MCU died - out of warranty - "Aftermarket Modifications waiver?"

[Altes]

Took car in for the obligatory out of warranty MCU Failure and called me today to ask for a waiver as there is an aftermarket car stereo in the car and this may be the cause as the MCU is HIGHLY sensitive yada yada yada. The implication is that if you do anything to the car it could cause it to fail.

I have never heard of this before and have had aftermarket car stereos in nearly every car I have owned and have never been asked for a waiver. attached is the waiver....

The SA claimed that they couldn't tell why the MCU failed and it could be the aftermarket stereo wiring (connected to high level front speaker outputs and battery!). apparently MCU is dead dead (ie not communicating) which I have heard is sometimes the case due to memory write failures.

Anyone had any waivers sent to them?

 

[MIT_S60]

Tell them you'll only sign it if they replace it with MCU2.

 

[Akikiki]

You might find this interesting from the Like your's who would have thought...
Tesla Model S forum. Did not work out well for the owner
Problems with warranty and aftermarket amplifier install | Tesla
What year is your car? Looks like a '15 or older.
@MIT_S60 Lately Tesla has been saying the non-AP and AP1 cars to MCU2 Upgrade is not possible.

 

[glide]

They have to prove the modification caused the failure.

Good luck to them.

 

[glide]

You might find this interesting from the Like your's who would have thought...
Tesla Model S forum. Did not work out well for the owner
Problems with warranty and aftermarket amplifier install | Tesla
What year is your car? Looks like a '15 or older.
@MIT_S60 Lately Tesla has been saying the non-AP and AP1 cars to MCU2 Upgrade is not possible.

AP1 to MCU2 is absolutely possible.

Not sure where you got that info.

 

[Akikiki]

AP1 to MCU2 is absolutely possible.

Not sure where you got that info.

I got that info from my local SC service advisor. We were discussing how a lot of people have been submitting work request and calling asking for that upgrade on there '12-15 cars. And he says he's been told to say, No not possible. We were discussing this when I picked up my 2017 S MCU1/AP2.0 right have it had been upgraded to MCU2/AP3.0

I'm not saying it isn't. Tesla is. And if they say no, how are you going to over turn that?

Here's you another source
MCU2 Upgrade and AM/FM/XM Radio Issues | TeslaTap

 

[Akikiki]

AP1 to MCU2 is absolutely possible.

Not sure where you got that info.

If you are not sure where I got it? Read the post from an owner that had this happen to.
And it looks like him defending against Tesla that its not his equipment will be more costly than he can afford.
What is he to do then?

I am not on either side. I am simply showing the thread.

They have to prove the modification caused the failure.

Good luck to them.

You may be right legally, but if they say no, then he has to make them do it, and it does not look like they will.
And it looks like him defending against Tesla that its not his equipment will be more costly than he can afford.
What is he to do then?

I am not on either side. I am simply showing the thread.

 

[MP3Mike]

I got that info from my local SC service advisor. We were discussing how a lot of people have been submitting work request and calling asking for that upgrade on there '12-15 cars. And he says he's been told to say, No not possible. We were discussing this when I picked up my 2017 S MCU1/AP2.0 right have it had been upgraded to MCU2/AP3.0

The SC adviser is right that it is not currently available/possible. The official Telsa page about the upgrade says that it will be available "soon": Infotainment Upgrade

Which from their table would at a minimum be after "late April". (Which is when your car was supposed to qualify for the upgrade that you apparently got early.)

 

[Altes]

They have to prove the modification caused the failure.

Good luck to them.

not sure- magnason Moss says parts warranty, not actually working on car, tesla is refusing to work on car w/o sign off

 

[Altes]

So I did ask about the update to MCU 2 and mine was one of the first cars with AP2 (literally changed mid build cycle) and no one even knows about MCU 2 upgrade at any of the bay area service centers.It seems like they are just trying to push cars thru service and cant fathom anything more

 

[Akikiki]

Show them the Infotainment Page and tell them to talk to their boss.

I love it. My '17 S seems like a brand new car. Have you read my report here?
Honolulu SC just completed my MCU2 Upgrade
Its worth every dime and then some.

 

[Altes]

Tell them you'll only sign it if they replace it with MCU2.

If I dont sign they wont repair

 

[sdmack]

As the MCU is out of warranty, the repair/replacement is on your dime, right? It’s not clear that a signed waiver releases Tesla from warranting the new MCU (that you are paying for) or just releasing them from warranting any work they do to related to the aftermarket radio (which, presumably, is nothing). I’d be clarifying that with the dealer. And getting it in writing.

I think they just want protection from subsequent complaints that the OEM radio doesn’t work.

 

[MIT_S60]

The downside to replacing with another MCU1 is that it’s a ticking time bomb until it breaks again.

 

[brkaus]

Have the memory chip replaced by a non-Tesla repair facility. If you have a stereo put in, those folks can pull the mcu.

An MCU1 with an aftermarket high quality eMMC should last a very long time. 1) larger 2) higher rating 3) logging has been reduced very significantly.

 

[Altes]

As the MCU is out of warranty, the repair/replacement is on your dime, right? It’s not clear that a signed waiver releases Tesla from warranting the new MCU (that you are paying for) or just releasing them from warranting any work they do to related to the aftermarket radio (which, presumably, is nothing). I’d be clarifying that with the dealer. And getting it in writing.

I think they just want protection from subsequent complaints that the OEM radio doesn’t work.

They are essentially voiding any warranty on the MCU which is illegal as they have to prove (per magnesson moss) my aftermarket system caused the failure
I do not have a radio, it is "just" two amps, a DSP, 10" audiomobile sub and Morel 3 way front stage, source is 96K mosconi BT audio interface thru a mosconi 6 to 8 aerospace DSP only interface to car is power from battery and high level audio from tesla system front speakers.
I reviewed the literature on MCU failures and mine appears to meet all of them and has since almost brand new.

AS for upgrading to MCU2 I would absolutely pay the extra for that however SF service department has not a clue nor interest if this is possible most of SF bay area tesla service centers are in survival mode as nearly every tesla sold seems to be roaming streets here. as a result service center is not looking to upgrade folks...I wish I could but I cant get what they wont sell or install. I will likely replace the memory as a preventative measure at some point tho...that is if they agree to work on the car which is still in doubt right now

 

[brkaus]

If aren’t in dire need of a car at the moment, I’d take it back and have someone else replace the memory.

Not much need, imho, to replace the memory after they fix it.

if I understand correctly - you are already out of warranty?

the form is likely trying to -
- remove the warranty for the replacement
- absolve them of any liability to your stereo modifications if they get broken during the work.

 

[Altes]

If aren’t in dire need of a car at the moment, I’d take it back and have someone else replace the memory.

Not much need, imho, to replace the memory after they fix it.

if I understand correctly - you are already out of warranty?

the form is likely trying to -
- remove the warranty for the replacement
- absolve them of any liability to your stereo modifications if they get broken during the work.

It’s my daily driver 100 mile a day commute, yeppers on the form

 

[dark cloud]

Why aren't you getting @EV-Fixme to repair it?

But if you are bent on getting Tesla to do it I suggest since you are in California and have service centres all over the place, have the stereo removed, then get the car to a different service centre to have them fix the MCU. Hopefully they have no record of you going to the first one.

 

[dark cloud]

The SC adviser is right that it is not currently available/possible. The official Telsa page about the upgrade says that it will be available "soon": Infotainment Upgrade

The day that came out I was able to read the link, now when I click it I get redirected to this page:

Customer and Product Support | Tesla Support

But I don't know if an American ISP address kicks it back to the US page? Can you tell me if you see this when you click on the above?