Cautionary Tale FSD Computer Upgrade to 3.0

[USCGDAV]

On Monday, I upgraded my 2018 (which has EAP) to the new 3.0 FSD computer. I then signed up for the monthly FSD fee and watched as traffic lights lit up like Christmas trees and Stop signs appeared out of nowhere. Nice touch I thought and then...

When I picked up my car from service I immediately saw a message that stated "Autopilot Unavailable" May be restored on your next drive. Okay, no problem. Asked the Tesla Tech what was wrong as the car should just be working as they did a full service. He told me they noticed a few Model 3's from my year throwing up that message but told me to just calibrate the cameras. So, I drove around calibrating cameras and eventually reached 99% of calibration and then it...

STOPPED.

No problem, set up another appointment and they told me I'll have a visit from mobile tech on Nov 22 at 1 PM and then...

Tesla service accessed my car computer and stated the appointment will now be on December 8th if they receive my parts in time. Huh? What parts? I was totally in the dark and then...

Received another message; Cameras all need to be updated. They are replacing my cameras as the ones on my car are no doubt not compatible with the new computer install. So I figured by making the $1000 investment in the new computer I would be able to keep the value of my car up there with 2021+++. I have the following:

Enhanced Autopilot (which I did not lose by upgrading)
Autosteer (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Summon (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Autopark (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Navigate on Autopilot (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Traffic Light & Stop Sign Control ((Just Added)
Green Traffic Chime (Just Added)
Full Self-Driving Visualization Preview (Just Added)

Basically, once the cameras are replaced on the 8th I was told I have tech in the car which are in the 2021's and beyond. If I sell the car the new buyer can choose FSD and subscribe or cancel it and go with EAP (makes sense).

Now, here's where it gets interesting. My car can't navigate on Autopilot right now as Pillar B cameras are not compatible with the FSD 3.0 I had installed. I got on the highway and then to my surprise the car drove safer (in my opinion) on Autopilot with cruise control and passing then it did on EAP. The car stayed almost directly in the center lane (with blue lines on either side guiding her down the highway) then when on EAP (one blue line appearing under the middle of the car). The car actually (for the first time in months) made smoother exits on off ramps (from the exit lane) and braked smoother then on EAP. All my settings for distance and braking were never changed so I can definitely tell the difference between the two.

No charge for the cameras being installed. No charge for a new cable (as they replaced the pins on the charging point as they've been doing on all the cars) and no charge for ball joints (and whatever else goes with the joints) and no charge to place the Dual Motor designation tag which never put on the car when it first manufactured in 20018.

Moral of the story: I thought I was going to get a bit mad when told after paying the 1K I need to now wait for cameras. I then thought it through and realized I'm getting an entirely new car for a grand. I learned that simply autopilot with cruise control actually works better than what I had (EAP) and that my driving score of 93 no longer makes a difference as once the new cameras are in my FSD is activated and works 100%. Whether I get future updated for "Kudo's Safety Driving" I really don't care and I don't think anyone else should care.

Happy Holidays.

 

[slacker775]

There are no difference with cameras from 2018 to 2021 on a model 3. It sounds like they borked something during the install, or perhaps the process uncovered a latent issue on your vehicle. I got upgraded to HW3 on my 2018 M3 back on Feb 2020 and there were zero issues.

 

[jjrandorin]

On Monday, I upgraded my 2018 (which has EAP) to the new 3.0 FSD computer. I then signed up for the monthly FSD fee and watched as traffic lights lit up like Christmas trees and Stop signs appeared out of nowhere. Nice touch I thought and then...

When I picked up my car from service I immediately saw a message that stated "Autopilot Unavailable" May be restored on your next drive. Okay, no problem. Asked the Tesla Tech what was wrong as the car should just be working as they did a full service. He told me they noticed a few Model 3's from my year throwing up that message but told me to just calibrate the cameras. So, I drove around calibrating cameras and eventually reached 99% of calibration and then it...

STOPPED.

No problem, set up another appointment and they told me I'll have a visit from mobile tech on Nov 22 at 1 PM and then...

Tesla service accessed my car computer and stated the appointment will now be on December 8th if they receive my parts in time. Huh? What parts? I was totally in the dark and then...

Received another message; Cameras all need to be updated. They are replacing my cameras as the ones on my car are no doubt not compatible with the new computer install. So I figured by making the $1000 investment in the new computer I would be able to keep the value of my car up there with 2021+++. I have the following:

Enhanced Autopilot (which I did not lose by upgrading)
Autosteer (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Summon (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Autopark (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Navigate on Autopilot (Beta - was on the car when I bought it)
Traffic Light & Stop Sign Control ((Just Added)
Green Traffic Chime (Just Added)
Full Self-Driving Visualization Preview (Just Added)

Basically, once the cameras are replaced on the 8th I was told I have tech in the car which are in the 2021's and beyond. If I sell the car the new buyer can choose FSD and subscribe or cancel it and go with EAP (makes sense).

Now, here's where it gets interesting. My car can't navigate on Autopilot right now as Pillar B cameras are not compatible with the FSD 3.0 I had installed. I got on the highway and then to my surprise the car drove safer (in my opinion) on Autopilot with cruise control and passing then it did on EAP. The car stayed almost directly in the center lane (with blue lines on either side guiding her down the highway) then when on EAP (one blue line appearing under the middle of the car). The car actually (for the first time in months) made smoother exits on off ramps (from the exit lane) and braked smoother then on EAP. All my settings for distance and braking were never changed so I can definitely tell the difference between the two.

No charge for the cameras being installed. No charge for a new cable (as they replaced the pins on the charging point as they've been doing on all the cars) and no charge for ball joints (and whatever else goes with the joints) and no charge to place the Dual Motor designation tag which never put on the car when it first manufactured in 20018.

Moral of the story: I thought I was going to get a bit mad when told after paying the 1K I need to now wait for cameras. I then thought it through and realized I'm getting an entirely new car for a grand. I learned that simply autopilot with cruise control actually works better than what I had (EAP) and that my driving score of 93 no longer makes a difference as once the new cameras are in my FSD is activated and works 100%. Whether I get future updated for "Kudo's Safety Driving" I really don't care and I don't think anyone else should care.

Happy Holidays.

How early in 2018 is your model 3?

I have a 2018 model 3 that was made in nov of 2018, also have FSD, and had the "FSD computer" (3.0) installed in mid / late 2019, with no issues (nor any camera swap, or information like that from the SC).

Perhaps yours is one of the very early models?

 

[CharleyBC]

We upgraded our 2018 Model 3 to HW 3.0 last year, and it was all smooth. No new cameras. What's your VIN? Ours is about 44000.

 

[USCGDAV]

We upgraded our 2018 Model 3 to HW 3.0 last year, and it was all smooth. No new cameras. What's your VIN? Ours is about 44000.

118590

 

[Skione65]

This is perplexing.

Ski

 

[android04]

There is no incompatibility with the cameras. My 2018 Model 3 was made in March of 2018 and I got the FSD computer (aka HW 3.0) upgrade around May 2020. I agree that perhaps they messed something up during the install or perhaps need to manually configure, update, or clear software in your car. Might be easier for them to just replace whichever camera is causing the issue.

Also, what you refer to as EAP (the car dubbing with the single blue line) is actually called Navigate on Autopilot.

I hope they resolve your issue so you can enjoy your car with all the features, and let us know what they end up doing to fix it.

 

[jjrandorin]

118590

My vin is lower than yours (106XXX) and there was no "camera incompatibility" mentioned on any tesla information when I got my FSD 3 upgrade. Now, I did mine in 2020. Either they are feeding you a line of @$%@%, or there is some revision in the FSD computer that is in use NOW that causes this. Either of those is distinctly possible.

 

[Avid]

I will second what a lot of folks have stated so far, mobile tech came out to replace board only in less than 90mins. Vin 66xxx, Sept. 2018.

 

[Vines]

I also had the FSD computer on my 2018 PM3 installed early last year. Since then, the front USB only works sometimes. My VIN is 07xxxx

I have taken it to Tesla for this issue 3 or 4 different times. First I replaced the USB, then I replaced them again with faster ones. Then mobile service replaced the USB module and the wiring harness.

Just yesterday I got the car back and was told that there is no fix for this. I'm supposed to wait "A couple" months and then make a new appointment to see if there is any fix. I have seen 2 other cases where this same thing happened and in both cases the FSD computer was replaced. They didn't even give that to me as an option.

Like others, I am confused why the cameras have some incompatibility, but I have to assume it has to do with the hardware differences over the years.

 

[android04]

I also had the FSD computer on my 2018 PM3 installed early last year. Since then, the front USB only works sometimes. My VIN is 07xxxx

I have taken it to Tesla for this issue 3 or 4 different times. First I replaced the USB, then I replaced them again with faster ones. Then mobile service replaced the USB module and the wiring harness.

Just yesterday I got the car back and was told that there is no fix for this. I'm supposed to wait "A couple" months and then make a new appointment to see if there is any fix. I have seen 2 other cases where this same thing happened and in both cases the FSD computer was replaced. They didn't even give that to me as an option.

Like others, I am confused why the cameras have some incompatibility, but I have to assume it has to do with the hardware differences over the years.

The OP posted an update right above your post and there was no camera incompatibility. There was something wrong with their HW 3 (aka FSD computer) installation or unit and Tesla replaced that to fix the issue. You might also have a similar issue where your computer or a connection to it might be bad and causing your USB issues.

 

[Vines]

The OP posted an update right above your post and there was no camera incompatibility. There was something wrong with their HW 3 (aka FSD computer) installation or unit and Tesla replaced that to fix the issue. You might also have a similar issue where your computer or a connection to it might be bad and causing your USB issues.

Glad it worked out for them. My saga continues since 18 months ago, granted I didn't make a huge deal of it most of that time.

Both mobile and intake service cannot fix my issue, they are calling it firmware. They explicitly stated it's not a hardware issue so in their minds, the FSD 3.0 computer is working.

I am left without dashcam, and without USB music or a controller to play games. All I can do is wait and keep fingers crossed. I hope this is some kind of priority.

 

[Knightshade]

If it were a firmware issue it'd be impacting lots of other people too.

BTW, my VIN is lower than yours, and no issues with HW3/USB

I'd be escalating continually to resolution were I you, including (assuming you're still under original warranty) invoking CAs pretty consumer-friendly lemon law about failure to repair a defect after several attempts.

 

[Twiglett]

another early 2018 here with the HW3 upgrade - no issues and already running FSD beta

 

[KenC]

To be fair, VINs are not exactly sequential, but mostly sequential. Better to look at the build date on the placard. Can the OP tell us what the build month is? Nov 2018?

 

[jjrandorin]

To be fair, VINs are not exactly sequential, but mostly sequential. Better to look at the build date on the placard. Can the OP tell us what the build month is? Nov 2018?

My vin is very close to the OP relatively speaking (OPs is 118XXX, Mine is 106XXX) and the "born on" date of my car is Nov 15th 2018. That isnt printed anywhere but I found out that information back when I was buying it. My build date on the door is "Nov 2018". As you said, vins are not sequential, but they are mostly sequential. Its a good bet that OPs build date on the door is Nov 2018, or possibly Dec (maybe 1st week of Dec).

 

[KenC]

My vin is very close to the OP relatively speaking (OPs is 118XXX, Mine is 106XXX) and the "born on" date of my car is Nov 15th 2018. That isnt printed anywhere but I found out that information back when I was buying it. My build date on the door is "Nov 2018". As you said, vins are not sequential, but they are mostly sequential. Its a good bet that OPs build date on the door is Nov 2018, or possibly Dec (maybe 1st week of Dec).

Mine is 104xxx and Oct 2018, delivered by slow boat apparently, mid-December, with zero SOC. I'm guessing it sat uncharged the whole time from build to delivery, in order for it to get to zero. Not to mention it had manufacturing plastic debris covering the dash, I'd say no one had sat in the car between factory and delivery.

 

[USCGDAV]

There is no incompatibility with the cameras. My 2018 Model 3 was made in March of 2018 and I got the FSD computer (aka HW 3.0) upgrade around May 2020. I agree that perhaps they messed something up during the install or perhaps need to manually configure, update, or clear software in your car. Might be easier for them to just replace whichever camera is causing the issue.

Also, what you refer to as EAP (the car dubbing with the single blue line) is actually called Navigate on Autopilot.

I hope they resolve your issue so you can enjoy your car with all the features, and let us know what they end up doing to fix it.

They specifically stated B pillar cameras but they all work. It would be nice if they'd simply be f**king honest!

 

[stopcrazypp]

AP 2.0 cars do need a camera upgrade to work with FSD Beta. Tesla switch to RCCB cameras for AP2.5. Theoretically no Model 3 should be AP 2.0, but it's not impossible they installed RCCC cameras in older models.
Tesla starts retrofit program for cameras on older vehicles with 'Full Self-Driving'

It's also possible there are newer revisions to the cameras than those two (which also is not impossible given Tesla changes things a lot).

 

[Knightshade]

AP 2.0 cars do need a camera upgrade to work with FSD Beta. Tesla switch to RCCB cameras for AP2.5. Theoretically no Model 3 should be AP 2.0, but it's not impossible they installed RCCC cameras in older models.
Tesla starts retrofit program for cameras on older vehicles with 'Full Self-Driving'

It's also possible there are newer revisions to the cameras than those two (which also is not impossible given Tesla changes things a lot).

It should in fact be impossible they installed RCCC cams on a 3 at the factory for a number of reasons...just to name two-

The AP2 computers the RCCC cams were paired with are different (and also never went into Model 3s).

3s are built on different lines than the only cars that ever got RCCC cams (S/X) and went into a different physical mount (that included an interior cam, which the S/X 2.0 front camera assembly did not).


That's without getting into how PNs in BOMs work in manufacturing and how they include sanity checks, how the gateway config includes cam type, etc...