The local Service Center is working with me for an official, Tesla-approved and Tesla-installed digital FM / XM radio for our 2017 Model S with MCU2 upgrade. I will update as / when the pieces fall into place.
Bonus - the Service Rep checked the Tesla guidelines, it seems Tesla will provide XM if the car has an XM antenna. That's only available with the Panoramic roof (sunroof that can be opened). When I started this quest, the policy was XM would only be offered if the car had XM when delivered - UHFS + Panoramic roof. I had argued that if a Tesla car has an XM antenna, providing an XM-capable digital radio would make the customer happy. More importantly, additional Tesla customer XM subscriptions would increase the company's royalty income.
The Service Center said I would be their first customer to get this. They're allowing a few weeks for parts delivery, installation will likely be after Thanksgiving. They've been good listeners, courteous and patient throughout the process. They also faithfully and consistently followed Tesla policy. I found that frustrating but understandable.
You don't have to read the history behind this.
Why: Our older daughter really wants to have FM radio in the car. I share the 2017 Model S with our nearby daughter and her husband. They pay 50% of all costs so we try to agree on changes. Her husband, their children and I were eager to upgrade to MCU2 when I pulled the FSD trigger to graduate from AP 2.0 to AP 3. No EMMC worries - we had the first forced reboot, faster map build, Senty & Dashcam, more games.
First Try: I ordered a Model S digital FM / XM radio from the Service Center parts desk, through my iPhone Tesla app. Looked up appropriate part number in Tesla's online parts catalog. Bought the TeslaTap-suggested adapter cable on eBay. Watched YouTube videos on interior disassembly for radio access. The evening before the upgrade appointment I collected my metric sockets and socket extenders, then went to work.
The car has Pano Sunroof but no UHFS. I figured it might have the XM antenna since Tesla probably didn't want to stock two different wire harnesses for Pano cars. I discovered the XM antenna connectors neatly coiled near the original FM / AM analog radio.
It wasn't quite as hard as I had feared. The adapter cable worked well. I uncoiled the XM connectors and plugged the FM and XM antennae into the digital radio once I had that installed. I ran the adapter's digital connection to the back of the MCU1. Didn't reassemble the trim since the Tesla Tech would simply have to remove it as step 1 of their project.
Don't Cry: When I brought the car to the Service Center for the upgrades, I explained that I had installed a digital radio. Asked them to plug in the digital audio cable while installing the MCU2.The service writer was a bit puzzled. Finally gave them the TeslaTap URL - the fellow was excited. Apparently a lot of customers were looking for a way to upgrade and keep at least some radio.
When the car was done, the service writer explained that Tesla policy said they could not enable the digital radio because it had not been installed by Tesla, and the adapter was a safety risk. They also said that they would only enable FM in any scenario, since the car was not sold with XM enabled.
Second Try, It Didn't Fly: Some time after the upgrade, it was time for the S two-year service. I included "enable Tesla digital FM / XM radio" in the list. Again, was politely told that Tesla would not do that because they had not installed the radio, and the adapter was not a Tesla part.
Third Try - Better Outcome: When I heard of the Europe option for digital radio with MCU2 upgrade, I decided to try again Used the app to request they install a Tesla adapter and then enable the Tesla digital radio I had purchased from their parts department. After semi-promising back-and-forth via text, in mid-morning I got a 2:00 PM appointment that afternoon. The car never made it into the garage. The service writer spent a lot of time cycling among me, the mechanics, the supervisor and possibly Fremont.
They finally found a path to satisfy my request and follow Tesla policy. The downside is I will have an unused Tesla Model S digital FM / XM radio to sell on eBay.
Stay tuned! (pun intended, no regrets)
Bonus - the Service Rep checked the Tesla guidelines, it seems Tesla will provide XM if the car has an XM antenna. That's only available with the Panoramic roof (sunroof that can be opened). When I started this quest, the policy was XM would only be offered if the car had XM when delivered - UHFS + Panoramic roof. I had argued that if a Tesla car has an XM antenna, providing an XM-capable digital radio would make the customer happy. More importantly, additional Tesla customer XM subscriptions would increase the company's royalty income.
The Service Center said I would be their first customer to get this. They're allowing a few weeks for parts delivery, installation will likely be after Thanksgiving. They've been good listeners, courteous and patient throughout the process. They also faithfully and consistently followed Tesla policy. I found that frustrating but understandable.
You don't have to read the history behind this.
Why: Our older daughter really wants to have FM radio in the car. I share the 2017 Model S with our nearby daughter and her husband. They pay 50% of all costs so we try to agree on changes. Her husband, their children and I were eager to upgrade to MCU2 when I pulled the FSD trigger to graduate from AP 2.0 to AP 3. No EMMC worries - we had the first forced reboot, faster map build, Senty & Dashcam, more games.
First Try: I ordered a Model S digital FM / XM radio from the Service Center parts desk, through my iPhone Tesla app. Looked up appropriate part number in Tesla's online parts catalog. Bought the TeslaTap-suggested adapter cable on eBay. Watched YouTube videos on interior disassembly for radio access. The evening before the upgrade appointment I collected my metric sockets and socket extenders, then went to work.
The car has Pano Sunroof but no UHFS. I figured it might have the XM antenna since Tesla probably didn't want to stock two different wire harnesses for Pano cars. I discovered the XM antenna connectors neatly coiled near the original FM / AM analog radio.
It wasn't quite as hard as I had feared. The adapter cable worked well. I uncoiled the XM connectors and plugged the FM and XM antennae into the digital radio once I had that installed. I ran the adapter's digital connection to the back of the MCU1. Didn't reassemble the trim since the Tesla Tech would simply have to remove it as step 1 of their project.
Don't Cry: When I brought the car to the Service Center for the upgrades, I explained that I had installed a digital radio. Asked them to plug in the digital audio cable while installing the MCU2.The service writer was a bit puzzled. Finally gave them the TeslaTap URL - the fellow was excited. Apparently a lot of customers were looking for a way to upgrade and keep at least some radio.
When the car was done, the service writer explained that Tesla policy said they could not enable the digital radio because it had not been installed by Tesla, and the adapter was a safety risk. They also said that they would only enable FM in any scenario, since the car was not sold with XM enabled.
Second Try, It Didn't Fly: Some time after the upgrade, it was time for the S two-year service. I included "enable Tesla digital FM / XM radio" in the list. Again, was politely told that Tesla would not do that because they had not installed the radio, and the adapter was not a Tesla part.
Third Try - Better Outcome: When I heard of the Europe option for digital radio with MCU2 upgrade, I decided to try again Used the app to request they install a Tesla adapter and then enable the Tesla digital radio I had purchased from their parts department. After semi-promising back-and-forth via text, in mid-morning I got a 2:00 PM appointment that afternoon. The car never made it into the garage. The service writer spent a lot of time cycling among me, the mechanics, the supervisor and possibly Fremont.
They finally found a path to satisfy my request and follow Tesla policy. The downside is I will have an unused Tesla Model S digital FM / XM radio to sell on eBay.
Stay tuned! (pun intended, no regrets)
