Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2

[Silicon Desert]

A ranger updated your MCU2? That's surprising. I just had mine done and it took a full week in the shop.

I'd also advise people to not change their screen if their current one is fine. The new one looks to be a bit "punchier" than the old one with slightly more contrast, but it also looks to be aligned slightly crooked (i.e. top of screen too far up, top right of screen too far left). I looked at a few other cars and they were also slightly crooked in the same way - has anybody noticed that? Maybe the old one was like that too and I am just noticing it now.

Also surprised that a ranger did it. They won't do that here in Reno / Sparks. To do it well really takes two people.
As for the screen, disagree on that one. I love the new screen and the warranty that goes with it. Mine also aligned perfectly. Can't notice it was ever replaced except it looks fantastic to me. Glad I did it. Oh and my full upgrade to HW3 and new MCU and IC took one day.

 

[Plasmid_Boy]

Just had MCU2 upgraded in my 2014 P85+. I probably need more time to appreciate the difference, but so far the improvement in speed and screen contrast has not been very noticeable. I dreaded the loss of FM radio, but it turns out to be a non-issue as TuneIn works fine for my local stations. The audio quality is significantly worse, even after playing with the adjustments and the volume setting is different (used to use between 3 and 4, now between 5 and 6). I don't watch movies or videos or play games in the car, but having the web browser usable might be useful when I don't have my phone with me. Overall, I feel that if one has a pre-AP, replacing the eMMC is probably a better route - that's what I will do for our 2015 S70D (which has AP1). But no regrets. Hope this adds something for those considering. Cheers!

 

[Michelx]

A ranger updated your MCU2? That's surprising. I just had mine done and it took a full week in the shop.

I'd also advise people to not change their screen if their current one is fine. The new one looks to be a bit "punchier" than the old one with slightly more contrast, but it also looks to be aligned slightly crooked (i.e. top of screen too far up, top right of screen too far left). I looked at a few other cars and they were also slightly crooked in the same way - has anybody noticed that? Maybe the old one was like that too and I am just notici

Also surprised that a ranger did it. They won't do that here in Reno / Sparks. To do it well really takes two people.
As for the screen, disagree on that one. I love the new screen and the warranty that goes with it. Mine also aligned perfectly. Can't notice it was ever replaced except it looks fantastic to me. Glad I did it. Oh and my full upgrade to HW3 and new MCU and IC took one day.

Also surprised that a ranger did it. They won't do that here in Reno / Sparks. To do it well really takes two people.
As for the screen, disagree on that one. I love the new screen and the warranty that goes with it. Mine also aligned perfectly. Can't notice it was ever replaced except it looks fantastic to me. Glad I did it. Oh and my full upgrade to HW3 and new MCU and IC took one day.

Also surprised that a ranger did it. They won't do that here in Reno / Sparks. To do it well really takes two people.
As for the screen, disagree on that one. I love the new screen and the warranty that goes with it. Mine also aligned perfectly. Can't notice it was ever replaced except it looks fantastic to me. Glad I did it. Oh and my full upgrade to HW3 and new MCU and IC took one day.

Yes a Ranger came home and did a great job it took him about 5:40 hrs he replaced hw2 mcu1 and also screen in front of driver.

 

[Michelx]

Yes a Ranger came home and did a great job it took him about 5:40 hrs he replaced hw2 mcu1 and also screen in front of driver.[/QUO

Yes a Ranger came home and did a great job it took him about 5:40 hrs he replaced hw2 mcu1 and also screen in front of driver.

Sorry!

 

[Ostrichsak]

A ranger updated your MCU2? That's surprising. I just had mine done and it took a full week in the shop.

I'd also advise people to not change their screen if their current one is fine. The new one looks to be a bit "punchier" than the old one with slightly more contrast, but it also looks to be aligned slightly crooked (i.e. top of screen too far up, top right of screen too far left). I looked at a few other cars and they were also slightly crooked in the same way - has anybody noticed that? Maybe the old one was like that too and I am just noticing it now.

I wouldn't use lazy/poor installation by the tech scare anyone away from installing a fresh LCD display screen. I'd make the tech mount it properly or Tesla can source one that fits properly aligned just like any other part you get from any other manufacturer. That's me personally but if you want to keep an old screen with who knows how many hours of use on it that's certainly your prerogative.

 

[Halcyon]

I wouldn't use lazy/poor installation by the tech scare anyone away from installing a fresh LCD display screen. I'd make the tech mount it properly or Tesla can source one that fits properly aligned just like any other part you get from any other manufacturer. That's me personally but if you want to keep an old screen with who knows how many hours of use on it that's certainly your prerogative.

I wish it was a simple misalignment fix, but the screen is fixed in that position and not adjustable. After viewing a few other cars on the lot, those are also the same way (albeit not as bad), which leads me to believe that they must all be built that way now and I just never noticed it or somehow my older one was fine. Unfortunately, now it's like the X windshield ghosting issue where once you see it, it's hard to unsee it.

If I'm the only that sees it, then I have to chalk it up to my OCD, but just am curious if anyone else has noticed it.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I wish it was a simple misalignment fix, but the screen is fixed in that position and not adjustable. After viewing a few other cars on the lot, those are also the same way (albeit not as bad), which leads me to believe that they must all be built that way now and I just never noticed it or somehow my older one was fine. Unfortunately, now it's like the X windshield ghosting issue where once you see it, it's hard to unsee it.

If I'm the only that sees it, then I have to chalk it up to my OCD, but just am curious if anyone else has noticed it.

Again, I would bring it to Tesla's attention and request that they fix is. It wasn't that way previously nor should the expectation be that it's acceptable to be crooked. If they can't simply align it as you say then they can replace it and correct the problem with production upstream.

 

[StoicKiwi]

The upgrade of my 2014 S P85D was successfully completed at the San Antonio SC on 08-07-2020!
I finished the comparison video (see below) but I wanted to give it a few weeks to give an extended impression as well:


Installation

• Install happened in under 24 hours with me dropping the car off at the SC Thursday morning
• Although the “B” part was listed for the MCU, I received an “A” as they had the screen in-stock at the SC
• I was not charged for labor for the install, taxes only
• All settings were retained except Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
• My Homelink was still saved but did not work reliably until I re-paired them

Operation

• It certainly is faster! I know there are a lot of the “snappy” comments post-install but you never realize how slow MCU1 is until you have an MCU2; night and day!
  • One of the biggest places that you’ll notice the speed is if you need to reboot.
  • In my testing, the MCU1 took 161.63 seconds to completely come back after a reboot as opposed to MCU2 taking just 51.56 seconds!
  • Changing the map from satellite or map takes only 2.63 seconds on MCU2 as opposed to 30.1 seconds on MCU1
• The Internet in general is remarkably faster whether on Wi-Fi or LTE with throughput speeds being roughly 4x faster on MCU2
• Internet browser is not only usable but pretty quick even on LTE!
• All menus come up faster on MCU2 as expected
• The rearview camera is very, very dark as others have stated. It’s nearly useless at night unless the area is well-lit
• I haven’t noticed it much in the other frequencies, but the bass is MUCH better than MCU1
• Not sure if it is related to immersive sound, but the NAV volume seems quieter
  • On MCU1 I usually had the volume around 2-3 but now I have to crank it to 5 or so to hear it properly
• Owner’s manual is useful again

Games/Entertainment

• Of course the more advanced games are now available with the MCU2 so I won’t go into that too much
• Most games have improved launch speed, with two notable exceptions:
  • Backgammon just soft-resets the MCU back to the map screen
  • Asteroids takes a few seconds longer on MCU2 for whatever reason
• The Tesla theater is great for killing some time while you wait in your car (supercharging, groceries, take-out, etc.)
• The Mrs. is obsessed with Caraoke so exercise caution when using

Menu Changes

• Audio Settings
  • Equalizers now max out at 8 instead of 12
  • Dolby Sound has been replaced by Immersive Sound options (Off, Standard, High)
• Main Menu
  • Energy Saving has now been removed

That’s pretty much everything that I’ve observed as of now. If anything else comes up, I’ll be sure to report back!

Here’s the link to the comparison video that I did as well:

 

[Cheburashka]

My nav audio is all messed up after MCU2 upgrade. I have the standard sound system. It's too loud and no way to make it quieter. Just turned it off entirely.

 

[Spacey73]

Do we get front and rear camera recording for an AP1 S85 2014 if I were to upgrade?

 

[Cheburashka]

Nope

 

[Silicon Desert]

My nav audio is all messed up after MCU2 upgrade. I have the standard sound system. It's too loud and no way to make it quieter. Just turned it off entirely.

Hmmm, I don't have any issue with that.

 

[Silicon Desert]

The upgrade of my 2014 S P85D was successfully completed at the San Antonio SC on 08-07-2020!
I finished the comparison video (see below) but I wanted to give it a few weeks to give an extended impression as well:

Nice summary. The only thing I will add to your list is that I took measurements of cellular signal reception before and after the upgrade. I am seeing about double the signal level in many different locations that I made notes around the city. I used to lose cellular connection completely in 2 areas before the upgrade to HW3 and MCU2, but not any more.

 

[dailo]

Mine just got done and everything looks good except the app doesn’t unlock the car anymore. I’ve seen others with the same so hopefully they can fix mine remotely also.

 

[vraev]

Yup. I just noticed that as well. I think this is related to my issue with summon not working as well. Is summon working for you?

Mine just got done and everything looks good except the app doesn’t unlock the car anymore. I’ve seen others with the same so hopefully they can fix mine remotely also.

 

[ucmndd]

Yup. I just noticed that as well. I think this is related to my issue with summon not working as well. Is summon working for you?

Those have nothing to do with each other. The door lock issue was a missing step copying over security certificates.

What do you mean by Summon “not working as well”?

 

[brkaus]

Does model 3 have the same backup camera issue

Yes. IMHO.

 

[brkaus]

Do we get front and rear camera recording for an AP1 S85 2014 if I were to upgrade?

No. On an AP1 car the front camera video stream does not leave the camera housing and the rear camera is simply pass through.

 

[Merle]

Just an FYI, the upgrade isn't available from everyone. The word back from my service center a few weeks back was that my VIN wasn't eligible ... yet. But the hope was that it would be about 2-3 weeks back. Latest word (Monday) was that it still wasn't eligible by the VIN number.

So I just have the vehicle parked in the Santa Clara SC as the MCU1 is deader than Dickens.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Report from my neighbor that upgraded 2017 MX from AP2 to AP3 with infotainment upgrade (new MCU2)

I went down there with him to pick up the car and we drove around awhile. They did a really nice job; no misalignment of anything; didn't mess up his white interior; all his settings got transferred, and the cameras calibrated in less than 5 miles.

HOWEVER, we noticed that the cellular signal strength sucks. Half the time no connection at all and when there is a connection, maybe 1 or 2 bars at most So no surprise that his voice commands won't work well and a couple other things that depend on cell connectivity. I assume they forgot to connect the cellular cable or something like that. No, it is not something that a reboot solved. He set up an appointment to go back and have them look at it. Other than that, we think it was a great install.

Update from the neighbor: We both went down to pick up his car after the service center was supposed to fix the cellular "no connectivity" issue. My assumption was correct about them forgetting to reconnect the cellular antenna properly although they seemed doubtful. I'm really familiar with those boards and the way they are mounted with tight connections, it is easy to miss or not get connected fully. So I suggest adding to your check list that when you drop off the car, check the signal strength at a couple locations along the way and at the SC, and then confirm it still works when picking up the car after the update. In general, it should be at least the same or better signal. Now his signal strength is REALLY GOOD and better than before the update. Same improvement I and some other people also see.