My Model S MCU Died - Tesla Service Update #6

[@rafacq]

Hi Alex. A few questions and a comment. 1) Was the MCU replaced under warranty? 2) Which S do you have? 3) What is your build date? I bought my used 2015 S85D in April 2019 (built date 4/15). It had 12,004 miles when I picked it up in San Diego, then drove it home to Dallas. Great buy, great price. Same blue as yours but cream next Gen seats. I do have the premium sound and the subzero package. I still have 2 1/2 years warranty and currently have 28,900 miles. So far no major issues with my car. In 18 months I’ve been to the SC twice. The first time was after arriving home in Dallas. They needed to inspect the car and check why on 2 occasions while I was in LA the autopilot said it was not available. The issue never happened on my drive back and they couldn’t find anything wrong with the car. In the fall I had a FOB quit working, even after replacing the battery. Tesla Ranger came to the house and gave me a new one (after they programmed it - 20 minutes). The second visit was because I got a warning that the automatic power brake was faulty and it recommended I take the car in for service. The alert went away the next day and never came back. I called a few days later to tell them the error was gone but they said to still bring it in they wanted to check it. I also asked them to check a clicking noise when turning in reverse. When I picked up the car they said they saw the error in the log but could not find what caused it. They performed several test, checked the all the brakes and couldn’t reproduce the error. The issue has never happened again. They added some shims to the front suspension and the clicks went away (my car has coil suspension). In 18 months 2 SC visits, 1 Ranger visit. Guess I’ve been lucky. My MCU seems to be working ok except the 3G connectivity died for 2 days (seems AT&T had the 3G network down, yes it will go away sometime). I did have a weird experience the other day. I got to the car and when I opened the door, both screens were off. The speed display came on after about 30-40 seconds but the MCU took about 2-3 minutes. It was like the car had gone into hybernation. Been working fine now so crossing my fingers. I do love the car and plan to keep it for a long time. No rattles or noises. Still has the original MXM4 tires, which I think may last another 6K-8K miles. I will never buy an ICE car again. Only another Tesla. Thanks for all the great videos. Stay safe!

[@AlexVenz]

So sorry I missed this comment. My Model S is a 2015 70D that was built in November of 2015. The MCU was replaced under the ESA (Tesla's version of an extended warranty), so I was only out the standard ESA service charge.

[@bulkmailbullseye70]

A car should NEVER be damaged by the people you entrust to care for it. once had an AMG dented eight times in various spots while at MB of Oakland. They repainted but never blinked or apologized. Dents so voluminous that i caught another one after repairs were done. Car was a garage queen. never saw parking lot while drove.

[@rxonmymind8362]

Always do a walk around for a video of your car with the service technician.

[@tonymtdew]

My MCU in my 2015 Model S is showing signs of its life coming to an end. I reached out to Tesla to ask for the upgrade to MCU2 and they are ordering the parts for it! It might be finally time that the AP1 cars get taken care of.

[@AlexVenz]

If so, it's just my luck that I'd miss the window by a few weeks 🤣 I hope Tesla comes through with that MCU2 upgrade for you!

[@curt8806]

good thing tesla owners have money. i would be so pissed if my car display died after 5 years.

[@ddeboy002]

Just filed a complaint with nhtsa Tesla didn't even acknoledge my issue and told me to reboot. It shouldn't black out while driving!

[@dzsink]

Hey Alex! My MCU1 got changed three times. Seems like this one is on its way out. Got my Certified MS60 in 2017 with no autopilot. Delivery mileage was below 30k. Now 53k miles later seems like it is dying again. Legging to turn on, many times both ICU and MCU goes blank when you just sit in the car to get off. Great video again BTW. Got service appointment within 2 weeks of booking.

[@sofga13512]

My 2015 S was rendered useless 10 days ago when the trunk lid module failed ... the door locks wouldn’t work because the system thought the trunk was open. Yesterday, during a mobile service visit to replace the trunk module, the MCU died. A service center appointment had to be scheduled .. earliest available is December 10th. Total down time: FIVE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS. Thanks Tesla!

[@FurEngel]

My Model S (AP2->AP3) with MCU1 has just started to have problems. It randomly freezes, sometimes needs to be rebooted. Service is coming on Friday to replace it with a MCU2.

[@xeniavader]

Same thing happened to me. Bad memory chip Tesla knows about. This is a VERY common problem. I waited over 6 weeks for the part... finally insisted I get a loaner.... my car was fixed 3 days later. Very frustrating. I'd still never drive any other car.... but.... lots of repairs and issues.

[@koriv6329]

This also happened to my mom's Tesla Model S! We are in Raleigh, NC and Tesla has told us that there are no MCU's that are available. This has been an issue for the past month and we're going in tomorrow morning to see if they can fix it because there has been terrible communication on all parts.

[@tuomomakitalo5128]

I’ve heard a LOT of MCU1s failing lately. Seems to be connected with the latest software. Majority of them seem to have at least ap1. I think I am still rocking the pre-ap mcu1. Hopefully it doesn’t break down anytime soon.

[@AlexVenz]

It was the older software versions with excessive logging that chewed through the eMMC write cycles.

[@tuomomakitalo5128]

Alex Venz yes, that is true. I don’t know if that was just a coinsidence, but there seemed to be several popping up in the couple of days.

[@AlexVenz]

We're probably going to see the number of MCU1 failures increase quite a bit as original units age. The issue also got some news attention recently due to an NHTSA investigation, which has caused more people to speak up about the failures.

[@berttroubleyn3475]

Agreed. Since a month or two, MCU1's have been failing at a massive rate, or at least here in the EU. I've also got the feeling that one of the recent updates triggered something that killed off lots of eMMC's. There's a company at 2 hours from my home that specialises in MCU1 replacement (and they add a much bigger chip to make sure the issue doesn't reoccur so quickly) and their waiting list is now over 5 months.

[@macgreiner]

It would be good Alex to get a video regarding the changes in notice from AP 2.5 to 3 in the Model 3.

[@zzsql]

Is that a piece?

[@roblbrewer]

Had to have the MCU1 replaced in my 2013 model S. No offer of MCU2 but I now have LTE instead of 3G wireless.

[@rohankrishna95]

I test drove a Model S a few days ago, applied for a loan with BAC, and approved for a very good rate. I am not sure if I should purchase one or not after watching your videos (I am or should I say I was looking at Tesla's used inventory - 2016 MS 40K miles).

[@footsupport553]

its only 1500 to upgrade. these cars are very reliable..after 2014

[@rohankrishna95]

@@footsupport553 I did purchase one, 2016 with 36K miles. Not sure about the new but old Teslas are Junk. I sold mine after 10 months of ownership and multiple visits to the dealership, appointments are always two weeks out. Tesla customer service is the worst I have seen.

[@jozefroman2110]

My MCU died on 13th February 2021. And took almost 1 month for Tesla to get the replacement board. In the mean time the car was discharging like crazy, 12-15km/day. I live in EU and 6hr away from service center. Luckily it was charging and driving fine. Just a week before I did manage to install the latest update which ment my turn signals were working and I had a reverse camera stream in the middle of MCU also the pin to drive got disabled. The "new" MCU1 works slow but fine for now. While it is still on 3G is guess I'll opt for MCU2 rather then spent the money on LTE upgrade or modem. I have a 12/2015 MS 70D, not sure why it has 3G only.

[@LoveItDirtyOffroad]

You're scaring me dude....I tore down a complete 2016 model s to build a sand rail (I forgot why) and recently "powered up" with every possible dummy light on and main screen not turning on...I do have a green and purple connector (on main screen) I can't find the wire for or remember if it had a wire connected to it....I shoulda built a gasser

[@nbrainshutdown]

I feel you AP1 MCU1 replaced out of warranty 2 weeks ago... no MCU2 upgrade option available yet :|

[@AlexVenz]

If you don't mind me asking, what did Tesla charge you for an out of warranty replacement?

[@nbrainshutdown]

@@AlexVenz €2200 in Portugal

[@michaelbrown7881]

For me in San Diego $1800(10/2019) now 12/2020 the battery died and mcu won’t turn again so hopefully they can add updates (last update Sep 2020). I’m hopefully they can get it to run again

[@roygardiner4002]

Our '14 S85 ("Snow White") MCU1 began behaving erratically (Lock ups, random crashes) despite the EMMC recall upgrade, so we decided to bite the bullet and go MCU2. BIG improvement, much faster refreshes, Netflix, KZbin etc. But the net-based radio is pretty crap, lots of dropouts depending on weather and specific 'no signal' areas. No random glitches though so I do recommend MCU2. p.s. As it's a Keeper we have just had all the suspension arms and drop links replaced by an independent specialist in the UK at 110k miles. Souund investment in a brilliant car.

[@aninepige1]

My MCU died 2.5 weeks ago. Now at the Tesla SC for the third consecutive week. No indication of when the MCU will be changed - just that they only can install refurbished old MCU, meaning that the problem might happen again. No loaner and no response when I text them. So sad really - I used to be a happy Tesla customer!

[@michaelbrown7881]

What is the warranty for a refurbished MCU1? Is it still one year? I had it replaced in Oct 2019(owner 2014 Model S)

[@moineaux9173]

Does it have a OBD2 port like other cars?!

[@AlexVenz]

It does have the physical port but because the car doesn't produce emissions, it's not required to really do anything (seriously, most of the pins aren't even connected & typical OBDII tools don't work). There is a separate diagnostics port that gives you CAN bus access, though.

[@eternalvigil8416]

You guys were at the Van Nuys service center around the same time my Model 3 was down there getting its FSD retrofit upgrade - my visit went off without a hitch and the only other time I've interacted with the Tesla service centers was getting a tail light replaced due to water intrusion (which they forgot to plug in when I picked it up). They sent out a ranger service who lived in the area and the service visit took less than 10 mins.

[@tjxoom1]

My MCU 1 has been out since May. While waiting for MCU 1 replacement Tesla called and offered me MCU 2. So now I'm waiting for MCU 2. I guess it's a blessing that I'm waiting for so long. I have 2013 S 85 Pre AP.

[@xxFel415xx]

How much did it cost you? I’m on process buying use 2013 S85

[@marybrown3103]

We have been waiting 4 months for our MCU1 replacement. Our model S is still under warranty and they still keep stalling. The Palm Springs service department says they can't give me any status of the part because its made in China. Of course, they would be happy for us to pay for a $2500 MCU2 upgrade but, we just can't justify that expense right now. I feel that Tesla is just holding out so that we will give up and write a check.

[@Bestdeal8888]

How much did you have to paid to get it fixed ? Or it’s still under warranty ?

[@AlexVenz]

I have the extended service plan on my S, so I only had to pay the $300 per-visit repair fee.

[@Bestdeal8888]

@@AlexVenz perfect Tesla doesn’t sell extended services plan anymore on new Tesla Y I’m holding back to getting one because of the expensive repairs many people talking about online .

[@AlexVenz]

Most of the expensive failures are Model S and Model X specific. Model 3 and Model Y, generally, are vastly more reliable and Tesla has never offered the extended service plan on either the 3 or Y.

[@Bestdeal8888]

@@AlexVenz thank you for the info ! I will go for a model Y..

[@dancchang]

I have a 2012 Model S. About 2 years ago my MCU started showing the dreaded bubble on one corner. Tesla service fixed it under warranty and upgraded my 3G to LTE for free, which was pretty awesome. I don’t know if they gave me MCU 2, though.

[@AlexVenz]

They couldn't have installed MCU2 in your car 2 years ago--it had only been available in new cars for a few months at that point and no retrofit kits existed. Cool that Tesla upgraded your cell radio for free, though.

[@brippel82]

2015 model S 85 here.. MCU 1 died July 6th... when I put in my service ticket I was told MCU 2 upgrade was available at a cost of 2500 vs 1700 for the refurb MCU1. rather than continue to "kick the can" I opted for the upgrade and was told it would be ~2 weeks order time. fast forward to me dropping it off yesterday 8/4 because it finally came in. same experience as you with lack of turn signals, HVAC (except for cabin over heat protection) and oh yeah... one head light... very lack luster experience thus far as I wait the quoted week they say it will take for them to fix the car. still love my Tesla tho.

[@AlexVenz]

I'm glad you were able to get the upgrade scheduled! I guess mine failed just a little too early...

[@Rick9482]

Timely video for me as I'm in the process of buying a 2017 Model S. Lately, I've been looking at various videos on 12V battery issues, lifespan and changing out, etc. Bottom line here is I'm leaning very heavily on opting out of this purchase. I will continue in order to hear their offer on my trade-in but doubtful that will sway me. I think this video finally killed my desire for getting a Model S. That dual motor M3 is looking better and better.

[@AlexVenz]

The Model 3 is much better in many ways, unless you need the cargo space of the Model S. Both my wife and I prefer driving the 3 over the S.

[@Rick9482]

@@AlexVenz Yeah, pretty much agree the newer design is a winner. I just detest the front end on the 3 but having less problems popping up wins the day. KZbin, this has changed everything about how we spend out cash. Continues to amaze me!

[@roygardiner4002]

Please drive an S and a 3 before buying the wrong car ! We sampled Model 3's and found the interior cramped for two full sized adults, plus the ride quality on UK roads was awful. We then tried an early S85 (at 70k miles on coil springs even!) and ride quality, space and performance were different quality. This is our third year with "Snow White' (it's a 7 seater) have toured Europe and enjoyed every mile of free supercharging.

[@CrazyNickOO7]

Was this covered under warranty? I might be wrong, but I thought it was 4 year bumper to bumper warranty? Also, any idea why MCU2 removes the FM radio? I have Model 3 so it doesn’t apply to me but I can’t think of any technical reason why the MCU upgrade removes the FM radio...

[@AlexVenz]

It's covered under the 4 year warranty but, since I'm going on 5 years, it was covered by the ESA (extended warranty, basically). As for the radio, my understanding is that the tuner module is separate from the MCU and I guess Tesla decided it was too much trouble to adapt the old tuner assembly. 🤷‍♂️

[@empedance1933]

I believe you can use the Tunein app on Tesla’s which is an app that has digital streaming versions of many radio stations, so if the ones you listen to are on there it’s not as much of a problem unless you’re in an area with no cell service... still an odd trade off though

[@kerredderrek]

I have read that you can pay for a radio module with the MCU2 upgrade. They left it out because a lot of people do not use the radio feature of the MCU. The upgrade should have been cheaper without the radio module.

[@RobertIsmyname]

Love the panel gaps on your shirt. Brilliant

[@tbgoog]

Our 2014 ModelS had the MCU failing on our way back from the mediterranean to Germany, somewhere 300km from home. So I drove home with the (unimpressed) wife and our kids without high beam, A/C, km/h tacho, blinker and all the fun stuff. Reason for the MCU fail ist the eMMC flash memory, as so often.. Tesla in June 2020 was not yet ready to live to their responsibility of having delivered a car with non-automotive grade flash memory which they chose by their programming to write to so often that it dies. So I had to drive another 800km to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to get the flash chip exchanged and my certificates saved - at my own cost of 550Euros Later in 2020, Tesla in Germany came up with a sort of warranty after the NHTSA probe in the U.S. - they offered MCU swaps for cars with less than 100k miles / 160k km - which is less than what most affected Model S have. In case of more miles, just pay 2600Euros and you'll be good to go! Nice ? That's Tesla! Their service is really not at par with the technology company they claim to be. When I upgraded from 3G to LTE, as 3G service is cut soon in the central EU countries I discovered they just stopped selling these upgrade boards in summer 2020. Instead Tesla now offers a replacement service on their own for 550 Euros (again) - vs the 130 for the board alone. Had that done at Tesla and got my car back with air vents screwed up. Yey... so much fun. It's time for other car maker to start selling similar cars, so we no longer fall prey to Teslas nightmarish service. Yes the others fail too, at times... but no one ever screwed us as customers like this before. Lets see what the growing Model3 fleet will do when it ages.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

Crappy :/ SC was kind enough to share with me that ours was changed at around 50k miles. And we are at 95k. We shall see... The experience with Tesla had been so much good and bad. 2013 S 85 (edit: conveying appreciation for the comedy, outstanding!)

[@SquatSimp]

Does anyone know if there MCU2 chip is compatible with AP1 MS yet?

[@AlexVenz]

As of my visit a couple weeks ago, the MCU2 retrofit kit for Autopilot Hardware 1 cars isn't available yet but is coming at some point.

[@brandonbarr2784]

Same just happened to me on 2013 model S

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

Hi Alex! I'm really happy that you seem to have turned the corner on this MCU saga! I just had my Model 3's Autopilot computer replaced and so far so good. I did loose every possible setting that one could customize, but I know that could happen going into this process. I do love all of the new functionality and wouldn't go back to the previous hardwarecif given the opportunity to get my old settings back. It was really easy to select what I wanted, because of my prior experiences. I did loose the accumulated total distance travelled and the total energy consumption, oh well!

[@AlexVenz]

Service center folks told me that they're able to transfer most setting and stuff in about 90% of cars during the Hardware 3 upgrade. Sorry to hear that you lost your settings. In the case of my Model S MCU replacement, nothing was easily recoverable so all settings, profiles, efficiency data, etc. were lost.

[@kerredderrek]

@@AlexVenz Did you get a refund after they announced the emmc/64gb recall?

[@AlexVenz]

@@kerredderrek Nope. Tesla said I wasn't eligible. 🤷‍♂️

[@delschier1419]

Great video! Thanks. Recently my 4/2016 S had the MCU go unbootable black so I took it to service. I agreed for $2250 to put a MCU infotainment upgrade in but hours later going to lunch in the loaner the told me they weren't allowed to put it in because I didn't have electric tailgate lifts. I got a very polite run-a-round and I thought I should ask if they looked at my MCU and they hadn't. They said checking it would be $175 so I said OK. I got the car back a few days later with the MCU working like it did before it was going haywire years ago while still under warranty. I shouldn't have been charged anything as I complained at leas a half dozen times about the issues. Now I read somewhere on the web they are replacing the Tegra board for ~$350 instead of installing a $1136 repaired MCU1. I am sure mine will fail but for over a month it has been working like new after they replace $175 worth of corrupted files.

[@billligon4005]

Mr Joe Blitzflick -- you need to escape that dark cloud you live under. Your just not living right (LOL).

[@Bryan-eg9cc]

Same just happened to me this past Aug. on my 2013 P85. Screen was Black and unresponsive. Waited 3 weeks for my appointment at the local Tesla Service Center. Got the updated MCU 2 installed. $2500 later and it’s worth it. The screens (Driver Screen behind steering wheel and large Center Console Screen) are More Clear and Responsive. The Crazy thing was getting my car towed out of the Garage. So (1) it’s Rear wheel drive (2) it’s Backed into the garage, where my plug is. (3) Center screen is dead so you “CAN’T” engage "Tow Mode". (4) Tow truck driver uses a portable charger to jump start the car, in the hopes to wake up the Center Screen... but No! (5) Literally you’re Screwed the car has to be "DRAGGED OUT"? Luckily I found some Thick "large storage container lids" to use as skid plates! Genius it worked. Figured if it could work on furniture in a home, what’s the Difference. That Tow truck driver said I’m keeping those lids...hmmm. Anyways my model S is running Perfect now. Thanks for your Videos!

[@AlexVenz]

Wait, what? The tow truck driver didn't have a set of wheel dollies & was going to drag your car?! 🤦‍♂️

[@Bryan-eg9cc]

@@AlexVenz I live in a condo with 2 separate garages in Cali. the single garage door is 8' wide. with my S being pretty wide the wheel dollies hang outside of each wheel roughly 10 inches on either side. had this been a regular style 2 car garage, no worries.

[@flyfrt]

Does it supercharge?

[@AlexVenz]

I didn't test that because I don't live particularly close to a Supercharger and I needed to be able to make it to the service center. I guess I could have dropped by a Supercharger on the way to the service center, but I didn't have time.

[@floobertuber]

Automotive hardware applications call for high durability and fault tolerance in the areas of electrical, temperature, vibration, moisture, and other engineering domains. There is no place in an automotive application for eMMC memory. NONE. Its use in a car is shameful. And what did it save, over a more robust nonvolatile memory solution, maybe $2??!? (Edited for clarity, at +3 minutes after original post).

[@AlexVenz]

Agreed, eMMC was a terribly shortsighted choice.

[@teachingmaterial2011]

Alex, how many miles did the Model S have when MCU 1 failed.

[@AlexVenz]

About 40k miles

[@teachingmaterial2011]

Alex Venz my screen behind the steering wheel takes a long time to boot up and the connectivity between the iPhone and Model S doesn’t work until the screen boots up. Is this part of MCU1 failure?

[@AlexVenz]

It's not unusual for the binnacle computer and bluetooth to take a moment to get going if you have the energy saver mode enabled. If it has been getting worse with time, however, then something may be up.

[@flyfrt]

Blinkers work on my car but no sound

[@Plexipal]

My 2014 Model S MCU died in December 2019. Cost £1965.40 and 2 weeks at the service center...wonder how the MCU 2’s hold up over time, when I can get the upgrade I think I will but won’t be too happy about it because the upgrade is $2500 on top of the 2K replacement cost.

[@JohnDoe-vx3z]

In another 5 years, there won't be any MCU spare parts anymore to fix it again.

[@AlexVenz]

At least the MCU2 retrofit should be ready by then

[@nickolasrosenthal7757]

So my 2015 model S screen stopped working due to the fact that maybe Sunday I'm it and the liquid started coming out of the bottom of the screen so they told me that he said had failed but that is not the fault of the car so I have to pay to get it fixed problem was I can't get my car in the toe mode or can it open up the charging port and couldn't drive all the way To Tesla dealership in vegas without running out of mileage so I had to get told that 2 children's companies later finally one came with these things called sledge put him on the sledge and slid the Tesla up now I just hope they didn't damage my breaking system

[@KevinTiwana]

How much did the MCU cost you?

[@AlexVenz]

It was covered under the ESA (basically extended warranty), so I was only out of pocket $200 for the per visit service fee.

[@g0dfath3r71]

Replaced our eMMC board this past weekend in our 2015 P90D MS. Skipped Tesla SC and did it ourselves.

[@SquatSimp]

Kind of hoping my dies within two years while it’s still under warranty lol

[@curt8806]

it's not gonna. its planned obsolescence. tesla has your salary information. they push failed updates to owners of older teslas that they think can afford chip upgrades

[@SquatSimp]

@@curt8806 interesting... source of this info?

[@dakuwolfie103]

What a shit car lmfao that’s why everything shouldn’t be electrical

[@Lmulley0714]

Exactly same thing happened to my Tesla also. 😭😭

[@delschier1419]

I paid Tesla service $175 to see if my EMMc chip was actually bad and they gave the car back with with corrupted files repaired and the MCU working like new but that only lasted about two months. A month ago the music stopped playing and I did the two button salute and it went black and stayed black. I scheduled service but that was a month out. They were supposed to call when they had the part, a replacement Tegra board. They don't want to talk on the phone but with great difficulty I got a service guy to call. A person from my local service assured me I could bring it in sooner and that he would call when the part came in. He never called! I texted them on the appointment date and said I was not bringing the car unless they had the part. The guy on the phone said they would fix it while I waited but when I got there they said they would let me know when it would be done and the guy didn't seem to know if they did or did not have the part. Now they say it will be there for a week and it is cued for service, whatever that means. The good news is now they want $310 labor & parts instead of $1146. The guy on the phone said it would get a new 64 GB chip, but they guy there said I would get exactly what I had so looks like $300 every 4 yrs. I don't know what I am getting except the service guy said I would have a 1 yr warranty on the repair; I doubt in writing.

[@techmap4191]

This guy really has the absolute worst luck ever.

[@AlexVenz]

While I wouldn't say worst ever, yeah, my luck stat isn't great.

[@techmap4191]

@@AlexVenz Alex so sorry you have had all the bad luck. I have been watching you since the beginning and sad to say, you have been hit hard. Good luck to you brother!

[@duotronicnone4572]

No, he has a Tesla.

[@techmap4191]

@@duotronicnone4572 I have a Tesla and let me tell you, my experience with my car has been phenominal!

[@JohnDoe-vx3z]

POS

[@sofga13512]

My 2015 S was rendered useless 10 days ago when the trunk lid module failed ... the door locks wouldn’t work because the system thought the trunk was open. Yesterday, during a mobile service visit to replace the trunk module, the MCU died. A service center appointment had to be scheduled .. earliest available is December 10th. Total down time: FIVE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS. Thanks Tesla!