Service advisor telling me I can ONLY use USB key and not USB drive with cable

[noahk]

I just got my MCU replaced (MCU2). The SA is telling me this is because there was a reboot loop (which apparently caused all sorts of issues). He explained that it was due to MCU data corruption and it is very time consuming for Tesla to repair the data corruption so they just choose to replace the MCU. He blamed the MCU data corruption on my USB drive that I use for Sentry mode (SSD 120GB USB3 TB Rugged drive from LaCie). The drive was disconnected when I dropped off the car for service.

He is telling me that the only drive I can use is one that matches Tesla's recommendation (which my drive does match). He also says that it must be a USB key and not one with a cable. Has anyone ever heard of this requirement to only use a USB key?

It sounds like BS to me... but I'm in a quandary. The USB drives that I see recommend are ones just like the one I have. Samsung T5/T7. According to the SA I can't use that. I must use a shitty USB key. And does it really sound likely that they would replace an MCU instead of just factory resetting the data on the MCU if it was just data corruption?

FYI - all this started b/c the MCU had faults relating to USB which caused some issues with GPS starting up when I would start driving in the morning.

Thanks,
Noah

 

[smogne41]

Sounds like complete and total BS.

 

[beatle]

Sounds like an arbitrary excuse. What was the claimed reason for the no-cable USB drive?

I've heard of cabled drives being a requirement in some use cases (not Tesla) due to their much higher throughput and durability vs. a typical USB key, but not the other way around.

Edit: here is Tesla's page on selecting a USB drive. There's nothing in there about it being a "key,"

Model S Owner's Manual | Tesla

www.tesla.com

Here are the requirements from the page:

• Minimum storage capacity of 64 GB. Use a USB drive with as much available storage as possible. Video footage can occupy a large amount of space.
• A sustained write speed of at least 4 MB/s. Note that sustained write speed differs from peak write speed.
• USB 2.0 compatible. If using a USB 3.0 drive, it must also support USB 2.0.
• Properly formatted (described below).

The third bullet is silly. USB 3.0 devices are all backwards compatible. It's part of the standard.

 

[noahk]

Sounds like an arbitrary excuse. What was the claimed reason for the no-cable USB drive?

SA said USB drives (non USB-keys) caused problems and he wasn't very patient to explain why. He indicated that plugging in another USB drive instead of USB key was liable to break the new MCU the same way the replaced one was broken. Data corruption that would require replacement.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Sounds like complete and total BS.

Yes, agree, it is nuts. Sounds like Tesla pointing fingers.

 

[Silicon Desert]

SA said USB drives (non USB-keys) caused problems and he wasn't very patient to explain why. He indicated that plugging in another USB drive instead of USB key was liable to break the new MCU the same way the replaced one was broken. Data corruption that would require replacement.

I'm not buying that service comment. I've been using one for over year without issues.

 

[noahk]

Yes, agree, it is nuts. Sounds like Tesla pointing fingers.

Me too. The whole response is crazy. I just wish they could've said that the previous MCU had a hardware issue. That would make me feel like all these problems are over. Instead - I get this nutty response. I may head back to the service center and go see the service manager - a guy named Troy. Perhaps I can get a better explanation from him.

 

[smogne41]

SA said USB drives (non USB-keys) caused problems and he wasn't very patient to explain why. He indicated that plugging in another USB drive instead of USB key was liable to break the new MCU the same way the replaced one was broken. Data corruption that would require replacement.

Ask to see the service bulletin that states this. Or any documentation from Tesla engineering. Otherwise disregard with extreme prejudice.

 

[TunaBug]

Yes, agree, it is nuts. Sounds like Tesla pointing fingers.

It's not "Tesla" pointing fingers. Don't forget that a company is made up of individuals, some of whom aren't trained very well, not very bright, and would prefer to just spew b.s. until the customer gives up and goes away. That's not company policy regardless of the company.

I want to say it seems like Tesla does a bad job of managing out losers like that, but it seems like in the past couple of years many companies are rife with that kind of employee. It seems "post-pandemic" to me, but coocurrance is not causation. More likely it's just the younger generation now taking jobs, raised by helicopter parents that spoiled them into thinking we would be greatful merely to have them present. I am not.

 

[noahk]

Not that this relates to the USB, but since they replaced the MCU and returned my car yesterday, I got a crash on my first drive (loading up software release notes). Then I setup my profile, and all my settings got reset. Parked overnight and vehicle was on standby for 2 hours (lost 9+ miles in that time) even though Summon standby was set to Off. Then I started driving this morning and cellular was gone for the first couple minutes. Parked to see what was going on, and sentry mode was off (which I turned on yesterday before setting up my profile), cruise control and speed limit detection were gone the whole drive with some notifications about that. Not an auspicious start.
I do suspect that a bunch of settings got messed up when I enabled my profile though. It allowed me to use my Tesla account to set the profile up which I don't recall ever doing before. I'm hoping things get back to normal today after I went through every setting and toggled them to make sure the setting takes effect.

 

[Silicon Desert]

It's not "Tesla" pointing fingers. Don't forget that a company is made up of individuals, some of whom aren't trained very well, not very bright, and would prefer to just spew b.s. until the customer gives up and goes away. That's not company policy regardless of the company.

right and that is what I mean. Tesla SA

 

[noahk]

I should show this to the SA. Except my car is back now due to a coolant issue and then autopilot refusing to work… I need the SA in a good mood