MCU2 - Retrofit

[lunitiks]

Opening this thread with the hope of some focused discussion on the retrofit question only.

(Please leave out antecdotal joy and sorrow about taking delivery soon, too early etc.)

 

[doubleohwhat]

I would imagine it depends on if the new MCU is a drop in replacement or not. I'm referring to the wiring connectors, physical mounting, etc. There's really no way to know without either Tesla making an upgrade available or someone removing a new MCU and examining the new hardware.

As an off-topic aside (sorry in advance), this change could be a clue to the timing of a refreshed interior. Either the refresh is not imminent or the refreshed interior will use the new MCU hardware. Why would they develop the new hardware if they didn't plan on using it for a while.

 

[Superendo]

Is there info of the specs ? Old versus New?

Opening this thread with the hope of some focused discussion on the retrofit question only.

(Please leave out antecdotal joy and sorrow about taking delivery soon, too early etc.)

 

[bambam4171]

I think in the past this was checked by looking at the individual parts. I'm sure @verygreen could shed some light on this if someone has a part no for him.

 

[lunitiks]

I would imagine it depends on if the new MCU is a drop in replacement or not. I'm referring to the wiring connectors, physical mounting, etc.

As of now, I can't find any proof that it can't be retrofitted. Form factor appears to be the same. Main question is if we're dealing with new connectors on the backside. The new March 2018 wiring diagram does not suggest any new connectors. But of course we might be dealing with a new 5G antenna in the Driver's side mirror, in which case it should/could be an extra connector on the backside of CID.

Plenty of good close-ups of older CID's on eBay. They have one "GSM" connector, and one "WiFI" - it's the pair that's in the top right corner of this pic (beige and blue connector):

 

[doubleohwhat]

If the new MCU *is* a drop in replacement then I would imagine they'll be retiring the older part after supplies run out. If that's the case then service centers should be receiving a notice.

 

[Snowstorm]

How much did the old MCU cost to replace? I would imagine that would be a rough ballpark of the new unit cost. Hopefully, the new unit is cheaper as compute HW advance and volume increase. The best case is that we don’t have to replace the entire MCU and just swap a daughter board.

 

[viper2ko]

Is there info of the specs ? Old versus New?

AP 2.5 Hardware Teardown and Comparison • r/teslamotors

Here is the new MCU teardown

 

[viper2ko]

How much did the old MCU cost to replace? I would imagine that would be a rough ballpark of the new unit cost. Hopefully, the new unit is cheaper as compute HW advance and volume increase. The best case is that we don’t have to replace the entire MCU and just swap a daughter board.

Idk it looks like they also improved the screen. Might need to be an entire mcu swap

 

[viper2ko]

If the new MCU *is* a drop in replacement then I would imagine they'll be retiring the older part after supplies run out. If that's the case then service centers should be receiving a notice.

I'm not so sure about that. It would be a very sticky situation for them if they were replacing broken mcus under warranty with this new one. If that were the case all MCUs would suddenly start to "break". I honestly think they have stockpiled tegra MCUs to prevent this. Will they last 4 years for the current warranty batch, that is the question

 

[Boourns]

As far as is it possible, I will let those much more knowledgeable than me speculate.

However, I'll say that my guess is that the service center will charge an arm and a leg for it based on my related experience. My S did not have the tech package. When I asked about potentially adding navigation, the service center said it would require replacement of the entire MCU to the tune of more than 6 grand. Obviously, not the exact same scenario of course.

 

[MP3Mike]

I'm not so sure about that. It would be a very sticky situation for them if they were replacing broken mcus under warranty with this new one. If that were the case all MCUs would suddenly start to "break".

And how would it "break" in a way that was covered under warranty?

 

[boaterva]

And how would it "break" in a way that was covered under warranty?

Most 'breaks' in the past have been screen quality, and those have usually been only a display swap, right, not the whole thing?

 

[boaterva]

As of now, I can't find any proof that it can't be retrofitted. Form factor appears to be the same. Main question is if we're dealing with new connectors on the backside. The new March 2018 wiring diagram does not suggest any new connectors. But of course we might be dealing with a new 5G antenna in the Driver's side mirror, in which case it should/could be an extra connector on the backside of CID.

Plenty of good close-ups of older CID's on eBay. They have one "GSM" connector, and one "WiFI" - it's the pair that's in the top right corner of this pic (beige and blue connector):

Do you mean 5GHz? I thought the only antenna change we were aware of was the added WiFi band...

If you mean that, 5G means cellular generations to me.. .

 

[Cosmacelf]

I think Tesla is about to have a bunch of MCUs that mysterious “broke” while under warranty...

 

[Cosmacelf]

Do you mean 5GHz? I thought the only antenna change we were aware of was the added WiFi band...

If you mean that, 5G means cellular generations to me.. .

Ah, yes, that makes more sense. 5G as a cellular standard isn’t available yet, so I’m guessing, too, that he meant 5 GHz WiFi.

 

[MP3Mike]

I think Tesla is about to have a bunch of MCUs that mysterious “broke” while under warranty...

And how would it "break" in a way that was covered under warranty?

 

[viper2ko]

And how would it "break" in a way that was covered under warranty?

Prey that it fails. Rip it open and fry that cpu

 

[BigD0g]

It's 5ghz WIFI not 5G cellular.

 

[viper2ko]

Retrofit should be possible IMO. The question is whether Tesla will do it. The spokesperson for Tesla confirmed the new MCU, but said "it has little impact on the user experience". Clearly they dont see this as a major change, which it is.