MCU2 - Retrofit

[CK_Stuggi]

Ok, even if it's not complicated, that still leaves the issue of cost. How much are the parts, the time and are there enough people willing to upgrade at a price at which Tesla makes a profit off the procedure?
Is it straightforward enough that software functionality is guaranteed (also in the future)?
While I'd totally upgrade for somewhere around a thousand bucks, I wouldn't for two. I'd love to have a snappier MCU, but not at a price far beyond a cellphone upgrade.

BTW the Elon tweet was indeterminate whether it was about technical feasibility or an actually intended upgrade by the company. One could read it both ways. And a short time later they brought out a significantly sped up UI software update which made most people sufficiently happy to not ask for a hardware upgrade.

 

[whitex]

My thoughts are now MCU2 is part of AP3 upgrade.

No sense to do only one of them at a time on the older cars.

Yep, it will be offered to all cars which are still under bumper to bumper warranty as soon as FSD is fully functional as per Tesla website descriptions and Elon's tweets.

 

[whitex]

All bets kinda off with Elon and twitter after the “funding secured” debacle.

Really, because before the "funding secured" he delivered on everything he tweeted?

 

[brkaus]

Yep, it will be offered to all cars which are still under bumper to bumper warranty as soon as FSD is fully functional as per Tesla website descriptions and Elon's tweets.

What does it have to do with bumper to bumper warranty?

 

[HankLloydRight]

My thoughts are now MCU2 is part of AP3 upgrade.

No sense to do only one of them at a time on the older cars.

Why are you so stuck on the MCU2 upgrade? It makes no sense to do an MCU2 upgrade when upgrading to AP3, since they are completely independent systems and AP3 does not require MCU2 to function.

Why would Tesla go through the extensive R&D to design and build an MCU1->MCU2 retrofit package when so few people would pay for it (as discussed above)? They designed AP2 and AP2.5 to be a separate, swappable unit when AP3 is released. And a hypothetical MCU2 upgrade is much more involved with replacing or interfacing the IC as well as the upgraded antennas and harnesses. If the MCU1 works perfectly fine with AP3, why would they do that?

 

[HankLloydRight]

as soon as FSD is fully functional as per Tesla website descriptions and Elon's tweets.

Oh, so the middle of the next decade? By then there will be a Model S/X interior refresh and a different MCU altogether (MCU3?), and no IC. And it will likely be AP4 or AP4.5 by then, too.

 

[steinermeister]

Still puzzled why this thread has a title of 'confirmed' in it...it's anything but.

 

[lunitiks]

Still puzzled why this thread has a title of 'confirmed' in it...it's anything but.

It was NOT me. Some moderator felt he/she was above me and added it to my thread title

 

[verygreen]

Why would Tesla go through the extensive R&D to design and build an MCU1->MCU2 retrofit package when so few people would pay for it

they don't need to do that. They already designed MCU2 to be connector-compatible to MCU1 (so that they can just pick and choose a moment for the migration? note there are some Feb 28 cars on MCU2 and some on MCU1 - so they did not need to stop the line, they just exhausted their MCU1 stock and seamlessly switched to MCU2 stock without missing a beat. Unlike some other updates that did result in a few days of the line downtime)

 

[HankLloydRight]

they don't need to do that. They already designed MCU2 to be connector-compatible to MCU1 (so that they can just pick and choose a moment for the migration? note there are some Feb 28 cars on MCU2 and some on MCU1 - so they did not need to stop the line, they just exhausted their MCU1 stock and seamlessly switched to MCU2 stock without missing a beat. Unlike some other updates that did result in a few days of the line downtime)

What about the differences in the IC (no dedicated computer, different screen) and the wifi/BT antennas and the wiring harnesses? It's not just plug-and-play, no matter how many times you claim it is.

Has anyone actually just swapped a "plug compatible" MCU1 for MCU2?

 

[pilotSteve]

@verygreen, thank you for providing us precious hard data about upgrades and system operation. Your work and posting is very much appreciated!!

 

[CK_Stuggi]

The "confirmed" tag came in the day of Elons tweet "hardware is upgradeable" [etc.], which someone must have misread as "the company will offer an upgrade", which it clearly did not mean (or maybe a statement from some SeC employee, which is essentially worthless)..

Now the fact that MCU2 has a vastly better performance and 5GHz WiFi does not mean it only works if connected to a mirror assembly with 5GHz and external Bluetooth antenna. It needs power and if it can be hooked up to either a Tegra 2 or a display only IC, that's fine. If on top of that the software is written in such a way that this rare combination does not cause problems, the only thing stopping me from getting one off eBay would be wasting my warranty, if it would.
Of course it would be better if one could just bribe a service tech to do it, like when switching out a yellow-bordered center display.
Absolute best would be Tesla just offering the upgrade.
That lag is killer, but unfortunately I'm not rich enough to just order yet another new car.

 

[verygreen]

What about the differences in the IC (no dedicated computer, different screen) and the wifi/BT antennas and the wiring harnesses? It's not just plug-and-play, no matter how many times you claim it is.

Has anyone actually just swapped a "plug compatible" MCU1 for MCU2?

You need to swap both MCU and IC (I already mentioned that), they come as a pair.

The wifi/bt connectors are compatible on the wiring harness. Look at the picture of the connectors on mcu2 and mcu1 if you don't believe me.

There's a bit of a shortage of freely available mcu2+IC2 units at the moment, but once they become more available you'll see some retrofits, I am sure.

 

[HankLloydRight]

There's a bit of a shortage of freely available mcu2+IC2 units at the moment, but once they become more available you'll see some retrofits, I am sure.

And when they do become available from salvage cars, assuming they're in good working order-- what's the cost going to be? $3k, $4k for the parts, plus installation, which requires taking the entire dash and IC apart. Even if it is swappable (which I'm not convinced it's possible as "plug and play" -- are the mounting holes and brackets identical for the IC?), it's still a lot of dough for a marginal increase in UI performance. So far, there still aren't any MCU2 specific features not available on MCU1.

 

[chillaban]

And when they do become available from salvage cars, assuming they're in good working order-- what's the cost going to be? $3k, $4k for the parts, plus installation, which requires taking the entire dash and IC apart. Even if it is swappable (which I'm not convinced it's possible as "plug and play" -- are the mounting holes and brackets identical for the IC?), it's still a lot of dough for a marginal increase in UI performance. So far, there still aren't any MCU2 specific features not available on MCU1.

5GHz wifi is honestly the thing I'm most excited about, assuming that doesn't require a mirror housing module swap. If you live in a dense metropolitan area like this, all 2.4GHZ channels are at least 80-90% occupied, and that makes it difficult to fetch any updates no matter how close you stick an AP to the car.

 

[Fiver]

As much as I hate V9, it is faster on MCU1.

 

[verygreen]

And when they do become available from salvage cars, assuming they're in good working order-- what's the cost going to be? $3k, $4k for the parts, plus installation, which requires taking the entire dash and IC apart. Even if it is swappable (which I'm not convinced it's possible as "plug and play" -- are the mounting holes and brackets identical for the IC?), it's still a lot of dough for a marginal increase in UI performance. So far, there still aren't any MCU2 specific features not available on MCU1.

Tesla cost for MCU2 is $2800 or so I think? ebay prices for mcu1 dropped to sub $1k nowadays, so might be same eventually for mcu2 as supply increases. IC is much cheaper at $300.
You don't need any other parts. There is labor and there is knowhow (for 3rd party installs) that would cost money of course. Replacing IC is not a big deal all by itself.

This is what it takes to replace the mcu:

Overall sub $5k for the whole thing even at retail by my estimation.

 

[whitex]

What does it have to do with bumper to bumper warranty?

A cut off so that they don't have to retrofit really old cars. Cost of retrofitting old cars for FSD is really high (for self-driving, the car has to be 100% functional, nothing can be off, not even wheel alignment or wipers, since the car will be driving without a driver).

I was being facetious btw. IMO FSD is not happening for a while and never happening on any Tesla cars sold to-date. When I say FSD I mean summon across the country as described by Elon, or "using self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family" as described in the Design Studio.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Tesla cost for MCU2 is $2800 or so I think? ebay prices for mcu1 dropped to sub $1k nowadays, so might be same eventually for mcu2 as supply increases. IC is much cheaper at $300.

If one can just go to Tesla and buy an MCU2 and IC for ~$3500 why hasn't anyone done it yet? Especially those people capable of doing the instal themselves?

 

[lunitiks]

Not worth it?