Audio reverts to the same radio station every time we start our Model S

[theatwar99]

Hi all,

I'm sure there is a simple fix for this, but just haven't been able to find it on our own -- every time either my wife and I start our Model S, the radio "reverts" to the same channel (in our case, Channel 5 on XM radio -- music from the 1950s. Not that we have anything against hits from the 50s, but I would assume there's some kind of setting that would "remember" the radio source and channel from when we last drove the car? For example, if I have an AM news radio station selected when I park, I'd like the radio to be set at that same station when I get back into the car.

Thanks!

 

[bob_p]

Especially after being parked overnight, the media app has a tendency to lose settings - such as current USB song being played or current radio station. Some people are also reporting loss of pre-set stations occasionally. The overnight problems are likely caused by the car going into sleep mode - and losing the media app settings when the software is resumed from sleep.

It would seem these problems could be fixed with a simple software fix - but they've been present in the software for quite a while now, and still haven't been fixed.

 

[chriSharek]

It's interesting to hear about all these little Tesla gremlins....

 

[CHG-ON]

What drives me crazy is that when using USB, it may remember the song being played, but it does not remember where I was in browse. So I have to start all over again. Very annoying when trying to drive and scrolling through a zillion songs. Everything else seems to work just fine.

 

[Todd Burch]

What drives me crazy is that when using USB, it may remember the song being played, but it does not remember where I was in browse. So I have to start all over again. Very annoying when trying to drive and scrolling through a zillion songs. Everything else seems to work just fine.

+1! Lately I've been playing my entire collection playing by Song (instead of album or artist, etc.). So I get toward the end of the songs starting with B, park the car in the garage, and the next morning the car starts up playing songs somewhere in the Cs. What's worse, to get back I have to navigate all the way back to find the song I last listened to. Definitely not easy when you have 10,000+ songs....

 

[Andyw2100]

It's interesting to hear about all these little Tesla gremlins....

You call it "interesting" now. Wait until you have your car. I expect you'll be using a different word then!

 

[bob_p]

While these minor media app issues are disappointing, if the media and customer base begin seeing a pattern in the quality, reliability and functionality of Tesla's software, it could impact their reputation and sales.

And while the media app bugs are frustrating, these are relatively simple problems to find and fix - and because Tesla continues to have challenges in the basic apps (nav software also has issues), that might be a cause of concern for Tesla's ability to deliver more complex software - like summon or autopilot. With those apps, the equivalent of having USB songs playing to no one overnight could result in an accident or risk lives.

Tesla really needs to set a higher bar for their software - commit to providing fully functional apps (really no excuse for the media and nav software to still have issues, three and a half years after the first Model S was sold) and to improving software quality.

 

[mspohr]

Hi all,

I'm sure there is a simple fix for this, but just haven't been able to find it on our own -- every time either my wife and I start our Model S, the radio "reverts" to the same channel (in our case, Channel 5 on XM radio -- music from the 1950s. Not that we have anything against hits from the 50s, but I would assume there's some kind of setting that would "remember" the radio source and channel from when we last drove the car? For example, if I have an AM news radio station selected when I park, I'd like the radio to be set at that same station when I get back into the car.

Thanks!

Is it playing "I've got you,babe"?
You may have the groundhog day bug.

 

[TexasEV]

While these minor media app issues are disappointing, if the media and customer base begin seeing a pattern in the quality, reliability and functionality of Tesla's software, it could impact their reputation and sales.

And while the media app bugs are frustrating, these are relatively simple problems to find and fix - and because Tesla continues to have challenges in the basic apps (nav software also has issues), that might be a cause of concern for Tesla's ability to deliver more complex software - like summon or autopilot. With those apps, the equivalent of having USB songs playing to no one overnight could result in an accident or risk lives.

Tesla really needs to set a higher bar for their software - commit to providing fully functional apps (really no excuse for the media and nav software to still have issues, three and a half years after the first Model S was sold) and to improving software quality.

I think most people buy Tesla because they want a great EV, not for the media app.

 

[Andyw2100]

I think most people buy Tesla because they want a great EV, not for the media app.

That statement dismisses the valid point bob_p made. People care about overall quality. If there are bugs and deficiencies in some aspects of the software it raises concerns about the overall quality of the software, and ultimately about the overall quality of the roduct and even the company. There's no excuse to still have buggy, feature-lacking software.

 

[BertL]

I think most people buy Tesla because they want a great EV, not for the media app.

I must be in the minority, as I expect my Tesla to have a great audio system and the quality to go along with it -- especially having purchased UHFS in my MS. I appreciate Tesla is a new company, and before I ordered, I consciously decided I was willing to give Tesla a little slack if things were not quite right after I first took delivery, given Elon's statements of "more than 20 engineering improvements being made per week" back in the MS-only days, what appeared to be overly-responsive SCs resolving hardware problems, and Tesla's ability to deliver firmware fixes OTA unlike their competition.

Now that I've owned my MS for 6 months, I have found some of the firmware bugs I experience have existed since MS was first delivered years ago. My former Lexus, MBZ and BMW each had decent Infotainment (Nav, Audio, etc) systems that worked, and each of those vehicles cost at least 30% less than my MS. I listen to audio 99.9% of the time I'm in my cars, and encountering significant quality problems each and every time I drive my (otherwise) technological BEV wonder takes away from my owner's experience and diminishes my satisfaction with the brand. As time goes on and acknowledged problems are not resolved while new functions are introduced (some of which I could care less about), and Tesla elects to not bring their Infotainment capabilities up-to-snuff with what their competition provides, my dissatisfaction grows.

I appreciate some owners that don't use Media Player (or Nav, etc) as frequently as I do, may not care as much about the issues -- but I suspect there are many owners and prospective owners beyond the initial Tesla enthusiasts that do expect a full-function quality Infotainment system in any Tesla they buy, no different than they'll find in any luxury or non-luxury vehicle in the market today.

 

[theatwar99]

Both the media app and the navigation app really need improvement -- I listen to music every time I drive, and every time I'm stuck in traffic, which is often here in Southern California, I stare at the map on the beautiful 17" display and wish it could display realtime traffic information (sig alerts, alternate routing, etc).

Aside from obvious fixes (staying on the same channel when you get back in the car), I wish both apps took better advantage of the huge touchscreen display, to add convenience and interactivity.

For example, I want to be able to use my finger to scroll through a list of favorite stations, so I could potentially have 10 or 20 or even 30 preset favorites, rather than the limited number available now.

I'd like to be able to use my finger to drag around and organize my list of "favorite" locations in the nav app, rather than having them displayed in the order by which they are entered. It would be great to be able to put them into categories as well, which I could do on my Prius back in 2009.

No complaints about driving performance -- this car is a total joy to drive -- but the graphical user interface of the nav and media apps really need some TLC. I just want the media and nav apps to be so much smarter than they are today, and with the unique ability of the Telsa software update platform, hopefully they will improve.

 

[Todd Burch]

And while the media app bugs are frustrating, these are relatively simple problems to find and fix - and because Tesla continues to have challenges in the basic apps (nav software also has issues), that might be a cause of concern for Tesla's ability to deliver more complex software - like summon or autopilot.

Except it's clear that the best semi-autonomous driving software out there on the market is from....Tesla. (Every independent media source I've seen puts Autopilot ahead of every competitor's auto-steering software). Not only that, but autopilot software was developed in a much, much shorter time frame and with a much smaller budget than the others on the market from BMW, Mercedes, etc. which have been found by Car & Driver and other publications to be inferior.

So how did Tesla get very complex autopilot software out there, beating all competition, yet it has simple troubles with the media app? It's obviously not a matter of Tesla's *ability* to write good software--as they have demonstrated that they *can* do that--but I suspect a matter of prioritization with limited resources. Or maybe they decided to get the hardest stuff done first.

Keep in mind there's separate software for the Model X (the logic to control the falcon wing doors, for instance, is complex). And there's probably also work being done on the Model 3 software. *AND* of course you have all the firmware as well.

I suspect they're experiencing growing pains in the software dev department just like they're experiencing elsewhere.

 

[BertL]

Except it's clear that the best semi-autonomous driving software out there on the market is from....Tesla. (Every independent media source I've seen puts Autopilot ahead of every competitor's auto-steering software). Not only that, but autopilot software was developed in a much, much shorter time frame and with a much smaller budget than the others on the market from BMW, Mercedes, etc. which have been found by Car & Driver and other publications to be inferior.

So how did Tesla get very complex autopilot software out there, beating all competition, yet it has simple troubles with the media app? It's obviously not a matter of Tesla's *ability* to write good software--as they have demonstrated that they *can* do that--but I suspect a matter of prioritization with limited resources. Or maybe they decided to get the hardest stuff done first.

Keep in mind there's separate software for the Model X (the logic to control the falcon wing doors, for instance, is complex). And there's probably also work being done on the Model 3 software. *AND* of course you have all the firmware as well.

I suspect they're experiencing growing pains in the software dev department just like they're experiencing elsewhere.

Agree with you. I've also suggested in other threads it's an issue of Tesla purposely not prioritizing "firmware basics" over Autopilot and model-specific requirements. The shame is, every model in the fleet delivered since day one, and likely beyond Model 3, must be using much of the same common Infotainment code... so, with Tesla's decision to apparently not even have a slow-but-sure maintenance team taking care of fixes and catching Infotainment features/functions up to the competition, it effects a growing number of owners in 100% of the fleet. Tesla has been smart with so many of their decisions, after 3 years, I personally can't give Tesla a pass on this being growing pains any longer -- it appears much more as a company with a single focus that isn't paying enough attention to the simpler things today's and tomorrow owners simply expect out of any luxury vehicle.

 

[BertL]

It dawned on me that this whole "prioritization" topic has been discussed before in this thread: Tesla Priorities: Refine Autopilot or Fix Everything Else?. No wonder what I wrote felt so familiar. May I suggest we take any more future discussion in that regard over there?

 

[bob_p]

With features like AutoPilot, Summons and auto parking - Tesla is relying heavily on software.

The risk Tesla is taking with having obvious problems with their basic apps - is that this could lead to a loss of confidence in the much more complicated software apps. After all, if they can't fix the simple things in playing music - can they really be trusted to drive the car by software?

The other major risk Tesla is taking is that once other manufacturers have long range EVs (which will happen), Tesla will have competition. And when that happens, they will face more across-the-board comparisons on functionality.

And, this isn't just a cosmetic issue - some of the missing or problematic features could potentially impact driver safety. For example, they still don't provide an easy way to know when the air suspension is lowering the car - that's something that should be displayed on the dashboard, since drivers should be reminded they have less clearance. And even what appears to be the minor loss of the media select button on the touchscreen is causing drivers to spend more time interacting with the display to change their media source, a potential distraction away from focusing on the road.

I love driving my car - and have for 3 years. But as an "early adopter" and someone who has been responsible for major IT software projects in the past, it's increasingly frustrating to see Tesla underperform with their software. And, it could impact our decision to buy our next car - if another manufacturer does come out with a competitive long range EV.

This is something Tesla can easily fix - even adding a single software developer should be able to have a huge impact by addressing the growing backlog of problems and feature requests in the basic apps...

This all could be much more obvious in the fall - I suspect the Bolt's "infotainment" software will be much better (they'll have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), and it probably won't have some of the obvious problems we've had in the Tesla software.

 

[CHG-ON]

I think that they are simply resource constrained. While I may find it annoying, working on the core drive-related SW issues really is the priority. For good reason. Yes, I really do want much better audio, nav, browser, etc. But if I had to choose, as either a customer or as a project manager at Tesla, and I only had so many resources to go around, I would choose driving over ancillary every time. Remember, they are still building their business. They don't have the limitless resources of Toyota, GM, Ford. And look at how poorly they do at these interfaces! It's the number one quality complaint that JD Power gets about new cars, which has lowered quality ratings. A bit unfair IMO. This stuff is still new. Especially for the old industry and culture of car making.

I think Tesla will get back to interface when they feel secure about steady demand and they are netting good income. Imagine the pressure that every single employee is under right now. A multi-billion startup with alligators up to their ears and nobody believing that they can actually pull it off.

It'll take time.

 

[BertL]

I think that they are simply resource constrained. While I may find it annoying, working on the core drive-related SW issues really is the priority. For good reason. Yes, I really do want much better audio, nav, browser, etc. But if I had to choose, as either a customer or as a project manager at Tesla, and I only had so many resources to go around, I would choose driving over ancillary every time. Remember, they are still building their business. They don't have the limitless resources of Toyota, GM, Ford. And look at how poorly they do at these interfaces! It's the number one quality complaint that JD Power gets about new cars, which has lowered quality ratings. A bit unfair IMO. This stuff is still new. Especially for the old industry and culture of car making.

I think Tesla will get back to interface when they feel secure about steady demand and they are netting good income. Imagine the pressure that every single employee is under right now. A multi-billion startup with alligators up to their ears and nobody believing that they can actually pull it off.

It'll take time.

Yes, likely resource constrained, but that does not mean Tesla couldn't maintain a small team of people on all the non-AP firmware issues that likely don't need as much specialized skill or development knowledge to demonstrate slow-but-sure progress. Shooting Media Player and other such bugs or developing Nav enhancements like other mfgrs have had for years, is not rocket science or something that requires big picture future thinking with new hardware integration like AutoPilot, or even complex UI redesign does for an evolving fleet with varying needs and capabilities. I was on such a "maintenance team" out of college back-in-the-day, and even more recently as an exec running different P&Ls, I ensured maintenance of my existing offerings -- as well as my longer-range projects -- were always attended to even in years of budget constraints and corporate right-sizing. Tesla could do the same, but I suspect Elon is so focused on ONLY the future, and he does not make personal use of any of the things that many of us "more normal" owners do every day, he did a huge "shift right" with the development team because he feels everything else is unimportant.

IMHO, it's these little things that make a HUGE difference to my feeling only good when driving my MS vs. being continually overjoyed. Running into missing features I'd use, or worse -- bugs in Media Player each and every time I drive my MS -- becomes increasingly frustrating and over time lowers how I feel about the brand and Tesla's real commitment to the customer. I believe it will be the same for many of "the masses" who are the target of M3 volume sales and more of tomorrow's MS & MX sales. As I've said in other threads, early enthusiasts are likely to still accept these sort of problems or inconveniences -- a growing number of more recent owners like myself want to help the movement, but don't have the cash to treat our investment as a donation to a cause, so I expect my MS firmware bugs should be fixed with the same diligence like hardware is, and my MS should have the basic Infotainment features all of my former competitive luxury vehicles have had for years -- especially because Tesla has touted and can deliver the improvements OTA unlike their competition. ...but that's just me. We're all different. Peace.

 

[Spyder14]

BertL: agree 100%, as many of us have stated re: these "smaller" issues. Model 3 buyers & beyond will not have the "early" or ""later" adopter mentality & their patience (much less any customer satisfaction reviews and/or car reviews) will be a potential reputation & business killer.

 

[Andyw2100]

Yes, likely resource constrained, but that does not mean Tesla couldn't maintain a small team of people on all the non-AP firmware issues that likely don't need as much specialized skill or development knowledge to demonstrate slow-but-sure progress.

<SNIP>

As I've said in other threads, early enthusiasts are likely to still accept these sort of problems or inconveniences -- a growing number of more recent owners like myself want to help the movement, but don't have the cash to treat our investment as a donation to a cause, so I expect my MS firmware bugs should be fixed with the same diligence like hardware is, and my MS should have the basic Infotainment features all of my former competitive luxury vehicles have had for years -- especially because Tesla has touted and can deliver the improvements OTA unlike their competition. ...but that's just me.

Nope, not just you. I've agreed with you and these sentiments pretty much whenever I've seen you post them, as have many others. Perhaps some day...