To MCU2 or not to MCU2?

[Greg29]

My MCU1/AP1 S75 is eligible for the emmc recall and also has a bubbling screen. Will the screen be replaced as part of the recall?

If not, I'll have to pay the $200 deductible on my ESA to fix my screen which probably pushes me into considering the $1,500 MCU2 upgrade even though I get limited benefit from it. I did receive a quote of $1,500 for the upgrade today.

 

[06RUF997]

Just scheduled my MCU2 upgrade for this Friday. My original MCU1 is starting to yellow around the edges, but still seems to be working ok. Just a bit slow. I asked the service center about the MCU1 recall and they said they will notify me when the replacement parts are available. They are probably having issues due to the global IC shortage getting the replacement parts... I would recommend to change it out for the $1,500, since it will give you piece of mind that the MCU1 issue is corrected and also give you some extra functionality such as Netflix and Youtube. I don't really use the radio currently, so that won't be missed.

 

[brkaus]

My MCU1/AP1 S75 is eligible for the emmc recall and also has a bubbling screen. Will the screen be replaced as part of the recall?

If not, I'll have to pay the $200 deductible on my ESA to fix my screen which probably pushes me into considering the $1,500 MCU2 upgrade even though I get limited benefit from it. I did receive a quote of $1,500 for the upgrade today.

The screen is not included with the recall.

 

[morepower]

So - took my AP2/MCU1 2017 Model S into the service center today. Still no estimate showing in the app against the appointment.

Service guy : "Did they quote you a price for this ?"
Me : "The mobile service guy who came out to me last week said it would be $1500. The webpage said it would be $1500. But you asked me to sign off a $0 estimate in order to get the appointment confirmed"

Service guy : "Well there's been a price increase to $2000"
Me : "I think you need to go and have a chat with someone. You sold me something that you advertised for $1500. Now you expect me to pay an extra $500 just because. That's absurd."
Service guy (after going away for 5 minutes) "Well, you placed the order on the 17th, and we increased the price on the 17th. Technically the price is $2000, but we will honor the $1500 this time"
Me : I know it's not your fault, but 'technically' Tesla has the most f'ed up approach top customer service of any brand I know right now. You seem to be able to turn a good deed into a steaming pile of turd almost effortlessly these days"
Service guy. "Your car should be ready in about 4 hours. Would you like an Uber credit ?"

Good for you for standing your ground. Your probably the last person with AP2/2.5 that was able to get the MCU2 upgrade for the $1500 price.

 

[controlfreak]

I just picked up my car from service. $1500 plus tax. It’s a night and day difference - really like a different car. Voice control finally works after all this time. Needs a few more miles of calibration apparently, but so far so good. Just plugged in my USB SD card reader - Dashcam came up straight away. Finally it feels like the car that I expected when I bought it.
Looks like there’s already a software update available - bit surprised that it wasn’t installed during the upgrade, but who knows with Tesla.

 

[f-stop]

I'm with you man. It kills me how bad spotify is now. Was really hoping the emmc "fix" would at least help. I think the map is a little more responsive, which I'm not looking at half the time lol, but spotify still sucks. I want to upgrade my sound system as well but the mcu thing is making me hesitant

I had seen other reports that the eMMC fix made MCU1 a bit more responsive, maybe even bring the long-broken browser back to life... but I wasn't sure if Spotify improved any, so it's disaapointing to hear your report that it is stil broken, I guess it's just a won't-work-well-with-MCU1 thing.

I found this interesting video where a guy with basically identical car to mine (AP1/MCU1/70D 2015) does the MCU2 upgrade and shows before/after and side-by-side MCU1/MCU2 comparison in the video. One difference is his MCU1 car originally had 3G to start but got LTE upgrade along with MCU2, so unclear how much if any of the maps performance is due to LTE upgrade? (I already have LTE). but otherwise pretty impressive difference

 

[ChiTown1949]

I have a 2016 model S with the nose cone. It has AP but not sure of the AP number. Its the upgrade AP with auto steer, summons, etc. I was told it was not upgradable to FSD. Not sure why but mine does not have all the cameras that the newer model S's have. As a result, I will not get the new safety features the new center instrument cluster can display lke stop signs and stop lights and people, etc. This would have been the reason I would have upgraded to MCU2 and of course FSD. They didn;t event tell me the cost of upgrading to FSD. Has anyone else come across this??? Where would I even find what number my AP is. One other thing, I have a 70d but not sure if its a straight 70d or a locked 75d that can be unlocked up to 75 for an upcharge. How do I tell If I have a straight 70d or an locked 75d. Tesla is clearly not a normal vehicle.

 

[brkaus]

I have a 2016 model S with the nose cone. It has AP but not sure of the AP number. Its the upgrade AP with auto steer, summons, etc. I was told it was not upgradable to FSD. Not sure why but mine does not have all the cameras that the newer model S's have. As a result, I will not get the new safety features the new center instrument cluster can display lke stop signs and stop lights and people, etc. This would have been the reason I would have upgraded to MCU2 and of course FSD. They didn;t event tell me the cost of upgrading to FSD. Has anyone else come across this??? Where would I even find what number my AP is. One other thing, I have a 70d but not sure if its a straight 70d or a locked 75d that can be unlocked up to 75 for an upcharge. How do I tell If I have a straight 70d or an locked 75d. Tesla is clearly not a normal vehicle.

You have AP1. Tesla will not upgrade it, it would be cost and time prohibitive. Your car would have to replace a lot of parts and wiring. As you have noticed, the camera placement is different and the computer is totally different (it’s in the rear view mirror vs behind the dash).

 

[CadillacJack]

Got my 2017 S upgraded to MCU2 last week in Toronto - pretty happy with it so far. I imagine that MCU1 has run its’ course and the new software expected later this year will probably make it worse. I did get it for $2k CDN which is fine by me. My screen had a light yellow ring before even after two UV treatments so I was already thinking of just the screen which I believe is close to $800 CDN on its own.
All the streaming services that were a crapshoot on MCU1 all seem fine here. I always had a quick stutter at the beginning of a song before, that’s all gone. Having a grandfathered unlimited connectivity will be nice for the kid to watch Netflix, etc. Even having the screen respond to my finger the first time is almost worth it on its’ own.

 

[ChiTown1949]

Also too

You have AP1. Tesla will not upgrade it, it would be cost and time prohibitive. Your car would have to replace a lot of parts and wiring. As you have noticed, the camera placement is different and the computer is totally different (it’s in the rear view mirror vs behind the dash).

Thank you.

 

[ChiTown1949]

You have AP1. Tesla will not upgrade it, it would be cost and time prohibitive. Your car would have to replace a lot of parts and wiring. As you have noticed, the camera placement is different and the computer is totally different (it’s in the rear view mirror vs behind the dash).

You seem to be a real guru. My car is a 70d. How can I tell if its a locked 75d which can be upgraded . I did not see any sticker in the fenderwell. Big thanks.

 

[brkaus]

You seem to be a real guru. My car is a 70d. How can I tell if its a locked 75d which can be upgraded . I did not see any sticker in the fenderwell. Big thanks.

Sorry. I have no idea on the battery configs. I’ve just been reading mcu and ap threads forever. I have an early ap2 (2017).

 

[Rogue Synapse]

You seem to be a real guru. My car is a 70d. How can I tell if its a locked 75d which can be upgraded . I did not see any sticker in the fenderwell. Big thanks.

You have a true 70D. The 75 kWh battery didn’t debut until after the nosecone.

 

[gearchruncher]

I get a kick out of people saying that people who paid for FSD shouldn't have to pay for HW3 as part of MCU2, but that it makes sense that those without FSD should. Since October 2016, Tesla has advertised "All Tesla cars come with the hardware needed for full self driving." No customer should ever have to pay for HW3 in any way. Now, Tesla can chose to not upgrade it until your car needs it (paid/subscribed to FSD), but just because they force it in with another update doesn't mean they can charge. They are very close to exposing the fact that not all cars did in fact have HW needed for FSD, and defining the value of that deficiency.

I see the fact that Tesla is charging *all* cars that originally had HW2/2.5 as protection against looking like they are charging for HW3. There were no HW3/MCU1 cars, so they don't need to cover pricing for that, which makes some lawyer inside Tesla very happy. They can just say that upgrading an AP1 car is easier than AP2, and as long as there is a single extra cable they need to run that exists in an AP2 car vs AP1, they have justification there.

It's a really fine line to walk, and super crappy customer experience, and it's transparent what they are doing while being legally "ok", but what's new for Tesla?

I scheduled my MCU2 upgrade early March, for an early April appointment. Will be interesting to see what they try to charge me. Doesn't really matter as I'm going to take Tesla to small claims court for the MCU2 upgrade price- they sold me a car with working voice commands, turn signal noises, and screens that don't need to be rebooted every 5th drive, and they are unable to fix that without an MCU2 upgrade, and my car is still under warranty, so it should be no cost.

 

[gearchruncher]

Interesting detail- the cost for upgrading a MCU1 car that already has HW3 is undefined. Read their page carefully:

Owners of compatible vehicles can schedule an appointment through the Tesla app for purchase and installation. This upgrade is available for $2,000 plus applicable tax, including installation, for vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.0 or 2.5 and for $1,500 plus applicable tax, including installation, for all other vehicles. Owners may confirm Autopilot Computer type by selecting ‘Controls’ > ‘Software’ > ‘Additional Vehicle Information’ on the touchscreen.

It says "for cars equipped with HW2/2.5". So if you already have HW3, they aren't telling you the price. If you go to "additional vehicle information" on HW3 it won't say HW2/2.5 just because that's how the car was delivered. We need someone with HW3/MCU1 to get a quote and see if they are directly charging for the HW3 upgrade as part of the MCU upgrade.

 

[morepower]

Interesting detail- the cost for upgrading a MCU1 car that already has HW3 is undefined. Read their page carefully:


It says "for cars equipped with HW2/2.5". So if you already have HW3, they aren't telling you the price. If you go to "additional vehicle information" on HW3 it won't say HW2/2.5 just because that's how the car was delivered. We need someone with HW3/MCU1 to get a quote and see if they are directly charging for the HW3 upgrade as part of the MCU upgrade.

Interesting observation although I do believe it does define the charge for HW3/MCU1 combo as it doesn't say something like "for cars originally equipped with HW2/2.5" and specifically states how to determine what is on the car through the "Additional Vehicle Information" screen. I'm glad I ended up not pay extra for something I won't use as I have no intentions of purchasing FSD s/w.

 

[jelloslug]

You seem to be a real guru. My car is a 70d. How can I tell if its a locked 75d which can be upgraded . I did not see any sticker in the fenderwell. Big thanks.

I don't think Tesla is "unlocking" batteries anymore.

 

[AaronP85]

I got the upgrade to MCU2 and I wanted to share my thoughts. The displays have less "noise" and much greater color ranges. They also seem super glossy and clear. Like others have said, the response to touch is instant and the response to voice recognition is surprisingly fast too. Most importantly for me, the car now wakes up as soon as I sit in the seat (instead of 30 seconds to a minute later) and the modem speed is much better. I used Netflix and YouTube and both are pretty good, the games worked well too. I'm satisfied and now my car will last at least 10 years longer (fingers crossed, knock on wood).

The only thing I would say I am not impressed with is my service, took 4 days, the loaner didn't have heat, and the bezels got all scratched up by the technician. There were size 15 muddy footprints all over and the settings were not preserved. The service center in Clarkston Michigan is probably one of the worst. Definitely not impressed.

 

[DBO.]

Got mine done yesterday. Dropped it off at 9:30am and was given a loner 2020 Model X. Picked it up at 6pm.

Really feels like a new car. Better screen, MUCH faster, browser works great, and the extra entertainment stuff will come in handy on road trips. Even had all my settings retained!

Very glad I seem to have a good service team up in Milwaukee.

 

[XXXX_YYYY]

I scheduled the appointment for MCU2 upgrade. Received estimate that included
MCU2
HW3
Touch Screen

Cost was $2k plus tax. My car is 2017, AP2.0 with EAP (No FSD). Wish it was clear to me earlier that they will include HW3 with this upgrade, would have done it the day price was dropped to $1,500.

Seems like a fair deal, hope this helps anyone else that's sitting on the fence, like was for 4 weeks.