Profiles Lost & "Needs service, car may not restart next time"

[jimmyz80]

My 2017 Model S (HW2.0 MCU1) just updated to 2020.48.12.1, and something alarming happened afterward. I got in the car and had a "Needs service, car may not restart next time" message, plus all of my driver profiles disappeared. "Allow Mobile Access" was also turned off and I had to re-enable it to get access back from my app.

All other settings appear to have been retained, including recent streaming radio stations, etc. I rebooted the MCU and the "needs service" message went away for now, but I'm still concerned there may be something going on. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

 

[jimmyz80]

I just did a factory reset and the streaming radio stations remained, so I suspect they are just tied to the Slacker Radio account used by the car. Should I just write this off as a hiccup in the update process that corrupted some memory, or should I be worried that my MCU is on its way out?

 

[NickFie]

I think it is a symptom of eMMC degrading. Things only get worse.

You may choose to push your luck with continued use and further glitches until the MCU is bricked and your car immobilized.

Or you can schedule service for your choice of remedies:

• eMMC / Tegra board replacement at no cost.
• $2,500 MCU2 upgrade. With additional cost options for digital radio upgrade (about $500) and FSD upgrade($? - depending on which AutoPilot features your car already has).

Finally, you could consider trading your current S in for a new(er) one, leaving the repair / upgrade issue for Tesla to handle.

 

[jimmyz80]

Argh, that's what I was worried about. I wonder how much arguing it will take to get a proactive replacement of the MCU, or if they have to wait for specific error messages/failures... I'd like to keep the car for another two years before upgrading, and don't really want to pump any extra $$ into a car I won't be keeping for long.

I wonder if Tesla will ever determine the MCU1 refurbs aren't worth it, and just cut over to MCU2 replacements. Wishful thinking...

 

[NickFie]

Argh, that's what I was worried about. I wonder how much arguing it will take to get a proactive replacement of the MCU, or if they have to wait for specific error messages/failures...

Use the smartphone app to request service for the eMMC. Include the date & time of your problem. They should be able to check car diagnostics.

If there’s an argument, wait for the next time you have a black screen. After reboot, use voice command. Say, “Bug Report! EMMC failure.” That should get the car to log the data. Then submit another request.

My guess is Tesla will respond to your first request if the diagnostic data confirms the problem. NHTSA is breathing down their neck, they don’t want a story about a driver stranded after eMMC replacement was denied.