Would Tesla do the MCU1 to MCU2 upgrade on a Model S with a salvage title?

[geordi]

And that is my point - if it isn't safe to supercharge, then it shouldn't be allowed to charge at all until it is fixed and inspected. The risk is the same with charging fast or slow - it is STILL building up the same heat and energy in the pack.

If there is a problem, is potentially burning down someone's house (which WILL be on the news) better than a supercharger station where nobody lives on site and usually more than 50 feet from other structures?

If the inspection passes, then continuing to block supercharger access is just being petty. There's no mechanical justification for it.

 

[TurboTimmy]

Scheduled my MCU2 and FSD computer hoping they don't notice the title and kill the supercharging. No worries if they do though...the shop I got the car from I'm sure will just re-enable it anyway

 

[M0rpH3x]

Scheduled my MCU2 and FSD computer hoping they don't notice the title and kill the supercharging. No worries if they do though...the shop I got the car from I'm sure will just re-enable it anyway

It is not the Service Center who deactivates SC, but a guy that works remotely using teleforce. I don’t think they will look for anything, unless to do a warranty claim.

 

[geordi]

Also your "third party guy" won't be able to enable supercharging once the MCU has been upgraded, the encryption is different and (from what I've heard) they have not gotten back into them yet.

 

[TurboTimmy]

Also your "third party guy" won't be able to enable supercharging once the MCU has been upgraded, the encryption is different and (from what I've heard) they have not gotten back into them yet.

That is good to know! I wont be upgrading the MCU after all in that case. Not worth it at that point.

 

[M0rpH3x]

I would naively say teleforce works regardless the MCU your car has, otherwise Tesla wouldn’t be able to disable SC capabilities in any MCU2 car remotely.

Either that or I completely misunderstood your point.

 

[M0rpH3x]

If you meant the shop, some people can indeed reenable SC, even with MCU2, but not everybody can. You would need to check that with them.

Also, that would be a very temporary solution: Tesla would be disabling SC whenever you turned it back on. Rooting would be a more permanent solution, but again, it’s very difficult to root the MCU2, and you would need to check that with your shop.

 

[TurboTimmy]

I will definitely check 1st. What I was told as the car stands now, teleforce won't be able to "get into" the system to disable SC capabilities. Not sure what technically was done for that?

 

[geordi]

If they can't get into it remotely, that sounds like it was rooted and disconnected from their systems. Going to MCU2 would most definitely undo that, and I have yet to hear of a third party that has broken the new encryption - but I'm sure it is only a matter of time. For me, disconnection would have come with too many other downsides to try it - but my issue wasn't supercharging and I don't have a salvage car.

 

[M0rpH3x]

If they can't get into it remotely, that sounds like it was rooted and disconnected from their systems. Going to MCU2 would most definitely undo that, and I have yet to hear of a third party that has broken the new encryption - but I'm sure it is only a matter of time. For me, disconnection would have come with too many other downsides to try it - but my issue wasn't supercharging and I don't have a salvage car.

Oh, I’m sure there are people out there that can do that, but for sure they are difficult to find. There are bounties now (a good strategy, in my opinion).

Also, you can switch off the teleforce service (along with other annoying services) without affecting, for instance, app access.

 

[geordi]

Can we do this ourselves, and what is required? Or does it need rooting.... B/c I'm definitely interested in more access to my car for myself, but LESS access for the company.

 

[M0rpH3x]

Unfortunately you need root to do this.

 

[PanchoQ]

Does anyone here have a salvage title Model S and experience working with Tesla directly?

Like, will they do any kind of work on a salvage title or will they not even accept an appointment?
I just picked up a 2017 Model S with AP 2.5 MCU1 and at least want to upgrade to MCU2

I didn't even consider Tesla not working on my car simply because it's a salvage title, since I've purchased other manufacturers' salvage title vehicles and their service centers never had issues working on those vehicles. Then again, Tesla isn't anything like those either.

It wasn't until I read a couple of concerning posts that has me worried I may have made a big mistake buying it in the first place.
One of the main reasons I wanted this car was to go all the way with the FSD service very soon here for my commute.

I'm seeing mixed stories on that, as in yes they will, no they won't, yes they will but you have to pay for them to certify its safety 1st?
For now, I'm not sure what's what....

Any information would be most welcome. I will be calling them directly tomorrow though thought I'd post here as well.

Thank you so much, everyone!

They have accepted appointments for the salvage test model S. Had full alignment. Use your app and ask for an appointment. They will give you a price. Someone asked if they would update the MC1. Try it and see.

 

[PanchoQ]

The behavior of Tesla service centers (except for outliers) has been (I think) very consistent towards salvage/rebuilt vehicles:

- They will service anything except for the HV parts. FSD, MCU upgrade… all that is fine.
- If you pass the HV inspection, they will service those parts too.
- What you lose with a rebuilt title is the ability to supercharge. It really doesn’t matter that you pass the HV inspection.

Of course this might change in the future.

What is predatory by Tesla is they shut off all high speed charging so you could not even go to another supplier like Electrify America and get a charge on the road. They can refuse to charge your car but they have no right to tell you who can charge your car. [email protected]

 

[TurboTimmy]

I have a 2013 85 salvage title-rebuilt title-California title. I spent the 1200.00 for the HV inspection, and now all of the dealers in my area will service anything on it, including HV equipment. Its worth the money given what I paid for the car and I have had over 4 years of great driving so far. I've had the MCU upgrade done too, with optional FM-XM radio. Was no problem.

Just now seeing this...and this is the kind of post I've been wanting to see haha seems most that chime in, don't have a salvage and are doom and gloom. That said...I do have full app access, have been serviced 2x (not HV related) no issues

 

[vcor]

And that is my point - if it isn't safe to supercharge, then it shouldn't be allowed to charge at all until it is fixed and inspected. The risk is the same with charging fast or slow - it is STILL building up the same heat and energy in the pack.

So you are advocating Tesla fully disable all charging? Hopefully not. Actually, Supercharging is far more stressful and heats up the battery far more than home charging - in the range of 10 to 20 times more and that is why you may have the A/C compressor running at full blast when Supercharging.

What is predatory by Tesla is they shut off all high speed charging so you could not even go to another supplier like Electrify America and get a charge on the road. They can refuse to charge your car but they have no right to tell you who can charge your car. [email protected]

You can go to Electrify America or any other L2 charger. For that matter, if you buy the CHAdeMO or CCS adapter, Tesla does not disable fast charging. They just don't want this time-bomb of a car to destroy their Superchargers or other Teslas that may be in adjacent stalls. Now most of us feel it's a bit extreme, but the Superchargers are Tesla's property, and they have no way of knowing what internal damage may have occurred inside a pack of a crashed or flooded car.

Manufacturers that don't make their own chargers don't have to care what happens if their car catches fire. It's not their problem, so getting a CCS-based salvage car may never have HV disabled by the manufacturer.

 

[buckets0fun]

You can go to Electrify America or any other L2 charger. For that matter, if you buy the CHAdeMO or CCS adapter, Tesla does not disable fast charging.

Sorry, but you're incorrect.

 

[vcor]

@buckets0fun - Are you saying all L2 charging is disabled? I thought others had no problem with L2 and if the car was CHAdeMO or CCS enabled (not all cars are) that worked too. You could be right, or it may be for specific aged cars. I wish we had more definitive answers from Tesla.

 

[buckets0fun]

@buckets0fun - Are you saying all L2 charging is disabled? I thought others had no problem with L2 and if the car was CHAdeMO or CCS enabled (not all cars are) that worked too. You could be right, or it may be for specific aged cars. I wish we had more definitive answers from Tesla.

I had bolded the part you were incorrect on.

Aside from that, Level 2 is 220v. Level 1 is 110v. “Level 3” (DCFC) is chademo/supercharger/ccs.

The answers you’re looking for are public info from tesla directly. Nothing is magic nor a secret when it comes to their policy on this.

 

[M0rpH3x]

In theory, Tesla publicly states that any kind of DC charging is disabled for salvage/unsupported vehicles. In practice, I’ve seen only a few cases where more DC charging than SC was disabled. I don’t know about the US, but in the EU Tesla could run into trouble if they disabled CCS, for instance.