Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2

[houstonian]

First time I’ve heard this brought up. It’s a very good point and worth remembering.

It was kicked around in another thread - see quote below:

The peril Tesla faces is a class action arguing a subset of people who paid for FSD at the time of purchase viewed Tesla's written statements about FSD as necessary, even if not sufficient, for buying the car.

...in other words, if such a purchaser had known then what we know now (i.e. Tesla's running late on bringing FSD to the market, concerns about hardware redundancy, etc.), they would have never opted to buy the car.

FWIW I am pleased with my AP2.0, MCU1 S75D but I am also displeased with Tesla's lack of communication.

I get developing this takes time and there's a huge component of "you don't know what you don't know" but if Tesla at the very least put out quarterly updates about FSD and other items owners care about - battery limiting, MCU1 > MCU_new upgrades, etc come to mind - I think much of the justifiable angst felt by customers could be ameliorated.

tl;dr - I'm not upset complex things take time to develop, I'm upset there's no consistent communication.

If you didn't buy it, Tesla doesn't owe you anything.

While I disagree with the logic here but will add it will be much harder to prove in a court of law this [the potential to eventually secure FSD] was a verifiable, necessary factor in one's purchase decision compared to those who actually ponyed up the cash at the time of purchase.

Turning back to the topic of a MCU upgrade, I am interested in one. Since I've got a MCU1 with a known flaw via the memory chip, I'd much rather have it replaced with a quicker/better one, even if paying for it out of my own pocket.

I'd be pissed if Tesla left me no option but to replace the flawed MCU1 with another flawed MCU1 at my own expense.

Long story short: I don't mind going out of pocket for an MCU upgrade, but will greatly resent doing so just to set myself up for the same issues caused by MCU1.

 

[tpedwards]

If this does become real, one market could be those faced with a failed MCU1 due to a bad eMMC chip (@houstonian) first in line). Replace (presuming out of warranty as mine is now) MCU1 for $2,400+ or up grade to MCU2 for $3,000. I think that would be an easy choice for most even for AP0/1 owners.

 

[turtlesz]

So with Tesla stock rising to the sky I hope this MCU1 issue gets resolved. Tesla seems to have forgotten about the buyers who supported them earlier on to get to where they are today. There is no reason for a March 2018 MCU1 car to have a sluggish and slow touchscreen.

 

[viper2ko]

So with Tesla stock rising to the sky I hope this MCU1 issue gets resolved. Tesla seems to have forgotten about the buyers who supported them earlier on to get to where they are today. There is no reason for a March 2018 MCU1 car to have a sluggish and slow touchscreen.

I think we will have to wait a while or it will never come as an official upgrade from Tesla. They have a stockpile of too many refurbished MCU1 units. Maybe as those units dwindle down and become unrepairable, or they can no longer source the 10 year old hardware in it. There will defintely be an aftermarket push, once enough salvage and extra MCU2s hit the market

 

[HankLloydRight]

So with Tesla stock rising to the sky I hope this MCU1 issue gets resolved. Tesla seems to have forgotten about the buyers who supported them earlier on to get to where they are today. There is no reason for a March 2018 MCU1 car to have a sluggish and slow touchscreen.

What does the stock price, high or low, have to do with getting an official MCU1 upgrade program going?

 

[brkaus]

I think we will have to wait a while or it will never come as an official upgrade from Tesla. They have a stockpile of too many refurbished MCU1 units. Maybe as those units dwindle down and become unrepairable, or they can no longer source the 10 year old hardware in it. There will defintely be an aftermarket push, once enough salvage and extra MCU2s hit the market

where is this stockpile and exactly how many do they have?

 

[scaesare]

You can get it to turn off by doing a full 12v reset, or rebooting the gateway if you have that access. Learned that one the hard way too.... Now be aware that you can't then turn it on again... Flip side of that hard lesson

Be aware pulling 12v with a dead MCU will likely cause you to lose your fob's ability to authorize your car to drive.

 

[ucmndd]

where is this stockpile and exactly how many do they have?

It exists in @viper2ko ’s scorned mind.

 

[badboy1980]

Wtf... Elon give us the MCU upgrade you promised already!!

 

[viper2ko]

where is this stockpile and exactly how many do they

Wtf... Elon give us the MCU upgrade you promised already!!

"You can"

 

[tyson]

Be aware pulling 12v with a dead MCU will likely cause you to lose your fob's ability to authorize your car to drive.

What causes that? Have you seen the gateway not come back up after a reboot?

 

[scaesare]

The gateway on my daughter card was fine physically, but with my dead eMMC preventing my MCU from booting, I lost ability to drive after I pulled the 12v.

 

[badboy1980]

MCU1 sucks!

 

[DigAdrenaline]

MCU1 sucks!

This is the downside that isn’t talked about. As Tesla’s age, they still get updates, and those updates increase the speed that the car ages. There’s no reason for someone to be posting that a 2016-2018 car sucks, but it’s actually true. Features and functions don’t actually work anymore (hello web browser, or even reading the release notes, nevermind the coming MX problems). There’s no reason Tesla doesn’t allow upgrades, Musk even said they would/will/do, but they don’t.

At some point, this needs to become the reiterated point from a few thousand owners, so it does get fixed. I love my car, but GM/Toyota/Ford/Porsche should be seizing THIS as the Achilles heel of Tesla. It’s really the only one, and no MCU1 owner could honestly deny it, nor does Tesla have any defense for it.

It would make one heck of a commercial. Should your car really be THIS dependent on a computer? Tired of waiting for your car, for an update, for a web browser to open? We think your car should age like a car, not a computer...

Part 2. Tesla’s are fast cars. But off the track, they’re frustrating. Cue a soccer mom asking for the frozen soundtrack with a crying 2 year old. And waiting, and waiting... We think your car should last longer than a mid life crisis...

 

[badboy1980]

This is the downside that isn’t talked about. As Tesla’s age, they still get updates, and those updates increase the speed that the car ages. There’s no reason for someone to be posting that a 2016-2018 car sucks, but it’s actually true. Features and functions don’t actually work anymore (hello web browser, or even reading the release notes, nevermind the coming MX problems). There’s no reason Tesla doesn’t allow upgrades, Musk even said they would/will/do, but they don’t.

At some point, this needs to become the reiterated point from a few thousand owners, so it does get fixed. I love my car, but GM/Toyota/Ford/Porsche should be seizing THIS as the Achilles heel of Tesla. It’s really the only one, and no MCU1 owner could honestly deny it, nor does Tesla have any defense for it.

It would make one heck of a commercial. Should your car really be THIS dependent on a computer? Tired of waiting for your car, for an update, for a web browser to open? We think your car should age like a car, not a computer...

Part 2. Tesla’s are fast cars. But off the track, they’re frustrating. Cue a soccer mom asking for the frozen soundtrack with a crying 2 year old. And waiting, and waiting... We think your car should last longer than a mid life crisis...

When I brought my Tesla I was never told the MCU performance would decrease over time! This situation kind of makes me think of how old apple iPhones have slowed down. I now Tesla are not doing this intentionally (or at least I think not!) but they need to sought out MCU1 so as a minimum it is usable!!!

 

[ahkahn]

When I brought my Tesla I was never told the MCU performance would decrease over time! This situation kind of makes me think of how old apple iPhones have slowed down. I now Tesla are not doing this intentionally (or at least I think not!) but they need to sought out MCU1 so as a minimum it is usable!!!

Apple and Samsung both got busted for doing it intentionally - I guarantee you that Tesla is also. I've been accused on this board for being a huge fanboy, but this is where I draw the line. The MCU1 has absolutely been deliberately slowed down to facilitate frustration and ultimately upgrades.

Apple and Samsung fined for deliberately slowing down phones

 

[badboy1980]

Apple and Samsung both got busted for doing it intentionally - I guarantee you that Tesla is also. I've been accused on this board for being a huge fanboy, but this is where I draw the line. The MCU1 has absolutely been deliberately slowed down to facilitate frustration and ultimately upgrades.

Apple and Samsung fined for deliberately slowing down phones

I can understand your thoughts.. Elon or anyone from Tesla reading this thread. Please sort this matter out!

 

[ahkahn]

I can understand your thoughts.. Elon or anyone from Tesla reading this thread. Please sort this matter out!

Further, you could argue that new features have been added since it first rolled out. Problem is, they haven't. What processes are running behind the scenes that are so processor dependent that they are slowing it down? Nothing. Dashcam does not run on it. The MCU1 literally has the exact same feature-set as when I purchased the vehicle new in 2017 and on v8 it was running smooth and fast.

What new features (always on) does the MCU1 do that it didn't do 4 years ago? I'm not talking games, I'm talking always on. Of those new "always on" features, how processor intensive is it?

@verygreen has already found processor pigs running in MCU1 like the traffic polling x times/second slowing it down, and there are many more. This stuff isn't done by accident.

 

[Impala1ss]

Message to Mods : I recommend that a new requirement be added to posters. in order for someone to post in this thread, They MUST list the year and model of the Tesla they own. There are far too many posts where the reader can not determine the value of a post without knowing the Model, year as well as the type MCU and version of AP they have and the version of software they have.. There are many posters here that do not do not have a model S. All one has to do is look at the number of posts where subsequent readers of the thread ask for this information from a poster. If the information was required and listed along with their name, joining date, messages, and location. I believe this information will greatly help all readers and posters in the future.

Maybe others here will agree with me. Sorry, but I didn't know where else to post this information. I'll relook at other places to post this same post. Maybe one will be better than this.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Now we know who bought up all the tin foil hats. Sheesh.

Tesla is not intentionally slowing down MCU1. The only way that would make sense if they were, at the same time, actually offering an official upgrade/retrofit path to MCU2, other than buying a new car.