How often does your M3P get rebooted? Disillusioned after 25 days.

[stopcrazypp]

So with the 2021 M3P your stereos don't cut out when you put your iPhone on or off the charger?

@Gauss Guzzler - It's pretty remarkable that there is a message that comes up saying you may damage your trim when you use the mechanical door latch vs putting in a $1 switch to activate the window retraction when the mechanical lever is pulled. SMH.

They already had a sensor for that and activated that with a software update a long time ago (the window does drop down as the door opens). The message remains since theoretically if you push the door open fast enough, it can still have a chance of damaging the trim, and given that release is not designed for regular use, it also serves as a disincentive to keep pulling it.
Manual door handle (interior) rolls window down?

Even at $35,000 a Hyundai is going to have a very nice interior and most of the safety and convenience items missing on the Model 3. Also keep in mind that as you pay for a higher trim level, you should get more premium features. I really like that Tesla has a focus on performance, but they really need to step up their creature comfort and safety features. They are also missing out on making a lot more profit by not offering more packages. You can spend as much on options as the cost of the car with a Porsche. LOL. Makes them very profitable.

Some people like their cars with such options or that just by buying the performance option that it is already bundled with it (as is typically the case with premium cars), but some people they are buying it mainly for the performance and Teslas tend to be a bargain when you consider that.
As for included features, there are certainly features Tesla includes that other entry premium cars don't. There was an analysis done somewhere, but lazy to search for it (basically mainly things like TACC, auto steer, all the include safety features, heated seats everywhere, etc).

As for comparing to a Hyundai, not sure that is necessarily fair comparison, as if you do the same comparison with other premium brands, you usually get more features for your money also. A lot of the money you save is down to the drop in performance.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

- Sensors on the emergency door handles that trigger the normal electronic release first so I don't have to scold every passenger

@Gauss Guzzler - It's pretty remarkable that there is a message that comes up saying you may damage your trim when you use the mechanical door latch vs putting in a $1 switch to activate the window retraction when the mechanical lever is pulled. SMH.

You guys are both missing the point of that message.

If you pull the mechanical release, it already moves down the window just like it does when you push the electric button. The message on the screen is simply there to warn you that if the 12V battery is dead, the car won't have power to lower the window if you use the emergency release. In that case, you could damage the glass or the window trim when opening and especially when closing the door with the window all the way up.

You can both apologize to Elon now.

 

[Alan2000]

TLLMRRJ - Thanks for the clarification. I no longer will have to yell at people not to pull the door handle that most people tend to gravitate to instead of the small button.

topcrazypp - My wife has a 2019 Hyundai SUV. Wonderful in every way but totally gutless. Nearly impossible to pass cars on single lane highways. I can't stand to drive it. Swapping it out soon for a 2022 that has marginally better acceleration. LOL. You are correct that when it comes to performance value, you can't beat Tesla now. Even at $140K the Plaid is a bargain. The M3P up to about 100 MPH will beat just about every performance and exotic car many times its price. Disappointed in the lack of creature comforts, but I do have a lot of fun driving the car.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

That's not correct @TLLMRRJ. There is no sensor to detect the emergency handle being pulled and there was no software change related to it.

There is a sensor in the latch to tell the car when the door is open - it's the modern version of the pushbutton thing that was in the doorjamb of cars of the past. It triggers the interior lights amongst other things and if the computer sees that the door has somehow been opened without the electronic interior button or electronic exterior handle being used it assumes the mechanical release was used and displays a warning.

The computer will always make sure the window is down anytime it detects that the door is open of course. So yes, that does mean that the window will roll down even with the emergency handle, but it happens thru a different method at a different time. Firmly hold your door closed as you pull the emergency handle and you'll see. That's why the warning is there and yes the warning is valid because with the manual release the window won't begin to roll down until after the door has started to swing open.

 

[Alan2000]

I just got back from the car and the dash cam viewer icon caused my trunk to open. Hit it again and my doors locked. Hit again and doors unlocked. Decided to go ahead and schedule a service visit. Earliest opening at service centers in my area is 09/27. That’s 3 weeks away! Can’t wait to hear what excuses will be made to say I should not gripe about that either. SMH. Is this "normal" for Tesla service?

 

[holmgang]

a few times a year..?

 

[focher]

I will follow your recommendation to do a hard reboot given some people appear to not have problems with their MCU crashing or needing to be rebooted on a weekly basis.

My recommendation was not to perform a hard reboot. I suggest you do a factory reset of the car. In the Car settings, go to Service. You should see the option there.

 

[Gasaraki]

Today is day 25 of ownership. I've averaged more that 1 reboot per week. I think I'm on #5 as of today. (MCU crash when accessing owner's manual, while backing up 2x, something I already forgot, and the latest was today to stop my trunk from continuously opening and closing.) No other auto manufacture would put out a product with such poorly programmed software/hardware. Is it normal for Tesla to take months to address problems that should have never occurred in the first place had they done proper testing? I was hoping my car was defective, but searching the forums people have been complaining of their MCU crashing for months, or over a year with no updates to fix the known issues.

This last event was triggered when I returned to my car car with my wife from a dealership after looking as a new car for her. I pressed the dash cam icon to see if anything was recorded. When I pressed the dash cam icon to launch the viewer my trunk popped open. I got out of the car to look at the trunk. The trunk was empty and there was nothing that was against the trunk and nobody had hit it. As I was standing outside it was full closing and opening on its own. Sometimes it would pause half way up and then resume. I tried using the MCU, Tesla app, and my iPhone app to close the trunk to see if that would stop the cycle but it kept doing the trunk happy dance. It was not until I rebooted the car that the trunk went back to normal. Anyone else experience this before? (I saw a post from 12/2019 of the trunk and frunk opening when the power plug button was pressed to disconnect it.)

I'm not here to trash Tesla, but have to admit I'm rather disillusioned at the incredibly buggy user interface (MCU) and the general low tech nature of same. Some very basic features found on much less expensive cars are curiously missing in the M3P. Yes, I know the M3 is the entry level Tesla, but the M3P is $17,000 more than the base model and not exactly econo priced. A few things that surprised me was the rather basic backup display that lacks a bird's eye view when backing up. With so many cameras Tesla couldn't figure out how to offer that feature? Cars at half the cost have had that for a while now. No cross traffic sensors? No Apple or Android Play, really? No Waze except for laggy web browser version that is non-interactive? With a MCU that is off to the side, no basic HUD display in front of the driver? Cheap mid level Hyundai's have these features and more.

So while I love driving the car, and the interior and the fit and finish are great, I'm disappointed at how low tech it is when you compare it to other cars in the market that nobody expects to be high tech. Then throw on top of that the MCU crashing or needing to reboot about 1x per week, and it's just sad. Shaking my head at the lost potential for Tesla for what I think is sloppy management. I bought the M3P because I like to drive my cars like they are stolen, and the M3P fits the bill perfectly for that. I would still buy it again (today). But for people like my wife who could care less if the vehicle does 0-60 in 3 seconds or 9 seconds, I think they would be better off saving the money and buying something else. There will be a day when there is not a waiting list to order a Tesla, with many other EV offerings available by long established auto manufacturers. That day is coming in a couple more short years. Hopefully, Tesla starts to take care of the small details that other manufacturers already are very good at doing, or there may be little reason soon for people to continue to buy Teslas. Come on Elon, let's see some more of that rage coming out to fire more people on the spot directed at those in charge of the MCU and user experience!

My MCU has self rebooted 3 times in the 1.25 years i've had it.

 

[Gasaraki]

I just got back from the car and the dash cam viewer icon caused my trunk to open. Hit it again and my doors locked. Hit again and doors unlocked. Decided to go ahead and schedule a service visit. Earliest opening at service centers in my area is 09/27. That’s 3 weeks away! Can’t wait to hear what excuses will be made to say I should not gripe about that either. SMH. Is this "normal" for Tesla service?

Did you not do ANY research before you bought the Tesla? If you would have stopped in here BEFORE you bought the car, you would know about all the "ISSUES" and hopefully you wouldn't have bought one and we wouldn't have to hear the same whining again. Lemons happen, maybe more lemons with Teslas, maybe not.

I've never gotten a service appointment less than 1 week out for my Subaru, all of them have been 2 weeks. All my service appointments with Tesla has been around 2 weeks out so nothing too different. If it's an emergency, you can just directly take it to the Tesla service center without an appointment.

 

[dmurphy]

I just got back from the car and the dash cam viewer icon caused my trunk to open. Hit it again and my doors locked. Hit again and doors unlocked. Decided to go ahead and schedule a service visit. Earliest opening at service centers in my area is 09/27. That’s 3 weeks away! Can’t wait to hear what excuses will be made to say I should not gripe about that either. SMH. Is this "normal" for Tesla service?

No excuses - that’s long, but California especially has grown faster than they can build new service centers.

The problem we have here in NJ is that the dealership lobby has convinced the state to only allow Tesla to have 4 service centers in the entire state. Dollars talk, and the NJCAR cartel spends them.

Now, as for your ownership experience - there is most definitely something wrong with your car. I’m not convinced it’s the MCU, either. I’m guessing more of a short in one of the vehicle controllers, or a pinched wiring harness somewhere. Just a guess but we shall see.

Sorry the car hasn’t been everything it should be, but you definitely have some kind of problem. We can revisit after the repair, but I’m guessing VCRIGHT is the issue. Just a wild guess.

 

[Apprunner]

So with the 2021 M3P your stereos don't cut out when you put your iPhone on or off the charger?

@Gauss Guzzler - It's pretty remarkable that there is a message that comes up saying you may damage your trim when you use the mechanical door latch vs putting in a $1 switch to activate the window retraction when the mechanical lever is pulled. SMH. Even at $35,000 a Hyundai is going to have a very nice interior and most of the safety and convenience items missing on the Model 3. Also keep in mind that as you pay for a higher trim level, you should get more premium features. I really like that Tesla has a focus on performance, but they really need to step up their creature comfort and safety features. They are also missing out on making a lot more profit by not offering more packages. You can spend as much on options as the cost of the car with a Porsche. LOL. Makes them very profitable.

I don't know why your stereos cut out when you put your iphone on/off the charger. I have a 2019 and its never done that. Lots of electrical gremlins in your car. Let them also know about this issue as its not normal.

 

[Alan2000]

Did you not do ANY research before you bought the Tesla? If you would have stopped in here BEFORE you bought the car, you would know about all the "ISSUES" and hopefully you wouldn't have bought one…

Not any more that any of the many other cars I’ve owned. I guess it was a mistake to assume a basic level of competence for a car maker. It's not like this is their first car and the first year they have made them. They can and should do better.

My recommendation was not to perform a hard reboot. I suggest you do a factory reset of the car. In the Car settings, go to Service. You should see the option there.

Got it. I'll try that today. (Controls > Safety and Security > Power Off....) as soft reboot was not effective in preventing more gremlins from popping up.

... Now, as for your ownership experience - there is most definitely something wrong with your car. I’m not convinced it’s the MCU, either. I’m guessing more of a short in one of the vehicle controllers, or a pinched wiring harness somewhere. Just a guess but we shall see.

Sorry the car hasn’t been everything it should be, but you definitely have some kind of problem. We can revisit after the repair, but I’m guessing VCRIGHT is the issue. Just a wild guess.

It's definitely encouraging to see other people with few issues. It's like I got Windows Millennium Edition loaded on my Tesla. LOL. Hopefully in 3 weeks they will clear it up.

I'm not whining just to whine. I think Tesla has a great product. They just need to put some effort into customer service and testing to 1) catch bugs BEFORE releasing updates/products, and 2) when they find a bug such as MCU crashing when you try to read the manual, fix it quickly. No excuse to not fix something like that in close to a year now. Tesla owners need to stop making excuses for Tesla for Tesla's own good. Tough love is good for kids and cars. : )

 

[CarolinaBMXers]

Hardly ever, maybe a handful of times in 1 year of ownership. Make a service appointment.

mines on 2 months....not once...

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

All of your crazy electrical issues might stem from something as simple as a faulty touchscreen. Send them a message thru the app explaining that the car is not driveable and ask if they can expedite your appointment and/or provide a loaner.

 

[dmurphy]

It's definitely encouraging to see other people with few issues. It's like I got Windows Millennium Edition loaded on my Tesla. LOL. Hopefully in 3 weeks they will clear it up.

I'm not whining just to whine. I think Tesla has a great product. They just need to put some effort into customer service and testing to 1) catch bugs BEFORE releasing updates/products, and 2) when they find a bug such as MCU crashing when you try to read the manual, fix it quickly. No excuse to not fix something like that in close to a year now. Tesla owners need to stop making excuses for Tesla for Tesla's own good. Tough love is good for kids and cars. : )

It's frustrating as all get-out for sure. So sorry the experience hasn't been amazing. That said -- I think you have a physical problem, not a software one -- my guess is the VCRIGHT controller, but let's see what the actual experts (I'm just playing along from an armchair!) have to say ... I'm super hopeful that resolves the gremlins and you'll have hundreds of thousands of miles of trouble-free driving, as one would expect! Small nagging items may happen from time-to-time, but nothing major like you're seeing. That's certainly a larger issue and not really a software bug, else we'd see it exposed to millions of cars. (Yes, wow, over a million Model 3's out there already! Not to mention S/X/Y's ...)


There's a few things going on that, taken together, I think are a big part of why you're seeing stuff like the manual not working ...
- Supply shortages. Chips are in major short supply across many industries (this is no secret.) Tesla has given their engineers a gigantic hairball in trying to keep the assembly lines running, by grabbing chips from anywhere they can and programming to those. For example ... let's say they're using an HVAC controller chip from Bosch. That one is in short supply, so they switch to using one from Samsung. Now they have to program the car's software to interact with the new controller chip. This has been happening dozens of times in the last few months as it's about the only way to keep the assembly lines building cars. If there's 50,000 parts in a car, and one is in short supply, you've built exactly zero cars. The logistics behind all this is beyond complex.
- FSD all hands on deck. Heads down getting FSD out the door in some form or another. I suspect we'll actually see the "public beta" release by the end of September; that makes it a Q3 release, and means they can rev rec FSD revenue in this quarter. I'm not an accountant, but that sure seems plausible knowing just enough about rev rec rules to be dangerous.
- Tied to the "FSD all hands on deck" thrust is the GUI and interface design team. There's a new GUI coming and we all know it, and it's part-and-parcel with the FSD beta software. If we're "this" close to shipping FSD beta, there's no sense doing major updates to the current GUI versions. Sustaining support only.

All of the above is just me wildly speculating why it seems the firmware has been "stuck in the mud" this year ... between the keeping-up-with-the-chip-shortage work under the hood, plus the "big bang" coming .... I think we're just in a software lull. It's not ignoring issues so much as it is just waiting to move to the "new train" of development.

Again just a guess but reading tea leaves, seems like that's what's going on ...

 

[Alan2000]

I just tried the "Model 3/Y Full Vehicle Soft Reboot (Reset)" Controls > Safety and Security > Power Off option which seems to only have turned off the MCU display and done nothing else. Climate control was turned off, but fan or pump noise from frunk was on the entire time car was "off", about 10 minutes. Touching the brake instantly brought up the display. So it appears that my car does not turn off.

Next did the option 2 for full vehicle soft reboot by putting car in park, holding brake while both buttons are pressed on wheel. That rebooted car and took a while until the screen filled in after logo appeared. Dash cam button is working but stereo still cuts out when a phone is place on either of the charging slots.

Should the Model 3 be making noises and have a fan or pump running when the car is "off" and climate control is off? It's 75F outside so no extreme weather conditions here.

 

[Alan2000]

...There's a few things going on that, taken together, I think are a big part of why you're seeing stuff like the manual not working ...
- Supply shortages. Chips are in major short supply...

Good point. I was wondering how/if Tesla was dealing chip shortage. In the past I know Telsa would literally do anything to keep assembly line going such as running to Home Depot to get drywall screws to assemble cars if they ran out of the proper fasteners. Doing that with chips can be a nightmare. Ford has lost billions with production idle from chip shortages. I have been working for months now to redesign a product that had 2 chips that became victims of the COVID chip shortage. The cost for the 2 chips went from about $6 to $200, if you could source them at all. Working now on new firmware and software for the alternate microprocessors. A huge PITA.

Thanks for insightful post. I'll throw out at dealership VCRIGHT controller, and act like I know what I'm talking about so they also look into that.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

That's not correct @TLLMRRJ. There is no sensor to detect the emergency handle being pulled and there was no software change related to it.

Where did I say there is a sensor to detect the emergency handle being pulled? What I said is 100% correct, despite you dying to prove me wrong.

The system Tesla has for the emergency handle works just fine, end of story.

 

[dmurphy]

I have been working for months now to redesign a product that had 2 chips that became victims of the COVID chip shortage. The cost for the 2 chips went from about $6 to $200, if you could source them at all. Working now on new firmware and software for the alternate microprocessors. A huge PITA.

Given your background, I hope that gives you some fresh appreciation for exactly what Tesla's been up to. Think about how many microprocessors, flash chips, DACs, ASICs and everything else you can imagine are in this car. Now let's think about multiple, somewhat unpredictable new suppliers for each of those. Everything from boot loaders to code to flash updaters are different.

Just think what it takes to switch from an Atmel flash controller to an STMicro. Now imagine changing from a Bosch to a Renesas airbag controller - and all the testing, integration and certifications that takes. And that's only today's challenge. Tomorrow we're changing the audio DAC from TI to Cirrus. So on and so forth ... If they run short of one - any one - of those chips, no cars get delivered. You could get 50,000 parts right. Just one missing, and it's a showstopper.

So yeah, given what I see in the industry, I'm cutting Tesla a pretty wide path here. They're doing some spectacular work behind the scenes, most of which isn't obvious at all.... because, if done right, it shouldn't be.

Not an 'excuse' per se, but the reality of the tech industry right now kinda looks like this all over.

 

[dduffey]

I just got back from the car and the dash cam viewer icon caused my trunk to open. Hit it again and my doors locked. Hit again and doors unlocked. Decided to go ahead and schedule a service visit. Earliest opening at service centers in my area is 09/27. That’s 3 weeks away! Can’t wait to hear what excuses will be made to say I should not gripe about that either. SMH. Is this "normal" for Tesla service?

This could be phantom presses, happened to both my 3 and Y. But easily resolved in my case using a paper towel and cleaning the display.

Don't use cleaners or shop towels (i.e. the "blue paper towels"), but plain white paper towels.