To MCU2 or not to MCU2?

[Akikiki]

They probably still don't know what you are talking about.

 

[BigTonyTones]

Just so everyone is aware. They fixed the dark rear camera in the latest software update.

 

[Akikiki]

And just so we are all on the same music. It looks like the rear camera low light fix starts at 2021.4.3

I had 4.2 and it did not make a difference. But 4.3 does make a difference.

 

[random155]

And just so we are all on the same music. It looks like the rear camera low light fix starts at 2021.4.3

I had 4.2 and it did not make a difference. But 4.3 does make a difference.

I have also noticed this with my newly upgraded MCU2.

 

[sorka]

FYI, I just scheduled the MCU2 upgrade (and airbag recall) in Fremont for next week. Taking the big plunge.

Since my account says I already have "premium connectivity", does this mean I can stream video while parked on LTE?

 

[Ciaopec]

I’ve got a 2016 P90D with 62k miles. I really like the car. I like the free supercharging, and the car is incredibly clean. I don’t drive much normally, and during COVID I drive even less (but do take some road trips).

The MCU is just slow enough and buggy enough, that it has me considering either the MCU2 upgrade or a new car. I’m wondering if I just sell this now and buy the new S (will probably cost me ~$35k-$40k to upgrade to the new non-performance car) or I spend the $1,500 to get MCU2 and keep the car another couple of years while Tesla works out the bugs.

Is the MCU2 really that much better? Will I get ANY of the $1,500 back when I do decide to sell the car? I’d love anyone’s thought or input on it. I really love the car, but the having to reboot the MCU and the non-usable voice controls is annoying (tonight my volume was stuck at about volume 7 no matter what I set the volume to...required a reboot).

I’m hesitant to give up FM radio, but also hesitant to pay $500 to keep it (very rarely use it - just feels weird not to have it). Someone - talk some sense in to me, one way or the other.

I was just about to say... Absolutely NO BRAINER! Get the MCU2. I thought it was worth it when I paid $2500 for it. Now that it's $1500, it's definitely a no brainer. I still have to pay $500 to get my radio back, so I will end up paying $3K and I think it's still worth it. You get a $1K discount doing the upgrade now that the price dropped.

But then I realized you said you have the P90D. I believe all of those were AP1 cars... so in that case, it makes it a tougher choice. MCU2 gives people with AP2 or higher the Dashcam and Sentry Mode functionality, but you don't get that with AP1. That is a big part of the feature upgrade. If your car truly has AP1, then I would say trade it in and get a newer car with at least AP2. If you have AP2, then getting MCU2 gives your car 95% of what the most current release cars have technologically speaking.

I agree to some extent with @galvatron . I have a 2016.5 90D. North of 142,000 miles. If you can afford the upgrade why not. A daughter board replacement is relatively inexpensive. But if the screen on MCU goes bad now I thing you're talking at least $1400 out of warranty. My MCU2 replacement was only $1500 out of warranty. Difference is night and day. I am so happy I did the upgrade. I rarely used AM/FM but I also doubt I will use Netflix etc. However, the browser is SOOOO much faster and the redraw is fantastic!

I had my car in the Merritt Island SVC at 0900 and picked it up at 1300 (1pm). Only glitch: had trouble with phone and blue tooth. Rebooted MCU; rebooted phone; toggled bluetooth, etc. Finally dragged Service Advisor out and of course my car found his phone right away. Guess my phone just needed a hint as it connected shortly thereafter!

Observations. The PRND symbols are not where I left them when I dropped the car off. Other symbology has shifted and the fonts have changed. Autopilot symbology must reflect how the new cars display same and not like they were for AP1 cars. Back up camera is clear and bright. All car settings (seat positions, gate control, garage door, and former waypoints remained intact. My software is 48.35.5. Haven't checked to see if supercharging speed will go back above 93kW. When the car was new it usually ramped up above 115kW.

As Ferris Buehler said: if you have the means I highly recommend it.

 

[BigTonyTones]

I just got my car back from the upgrade. WOW what a difference. The upgrade was definitely worth it. It does indeed feel like a brand new car. I cant believe how great voice commands work now. I was reading and replying to text messages without a single delay

I also noticed new things. The car now shows the signs that are painted on the street floors such as LEFT, RIGHT, CARPOOL

Navigation is instant! This is a must do for anyone with MCU1. No way a new emmc chip will ever match this speed.

 

[Daniel-RedS]

Did anyone get an MCU2 upgrade while there's aftermarket audio (amp + sub in my case) installed in the car? I've scheduled an appointment for the upgrade, not sure if they will make a big deal out of this / will everything still work properly. The installation company took the audio from the original amp to connect to the added amp so I'm guessing should be all good..

(2017 S with basic audio package)

 

[2101Guy]

Did anyone get an MCU2 upgrade while there's aftermarket audio (amp + sub in my case) installed in the car? I've scheduled an appointment for the upgrade, not sure if they will make a big deal out of this / will everything still work properly. The installation company took the audio from the original amp to connect to the added amp so I'm guessing should be all good..

(2017 S with basic audio package)

I had/have the NVX sub and accompanying amp in my 2017 S with base audio. Service Center never said a word about had/had any issue during the upgrade. MCU2 and Sub/amp all worked/work fine.

 

[BigTonyTones]

I also have to state the new screen seems much nicer. The blacks looks amazing. There is definitely a difference in the screen color

 

[domodan]

I also have to state the new screen seems much nicer. The blacks looks amazing. There is definitely a difference in the screen color

For sure. That’s one thing I noticed too. Seems like a lot more color contrast and MUCH deeper blacks.

Only thing I’m not a fan of is the new font used for the speed. I liked the one better.

 

[BigTonyTones]

For sure. That’s one thing I noticed too. Seems like a lot more color contrast and MUCH deeper blacks.

Only thing I’m not a fan of is the new font used for the speed. I liked the one better.

You really get used to it and end up liking it more. I received a loaner that had the older interface and it looked outdated to me after using the new one for a few weeks

 

[Hookemhorns]

Looking forward to getting mine. My SC ordered the unit 3 weeks ago and it still isn't in, They've already canceled one appointment and rescheduled for 2 weeks later. I wonder what's going on? Oh well, just hoping the MCU 1 which is failing badly doesn't finally go out on me.

 

[sorka]

If the rumors are true then you will get a 250 discount on the upgrade if you still have the original eMMC (read the recall threads). That puts the upgrade at 1250. I will need to upgrade to 4G anyway at the end of the year (normally 500) so my upgrade cost is 750. I'll miss the radio but can always retrofit it later.

I haven't seen any references to this and I've read the threads. I saw references to those saving $250 by keeping the original screen but that was only an option when it was $2500 and their cost was $2250.

 

[viper2ko]

I haven't seen any references to this and I've read the threads. I saw references to those saving $250 by keeping the original screen but that was only an option when it was $2500 and their cost was $2250.

Yea they got rid of that discount. Super suspect pricing games by Tesla. Hidden charges for HW3, not giving the option to keep screen anymore.

 

[sorka]

As a point of reference, I have an AP1 MCU Model S and an AP2.5 Model S with MCU2. I fixed the emmc on the MCU1, yes it is slower for some things than MCU2, but to me MCU2 upgrade is worth no more than $500, an at $500 it would help convince me me if I can keep MCU1 for fun experiments. Of course this is just me, considering an update to a 2015 car with AP1. Everyone needs to decide on their own whether the upgrade is worth it, and everyone is different. For example, I though $5K + almost 100 hours of my work was worth it to equip my Model S with Stinger VIP dual radar and laser jamming system, others might think it's crazy (though I also know of people who paid $15K for the same system but with installation). So, whether $1,500 or $2,000 (with radio) is worth MCU2 is totally individual.

I would agree with that if we could have KEPT V8 and not be crippled by being disconnected from the service. My MCU1 is still fast and responsive because it isn't crippled by V9 or worse....V10. But I'm disconnected from the service and Tesla won't even work on my car without updating to the current software.

I have a the "Battery Needs Service" message which in my case is error 159 WOT count exceeds 2500 times. This is an 85 Ludicrous only battery error that used to result in Tesla replacing the battery...typically with a V3 90...but they eventually decided the batteries were OK after 2500 WOT count and disabled the error in software. So now I have this error that Tesla says I can only fix by updating to the current firmware.

But I've seen what V10 does to MCU1. It's not pretty. Looking at the youtube videos of V9 and then V10 makes me realized how "boiled frog" MCU1 owners were because the MCU1 just got slower and slower with each new update. My MCU1 with V8 is still snappy and fast but I'm cut off from supercharger status and app access which is kind of a big deal.

I look at the $1500 as a ransom to at least get these things back and not have a crippled experience....even though I still detest the new UI.

Looking at the videos, MCU2 UI responsiveness is about the same as MCU1 with V8 except maps where they are way faster than MCU1 even with V8.

I also think that you don't have to choose between the upgrade and selling your car. I think if you do the upgrade and then decide to sell the car, that it's worth the $1500 on resale already.

 

[Akikiki]

Looking forward to getting mine. My SC ordered the unit 3 weeks ago and it still isn't in, They've already canceled one appointment and rescheduled for 2 weeks later. I wonder what's going on? Oh well, just hoping the MCU 1 which is failing badly doesn't finally go out on me.

Its likely that the problem getting new parts across the county is the weather - the storms. News sources are talking about lack of semi's on the roads bring food in to hit areas.

 

[sorka]

The other tidbit, since you are old enough to have them, is if screens start leaking. The cost to replace both a leaking instrument cluster and a leaking center screen is more than the current MCU2 upgrade price.

My IC bubble has is now covering about a 1/4 of the entire screen. When I scheduled the MCU2 upgrade I didn't even know at the time it includes a new IC

 

[sorka]

Voice commands work fine on my MCU1 LTE. I did have to learn the new way of doing them when an update changed it awhile back (used to be push and hold, now push and release, then speak).

It's been like that since 7.1.

 

[sorka]

I lost audio performance and backup-camera visibility is poor. Tesla made some limited attempts to fix both, but they are nowhere near where they were with MCU1 - I just had to get used to it. Happy that the car works again? Yes, Happy with the upgrade? Not particularly as it cost met $2,500 and I lost functionality I cherish and gained functionality that has no value to me.
!

I saw your report about this a while back and asked around in the forum and even started this thread:

UHFS sound quality after MCU1->MCU2 upgrade?

So far nobody else saying performance actually degraded but that the volume range changed and they have to turn the volume up higher. Did the range actually changed (max number) or is this due to an impedance matching change (which would be bad).

Do you have the UHFS? If so, can you verify they hooked your subwoofer back up and that it's actually working?