Wiki 2021+ Model S Refresh - Missing/Incomplete Software Features

[cwanja]

Model X EPC shows all trim having light and version 1 of the complete tilt motor mechanism. Model S EPC shows the IP trim having light but none in the door trims. It originally showed the version 1 tilt mechanism with no motors, and now shows a version 2 mechanism with new kinds of motors. Despite differences in the catalog drawings, the mechanism assembly has always had the same part number between both the S and X (1607360-00-E). In reality, only one Plaid I've seen out of five has had lights in the IP trim. It also had lights in the door trims. The other four had no trim lights at all. I have yet to inspect a Palladium X.

Confused? So am I. Palladium production has clearly been a complete mess. Yesterday I went to a service center and attempted to order one of the new mechanisms. I say attempted because as I previously noted, they've all had the same part number, and the part example pictures the technician brought up were pictures of the v1 bracket with and without motors. I explained the situation to him and showed him the drawing differences which confused him as well. So the order has been made, and if the part does not match the latest drawing in the S catalog, he'll run it up the chain and inquire as to what's going on with the version control.

As far as retrofits, I have virtually no clue. So far I have yet to actually see a motorized mechanism in person - just drawings and pictures from old service manuals. Once it's confirmed motorized mechanisms are in delivered cars, we can assume Tesla will be adding first party function support, and retrofits - official or unofficial - would be practicality guaranteed.

And for anyone curious as to what the trim lighting is supposed to look like:

View attachment 726070View attachment 726071View attachment 726072View attachment 726073View attachment 726074View attachment 726075

Acrylic light bars with light engines affixed at the ends. The light engines contain a LIN driven RGB LED. I see nothing wrong with the design so my complete guess is these were a victim of the chip shortage, but again they're present in the Palladium X catalog so they may be coming back. The corresponding connectors have been present in every S I've inspected and the connectors are powered. In this particular Plaid, the light engines are likely just not receiving any commands.

This is amazing, thank you so much for the write up. I had been looking at the EPC today after your post and could not / did not see the v2 in the screen tilting. Although, the only “light assembly” I saw on the X was above the rear screen. Never saw anything in the console sides or door trim, but admittedly I am probably missing something. Also on about two hours of sleep, thanks newborn!

CC @2021plaid

 

[cwanja]

PS @Tigers see some of the latest posts.

 

[omarsultan]

So, do we think this will be a free retrofit, or a “for fee” retrofit?

I'll be pleasantly surprised if this is a free retrofit. I think it is more like that some point, things that were supposed to be in the refresh (but got dropped) will start showing up as a running changes to the Model S. If we're lucky, we might get a paid retrofit package with the new goodies and maybe even some new headlights and taillights.

 

[cwanja]

Model X EPC shows all trim having light and version 1 of the complete tilt motor mechanism. Model S EPC shows the IP trim having light but none in the door trims. It originally showed the version 1 tilt mechanism with no motors, and now shows a version 2 mechanism with new kinds of motors. Despite differences in the catalog drawings, the mechanism assembly has always had the same part number between both the S and X (1607360-00-E). In reality, only one Plaid I've seen out of five has had lights in the IP trim. It also had lights in the door trims. The other four had no trim lights at all. I have yet to inspect a Palladium X.

Confused? So am I. Palladium production has clearly been a complete mess. Yesterday I went to a service center and attempted to order one of the new mechanisms. I say attempted because as I previously noted, they've all had the same part number, and the part example pictures the technician brought up were pictures of the v1 bracket with and without motors. I explained the situation to him and showed him the drawing differences which confused him as well. So the order has been made, and if the part does not match the latest drawing in the S catalog, he'll run it up the chain and inquire as to what's going on with the version control.

As far as retrofits, I have virtually no clue. So far I have yet to actually see a motorized mechanism in person - just drawings and pictures from old service manuals. Once it's confirmed motorized mechanisms are in delivered cars, we can assume Tesla will be adding first party function support, and retrofits - official or unofficial - would be practicality guaranteed.

And for anyone curious as to what the trim lighting is supposed to look like:

View attachment 726070View attachment 726071View attachment 726072View attachment 726073View attachment 726074View attachment 726075

Acrylic light bars with light engines affixed at the ends. The light engines contain a LIN driven RGB LED. I see nothing wrong with the design so my complete guess is these were a victim of the chip shortage, but again they're present in the Palladium X catalog so they may be coming back. The corresponding connectors have been present in every S I've inspected and the connectors are powered. In this particular Plaid, the light engines are likely just not receiving any commands.

Alright, seeing the ”light pipe bracket” in the EPC on the X.

What is interesting is that we know, from other member tear downs, that the S door trim and dash trim has the piping there as well. Odd they would call it out in the EPC on the X, but not the S. We shall see.

 

[Tigers]

For anyone else still wondering what may be happening with screen tilt and the light elements in the trim, there's been a few developments. Originally, the parts catalog for the new S showed the tilt mechanism sans motors as delivered in our cars, and no light elements in the trim. The catalog for the X however shows that same mechanism with motors, and trim with light elements. And within the past day or two, the S catalog was updated with a redesigned tilt mechanism which uses entirely new motors. No change to trim, however.

So tl;dr Tesla still seems to be developing the features and hasn't given up on them. My guess is early VIN's will need a retrofit.

Current X:

View attachment 725750

New S:

View attachment 725751

So, do we think this will be a free retrofit, or a “for fee” retrofit?

I'll be pleasantly surprised if this is a free retrofit. I think it is more like that some point, things that were supposed to be in the refresh (but got dropped) will start showing up as a running changes to the Model S. If we're lucky, we might get a paid retrofit package with the new goodies and maybe even some new headlights and taillights.

Zero percent chance these will be free retrofits, even though Tesla advertised them from day one. I'd call the service center and BITCH and MOAN until they did it for free. Absolutely false advertising. They changed the website like no one would notice. Dirty bastards. The trim lighting looks pretty cool, is still on the website as well (LOL).

These are sensitive subjects to me and it pisses me off when I am reminded of them. I do hope Tesla does the right thing and offers it for free to initial Model S deliveries, highly, highly doubt it. My guess is neither the lights nor the tilt mechanism makes it in until Q1 2022.

The website still has "ambient lighting" listed on the interior features section. Now they could claim this is the door pocket light, but that's BS.

Yes - this damn thing needs new headlights and tail lights, I'd pay for both since they were never advertised, but the tall lights looking OLD AF!

Here's a good old gem:

 

[Casey_S]

Pictures of the mechanism and videos of how it works (Wobble is because the drill chuck isn't center on the screw). I'm seeing a gear cutter tomorrow morning to inquire about fabricating the correct gear interface between the drive screw and motor. Once I have that, throw in an Arduino, and I'll have a working mechanism. Out of curiosity, would anyone be interested in a kit? I don't intend to mass produce this, assuming I even get it working reliably, but since I'm this far deep anyway...

 

[jebinc]

Pictures of the mechanism and videos of how it works (Wobble is because the drill chuck isn't center on the screw). I'm seeing a gear cutter tomorrow morning to inquire about fabricating the correct gear interface between the drive screw and motor. Once I have that, throw in an Arduino, and I'll have a working mechanism. Out of curiosity, would anyone be interested in a kit? I don't intend to mass produce this, assuming I even get it working reliably, but since I'm this far deep anyway...

What would you estimate the cost of the kit would be?

 

[Casey_S]

What would you estimate the cost of the kit would be?

Depends entirely on the cost of components. The seat motors are about $80 each from ebay, you'll need two. But the new motor gears are likely to be expensive given they'll be a custom fab. It'll be at least $1k for the job I'm sure, but I don't know how many gears that'll yield yet.

 

[wally5788]

Has anyone done a teardown of the audio system? The 2019 MS I had honestly sounded better and the subwoofer was definitely more noticeable. I just can’t understand why if the new MS is rated at 1000 watts and 22 speakers as compared to the old MS being 600 watts (I believe) and 16. The cabin is way more sealed now too especially with thicker windows and less road noise. I really hope that Tesla is restricting the power and can unleash more in the system in the future via software update - pretty disappointed for now…

 

[omarsultan]

Has anyone done a teardown of the audio system? The 2019 MS I had honestly sounded better and the subwoofer was definitely more noticeable. I just can’t understand why if the new MS is rated at 1000 watts and 22 speakers as compared to the old MS being 600 watts (I believe) and 16. The cabin is way more sealed now too especially with thicker windows and less road noise. I really hope that Tesla is restricting the power and can unleash more in the system in the future via software update - pretty disappointed for now…

In general, watts is kind of a useless measure when talking about audio. Marketers want you to think of it like horsepower (moar watts!) and the is not the case. What don't you like about the sound and what source are you using for music.

 

[bhzmark]

Same. it feels like the audio system is still off in some major way. And oddly if I turn off the immersion effect and then move the balance to the rear speakers I get zero sound. Only speakers from the back when immersion is turned on, and even then sounds like crap and I sense nothing from the sub at all. I have hope with every update. May eventually do a service ticket.

Has anyone done a teardown of the audio system? The 2019 MS I had honestly sounded better and the subwoofer was definitely more noticeable. I just can’t understand why if the new MS is rated at 1000 watts and 22 speakers as compared to the old MS being 600 watts (I believe) and 16. The cabin is way more sealed now too especially with thicker windows and less road noise. I really hope that Tesla is restricting the power and can unleash more in the system in the future via software update - pretty disappointed for now…

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Same. it feels like the audio system is still off in some major way. And oddly if I turn off the immersion effect and then move the balance to the rear speakers I get zero sound. Only speakers from the back when immersion is turned on, and even then sounds like crap and I sense nothing from the sub at all. I have hope with every update. May eventually do a service ticket.

I've ridden in the back seat of our Plaid S several times and noticed the same thing. It sounds as if all the music is coming from up front. We've tried adjusting the balance and I can confirm there is actually sound from our rear speakers but it just doesn't sound right. Hopefully they will be able to make improvements in future software updates.

 

[Emiller]

Same. it feels like the audio system is still off in some major way. And oddly if I turn off the immersion effect and then move the balance to the rear speakers I get zero sound. Only speakers from the back when immersion is turned on, and even then sounds like crap and I sense nothing from the sub at all. I have hope with every update. May eventually do a service ticket.

Everyone talks about number of speakers and power. Instead of audiophile terms like separation and depth. I had my audio system on my 21 refreshed Model S done about 3 weeks ago and the improvement is night and day. There are a lot of nuances to this vehicle so if anyone decides to do the same, make sure you are working with an very high level installer. I drove 4 hours away to ensure the job was done right and it came out better than I even expected it to. Happy to provide details if anyones interested.

I also had an Escort Max Xi 360 installed. My installer is amazing just wish he was local.

 

[tbaud]

I had my audio system on my 21 refreshed Model S done

What do you mean by "done"? Replaced? Tuned?

 

[Emiller]

What do you mean by "done"? Replaced? Tuned?

What do you mean by "done"? Replaced? Tuned?

I would consider it replaced. Basically, sound dampening materials were used throughout the car, front and back and doors. A separate lithium Ion 15v batter isolator is powering 4 Mosconi amplifiers, that are being fed by a Helix Ultra DSP. The sound stage are 3 way Focal Utopia M speakers and a Focal Utopia Sub in the factory location. Although I can use the factory audio system, I usually use a Astell & Kerns SP 2000 for the highest fidelity source possible. Because the car is so silent its really the perfect stage for an amazing audio system. I would put my car audio system against most high end home audiophile systems. It sounds like a rolling recording studio.

 

[tbaud]

I would consider it replaced. Basically, sound dampening materials were used throughout the car, front and back and doors. A separate lithium Ion 15v batter isolator is powering 4 Mosconi amplifiers, that are being fed by a Helix Ultra DSP. The sound stage are 3 way Focal Utopia M speakers and a Focal Utopia Sub in the factory location. Although I can use the factory audio system, I usually use a Astell & Kerns SP 2000 for the highest fidelity source possible. Because the car is so silent its really the perfect stage for an amazing audio system. I would put my car audio system against most high end home audiophile systems. It sounds like a rolling recording studio.

Sounds expensive.

 

[webshot]

I would consider it replaced. Basically, sound dampening materials were used throughout the car, front and back and doors. A separate lithium Ion 15v batter isolator is powering 4 Mosconi amplifiers, that are being fed by a Helix Ultra DSP. The sound stage are 3 way Focal Utopia M speakers and a Focal Utopia Sub in the factory location. Although I can use the factory audio system, I usually use a Astell & Kerns SP 2000 for the highest fidelity source possible. Because the car is so silent its really the perfect stage for an amazing audio system. I would put my car audio system against most high end home audiophile systems. It sounds like a rolling recording studio.

So you just voided your warranty?

 

[Krash]

So you just voided your warranty?

Sounds like they can afford to fix audio issues themselves. Just a hunch. /s

 

[Emiller]

Sounds expensive.

Doesn’t have to be. Their are various paths you can take to improving the sound quality of a vehicle. Just sound dampening alone will have an impact. Some people just want to add bass, others power and clarity.

 

[Tigers]

I figured when Elon brought up the fact that it's a "custom codec" tuned by "Tesla audio" that the sound system would be in beta for all eternity and never sound quite right. Ugh. Guess scratch that as another feature I was looking forward to the most.