Tesla to recall US vehicles over touch screen issue

Tesla has agreed to recall some of its vehicles in the US (AP/Christophe Ena, File)

After initially refusing a request from US safety regulators, Tesla has agreed to recall about 135,000 vehicles because the large touch screens on the console can go dark.

The electric car maker said that it will recall certain 2012-2018 Model S and 2016-2018 Model X vehicles to fix the problem.

The failing touch screens can disable the backup cameras and cause the windshield defrosters to malfunction.

Last month the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started the process of taking Tesla to court to force the recall. But Tesla agreed last week to the fix the vehicles after getting a letter from the agency.

The recall was detailed in documents posted on the agency’s website. Tesla says in documents it does not agree the failures are a safety defect but will replace the screens’ computer processors starting on March 30.