Firmware 5.0

[apacheguy]

Now that they seem confident with the build I hope we'll start seeing some North American rollout occurring this week. The "few weeks" is probably the timeframe in which all cars will receive 5.6 OTA.

 

[wormhole]

Not really surprising -- Europe cars already receiving 5.6 OTA updates. This just aligns the US/Europe versions...

well, given the banter on the forums about the US and European firmwares forking, this is confirmation that that isn't the case.

 

[tomas]

well, given the banter on the forums about the US and European firmwares forking, this is confirmation that that isn't the case.

Yeah, the forking people were forking wrong!

 

[dirkhh]

well, given the banter on the forums about the US and European firmwares forking, this is confirmation that that isn't the case.

I beg to differ. Forking is a technical term and that is quite clearly what happened with 5.0 and 5.5.
All that 5.6 appears to do is to merge those two branches...

 

[Vger]

I wonder what hardware difference would account for this. What do newer cars have that older ones don't?

I was not told anything specific, but I gather that the the backend electronics have continued to be re-engineered. Since there are SO many ECU's (processors) in the car, anytime they revise something like the chargers, or climate control or the touchscreen, there are bound to be firmware ripples involved.

 

[Chipper]

Yeah, the forking people were forking wrong!

Well, some tines it happens!

 

[tomas]

Well, some tines it happens!

Nice!!!!!

 

[jackbowers]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but while driving a service loaner with 5.0 between Reno and Rocklin it seemed that the cruise control was more "gentle," which was especially noticeable when making 5 mph adjustments up or down. Also appears that the iPhone Bluetooth music streaming bug (cut-outs out while flipping rapidly between pause and play under certain conditions) has been fixed.

 

[FlasherZ]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but while driving a service loaner with 5.0 between Reno and Rocklin it seemed that the cruise control was more "gentle," which was especially noticeable when making 5 mph adjustments up or down. Also appears that the iPhone Bluetooth music streaming bug (cut-outs out while flipping rapidly between pause and play under certain conditions) has been fixed.

It still feels as jerky to me as it always has... maybe you're getting used to it?

 

[dirkhh]

It still feels as jerky to me as it always has... maybe you're getting used to it?

Are you sure he has the same build you do? This could be something they are running between minor revisions.

 

[dirkhh]

Now that they seem confident with the build I hope we'll start seeing some North American rollout occurring this week. The "few weeks" is probably the timeframe in which all cars will receive 5.6 OTA.

I asked my "inside contact" and he asked for patience... More likely November before a broader rollout. Which seems strange since they seem to roll it out pretty widely in Europe.
Maybe they consider 4.5 a safer choice than the early 5.0 versions?

 

[dennis]

well, given the banter on the forums about the US and European firmwares forking, this is confirmation that that isn't the case.

I don't agree. Here is my original post:

Here's a possible scenario: Tesla branched the code line to create 5.5 for Europe (no sleep mode) while working on 5.0 with sleep mode for the U.S. Once they have all of the 5.0 issues resolved they want to converge the two branches into a 5.6 or 5.7 (or 5.X) that all of the owners worldwide will receive.

I believe that is exactly what we are seeing. Is there a different but equally plausible theory?

 

[apacheguy]

I asked my "inside contact" and he asked for patience... More likely November before a broader rollout.

To be fair, I think we have been very patient with them. I've had my car 1 year and am still waiting for sleep mode, a high priority fix that was promised to us a) mid-summer and then b) by the end of summer. Now we are looking at winter 2013. I gave up holding my breath a while ago, so my new hope is that I get it sometime before the end of year.

 

[dsm363]

Mod note: Posts about USB drives moved here
Onboard storage vs. USB drive for music

 

[tomas]

Who exactly promised it to you? From my experience tesla is careful not to promise software updates.

 

[markwj]

Who exactly promised it to you? From my experience tesla is careful not to promise software updates.

Elon:
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: 'Vampire' Thirst For Electricity At Night?
Life With Tesla Model S: Owner's Report After 5,000 Miles

 

[apacheguy]

Who exactly promised it to you? From my experience tesla is careful not to promise software updates.

I'm glad you asked.

When I picked my car up in early March, it had 4.2 installed, but my DS alluded to a "big" update he referred to a v5 coming in late spring or early summer. So far, I've received 4.3 and shortly after 4.4. No problems with either update.

As well as directly from HQ ownership:

Regarding the ancillary drain of Model S. Over the course of the next several months the firmware will continue to be updated to reduce the power consumption of the car’s computer systems. We strive to strike the right balance between minimum energy consumption and ability to have the car always ready and responsive. In our next major firmware release coming this summer, the car's computer systems will use half the power they currently do when the car is off. By the end of this year, they will use about 1% of the power that they do now when the car is off. The loss of range when the car is off has absolutely nothing to do with energy needed to heat, cool or otherwise do anything to the battery pack. The battery pack simply doesn't consume energy when the car is off nor do the systems that manage it. All of the "sleep" energy loss is going to onboard computer systems and providing the useful benefit of keeping them ready to start-up at a moment’s notice when the driver returns. As noted above this energy consumption will be almost completely eliminated over the next 2-6 months.

Thanks Mark for those other references.

 

[dsmith2189]

Who exactly promised it to you? From my experience tesla is careful not to promise software updates.

Not to mention those cars that were delivered with a sleep mode which was taken away. (was that 4.0 or 4.1, it has been so long I can't remember.)

 

[riceuguy]

Regarding the ancillary drain of Model S. Over the course of the next several months the firmware will continue to be updated to reduce the power consumption of the car’s computer systems. We strive to strike the right balance between minimum energy consumption and ability to have the car always ready and responsive. In our next major firmware release coming this summer, the car's computer systems will use half the power they currently do when the car is off. By the end of this year, they will use about 1% of the power that they do now when the car is off.

Let's remember that 4.5 (over the summer) dropped vampire drain by 33%, and they are dropping it much, much more in 5.0/5.6, so while the percentages don't match what they told you exactly, I think they nailed the spirit of it.

 

[apacheguy]

Let's remember that 4.5 (over the summer) dropped vampire drain by 33%

Really? 4.5 vampire drain is horrible for most of us and I certainly have not noticed a 1/3 reduction compared to 4.4 or 4.3. If there was some reduction in 4.5, this'll be the first I've heard of it.