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2022.16 to fix the boot!

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Had car booked in with boot problems and they text me today to say…..

“The correct diagnosis into the concern you have with your liftgate and can confirm this is a firmware issue. The powered liftgate has been programmed to measure electrical current/resistance to determine if it is making contact with an obstacle, the programming has been found to be too sensitive and therefore movement stop unexpectedly as it suspects it has contacted an object. Our engineers are working on a resolution and have reported improvements have been made in firmware level 2022.16, which will roll out to your vehicle in due course. We apologise for any inconveniences caused by this issue, please let us know if you are happy to close down the booking.”

Hope it fixes it and its not a delaying tactic.
 
“The correct diagnosis into the concern you have with your liftgate and can confirm this is a firmware issue. The powered liftgate has been programmed to measure electrical current/resistance to determine if it is making contact with an obstacle, the programming has been found to be too sensitive and therefore movement stop unexpectedly as it suspects it has contacted an object. Our engineers are working on a resolution and have reported improvements have been made in firmware level 2022.16, which will roll out to your vehicle in due course. We apologise for any inconveniences caused by this issue, please let us know if you are happy to close down the booking.”

Or another way...

"The diagnosis into the concern you have with your liftgate and can confirm this is a hardware limitation. The powered liftgate has been programmed to measure electrical current/resistance to determine if it is making contact with an obstacle, the programming has been found to be too sensitive after the liftgate has been used for a period of time and therefore movement will stop unexpectedly as it suspects it has contacted an object when the tailgate is a little stiff due to age, dirt or temperature. Our engineers are working on a software workaround and have reported sensitivity changes have been made in firmware level 2022.16, which will roll out to your vehicle in due course and again into the future when your liftgate becomes ever more stiff. We apologise for any inconveniences caused by this issue, please let us know if you are happy to close down the booking. In the mean time, please thoroughly maintain your liftgate in a clean, well lubricated state and only use in warm conditions. We expect our workarounds will allow you to operate your tailgate until it eventually fails no less than 4 years into the life of the vehicle.
 
How unusual for Tesla to spend so long to test a software change.

They can push out heat pump software changes within days, yet the complexity of a boot strut takes months.
when threatened with a mandatory recall they are pretty quick. Otherwise not so much
Fixing hardware issues with software is tricky. I think they have given up altogether trying to make the windscreen wipers work properly
 
when threatened with a mandatory recall they are pretty quick. Otherwise not so much
Fixing hardware issues with software is tricky. I think they have given up altogether trying to make the windscreen wipers work properly

Let's not overthink this, it's just a powered boot strut. They shouldn't even be in this mess, there is nothing tricky here, neither software nor hardware.
 
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It pushes it up, it pulls it down. If it detects resistance it stops. If it takes Tesla over a month (or several) to crack that, God help us when it comes to self-driving.

Perhaps I'm being over simplistic and an engineer will tell me this is actually a hard problem to solve, but surely being impeded by an immovable object, like a person or a roof or whatever should basically be dramatic, shouldn't it? It ought to be pretty obvious in "electrical current/resistance" terms if the strut can't physically move any further because of an obstruction? Why does this resistance check need to be sensitive? The single strut isn't going to be powerful enough to move anything that stops it. If strut experiences excessive resistance for 1-2 seconds, abort.
 
It pushes it up, it pulls it down. If it detects resistance it stops. If it takes Tesla over a month (or several) to crack that, God help us when it comes to self-driving.

Perhaps I'm being over simplistic and an engineer will tell me this is actually a hard problem to solve, but surely being impeded by an immovable object, like a person or a roof or whatever should basically be dramatic, shouldn't it? It ought to be pretty obvious in "electrical current/resistance" terms if the strut can't physically move any further because of an obstruction? Why does this resistance check need to be sensitive? The single strut isn't going to be powerful enough to move anything that stops it. If strut experiences excessive resistance for 1-2 seconds, abort.
IMHO this is a hard problem to solve in software. There are going to be differences between individual cars due to component and production tolerances, grease level on hinges, amount of snow on the bootlid etc etc. Not to mention that resistance will change in time with wear and tear. Can't see how it could be easily calibrated and regularly re-calibrated on individual cars either.
 
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If it takes Tesla over a month (or several) to crack that,

Here's how a software change would happen in my company:

Schedule the work (assuming this was unexpected, then something else has to make way, and assuming this is not regarded as "emergency" then optimise when that time is ... anything that is pushed back has knock on consequences somewhere downstream in the organisation, so fit this in where that is minimised)

Build it - I have no idea if that is a 10 minute fix, or a week ... but the rest of the activities are the same ...

Push it through all the normal regression-testing - including building a regression-test specifically for this time - along with everything else that is in that release. If any of it fails then the whole lot has to be solved (probably pull the features that are faulty - then re-run all the tests). Plus all the normal change-management activities - release notes, staff-education and so on.

If this is already announced for dot-16 then presumably dot-16 is already built and it is now awaiting the processes that take it through testing to deployment

Although I have my doubts about whether Support actually know that a dot-16 feature is done & dusted ...

I think we are on dot-12 and dot-8 before that? if so then dot-16 is probably next.
 
IMHO this is a hard problem to solve in software. There are going to be differences between individual cars due to component and production tolerances, grease level on hinges, amount of snow on the bootlid etc etc. Not to mention that resistance will change in time with wear and tear. Can't see how it could be easily calibrated and regularly re-calibrated on individual cars either.
I would be willing to believe this if it hadn't been perfectly fine before 2022.8.2
 
I would be willing to believe this if it hadn't been perfectly fine before 2022.8.2
Let me guess how it went.

Struts A and Software 1 All good.

Supply issue forces them to use Strut B.

Looks good.

They get a call from a Lawyer that a kid hurt his arm with Strut B.

Oh *sugar*, new strut has way to much power before it trips.

But they didn’t Code the vehicles which cars have which struts.

If they set it more sensitive for Strut B, Strut A might false trip. But they release Software 2 quickly for liability reasons.

Programmer A says I have and idea. We can calibrate which cars have which struts when the hatch closes. Some will have resistance A when they close and some resistance B.

They release that Software 3 and it’s a little buggy.

Now multiply that times a few 100 systems with various versioned or obsolete parts. And way more complex systems than the trunk strut. But simple things can get complex quick.

That’s what the real world looks like on their end. Not saying this exact thing occurred but it’s just to give you a taste.

Could be one part that varies at different temperatures that they didn’t expect.

You tend to lean towards the safer side for liability reasons.
 
Let me guess how it went.

Struts A and Software 1 All good.

Supply issue forces them to use Strut B.

Looks good.

They get a call from a Lawyer that a kid hurt his arm with Strut B.

Oh *sugar*, new strut has way to much power before it trips.

But they didn’t Code the vehicles which cars have which struts.

If they set it more sensitive for Strut B, Strut A might false trip. But they release Software 2 quickly for liability reasons.

Programmer A says I have and idea. We can calibrate which cars have which struts when the hatch closes. Some will have resistance A when they close and some resistance B.

They release that Software 3 and it’s a little buggy.

Now multiply that times a few 100 systems with various versioned or obsolete parts. And way more complex systems than the trunk strut. But simple things can get complex quick.

That’s what the real world looks like on their end. Not saying this exact thing occurred but it’s just to give you a taste.

Could be one part that varies at different temperatures that they didn’t expect.

You tend to lean towards the safer side for liability reasons.
Except it never fails on the way down :)