Need advice re: MCU

[johnyoung1234]

I have a 2013 Model S and the touchscreen is causing me all sorts of problems. It's been in and out of service 3 times in recent months for the touchscreen and the last time they replaced the daughter board. Everything was ok after the daughter board replacement but now the screen is starting to delaminate/bubble. My car is at the service center and the options they are giving me are to either (a) pay $800 for a replacement touchscreen or (b) do the infotainment upgrade for $2500 minus a refund for the daughter board which I just paid for.

I'm torn about what to do since this is a 2013 and does not have any self-driving features. I love the car but is it dumb to pay for the upgraded MCU or start thinking about trading it in?

 

[AustinP]

I plan on keeping mine (2015) at least two more years. I had to replace the MCU1 last year, so financially it’s not wise to upgrade to MCU2.
Still I’m tempted because it’d give me the feeling of having a new car.
But then again, I’d probably not notice the difference once the “new toy” moments have passed.
I hope Tesla will give clarity on cost and option(s) on battery replacement. If the deals are good, I’ll keep even longer, beyond the 8 year warranty the car and then probably upgrade to MCU2.

So what I’m saying: depends on your plan. If you plan on keeping the car for a few more years, and you have the financial means, it’d be more satisfying to go with the MCU2.

 

[AustinP]

Also to know:
You will lose AM/FM for 2500$. There is an additional 500$ to get that again.
And there is currently a problem with the rear camera, which is very dark at night. Supposed to be fixed some day by software, but not yet.
And finally: Tesla recently acknowledged the issue, you might be electable to free resolution. Ask your SeC.

 

[murphyS90D]

MCU2 works better than MCU1 did when my car was brand new. The browser now works all of the time, not just for 10 minutes after a reboot. It supports 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi which MCU1 does not.

 

[beatle]

MCU2 also has some pretty terrible DSP problems affecting the sound quality of the stereo from what I've read.

As for trading it in on a newer model, keep in mind that depreciation on a newer vehicle will often smoke the repair costs + depreciation of an older vehicle (to a point). Of course there is value in having a newer vehicle, but only you can assess what that value is vs. the cost differential.

 

[Plasmid_Boy]

I have a 2013 Model S and the touchscreen is causing me all sorts of problems. It's been in and out of service 3 times in recent months for the touchscreen and the last time they replaced the daughter board. Everything was ok after the daughter board replacement but now the screen is starting to delaminate/bubble. My car is at the service center and the options they are giving me are to either (a) pay $800 for a replacement touchscreen or (b) do the infotainment upgrade for $2500 minus a refund for the daughter board which I just paid for.

I'm torn about what to do since this is a 2013 and does not have any self-driving features. I love the car but is it dumb to pay for the upgraded MCU or start thinking about trading it in?

I did the MCU2 upgrade on a 2014 P85+ and daughterboard swap on a 2015 70D. They are both good options, IMO. But in your case, I would go with the MCU2 upgrade.

 

[BrownOuttaSpec]

It's all up to you and your budget. If you do the upgrade keep in mind the following that may also change (List I have gathered from various other posts on this forum).

Potential other improvements

• Clearer Screen with more accurate colors on your Instrument cluster
• Faster response of volume changing using the steering wheel control
  
• Faster response of voice commands

Potential other downsides

• Much darker backup camera image (improved with the physical install of the newer camera but not included in the upgrade)
  
• Degrade of sound quality from UHF sound package (And equalizer only goes to 8)
• Loss of FM Radio unless you pay for an additional $500