Another Autopilot Question

[Buddyroe]

I was just told by a Tesla service center that the VIN 62,xxx car I am looking at buying only has the "driver assist" hardware - and not AP1 hardware. He says the AP1 hardware can be retrofitted.

As much as an expert as I thought I was on all things Tesla (from a non-owner perspective), I never knew that Tesla had differing hardware for driver assist features and AP1. Anyone else aware of this?

 

[chillaban]

I was just told by a Tesla service center that the VIN 62,xxx car I am looking at buying only has the "driver assist" hardware - and not AP1 hardware. He says the AP1 hardware can be retrofitted.

As much as an expert as I thought I was on all things Tesla (from a non-owner perspective), I never knew that Tesla had differing hardware for driver assist features and AP1. Anyone else aware of this?

I think the “driver assist” features just get you ultrasonic parking sensors without Autopilot. They did make that configuration for a brief period.

But I’m confused by the statement that AP1 hardware can be retrofitted... that wasn’t true with those cars.

 

[BrettS]

The only thing I can imagine is that it has AP1 hardware, but the AP software is not activated. I don’t believe it’s possible to retrofit AP hardware at all (at least not officially), but if the car has the hardware then you can activate the software at any time if it’s not already activated (for a cost).

As far as I know, a VIN in the 62xxx range should have AP1 hardware. If you have seen the car or seen pictures of it you can tell by looking through the windshield from the outside to see if there is a camera above the rear view mirror.

I suspect that there may have just been some confusion in the terms when you spoke to the technician.

 

[Buddyroe]

I suspect that there may have just been some confusion in the terms when you spoke to the technician.

Man, there's a LOT of confusion when talking to Tesla. I have now called 4 different service centers and gotten a different answer from each one. And the common theme is that no one knows if the car has AP1 hardware or not - and the quote I've received to activate it (if indeed it actually has it) has ranged from $2500 to $6000.

Sad that there are no truly knowledgeable employees in Tesla's service dept. And if there is, I have no way to discern that person from the non-experts because no 2 answers have been the same.

 

[PatrickCH4313]

For Model S AP1 cars, you must have a little plastic square at the place notified on the picture attached.

 

[Buddyroe]

Definitely has that square piece in the grill.

I just got 2 confirmations that the car not only has the hardware, but is also enabled. I called the Palo Alto service center. They stated that it has AP1 and is enabled. They also gave me the owners' information tel number. So I called them also. While they wouldn't give me much info, they did tell me the car has AP1 and it is enabled.

That's at least enough confirmation to persuade me to make the 3 hour drive to test the car for myself and see if auto-pilot actually works.

Now, I just have to learn enough about AP to be able to somewhat test it when I get in the car.

I also learned from my phone calls that it got a new drive unit in 2016 - fairly typical. And also found out it was upgraded to a 100kwh battery recently.





(ok, I'm kidding about the battery - just wanted to see who is paying attention. haha)

 

[thomasmb]

That's at least enough confirmation to persuade me to make the 3 hour drive to test the car for myself and see if auto-pilot actually works.

While in park, go into controls (bottom left of the screen), then enter the settings tab (at the top). In the navigation menu on the left you will find a menu item called Driver Assistance. The top row will display two toggles and will now allow you to turn on/off autopilot and auto lane change.

The fact that the toggles are there to begin with means that the AutoPilot package is enabled. All that is left is then to use it and have a great time on your test drive!

 

[uclahenry]

Definitely has that square piece in the grill.

I just got 2 confirmations that the car not only has the hardware, but is also enabled. I called the Palo Alto service center. They stated that it has AP1 and is enabled. They also gave me the owners' information tel number. So I called them also. While they wouldn't give me much info, they did tell me the car has AP1 and it is enabled.

That's at least enough confirmation to persuade me to make the 3 hour drive to test the car for myself and see if auto-pilot actually works.

Now, I just have to learn enough about AP to be able to somewhat test it when I get in the car.

I also learned from my phone calls that it got a new drive unit in 2016 - fairly typical. And also found out it was upgraded to a 100kwh battery recently.





(ok, I'm kidding about the battery - just wanted to see who is paying attention. haha)

Are you buying from private party or 3rd party dealership or CPO? Just reading the other thread that says if you buy from 3rd party dealer, existing warranty (if still valid) is voided and can not purchase extension??? Any truth to this? I was on with SC and they did not say anything about 3rd party dealerships voiding any coverage

 

[mcbarnet007]

warranty is valid even through 3rd party dealer unless the car is salvaged. However if the car is bought from 3rd party then it is not eligible for extended warranty.