Tesla Covering Some MCU1 Issues for Some Owners

[Durwood101]

Whats kind of funny to me is Subaru, a 2017 Outback had a similar problem with their "MCU", the center trouchscreen in wife's car....this was a known issue and Subaru replaced the entire screen, so its not like Subaru is a Tesla, but I do know this, Subaru fixed the problem....if its a problem for owners, its a problem and Tesla should fix. If Subaru can do it...........well.

 

[David.85D]

Don't forget to calculate your cost to unload the wife, as well...

She makes more than me, so not sure how the odds go...

 

[c0smicdirt]

Got a reman MCU last October and it’s been glitching out for the last couple of months. It’s been in the shop twice. They reset it and refuse to do the daughterboard replacement (I’m still under an ESA).

very frustrating. Wife now openly mocks the unreliability of the Tesla.

Wife mocks because you must have flaunted the Tesla a lot prior to the purchase and after. Same for me.

 

[c0smicdirt]

If you have emmc problem with mcu1, you get mcu2 at discounted price.

Edit: The relevant bit in Tesla announcement:

"I opted to purchase the Infotainment Upgrade, will I receive reimbursement from Tesla? 
If you paid for Tesla’s Infotainment Upgrade after Tesla Service diagnosed that your vehicle’s eMMC was malfunctioning due to accumulated wear, you may be eligible for reimbursement up to the cost of the 8GB eMMC repair available at the time of your upgrade."

Probably just $120 to $250 discount based on how much they say it costs to replace in one of the other FAQ

 

[brkaus]

I tried to pay for the daughter card and have it installed when they put in HW3. They had the car for a few days and then said they saved me a bunch of money by cleaning out the cache or something. It's worth $400 to me to not have that hanging over my head. I have 65k miles w/ no other issues.

I guess they didn't want me to come back and say they should cover it due to this new warranty change?

They did point out that MCU2 was available.

 

[David.85D]

Wife mocks because you must have flaunted the Tesla a lot prior to the purchase and after. Same for me.

She hates the acceleration, and doesn't like hard cornering so the things I love about my Tesla (plus suspension and all) are of no interest to her. But, she is extremely jealous of the heated steering wheel, of which I have said very little. The kids, though, love to make a production of it when she has to pull into a gas station. Kids today...

 

[David.85D]

They did point out that MCU2 was available.

I got this too. Of course it refutes their specious argument that nothing is wrong, since in the next breath they say that paying $2500 to $3000 for the MCU2 upgrade will cure it. And, didn't offer any discount at all on the upgrade after flat out refusing the warranty repair.

I'm going to shut up about this now, since it is just getting me peeved. Up until now, the plan was to keep my Model S until the 8 year warranty ran out. Will try to stick to that plan, leaves me to hope the MCU will be polite enough to completely fail at a not-inconvenient location, so it finally gets replaced and I don't get stranded.

 

[SO16]

I got this too. Of course it refutes their specious argument that nothing is wrong, since in the next breath they say that paying $2500 to $3000 for the MCU2 upgrade will cure it. And, didn't offer any discount at all on the upgrade after flat out refusing the warranty repair.

I'm going to shut up about this now, since it is just getting me peeved. Up until now, the plan was to keep my Model S until the 8 year warranty ran out. Will try to stick to that plan, leaves me to hope the MCU will be polite enough to completely fail at a not-inconvenient location, so it finally gets replaced and I don't get stranded.

Several People who have upgraded to MCU2 have said it breathes new life into the car. I’m keeping mine for quite some time as well. That’s why I’m upgrading it so I can enjoy better voice recognition, faster maps, Netflix, games and many other improvements.

 

[Testicle]

umm, have they tried to drive a car in the NorCal summer heat without AC?

The direction indicators don't work with this failure; not feasible to perform hand signals at 70mph down the motorway.

 

[Zuikkis]

The direction indicators don't work with this failure; not feasible to perform hand signals at 70mph down the motorway.

I just drove my car over a month with failed MCU1.

Here's some my experiences:

When you first get into car, there's a one minute delay before it allows you to drive.

After that, it takes three minutes before direction indicators start working. But they do work after that! Was not really a problem, usually just first few corners without blinkers..

A/C and heater does work, but it is stuck to the setting it was when MCU died.

In Finland driving lights or DRL's are mandatory at all times. I had headlights set to "Auto" when MCU died. For some reason the DRL's didn't work anymore, but the headlights lighted when it was dark. I placed a sticker to the windshield where the light sensor is (near rear view mirror). This way car think that it's dark and headlights are lit all the time.

 

[Barry]

Several People who have upgraded to MCU2 have said it breathes new life into the car.

Some people feel compelled to get the latest, greatest everything. Let's not forget all the people who spent $500 to upgrade from 3G to LTE. During its heyday, I got a loaner from service with LTE and didn't notice any significant difference from my 3G car. I now have LTE as a result of my MCU1 replacement and still feel that way. MCU1 works fine for me. I hardly ever use the screen while driving, other than Nav. And I wouldn't pay for the privilege of losing part of my radio. I still find AM useful.

 

[2101Guy]

MCU1 without FSD worked fine for me.
Once I went FSD? I've almost lost track of all of the documented instances of MCU1 related issues including long bootup time, screen freezing when switching to/from TuneIn, random MCU reboots, voice recognition not working approx 90% of the time ...and more.

I may be viewing this too simplistically (and if Im wrong, someone with more knowledge feel free to correct me) but appears like:
MCU1=technology from 2012 era that had enough horsepower to work fine with non FSD computer but was not designed to support the resource needs of 2020 FSD
MCU2=technology from 2017/2018 era that has far more HP/enough to adequately support both pre FSD and FSD computer

 

[JunesongProvisn]

I've been having massive issues with my MCU (typical taking forever to boot up, restart takes an eternity, intermittent blank screen, etc) and so I made an appointment.

They are now texting me asking for specific dates on the intermittent screen and won't set up an appointment without it. Like I don't log a calendar entry every time my piece of *sugar* ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR CAR has major issues. It's only five years old. I had a VW Jetta before this that never had a single issue that I can recall in the first five years. And 3/4 of my door handles don't even work at the moment.

Also the last software update that was pushed wouldn't install, took me a whole day to get it to actually work. Car was limped all day until I rebooted it enough times (which took an eternity every time, and would reboot itself too). And when it started working again, I no longer have a 3G signal. Just POOF! Gone.

**** these guys. **** this company. I was going to buy another Model S but these issues are horrendous. It's so insane that they just don't care about their customers.

Edit: These censored swear words are hilarious.

 

[SO16]

Some people feel compelled to get the latest, greatest everything. Let's not forget all the people who spent $500 to upgrade from 3G to LTE. During its heyday, I got a loaner from service with LTE and didn't notice any significant difference from my 3G car. I now have LTE as a result of my MCU1 replacement and still feel that way. MCU1 works fine for me. I hardly ever use the screen while driving, other than Nav. And I wouldn't pay for the privilege of losing part of my radio. I still find AM useful.

Then you have the option to pay the $500 yourself or go 3rd party for possibly less and keep your AM radio. Not ideal but not dead in the water to where you have to live with the issue either.

 

[SO16]

I've been having massive issues with my MCU (typical taking forever to boot up, restart takes an eternity, intermittent blank screen, etc) and so I made an appointment.

They are now texting me asking for specific dates on the intermittent screen and won't set up an appointment without it. Like I don't log a calendar entry every time my piece of *sugar* ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR CAR has major issues. It's only five years old. I had a VW Jetta before this that never had a single issue that I can recall in the first five years. And 3/4 of my door handles don't even work at the moment.

Also the last software update that was pushed wouldn't install, took me a whole day to get it to actually work. Car was limped all day until I rebooted it enough times (which took an eternity every time, and would reboot itself too). And when it started working again, I no longer have a 3G signal. Just POOF! Gone.

**** these guys. **** this company. I was going to buy another Model S but these issues are horrendous. It's so insane that they just don't care about their customers.

Edit: These censored swear words are hilarious.

The newer handles seem to be working better than the old. My car is 4 years and 56k miles and still on the same handles and no major issues. Oh, and I have spent almost 120k on mine too. It is too bad you have had so many issues but to compare the 2020 version to the 2015 version is quite different.

The MCU issue most likely can be resolved for around $500. Probably even less if done through evfixme. Not ideal but at least you don’t have to be so upset every time you drive the car.

 

[D6LC]

My car is in next week to get the daughter board replaced as a preventative measure, the SC sent me a txt saying now its under warranty do I want to leave it and wait. I appreciated them asking, I decided to still go ahead and get it done and pay for it, to me I'd rather not have the hassle of having it die and to be frank the concern of when it is about to happen. Now they are replacing the boards its a cost effective measure for peace of mind for <$500.

 

[2101Guy]

The direction indicators don't work with this failure; not feasible to perform hand signals at 70mph down the motorway.

its my understanding they actually DO work when the MCU is down, you just dont get the audible indication within the car, that they are working

 

[SO16]

its my understanding they actually DO work when the MCU is down, you just dont get the audible indication within the car, that they are working

I have read conflicting reports on this.

Im able to reset my MCU and while it’s totally black, the blinkers still work but just no sound. However, it sounds like not all MCU crashes are the same. Some have tried using the blinkers in the garage and no light shows up when their MCU is not working.

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

the yellow border is fixed with the Uv treatment.

Isn't UV treatment for skin lesions and to loosen wrinkles ? Tesla fixes are really outta this world.

 

[Barry]

Then you have the option to pay the $500 yourself or go 3rd party for possibly less and keep your AM radio. Not ideal but not dead in the water to where you have to live with the issue either.

With Tesla's recent announcement of covering the MCU design flaw repair, they exclude reimbursement for third party repairs going forward.