which, when combined with certain hardware configurations and colder temperatures, could increase reverse current and short the power components.
Thus, the view from the rear camera would cease to be displayed.
Tesla has already begun rolling out an Over The Air (OTA) update to fix the technical trouble and vehicles that have experienced the shorting condition prior to installing 2024.44.25.3, 2024.45.25.6, or a later software release will be able to get their car computer replaced free of charge.
As of December 30, 2024, Tesla had identified 887 warranty claims and 68 field reports related to the condition. It said it is also not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the problem.
Dan O'Dowd, Founder of The Dawn Project, said, "This is the second time in just one week that NHTSA has taken action against Tesla over its faulty software, highlighting the myriad safety critical defects in Tesla systems.
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"If Tesla cannot be trusted to develop reliable software to ensure that its rear-view cameras do not fail to display an image, how can it be trusted to develop an entirely autonomous driving system which does not require supervision?"
For context, Tesla it is not the only car maker suffering from software-related rearview camera woes. 2025 also began with a recall [PDF] of vehicles from UK manufacturer Aston Martin over the view from its reversing camera. However, in Aston Martin's case, only 1,452 vehicles were potentially affected by the problem, which entails a home screen menu that occasionally obscures the display of the reversing camera. An OTA update can apparently fix the problem on some of Aston Martin's light vehicles, but for certain models, a trip to the dealer for a USB software update is required. ®