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Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2 for $2500 [$1500 as of Jan 21, 2020]

Charliek

Member
Oct 20, 2017
96
67
Vriginia
HI mines an April '17 build and I had purchased FSD when it was in that 2K "sale" after taking ownership. you will have to shell out the $2500 for the MCU2, good news is HDW3 board upgrade comes "free" with FSD if you had bought it but you really need MCU2 to get the most out of it . I know some folks who kept MCU1 but did the HDW 3 upgrade. you run the risk of our cars having the Dreaded MCU 1 . failure ( see the other threads on this) . I would recommend doing the MCU2 and HDW3 together. you wont regret it if you plan on using AP, NOA, and FSD when they roll out the latest stuff. I have it and it essentially made mine as good as a 2020 car ( less the battery and better efficiency with the motors and a few other thngs). other wise it feel s and visualizes like new!. did I mention the browser actually works and you get wifiG ( worth it right there)
 
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st50maint

Member
Jun 28, 2015
377
496
New York
Tesla canceled my upgrade appointment because my 2015 70D has a manual liftgate.
They suggested calling back in December to see if the upgrade is available.
 

steph2021

Member
Oct 5, 2020
7
0
Houston, Texas
HI mines an April '17 build and I had purchased FSD when it was in that 2K "sale" after taking ownership. you will have to shell out the $2500 for the MCU2, good news is HDW3 board upgrade comes "free" with FSD if you had bought it but you really need MCU2 to get the most out of it . I know some folks who kept MCU1 but did the HDW 3 upgrade. you run the risk of our cars having the Dreaded MCU 1 . failure ( see the other threads on this) . I would recommend doing the MCU2 and HDW3 together. you wont regret it if you plan on using AP, NOA, and FSD when they roll out the latest stuff. I have it and it essentially made mine as good as a 2020 car ( less the battery and better efficiency with the motors and a few other thngs). other wise it feel s and visualizes like new!. did I mention the browser actually works and you get wifiG ( worth it right there)

Thanks for your response! The guy at the service center the latest update they can do for my car is AP 2.5. I guess maybe to avoid the risk of our cars having the dreaded MCU1 failure? Will upgrading to MCU2 give me access to the dash cam footages? I currently have to call Tesla if I want any footage.
 

steph2021

Member
Oct 5, 2020
7
0
Houston, Texas
FSD will work with MCU/1 it's just that you won't get all of the visuals. MCU/2 that is part of the Infotainment Ugrade Package is NOT free and is not a warranty replacement for MCU/1. It's an optional $2500 if you want it (to continue to use radio will be extra on top of the $2500).

Check out this link for details = Infotainment Upgrade

Here is my review when I had it done back in March of 2020 = Tesla confirms infotainment system upgradeability from MCU1 to MCU2 for $2500

Thanks for your response!
 

N8Howell33

Member
Jan 22, 2018
273
199
Salem, OR
Thanks for your response! The guy at the service center the latest update they can do for my car is AP 2.5. I guess maybe to avoid the risk of our cars having the dreaded MCU1 failure? Will upgrading to MCU2 give me access to the dash cam footages? I currently have to call Tesla if I want any footage.
I recently bought a used 2017 75s from Tesla and got a message my car is ready for 3.0 HW upgrade. I have MCU 1 and AP 2.5 currently.
 

Akikiki

A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
Nov 26, 2012
6,324
4,452
Kaneohe, HI
FM RADIO IS BACK $ 500.
Tesla brings back radio (yes, radio!) for $500 with infotainment retrofit - Electrek

Infotainment Upgrade
Is there any way to keep access to AM, FM and Sirius XM radio?
Yes. Later in Q4 2020, Tesla will offer an additional Radio Upgrade, including the installation of a compatible radio tuner and antennas, that will allow customers to retain access to FM radio and Sirius XM radio. It is not possible to retain access to AM radio.

My vehicle has already undergone an Infotainment Upgrade. Is it possible for me to purchase the Radio Upgrade?
Yes. The purchase and installation of the Radio Upgrade will be available for vehicles that have already undergone Infotainment Upgrade. For vehicles that have not yet undergone an Infotainment Upgrade, we recommend having both the Infotainment Upgrade and Radio Upgrade installation performed at the same time. The Radio Upgrade costs an additional $500 plus applicable tax, and there is no difference in price if you have the Radio Upgrade and Infotainment Upgrade installed separately or together.
 

brkaus

Well-Known Member
Jul 8, 2014
7,633
6,163
Austin, TX
Thanks for your response! The guy at the service center the latest update they can do for my car is AP 2.5. I guess maybe to avoid the risk of our cars having the dreaded MCU1 failure? Will upgrading to MCU2 give me access to the dash cam footages? I currently have to call Tesla if I want any footage.

yes, it should give access.

mcu1 with HW2.5 (or FSD HW3.0) should give you access to the videos if you pull the usb drive and put it in a computer.

I get the recordings with MCU1& HW3. Just cannot view on the screen in the car.
 

cousin_IT

Member
Oct 27, 2020
167
127
Netherlands
Just bought a 2nd hand P90DL with AP1 and MCU1. Still original eMMC and 3G connectivity. I consider paying for the MCU2 as it would solve both the eMMC and 3G issue (3G will be switched off in the Netherlands end of next year) and de-risk the dreaded screen leakage.

I don’t think there are that many extras in MCU2 that I would benefit of but the extended support lifetime is still of interest. At some point Tesla will stop maintaining MCU1.

the only reason why I’m holding back is that I’d like a 5G upgrade too but since I haven’t heard anyone talking about this I assume this is not in the cards.
 

galvatron

Member
Mar 15, 2020
88
56
98012
FM RADIO IS BACK $ 500.
Tesla brings back radio (yes, radio!) for $500 with infotainment retrofit - Electrek

Infotainment Upgrade
Is there any way to keep access to AM, FM and Sirius XM radio?
Yes. Later in Q4 2020, Tesla will offer an additional Radio Upgrade, including the installation of a compatible radio tuner and antennas, that will allow customers to retain access to FM radio and Sirius XM radio. It is not possible to retain access to AM radio.

My vehicle has already undergone an Infotainment Upgrade. Is it possible for me to purchase the Radio Upgrade?
Yes. The purchase and installation of the Radio Upgrade will be available for vehicles that have already undergone Infotainment Upgrade. For vehicles that have not yet undergone an Infotainment Upgrade, we recommend having both the Infotainment Upgrade and Radio Upgrade installation performed at the same time. The Radio Upgrade costs an additional $500 plus applicable tax, and there is no difference in price if you have the Radio Upgrade and Infotainment Upgrade installed separately or together.

YES!!!!!!!!!! I’m so glad they listen to consumer feedback/complaints!

Now the wait begins for this option to be orderable! There are only 2 months left in Q4. Any guesses when this will actually happen?
 

MorrisonHiker

S 100D 2021.4.12
Mar 8, 2015
9,203
8,338
Colorado
FM RADIO IS BACK $ 500.
Tesla brings back radio (yes, radio!) for $500 with infotainment retrofit - Electrek

Infotainment Upgrade
Is there any way to keep access to AM, FM and Sirius XM radio?
Yes. Later in Q4 2020, Tesla will offer an additional Radio Upgrade, including the installation of a compatible radio tuner and antennas, that will allow customers to retain access to FM radio and Sirius XM radio. It is not possible to retain access to AM radio.

My vehicle has already undergone an Infotainment Upgrade. Is it possible for me to purchase the Radio Upgrade?
Yes. The purchase and installation of the Radio Upgrade will be available for vehicles that have already undergone Infotainment Upgrade. For vehicles that have not yet undergone an Infotainment Upgrade, we recommend having both the Infotainment Upgrade and Radio Upgrade installation performed at the same time. The Radio Upgrade costs an additional $500 plus applicable tax, and there is no difference in price if you have the Radio Upgrade and Infotainment Upgrade installed separately or together.
@bob_p should be happy to hear this news.

Personally, I was 100% for upgrading the radio when I had the update done 4 months ago. I'm still WFH and drive a lot less these days so I'm on the fence about getting the upgrade done now.
 
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boaterva

Supporting Member
Apr 2, 2016
7,562
3,736
Northern Virginia, USA
Wonder what hardware they are using, as the original tuner replacement was the hard to install hardware that would include AM, from what we've read here. I assume this new install/upgrade/retrofit/whatever is some substitute hardware in a different location? Wonder why it can't/doesn't include AM.
 

brkaus

Well-Known Member
Jul 8, 2014
7,633
6,163
Austin, TX
Wonder what hardware they are using, as the original tuner replacement was the hard to install hardware that would include AM, from what we've read here. I assume this new install/upgrade/retrofit/whatever is some substitute hardware in a different location? Wonder why it can't/doesn't include AM.

I bet they are just making up for it by charging $500. $250 labor on a $250 part they are already making a profit on.

Why no AM? Business choice when selecting the digital tuner chip. AM is getting a bit harder to come by.
 
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MP3Mike

Well-Known Member
Feb 1, 2016
14,978
31,853
Oregon
Wonder what hardware they are using, as the original tuner replacement was the hard to install hardware that would include AM, from what we've read here. I assume this new install/upgrade/retrofit/whatever is some substitute hardware in a different location? Wonder why it can't/doesn't include AM.

They are just putting in the same tuner that came in cars originally equipped with MCU2s. And those cars have never had AM support.

It is in exactly the same spot. So they will take out the old analog tuner and replace it with the new MCU2 compatible digital tuner. (Probably with new wiring from it to the MCU.)
 
Last edited:

Akikiki

A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
Nov 26, 2012
6,324
4,452
Kaneohe, HI
Just bought a 2nd hand P90DL with AP1 and MCU1. Still original eMMC and 3G connectivity. I consider paying for the MCU2 as it would solve both the eMMC and 3G issue (3G will be switched off in the Netherlands end of next year) and de-risk the dreaded screen leakage.

@cousin_IT, what is your car's build date? And just got it? If your car was built after April 2015, I believe you have LTE. It was first showing up in cars here in USofA, in late March 2015. So should be at least about the same time in Netherlands. It could be you are currently just driving in a LTE weak area and only getting a 3G signal, so all of us would think the car is 3G. I think it simply depends on your car's build date.
 
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cousin_IT

Member
Oct 27, 2020
167
127
Netherlands
@cousin_IT, what is your car's build date? And just got it? If your car was built after April 2015, I believe you have LTE. It was first showing up in cars here in USofA, in late March 2015. So should be at least about the same time in Netherlands. It could be you are currently just driving in a LTE weak area and only getting a 3G signal, so all of us would think the car is 3G. I think it simply depends on your car's build date.

The car is built around September 2015 but no 4G or LTE to be found. It just says 3G on the display. I thought it would have LTE based on the build date but unless it's a setting I'm not aware of I'm SOL
 

boaterva

Supporting Member
Apr 2, 2016
7,562
3,736
Northern Virginia, USA
They are just putting in the same tuner that came in cars originally equipped with MCU2s. And those cars have never had AM support.

It is in exactly the same spot. So they will take out the old analog tuner and replace it with the new MCU2 compatible digital tuner. (Probably with new wiring from it to the MCU.)
So why not have AM work also? I thought people who had done this themselves had everything working (perhaps I'm misremembering something... :D ).
 

Akikiki

A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
Nov 26, 2012
6,324
4,452
Kaneohe, HI
The car is built around September 2015 but no 4G or LTE to be found. It just says 3G on the display. I thought it would have LTE based on the build date but unless it's a setting I'm not aware of I'm SOL
@cousin_IT, Sept '15. I am confident enough for both of us that you have LTE. There is no setting that you can change. You are not doing anything wrong. Its must simply be a weak signal for LTE and falls back to 3G in the area where you are. I would not worry about it. If you took your car in to a SC for the LTE upgrade, they are going to tell you, that you already have it. I am 99% sure.
 
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