Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2

[zanary]

I suspect that we'll see a MCU/3 with the upcoming refresh of the Model S and Model X at the end of 2019. Maybe he's waiting for this MCU/3 as the retrofit... Regardless if it's landscape or portrait, hopefully it's the same size MCU...

One can hope

 

[electronblue]

I suspect that we'll see a MCU/3 with the upcoming refresh of the Model S and Model X at the end of 2019. Maybe he's waiting for this MCU/3 as the retrofit... Regardless if it's landscape or portrait, hopefully it's the same size MCU...

One can hope

That is not a realistic hope. While there is minimal hope (now fading) that MCU2 upgrade to MCU1 cars might one day appear (perhaps as a DIY solution from some enterprising party if nothing else) surely any MCU3 will be a completely different physical structure to fit a new style of interior upgraded dashboard and possibly with a Model 3 like water cooled sandwich design the the Autopilot/FSD Computer.

No, it is MCU2 upgrade or nothing. Most likely nothing, as Tesla’s/Elon’s forward-looking promises so often are.

 

[zanary]

Looking at the online parts catalog for MCU, I see three SKUs:

MCU NA PREMIUM - Model S and Model X 1045006-00-H
MCU ASSEMBLY W/ DISPLAY INFOTAINMENT, NA 1451809-S0-B
MCU ASSEMBLY W/ DISPLAY INFOTAINMENT, NA 1451809-S0-E

One of them is MCU/1, but the other two are MCU/2 is my guess.

 

[emmz0r]

So why upgrade the MCU if the retrofit is the LTE only? It sounds quite silly to "retrofit" MCU1 to MCU1 ?

 

[ahkahn]

So why upgrade the MCU if the retrofit is the LTE only? It sounds quite silly to "retrofit" MCU1 to MCU1 ?

It happens every day....

 

[jorobsand]

That’s a huge stretch buddy almost zero chance we would see something like that suddenly happen without a long trail of firmware leaks.

I have to try to find it, but I thought @verygreen found some comments in the firmware earlier in the year that seemed to set the stage for a future upgrade path. I could be mistaken though.

 

[sixela]

any MCU3 will be a completely different physical structure to fit a new style of interior upgraded dashboard and possibly with a Model 3 like water cooled sandwich design the the Autopilot/FSD Computer.

Since they sold FSD to some of these owners they're on the hook for delivering just that...although I don't think it will need a "new interior" at all.

 

[SucreTease]

Because you most certainly will need an IC2 upgrade too and that will cost another bucket of money and almost surely isn't included in the quote they gave you.

It is entirely reasonable that an upgrade-edition MCU2 could be designed to operate with the current IC1 in order to minimize the cost of the upgrade. I can easily imagine that to swap out the current MCU1 and IC1 with MCU2/IC2 parts would require a complete removal of the dash and many hours of labor, making it cost-prohibitive for many who might otherwise upgrade. I would expect that a goal of the new MCU2 was to replace the CPU-containing IC1 with display-only IC2 in order to minimize production costs. The different goal of an upgrade-edition MCU would be to provide the customer with the speed and software support of the new upgrade-edition MCU, while minimizing cost to the customer and the service load on the service centers.

 

[MP3Mike]

Since they sold FSD to some of these owners they're on the hook for delivering just that...although I don't think it will need a "new interior" at all.

I don't understand what you are saying as FSD has nothing to do with the MCU.

 

[sixela]

Ah, is the "entertainment computer" and AP/FSD computer in a different housing on model S? I was just assuming that anyone who would need HW3 would also get another MCU...

 

[BigD0g]

Ah, is the "entertainment computer" aka AP/FSD computer in a different housing on model S? I was just assuming that anyone who would need HW3 would also get another MCU...

MCU/ MCU2 == 17" touchscreen ( Entertainment, Maps, Climate Controls etc )
APE / HW2 / HW2.5 / HW3 == Separate computer on S/X located behind the glove box that controls all AP functionality.

 

[sixela]

Ah - sorry for the noise; in the Model 3 these two are pretty much joined at the hip. And I now realise it's not Motor Control Unit but Media Computer Unit.

 

[BigD0g]

Ah - sorry for the noise; in the Model 3 these two are pretty much joined at the hip. And I now realise it's not Motor Control Unit but Media Computer Unit.

Technically on the m3 is a separate unit to, it's located in the footwell and rather a PITA to gain access too.

 

[chillaban]

I don't understand what you are saying as FSD has nothing to do with the MCU.

“Nothing to do” might be a little too strong. Technically the Autopilot maps / speed limits are downloaded and provided by the MCU computer and MCU1 has an older maps database than MCU2 right now.

Who knows, it is a remote possibility that they might need the performance or reliability of MCU2 for that, or they might simply move maps into the FSD computer.

I wouldn’t be super surprised if FSD is the thing that necessitates a MCU2 upgrade but it seems very unlikely in my mind.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

“Nothing to do” might be a little too strong. Technically the Autopilot maps / speed limits are downloaded and provided by the MCU computer and MCU1 has an older maps database than MCU2 right now.

Who knows, it is a remote possibility that they might need the performance or reliability of MCU2 for that, or they might simply move maps into the FSD computer.

I wouldn’t be super surprised if FSD is the thing that necessitates a MCU2 upgrade but it seems very unlikely in my mind.

We noticed that two of our cars have maps from 2018 but the other two have maps from 2019. In the past, MCU didn't make a difference with the maps being updated. I didn't make the connection until reading your post that it could be MCU related. Hmm...

 

[BigD0g]

“Nothing to do” might be a little too strong. Technically the Autopilot maps / speed limits are downloaded and provided by the MCU computer and MCU1 has an older maps database than MCU2 right now.

Huh? Do you have proof of this? All the maps come from the same S3 bucket to the best of my knowledge. So, if MCU1 has different maps then MCU2, it's probably just an rsync issue (which has happened a few times with maps) / or your not on WiFi and very little to nothing to do with MCU version.

To the best of my knowledge everyone is using the same maps. Now if your not on WiFi then yah, your maps are old, but again that's not related to MCU version.

 

[chillaban]

Huh? Do you have proof of this? All the maps come from the same S3 bucket to the best of my knowledge. So, if MCU1 has different maps then MCU2, it's probably just an rsync issue (which has happened a few times with maps) / or your not on WiFi and very little to nothing to do with MCU version.

To the best of my knowledge everyone is using the same maps. Now if your not on WiFi then yah, your maps are old, but again that's not related to MCU version.

My MCU1 car has NA-180906-1605. A coworker’s MCU2 Model X and our model 3 have NA 2019.6.

I haven’t heard of MCU1 cars being upgraded past that version.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

My MCU1 car has NA-180906-1605. A coworker’s MCU2 Model X and our model 3 have NA 2019.6.

I haven’t heard of MCU1 cars being upgraded past that version.

I forgot to state that the two cars on the old maps are on MCU1 (with AP 2 and AP 2.5) and the two cars on the newer maps have MCU2 and AP 2.5 or AP 3.

 

[chillaban]

I forgot to state that the two cars on the old maps are on MCU1 (with AP 2 and AP 2.5) and the two cars on the newer maps have MCU2 and AP 2.5 or AP 3.

Yep that seems like the pattern I’m observing too. Thanks for confirming too!

 

[jorobsand]

Since they sold FSD to some of these owners they're on the hook for delivering just that...although I don't think it will need a "new interior" at all.

MCU is independent of AP. FSD guarantees you will get the hardware needed to support FSD which would include AP3 but not a new MCU.