Explain all the Gates

[GTBrandon]

Alright so I’ve been seeing some extremely long threads on battery gate, charge gate, etc gate.

My goal is for someone to explain in one post exactly what is going on. As a prospective MS buyer, specifically in the 2013-2016 range I want to know what I’m getting into.

What years / battery sizes were affected by the battery gate and charge gate? Or is this literally all Tesla’s basically until 2020?

Are there other “gates” I’m missing?

Are the floodgates about to open once these class actions and recalls hit, and now could be the worst time possible to buy a used Tesla, especially earlier Model S?

Appreciate any insight!

 

[Ande]

BS buzzwords for the simpletons, ignore.

 

[GTBrandon]

BS buzzwords for the simpletons, ignore.

Care to explain?

 

[ucmndd]

Read the first post in this thread. It's all there for you, grasshoffa.

Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

 

[GTBrandon]

Read the first post in this thread. It's all there for you, grasshoffa.

Sudden Loss Of Range With 2019.16.x Software

I probably should have started on page one of that instead of trying to go halfway through

Thank you for this

 

[bmah]

Slightly off-topic, but for those who might be wondering about the names...

There was a scandal in the 1970s involving some events that took place at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC (these eventually led to the resignation of then-President Richard Nixon). This whole affair was simply called "Watergate". Since then it's been fairly common in American pop culture to refer to any kind of scandal or controversy by some name ending in "gate", hence "batterygate" and "chargegate". There is no connection whatsoever with doors in fences or digital logic devices.

Bruce.

 

[David_Cary]

So that 1st post is very detailed - and reads like an intro to a class-action lawsuit. Helpful info for sure.

I didn't read it all but it doesn't seem to address chargegate.

I am no chargegate expert but it effects similar if not identical cars but appears to be more widespread (ie - because it effects me!)

I have a 2015 70D. I infrequently supercharged - as in 20 total over 90k miles. Over the last 2 years (or so), I have charged a few times - sometimes just to check speed. I am typically at 50 kw for a short time and then go to 40 kw. Note - my car could peak at 104 kw when new and still when 3 years old. It was all of a sudden drop in rate - and certainly not because of high frequency.

I also park in a relatively cool garage and only charge to 100% right before a trip. I owned a Leaf for several years and I know how to baby a battery.

I do have FUSC and some have theorized that FUSC cars have more charging limits. But that isn't exclusive - there are throttled cars that do not have FUSC

The other "gate" is the eMMC limitation. This affects all cars with MCU1. We are now covered by "voluntary" recall to get a new chip. There are a decent number of reports that the new chip helps prevent reboots and speeds things up. It does not appear to return the car to new condition. The software updates recently haver changed things to protect the chip and that may be degrading the experience of any MCU1 car. It is currently $1500 to upgrade to MCU2 which should make things acceptable to all. There are 3 issues with MCU2 - you lose FM radio unless you pay $500 to change that also. The backup camera is darker - seems to be an issue in total darkness - ie some people are not bothered by this - but it is a downgrade. Lastly, sensitive people with upgraded sound report degradation in sound quality.

Last issue is 3G vs LTE. I have the last run of 3G cars - so May 2015 was the changeover date. In Jan 2022, 3G will be shut off. It is about $450 to change the modem but the MCU2 includes the modem.

So for my car - chargegate is the dominant issue. Not bad for me since we have a M3LR-RWD which has been the supercharging roadtrip car for the last 2 years. Usually take the S for non supercharging trips - ie to the beach - 150 miles away.

 

[sorka]

Don't forget 691 gate.

 

[dskillz]

Model S 70 2015 here. They have definitely nerfed our Supercharger speeds. A Supercharger we frequent in Del Mar CA has shown that the charging speeds are no where near what they use to be. Nowadays our 90% is 200-203 Miles. We usually arrive at Del Mar from LA with around 50-60 miles of range left. Del Mar has a max charging rate of 72KW. We never see higher than 35-39KW. We also have FUSC. Car is paid off and willing to deal with this one flaw, Upgraded to MCU2 over the summer (couldn't wait, wish we could have) and car feels like new. We plan to keep it at least until the battery warranty runs out. Still charges to 223 miles at 100%. Not too bad.