My love for Tesla has taken a huge hit

[Veezer]

I know there is not much that can be done on these forums but I figured I would reach out here anyway. I have a 2016 p90d X. The MCU has been going bad just as many other peoples older vehicles have. I called service about it a couple months ago and they tried to fix it remotely and could not. They sent out a mobile rep to fix that and a door handle the fell off. He supposedly rebooted the computer and fixed it. (He also broke the door handle he was trying to put back on but thats another story.) Today almost 3 weeks later my Tesla is completely dead because the MCU will not boot up at all.

I knew this was going to happen at some point so I just took it and called Roadside assistance from Tesla. I figured to call them because they have their preferred people. They sent out two different two trucks who were both unable to tow it because they could not put the car in tow mode without access to the MCU. I had originally explained this to the roadside assistance so found it very disheartening that two different trucks came out who could not fix the problem. So 3 hours after not being able to start my car, I still can not. They're supposedly going to send a truck tomorrow sometime to get it from the parking lot it is in.

Sorry for the long-winded story but I find it awful that they knew there was a big problem with the MCU, said they fixed it when they didnt, then could not get it to a service center to get something done with it. Instead I was stranded and had to eventually get a ride back to my house by other means. I LOVE the car but this experience has completely soured me on ever owning another one. /endrant

 

[Tam]

...not much that can be done...

1) Road Assistance has a protocol or script to follow. It seldom deviates so there's no thinking allowed for the dead MCU scenario.

2) Tesla needs to update the script and include what to do with dead MCU.

3) Tow trucks don't need to operate a dead car (either electric, gasoline or Tesla) to flat tow them: They can place 4 dollies under 4 wheels to roll the car up to the truck.

I agree that Tesla should have proactively replacing your MCU prior to your car goes dead. That would be a first-class service!

 

[Veezer]

Yeah i understand that with the tow trucks. My problem was roadside sent out two different tow trucks without the proper equipment to tow it even though they knew the MCU was dead.

 

[linux-works]

tesla did not do a proper design. it was not bad parts and it was not operator error.

why they continue to get away with putting the cost of a bad design on the user - I really can't understand.

anyone who had done embedded systems and had experience saving data to flash would have predicted this.

elon's gang owns full responsibility for design faults. too bad they hide and blame the user.

this is what stops me from telling friends to buy tesla. not kidding. I will not subject a friend to this, not even in 4 years time.

 

[Tam]

Yeah i understand that with the tow trucks. My problem was roadside sent out two different tow trucks without the proper equipment to tow it even though they knew the MCU was dead.

That's because the script instructs Tesla operator to send improperly equipped tow trucks as if it's a 12V problem.

It's easy for us to work without a script but for workers who have to stick to a script that has no separate MCU scenario, going off script (doing the right thing) can have career consequences.

Most likely, MCU is being scripted as a 12V protocol and not a specific MCU protocol.

 

[Veezer]

That's because the script instructs Tesla operator to send improperly equipped tow trucks as if it's a 12V problem.

It's easy for us to work without a script but for workers who have to stick to a script that has no separate MCU scenario, going off script (doing the right thing) can have career consequences.

Most likely, MCU is being scripted as a 12V protocol and not a specific MCU protocol.

Thanks Tam. I misunderstood what you were saying. We shall see what happens tomorrow when they supposedly will send the right truck to get my stranded car.

 

[mikes_fsd]

They sent out a mobile rep to fix that and a door handle the fell off.

I'm sorry, you said you got a Model X, what door handle "fell off"?

 

[mikes_fsd]

Another thing, when MCU dies, the car remains derivable (just not enjoyable - no music, no AP1, no Nav, and AC cannot be controlled).
Did your IC unit also die?
If you could put the car into Drive, you can also put it into Neutral (partial shift into drive will put the car in Neutral) and let the tow-truck operator roll you onto the flat bed while you're in the driver seat and in Neutral.

But when you say "completely dead" sounds more than just an MCU issue.

 

[Veezer]

The bezel push button fell off. Its actually fallen off three different doors since I have had the vehicle. And you could not put the car in neutral. I had the password setting on so it will not allow you to put in neutral, drive or reverse without putting in the pass code first.

 

[Veezer]

The tow truck finally came this morning an hour later than they said. Got it to repair shop and I have to upgrade to MCU2. it sucks because I've had SiriusXM in cars for 12 years and now I'm losing it. But it is what it is.

 

[Tam]

Another thing, when MCU dies, the car remains derivable (just not enjoyable - no music, no AP1, no Nav, and AC cannot be controlled)
Did your IC unit also die?
If you could put the car into Drive, you can also put it into Neutral (partial shift into drive will put the car in Neutral) and let the tow-truck operator roll you onto the flat bed while you're in the driver seat and in Neutral.

But when you say "completely dead" sounds more than just an MCU issue.

You are thinking the same way as Tesla operators who were sticking to their scripts and sent out 2 different tow trucks unsuccessfully.

It's a well-known problem that the MCU will die some day after its use because of the life of eMMC (Embedded Multimedia Card).

It's a memory card that can be erased and written over and over for thousands of times then after a while, it'll be the end of its lifetime and it will no longer be written anymore.

That is not a problem for general public use and should last for decades but that's not true for Tesla that logs the huge amount of data on it so frequently and its life expectancy is just about when the new car warranty expires.

When the eMMC fails, depending on how serious it is, many functions still work as you described above but in other serious cases, nothing would work including charging. In that case, a routine 12V jumpstarter might not be able enough to wake your car up to unlock your doors.

 

[linux-works]

Another thing, when MCU dies, the car remains derivable

partially?

probably only works for math majors. harumph!

 

[hpartsch]

I know there is not much that can be done on these forums but I figured I would reach out here anyway. I have a 2016 p90d X. The MCU has been going bad just as many other peoples older vehicles have. I called service about it a couple months ago and they tried to fix it remotely and could not. They sent out a mobile rep to fix that and a door handle the fell off. He supposedly rebooted the computer and fixed it. (He also broke the door handle he was trying to put back on but thats another story.) Today almost 3 weeks later my Tesla is completely dead because the MCU will not boot up at all.

I knew this was going to happen at some point so I just took it and called Roadside assistance from Tesla. I figured to call them because they have their preferred people. They sent out two different two trucks who were both unable to tow it because they could not put the car in tow mode without access to the MCU. I had originally explained this to the roadside assistance so found it very disheartening that two different trucks came out who could not fix the problem. So 3 hours after not being able to start my car, I still can not. They're supposedly going to send a truck tomorrow sometime to get it from the parking lot it is in.

Sorry for the long-winded story but I find it awful that they knew there was a big problem with the MCU, said they fixed it when they didnt, then could not get it to a service center to get something done with it. Instead I was stranded and had to eventually get a ride back to my house by other means. I LOVE the car but this experience has completely soured me on ever owning another one. /endrant

File a Vehicle Safety Complaint | Safercar.gov | NHTSA

 

[Gwgan]

I have to upgrade to MCU2

Can you not get a new/refurb MCU1? There are people who can replace just the memory chip for a fraction of the price, but now that the car is at Tesla that is no longer a practical option.

 

[mikes_fsd]

The bezel push button fell off. Its actually fallen off three different doors since I have had the vehicle. And you could not put the car in neutral. I had the password setting on so it will not allow you to put in neutral, drive or reverse without putting in the pass code first.

I have over 150k on the original Model X and never had any issues with door handles of any sort... now my kids did brake the face off the middle row cup-holder (the one that slides out of the center console).

 

[Tam]

...Can you not get a new/refurb MCU1?...

Getting another MCU1 will not solve the problem of short longevity.

MCU2 addressed that problem by quadrupling the memory size.

 

[mikes_fsd]

I had the password setting on so it will not allow you to put in neutral, drive or reverse without putting in the pass code first.

I am just curious on this one, are people really that paranoid about their cars to require pin-to-drive?

 

[Gwgan]

Getting another MCU1 will not solve the problem of short longevity.

MCU2 addressed that problem by quadrupling the memory size.

Yes but newer firmware abuse the chip much less and has extended the life of these boards. If money, FM, or XM Radio are important then risking a chip replacement for another 100,000 miles might be worth it to some.

 

[Tam]

I am just curious on this one, are people really that paranoid about their cars to require pin-to-drive?

I love the option of pin-to-drive.

Prior to this, thieves could steal a Tesla in less than a minute In Europe.

Quite a few Tesla thefts happened in North America because a fob is "accidentally" left in the car.

Tesla Stores also had their Tesla cars stolen:

Tesla store raided by thieves who left with 3 cars, leading police in car chase - Electrek

From trucks:

Three arrested after Tesla cars stolen off hauler in Flint

Four Tesla cars were stolen from Utah Store because "‘Mr. Tesla’ gave her the car"

 

[mikes_fsd]

yes, I've seen the article, but there is no rampant theft of Tesla's.