OTA updates. Friend or foe? Who's car is it any way?

[MichaelMuni]

displayed after you install the update, right?

Wrong. At the bottom of the tesla mobile app when you get a new update there is a link showing the release notes for you to see before installing the update.

 

[Battpower]

Wrong. At the bottom of the tesla mobile app when you get a new update there is a link showing the release notes for you to see before installing the update.

I will check that out again. After you click on 'Install Update'?

Still doesn't guarantee improvement, but if there is a detailed statement of all features and how they will perform on my specific car, that would be something.

 

[MichaelMuni]

Tesla App Update 4.15.3 Release Notes

Tesla app update 4.15.3 includes Minor Fixes.

www.notateslaapp.com

 

[Battpower]

Tesla App Update 4.15.3 Release Notes

Tesla app update 4.15.3 includes Minor Fixes.

www.notateslaapp.com

Ok, so not a feature I get unless I allow radar to be disabled. And not a feature previously available.

But good to know that the ability to view release notes before installing has been added.

However, that kinda emphasizes my concern that it's such hard work trying to keep up with the interaction between all the elements at play. I bought a car with radar. Why should knowing what's in an upcoming update be linked to me having to give up radar functionality?

 

[MichaelMuni]

Didnt they say they disabled radar because it was a crutch and causing conflicts?
I would rather go with safety over having radar just for the sake of having radar.

 

[richrootes]

I don’t recall seeing any release notes regarding crippling my supercharging speed, nor when they removed the ionizer button - so it’s been stuck on whatever setting it had for years now

I believe there should be two release streams - one for critical security fixes, and another for new features - and you should be free to accept or reject either. You should also be given the option to go back an incremental release stage - because if you get a nasty UI surprise, you should be able to say, ‘nope, that doesn’t work for me, I’ll revert thanks’

 

[Battpower]

There are many threads that discuss that. [Removing radar support pro's and cons] My take is that yes, Tesla's implementation of radar combined with vision caused phantom braking.

Their 'fix' was essentially to switch to a vision only solution to try and synthesise or obfuscate radar's role and hopefully get rid of radar's contribution to phantom braking.

From what I can see, so far the switch to vision only brings its own issues that also lead to phantom braking but under different circumstances. In to the bargain there are other regressions such as being obliged to have the car control headlights and wipers - again bringing new problems.

Until I see a body of owners who drive in similar conditions as I do reporting consistent satisfactory operation, I'm better off sticking with behavior I'm at least familiar with.

 

[MichaelMuni]

I don’t recall seeing any release notes regarding crippling my supercharging speed, nor when they removed the ionizer button - so it’s been stuck on whatever setting it had for years now

They probably disabled it for all cars; ionizers are harmful to your health as they create ozone.

 

[MichaelMuni]

There are many threads that discuss that. [Removing radar support pro's and cons] My take is that yes, Tesla's implementation of radar combined with vision caused phantom braking.

There 'fix' was essentially to switch to a vision only solution to try and synthesise or obfuscate radar's role and hopefully get rid of radar's contribution to phantom braking.

From what I can see, so far the switch to vision only brings its own issues that also lead to phantom braking but under different circumstances. In to the bargain there are other regressions such as being obliged to have the car control headlights and wipers - again bringing new problems.

Until I see a body of owners who drive in similar conditions as I do reporting consistent satisfactory operation, I'm better off sticking with behavior I'm at least familiar with.

The problem is the radars they used had no real detail. It would be like having someon sitting behind you and whenever they sense something near by they kick your seat and yell a distance like "25 Feet". After a short amount of time you will tell the person to stop that or get out.

 

[ianc]

"The problem is the radars they used had no real detail."

Radar can also see solid objects through opaque conditions like darkness, fog, haze and snow which cameras cannot. Competent coders should have been able to combine features of both radar and cameras to enhance safety. I guess it was just cheaper to discontinue it though...

Or did I read that they're now going to bring it back?

 

[Battpower]

Not sure if we know for sure about return of radar. Looks possible a high res module is planned early next year.

EM did previously acknowledge a role for hi res, but of course no word on where that leaves previous version radar cars. If radar needed for FSD and also if I purchased a car that needed functional radar to deliver car features, then seems like another item to add to the list of needed retro fits.

 

[LadyOnikara]

Since I have used Microsoft Windows since the beginning, I'm kinda used to updates that fix some things and break others. Same thing with Minecraft. Sure, neither of those are on something that you really wouldn't want to mess up too badly because it has wheels, but yep. (Can we run Minecraft on a Tesla yet? Come on, guys! That's an update we DO need!)

 

[Battpower]

I'm kinda used to updates that fix some things and break others.

And wasn't Windows 10 to be the final version?

It's all smoke and mirrors. Pending HW4 will be an attempt to put the current mess behind them. That's a lot of customers been done over. The 'recall' will hopefully force some real fixes.

 

[Battpower]

Should Tesla break out-of-warranty cars with software updates?

Intentionally bricking all out-of-warranty cars at the same time would obviously lead to a PR catastrophe and expensive lawsuits. This will never happen. But if Tesla breaks just some cars in somewhat minor ways, would not this lead to added service revenue (resolving issues) and car sales (for...

teslamotorsclub.com

I hadn't really considered this issue. But really any change to the car (like increased use of cabin camera interfering with GPS function) combined with Tesla's SC ineptitude and policy of diagnostic fees to identify fixes could make for a grim out of warranty experience.