-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
MCU1 S Owners: Logic FOR/AGAINST Tesla's $2,500 "Infotainment Upgrade"? (Not required for FSD)
- Thread starter houstonian
- Start date
dbldwn02
Active Member
Easy...warranty replacement for MCU1. Then upgrade to MCU2. Keep MCU1 and sell "like new"
MartinAustin
Active Member
I am a 2013 pre-AP owner and will get this upgrade as soon as I can.
I want the faster navigation plotting and snappier interface.
Not too concerned about games, but netflix/youtube seems kinda cool
(the poll at the head of this thread does not have an option for me to select!)
I want the faster navigation plotting and snappier interface.
Not too concerned about games, but netflix/youtube seems kinda cool
(the poll at the head of this thread does not have an option for me to select!)
My MCU1 died 2 days ago. Have service scheduled for about 10 days from now. I got a confirmation text back after scheduling, but nothing specific on MCU1 or MCU2, etc.
At first, I was leaning towards MCU1, because I didn't want to lose the AM/FM radio. Since I've been driving my back-up vehicle, a Toyota SUV, for the last 2 days, I was reminded how poor the MS's AM/FM radio really is. I lose stations 20 miles outside the city (it's very hilly here), whereas in my SUV, they're good for about 70 miles.
So now I'm thinking MCU2, as why replace one exploded time bomb with one that has restarted the detonation timer at zero, due to explode in another 4 years. Of course, this is all predicated on availability, which is always a crap shoot with Tesla.
At first, I was leaning towards MCU1, because I didn't want to lose the AM/FM radio. Since I've been driving my back-up vehicle, a Toyota SUV, for the last 2 days, I was reminded how poor the MS's AM/FM radio really is. I lose stations 20 miles outside the city (it's very hilly here), whereas in my SUV, they're good for about 70 miles.
So now I'm thinking MCU2, as why replace one exploded time bomb with one that has restarted the detonation timer at zero, due to explode in another 4 years. Of course, this is all predicated on availability, which is always a crap shoot with Tesla.
But Tesla isn't calling this a MCU swap. It is an "infotainment upgrade". We just don't know what it includes. (But we do know it doesn't include the tuner module.)
Tuners were never part of mcu replacement, as the tuner has always been a external component on S/X/3.
MartinAustin
Active Member
Tesla updated the OS some time ago to no longer do all the data logging while you're driving. This vastly reduces the memory read-writes to that chip and extends the life a lot longer. It effectively "froze" the state of the problem for existing MCU1 owners. Buying another MCU1 would not doom you to encountering the same problem some time in the future, IMO.
That said... if I were you I would try to drive the car with no working MCU!!! In order to get MCU2 as soon as it is available.
What does driving it have to do with MCU2?
I have another vehicle, so it's not that big a deal. It would be fine on warm sunny days, but if I might need defrost, etc., I consider it unsafe to drive. Also, not sure if charging still works.
My MCU1 died in Jan but still had the ability to drive and charge. Two weeks later, I decided to have a mobile technician confirm my problem and he suggested a 12-volt disconnect. That was a bad mistake because it only made things worse by breaking my car's ability to charge. When the service center could not fix my charging issue without a working MCU, I asked them about the Infotainment Upgrade just 2 weeks before the announcement was made. At the time, my service advisor said there was no retrofit in the works, and nobody knew anything about it, so my only option was to replace it with another MCU1. Well 12 days later the Infotainment Upgrade was announced and you can imagine is very upsetting. Now I am in the middle of “working" with the service manager on replacing my newly installed MCU1 with the upgrade when it becomes available (and I am more than happy to pay the difference). The bottom line is, wait for the new MCU and do not perform a 12-volt disconnect if you still can charge. Good Luck!
whitex
Well-Known Member
"One small step for a person, one giant leap for personkind".Sorry, couldn't read "person hours" with a straight face...
Let's not forget penpersonship as a skill, or personhole covers in the streets, etc, etc...Agree with an above poster. $2500 is not for Netflix, it is for speed.
My boot up time is pretty bad (although part of it is my fault for power saving mode).
LTE is an additional benefit.
My 2015 drives great, but the MCU is not. So $2500 fixes its biggest problem - not bad but I also can wait it out just to see if there are any issues. I have zero reservations about losing FM.
My boot up time is pretty bad (although part of it is my fault for power saving mode).
LTE is an additional benefit.
My 2015 drives great, but the MCU is not. So $2500 fixes its biggest problem - not bad but I also can wait it out just to see if there are any issues. I have zero reservations about losing FM.
MartinAustin
Active Member
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
We have FM, AM and XM? I haven't used that in 8 years. I'm in when my MCU1 roasts itself.
Do you know how long ago Tesla updated the software to stop the data logging? I have a February 2018 build MCU1, and I’m torn between upgrading (assuming my MCU1 will fail at some point) or rolling the dice and hoping it doesn’t fail on me (since the logging has been reduced).
Any insight from anyone? If I plan I’m keeping my car for ~5 more years (7 total) is my MCU1 doomed? I’m a select few with AP2.5, so I currently have dashcam, sentrymode, LTE...the upgrade really is just games and a quicker interface.
You should wait until your warranty expires before paying for upgrade.
what the heck is Tesla thinking... seriously, did they actually say this plan out loud in a conference room and all agree it's a good idea?
I am exactly the customer who would spend $2500 to get an upgraded experience, but you're going to just break existing functionality that many people use constantly (radios) for things like weather reports, local news, etc? And not even bother to lift a finger to provide the identical radio-over-internet channels? All because, according to reports, the radio modules are really difficult to physically pry out of the infotainment chassis?
This is a really lazy money grab, an attempt to collect money while sweeping warranty liabilities under the rug (yellow screen), and installing the FSD computer while they're at it (lower incremental cost).
This whole thing is actually insulting. This is why purpose-built tools are created, to make hard or awkward jobs easy. Thanks but no thanks, Tesla.
I am exactly the customer who would spend $2500 to get an upgraded experience, but you're going to just break existing functionality that many people use constantly (radios) for things like weather reports, local news, etc? And not even bother to lift a finger to provide the identical radio-over-internet channels? All because, according to reports, the radio modules are really difficult to physically pry out of the infotainment chassis?
This is a really lazy money grab, an attempt to collect money while sweeping warranty liabilities under the rug (yellow screen), and installing the FSD computer while they're at it (lower incremental cost).
This whole thing is actually insulting. This is why purpose-built tools are created, to make hard or awkward jobs easy. Thanks but no thanks, Tesla.
I might be the world's leading expert working with a dead MCU (mine was dead for 6 months before I "resurrected" it)... When the MCU dies the car is still able to charge at full speed until it's next reboot, so you would've lost that ability in a month or so anyway... After the reboot the car is still able to charges at ~1mi or 2km per hour; it's also worth noting that supercharging does still work with a non-working MCU. Still it can be a PITA, if you drive a lot and that's the best you can get charging at home.
Believe it's 2019.36.x firmwares. Reduced logging on it's own is unlikely to prevent failures on its own... a big part of the equation is heat build-up inside the MCU, it typically runs 20C to 30C hotter than the outdoor temperature, temperatures can be over 80C in summer time... This is part of the reason why the 3 moved to liquid cooling the MCU. I'm not sure if the heat is better on the MCUv2 or if the emmc used is more tolerant to high heat, only time will tell.
If you're happy with your MCUv1, keep it, and if you can keep it out of direct sunlight when parked (i.e. shaded or in garage or underground parking)... Running the A/C cools the MCU as well, so it's less of a worry when driving in summer. Save your money, replace it when it dies.
You'll probably get your money back in resale bump. A Model S with decent range left on the battery is now a pretty viable up to date car for people who don't care about autopilot.
