Basket of issues - only while in home garage - 2017 Model S MCU 1

[banana_head]

Hi everyone! I'm having a frustrating set of issues and wondering if anyone here has any thoughts on what the culprit might be.

I'm the original owner of a 2017 Model S 75D. It's otherwise perfect.

When my Model S is in my home garage, I experience a variety of issues. These issues do not happen anywhere else (e.g. parked at my office, supercharging, parked/charging at friend/family houses, Tesla repair center, etc...). I believe this started sometime in the last 3 years...something I've largely lived with. But it is getting worse, especially as the MCU1 shows its age more and more.

Has anyone experienced this? Or am I alone?

Issues (Only Happens at Home)

• Every 5-10 minutes (constant loop), the MCU screen flashes (darkens a bit). When this happens:
  • Bluetooth disconnects then reconnects
  • Wifi disconnects then reconnects
  • Touchscreen becomes temporarily slow/unresponsive
  • There is an audible "click" sound
  • HVAC resets
  • Audio resets
• Pressing the button on my charge cable (Tesla wall connector) won't open the charge port - note that if I take my charger with me and charge elsewhere, the button opens the port fine. Buttons on supercharger cables open the port fine.

Troubleshooting Tried

• Reported to Tesla. They see the repetitive errors in the logs. Upgraded my memory chip. Reset software to factory settings. Cleared out cache. Had me bring in my charging cable. They can't reproduce the issue in their service center, so basically gave up. No resolution from Tesla.
• Perform my own resets of the MCU, including complete factory resets.
• Remove Bluetooth connection for several days. No change.
• Remove the garage Homelink connection for several days. No change.
• Forget all wifi connections for several days. No change.
• Moving the key fob very far away from the garage while the car is parked (in case it's keeping the car alive).

As mentioned, I don't experience this anywhere else. At my office, we have a similar garage door, the car is connected to wifi, and I can even charge. But everything works as expected. I have friends and family with Teslas. I can park in their garages, including overnight, and everything works fine.

 

[SilverGS]

I think your car is trying to tell you something

 

[banana_head]

I think your car is trying to tell you something

Ha. Upgrade the MCU?

I imagine that would address the issue, but would be so disappointed if it didn't fix things.

 

[maximizese]

Hi everyone! I'm having a frustrating set of issues and wondering if anyone here has any thoughts on what the culprit might be.

I'm the original owner of a 2017 Model S 75D. It's otherwise perfect.

When my Model S is in my home garage, I experience a variety of issues. These issues do not happen anywhere else (e.g. parked at my office, supercharging, parked/charging at friend/family houses, Tesla repair center, etc...). I believe this started sometime in the last 3 years...something I've largely lived with. But it is getting worse, especially as the MCU1 shows its age more and more.

Has anyone experienced this? Or am I alone?

Issues (Only Happens at Home)

• Every 5-10 minutes (constant loop), the MCU screen flashes (darkens a bit). When this happens:
  • Bluetooth disconnects then reconnects
  • Wifi disconnects then reconnects
  • Touchscreen becomes temporarily slow/unresponsive
  • There is an audible "click" sound
  • HVAC resets
  • Audio resets
• Pressing the button on my charge cable (Tesla wall connector) won't open the charge port - note that if I take my charger with me and charge elsewhere, the button opens the port fine. Buttons on supercharger cables open the port fine.

Troubleshooting Tried

• Reported to Tesla. They see the repetitive errors in the logs. Upgraded my memory chip. Reset software to factory settings. Cleared out cache. Had me bring in my charging cable. They can't reproduce the issue in their service center, so basically gave up. No resolution from Tesla.
• Perform my own resets of the MCU, including complete factory resets.
• Remove Bluetooth connection for several days. No change.
• Remove the garage Homelink connection for several days. No change.
• Forget all wifi connections for several days. No change.
• Moving the key fob very far away from the garage while the car is parked (in case it's keeping the car alive).

As mentioned, I don't experience this anywhere else. At my office, we have a similar garage door, the car is connected to wifi, and I can even charge. But everything works as expected. I have friends and family with Teslas. I can park in their garages, including overnight, and everything works fine.

I had a few issues like that with our old 11/13 built S85 on MCU1. It happened mostly when parked in my home garage I suspect because it was there much more frequently and would go to "sleep" there. I've the outdoor temperature display blank out while driving a few times (a warning sign that the MCU is probably going to seize up and restart), and I've had the same slow responsive boot up/restart a few times at the Hollywood Bowl parking lot after a concert. It drove me nuts and was happening as much as 40% whenever we left the house. The eMMC replacement helped for a little bit, but the same behavior started acting up again a few weeks later.

My solution has been the MCU2 upgrade. Since the upgrade, I've only had the MCU restart once while I was driving and once while I was trying to boot up in the morning. Both times took seconds rather than minutes. It's a shame that the solution is to spend more money on a new computer, but it's just one of those things that I came to accept.

 

[banana_head]

I had a few issues like that with our old 11/13 built S85 on MCU1. It happened mostly when parked in my home garage I suspect because it was there much more frequently and would go to "sleep" there. I've the outdoor temperature display blank out while driving a few times (a warning sign that the MCU is probably going to seize up and restart), and I've had the same slow responsive boot up/restart a few times at the Hollywood Bowl parking lot after a concert. It drove me nuts and was happening as much as 40% whenever we left the house. The eMMC replacement helped for a little bit, but the same behavior started acting up again a few weeks later.

My solution has been the MCU2 upgrade. Since the upgrade, I've only had the MCU restart once while I was driving and once while I was trying to boot up in the morning. Both times took seconds rather than minutes. It's a shame that the solution is to spend more money on a new computer, but it's just one of those things that I came to accept.

That's great info--thanks! And I agree it's a shame.

Exactly like you said--the eMMC replacement seemed to help for a bit. I can rule out "going to sleep" because it even happens as I back into my garage space.

 

[brainhouston]

• Every 5-10 minutes (constant loop), the MCU screen flashes (darkens a bit). When this happens:
  • Bluetooth disconnects then reconnects
  • Wifi disconnects then reconnects
  • Touchscreen becomes temporarily slow/unresponsive
  • There is an audible "click" sound
  • HVAC resets
  • Audio resets
• Pressing the button on my charge cable (Tesla wall connector) won't open the charge port - note that if I take my charger with me and charge elsewhere, the button opens the port fine. Buttons on supercharger cables open the port fine.

I have MCU1 also n i've noticed that every time the screen flashes (i have dark mode, so IC backlight gets brighter then dims back to my setting) its due to MCU running 100% i believe, full load on Tegra cpu...
This usually happens when something cpu intensive is trying to run on already fully utilized MCU1...
I've also experienced on few occasions that charge port door either not open or have few sec lag after pressing handle button...
This makes me believe that all ur bullet points are the result of overloaded MCU1..

Question is what is it trying to do when u get home?...
One thing to try is to remove ur home address but thats not very helpful since u already know it doesn't happen NOT at home...

 

[banana_head]

I have MCU1 also n i've noticed that every time the screen flashes (i have dark mode, so IC backlight gets brighter then dims back to my setting) its due to MCU running 100% i believe, full load on Tegra cpu...
This usually happens when something cpu intensive is trying to run on already fully utilized MCU1...
I've also experienced on few occasions that charge port door either not open or have few sec lag after pressing handle button...
This makes me believe that all ur bullet points are the result of overloaded MCU1..

Question is what is it trying to do when u get home?...
One thing to try is to remove ur home address but thats not very helpful since u already know it doesn't happen NOT at home...

Interesting. Very possible and good thought. Could be attempting extra tasks (such as updating) at home location. I will try to remove the home address and report back.

 

[luckyj]

Maybe try removing the Wifi connection for your home to see if that changes anything? I've heard stories about certain APs causing some strange issues on MCU1.

 

[ChooseFreedom]

I recently upgraded to MCU2, mostly just to keep getting updates, as I think Tesla's MCU1 support will eventually halt.
My MCU1 wasn't acting up, but early on when I did have a few issues, turning off the power save mode seemed to fix my issues.
Worth a try.
But if you plan to keep the car for awhile, I would recommend the MCU2 upgrade. You won't regret it. Faster bootups, smoother nav, no worry about IC bubbling, and that's not even including the software additions/improvements.

 

[SilverGS]

Ha. Upgrade the MCU?

I imagine that would address the issue, but would be so disappointed if it didn't fix things.

New house

 

[banana_head]

Maybe try removing the Wifi connection for your home to see if that changes anything? I've heard stories about certain APs causing some strange issues on MCU1.

So this was the answer. I did some focused troubleshooting, changing one item at a time. Narrowed it down to my home wifi connection.

This is odd because during the time I've been experiencing this issue, I switched ISPs. And the newer ISP recently upgraded my router and gave me a mesh system. That means this issue has been present across 3 different routers and 2 types of extenders. The WiFi strength was always good in the garage. At one point, I even moved an extender out there. No unusual network/security configuration.

Even odder, my office has the same ISP and router/mesh system I currently have at home. But my car is fine there.

So for now, no connection to home WiFi. I'll get my updates at the office.

Thanks for the help everyone!