Tesla hardware overheating and US safety probe follow new FSD update

Owners of older Tesla models equipped with the HW3 processor have reported severe overheating of the Autopilot computer after the company rolled out the lighter FSD v14 Lite software on July 21. Temperatures have reached over 100 °C, triggering error code APP_w141_ECU_Thermal_Issue and disabling critical safety functions such as automatic emergency braking, lane‑keeping assist and even the self‑drive activation button. In several cases the hardware has failed completely, requiring costly replacement of the entire Autopilot module, a repair that owners must pay for themselves. Tesla has not confirmed a link between the update and the hardware failures.

Separately, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a formal investigation (case PE25012) into Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving (FSD) system, covering about 2.88 million vehicles. The probe focuses on incidents where FSD‑equipped cars ran red lights or drove against traffic, with 58 reported events, 14 crashes and 23 injuries so far. While Denmark’s traffic authority recently approved the system based on a Dutch assessment, the U.S. inquiry highlights ongoing safety concerns and could lead to further regulatory action.