Tesla Model 3 LR gets computer upgrade

The Tesla Model 3 Long Range due for delivery in mid to late February gets a new computer which will optimise its touch screen but comes at the cost of 12km less range.

Still, the Model 3 LR has 602km range (WLTP), the hardware change requiring more power resulting in the minor drop in range, according to a Tesla Model 3 Owners New Zealand post.

Owners are invited by Tesla to accept and proceed with the order update.

Late last year US-based Tesla reportedly started recalling 356,309 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rear-view camera issues and 119,009 Model S vehicles due to front hood problems, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“The rear-view camera cable harness may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying,” on Model 3 cars, the NHTSA adds.

Tesla identified 2301 warranty claims and 601 field reports regarding the issue for US vehicles, the report says.

For Model S vehicles, front hood latch problems may lead a trunk (“frunk”) to open “without warning and obstruct the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash”, Reuters reports Tesla as saying.

The NHTSA says Tesla is unaware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issues cited in the recall of Model 3 and Model S cars and the safety organisation says it was talking with Tesla about side-view camera issues in some vehicles.

CNBC reports Tesla was replacing defective repeater cameras in the front fenders of some US-made vehicles without recalling the parts.

The NHTSA has been investigating 580,000 Tesla vehicles over the automaker’s decision to allow games to be played on car screens while in motion, the administration saying Tesla has agreed to stop that while its cars are moving.

Tesla agreed to recall 135,000 vehicles with touch screen displays that could fail and raise the risk of a crash.

The NHTSA in August last year opened a formal safety probe into Tesla’s Autopilot after a series of crashes involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles.