Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2

[boaterva]

Just got my car back from having it upgraded also. Made the appointment the day we got the email, first was two weeks out (this Tuesday), they said it would take 1-2 days, I dropped it off Tuesday AM at 8:30, they didn’t touch it Tuesday (used to that) and were done at noon today. Shocked it was that quick.

Experience matched above long report 100% except for a few minor things. No plastic on screen so I wasn’t even sure anything had been done! Went to the settings to find the switch to enable the traffic signals and cones, and it was there. Woohoo!

I didn’t need to finish calibration of anything, all functionality was present immediately on the way home. All my FM stations had been converted to TuneIn stations (pretty sure I had them as FM before).

Bluetooth and Wifi will always need to be redone because it’s new hardware, so new MAC addresses for the radios. When I checked the software tab, it wanted wifi for a new navigation download, which reminded me to re-enter the password. Don’t know if the nav update was really new or just a new copy for HW3.

As above, was on 2020.12 before and it was reinstalled this morning as they were doing the upgrade. That was the first indication I had they were almost done.

Also of interest is you get the invoice through the app now and also pay that way, so don’t need to do anything at the SC. Check in at the kiosk, and they get the car and you are set.

As above, this makes the car like a brand new one. Reboot is as fast as the 3, and seeing five traffic lights (haven’t seen cones or trash cans to test yet) is surreal. Definitely worth it over the hassle of a new car.

 

[Dragonetti]

Huge disappointment to be losing FM. I listen only to one station regularly - NPR. I've used Tunin when traveling, but can't remember if NPR (live) works with it. Can someone enlighten me?

 

[skrenes]

I have the Premium Audio (which was standard on my MS). Before the upgrade I had a EQ that went to 12. Now it only goes to 8. It also has Immersive Sound with three options, however I tested it out with a variety of music (classical, dance, gansta rap, disco, pop, and Spanish), and they all sound the same. I think before I had Off and Dolby Surround. Now I don’t see Dolby listed anywhere

Noooo! I remember a firmware "upgrade" that did this to my car and I hated it. They reverted it soon after and I got double the bass back. I've found with the newer cars, I hear some distortion when the bass EQ is set at even 7, but my 2013 is flawless at even 12! I really hope they can correct this for the older premium systems that seem to have a better amplifier.

When you re-pair your Tesla with your iPhone, the name will now change to Tesla Model S followed by the name of your vehicle. Before the default was just Tesla Model S.

This is was added in a recent firmware that brought text message reading to MCU1. You would notice it if you had deleted the bluetooth profile and then repaired.

 

[verygreen]

Can anyone confirm that it's possible with a 2015 (MCU1 EAP) car?

it's possible, but not officially. In other words according to Tesla these cars will be serviced after April. I know of some DYI retrofits though and Tesla also has all required documentation on how to perform this.

If you are not under warranty anymore, I recommend you to either do a dyi MCU2 or just replace the chip on the tegra board and then wait until official availability.

 

[boaterva]

Huge disappointment to be losing FM. I listen only to one station regularly - NPR. I've used Tunin when traveling, but can't remember if NPR (live) works with it. Can someone enlighten me?

See if the station is on TuneIn. NPR isn't a station, it's a network stations belong to, like WAMU in Washington, DC, etc. National Public Radio is just that.

 

[boaterva]

As far as I know, all they do is replace the MCU (and IC) and of course the HW3 computer. The reason there is no more radio is that the radio antenna is being repurposed for the 5GHz Wifi to streamline things. I thought that had been confirmed and thus discussion of work on the mirrors is not relevant, they aren't being touched.

I couldn't tell anything was touched anywhere on my car, MCU, bezel, mirrors, anything. The whole car is wrapped, and it still looks the same. As I said above, I had to check the settings to see that the visualizations switch was indeed there. Quickest service ever, not counting the first day when nothing was done, as usual.

 

[verygreen]

The reason there is no more radio is that the radio antenna is being repurposed for the 5GHz Wifi to streamline things

nope. old wifi antenna works with 5GHz too.

 

[boaterva]

nope. old wifi antenna works with 5GHz too.

Hm.... then what is the radio deal then? If current cars have AM/FM, has to be a reason for the deletion.

 

[SucreTease]

The reason there is no more radio is that the radio antenna is being repurposed for the 5GHz Wifi to streamline things.

False rumor. The reason AM, FM, and XM are lost is because MCU1 cars used an analog tuner module, which is located elsewhere. MCU2 vehicles require a digital FM/XM tuner. The MCU upgrade does not replace the tuner.

 

[Tesomega]

Has any requested for an Digital Tuner Upgrade along with their infotainment upgrade, does Tesla offer this upgrade?

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Tesla is not doing any more AP1 coding....

yes you just repeated what I said

 

[boshk]

Has anyone had MCU1, with < AP2.5, replaced with MCU2?

My MS is currently in the shop for a dead MCU1. The local SvC says the infotainment upgrade can only be done with cars having AP2.5 or above. I don't believe this is true. Can anyone confirm that it's possible with a 2015 (MCU1 EAP) car? If so, can you provide me with a VIN of your car ( feel free to PM me if you prefer not to post it. I need the VIN so the service mgr can check into it)? The service manager is willing to look deeper into this if I can provide info. Thanks. I'd prefer not to get another MCU1.

Your support thread states Late March for HW2.0 FSD cars, when exactly is 'Late March' will probably depend on supply and queue

At least you guys know its available, don't think it will ever happen in Hong Kong, at least according the the sales manager here when I showed them the Infotainment Upgrade page.

 

[BigD0g]

Hm.... then what is the radio deal then? If current cars have AM/FM, has to be a reason for the deletion.

Old tuner is analog, new tuner is digital with different wiring, so it needs complete replacement and it’s a pita to replace.

 

[boaterva]

False rumor. The reason AM, FM, and XM are lost is because MCU1 cars used an analog tuner module, which is located elsewhere. MCU2 vehicles require a digital FM/XM tuner. The MCU upgrade does not replace the tuner.

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. I do now recall someone saying the tuner was hard to replace or somesuch. Not sure if that is even correct, but I assume they wanted to make the MCU/IC replacement as streamlined as possible. Mine had to have taken 4 hours plus/minus, including data migration.

Edit: and I see that was mentioned above...

 

[verygreen]

Mine had to have taken 4 hours plus/minus

hm, this about matches my first attempt timing. Doh, you'd think they'd be doing it faster being trained professionals and all that.

 

[boaterva]

hm, this about matches my first attempt timing. Doh, you'd think they'd be doing it faster being trained professionals and all that.

Since I made my appointment as soon as I got the email, I may have been the first one they have done at Tysons. No idea how 'trained' they were/are. When they first responded, they weren't sure they would have the parts (MCU or HW3 board) by the auto-assigned date (exactly two weeks later). But they did and as far as I'm concerned, they did a perfect job. As I said, I couldn't tell anyone actually set foot in my car. Not the case with tons of other service visits for other cars (non-Tesla) and this is a major disassemble/re-assemble process, from pictures I've seen.

You may have a bit too focused a skill set here.

 

[verygreen]

I may have been the first one they have done at Tysons

if you are implying they never ever replaced mcu before (even mcu1 to mcu1) - I'd be skeptical. And just taking the things apart is the hard and lengthily part.

 

[zanary]

Did you get a Tesla or ICE loaner while in for the upgrade?

I always request Uber credit. I don't need a loaner car at all. Uber is just fine with me. They offer me $100/day, so in this case they gave me 4 days worth $400, but I used under $40 for a Uber to and from the service center.

Many people don't agree with the whole Uber credits, but I prefer it.

 

[boaterva]

if you are implying they never ever replaced mcu before (even mcu1 to mcu1) - I'd be skeptical. And just taking the things apart is the hard and lengthily part.

That’s a point, but I thought they could replace the screen (the usual issue) without pulling the chassis out?

And also thought I’d read of potential issues with the data migration process. Seamless here. Just saying had to be somewhat of a guinea pig since I signed up immediately when the email went out.

Comment on Uber, I always am offered/get that by Tyson’s, and with all the covid-19 uncertainly, I was fortunate to have my GF working from home and available to drive me both ways. I can’t recall the last time Tyson’s offered a loaner.

One interesting thing from that: they allowed $400 for Uber and the original auto-sked completion per the Tesla app was Thursday at 5:45. So they definitely gave themselves a lot of cushion for the upgrade!

 

[swegman]

Here is what I've seen so far.

(1) MCU1 on my Model X with AP2. Since I don't have dash cam or Sentry Mode running, the MCU is somewhat responsive, but it ain't no iPad quality.

(1) MCU1 on my Model S with AP 2.5. Since I'm always using Dashcam and Sentry mode, the MCU1 is so laggy that I don't want to even use it. That's because it's always writing the camera video feeds to the USB hard drive (yes I have a fast one, see my full writeup for what I have and where I got it from).

Regardless MCU2 is a HUGE upgrade. The laggy is gone complete. This operates, feels and response just like an iPad. I'm still going with the fact that this $2500 upgrade cost is WELL WORTH IT.

My opinion as now I've own all three MCU1/AP1, MCU1/AP2 and MCU1/AP2.5, and there is a feeling of "It's an awesome new car" with the Infotainment upgrade to MCU2/IC2 with HW3... I can't begin to explain how awesome it is.

I'm curious to hear from others who may be getting their Tesla back this week or next week after the upgrade.

I’m curious as to how old your MCU1 is (was) and how much stuff (navigation addresses, etc) were stored on it.

I ask because I had been complaining to service that the seat memory would constantly forget its setting when the car sat for a day or would take seconds to adjust to its memory position. Also, there was some lag with certain tasks, such as determining navigation directions. Tesla claimed the MCU1 was laggy bec of all the data entries I made since 2013, and old code stored in the MCU1 from prior firmware versions and/or failed installs. They did a factory reset of the MCU1, which deleted everything from the MCU1. The MCU1 now exhibits no lag. Responses are like it was when I first got the car.

So, your comparison may not be entirely valid unless you are comparing a MCU1 that has been factory reset to a MCU2 that has not had a large amount of data installed on it yet.