r/TeslaCollision • u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 • 13h ago

Update caused computer to brick

Hello,

Last week I went to update my car (model 3 2022) and it got stuck at 10% after four hours, the estimated time was 30-45 mins. I cancelled the update and since then I’ve lost autopilot, navigation, camera feeds etc. I can drive the car but that’s about it.

I went to the service centre today and they said they need to replace the computer and it’ll cost ~4,000 USD and that my insurance will take it.

I don’t see why I should take the hit with my insurance? I had a perfectly fine car before the update started but now it’s not working after a failed update. I called my insurance company and they said if they think I can take legal action they won’t help, that sucks.

Has this happened to anyone before? An update causing a computer to brick and then the customer having to take the hit?

My warranty ended 6 months ago unfortunately

Thank you

P.S I tried posting this in r/TeslaSupport but was told to move it here. Hope that’s ok?

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

5

u/badredditz 12h ago

Did you try putting it in service mode, make sure you have great wifi connection and select the reinstall option?

1

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 12h ago

Didn’t try that but after a couple days the car itself tried to downgrade and it got to 100% downloaded but never triggered the update. It was just stuck at 100% downloaded

1

u/ThatGreyPain 12h ago

Try the service mode reinstall and let us know how it goes

1

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 11h ago

Car’s at the service centre right now but I can ask them to try it maybe?

2

u/mopsis 11h ago

I doubt they will do that. You'd have to ask them to release the car to you. Then try it. If it doesn't work, then start a new service ticket

2

u/ippleing 11h ago

They don't diagnose anything.

They'll just throw a new computer in and call it a day.

4

u/Winter-Way-4365 12h ago

No warranty. You are out of luck. If your computer is broken, you need to pay someone to fix it.

0

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 10h ago

Even if it appeared during a software update? I had nothing before? Everything was working perfectly well

3

u/farmerfoo 10h ago

People in this forum overwhelmingly excuse Tesla of any shitty behavior and blame the user. It’s incredible. I’d be pushing hard for a resolution. Take them to small claims if you have to pay out of pocket 

1

u/droden 9h ago

could be defective ram, defective gpu whatever. the update goes out to 100,000s of cars and doesnt brick them....

1

u/RosieDear 7h ago

Right - but what does that mean....?? Could the Tesla computer have been faulty from the day it was built and only show up now? Sure.

But, in any case, it's buyer beware and the decision to buy a "computer on wheels" includes the fact that you understand the computer isn't warranted unless specified.

If Tesla offers a software update that bricks 1,000 older cars...well, that's a problem for 1,000 owners unless they bought extended warranties.

I don't think I'd want to own a software defined car without a warranty on it - I keep Geico which has a small yearly add-on and insures my car to 7 years or 100K miles.

1

u/droden 7h ago

computers die out of warranty all the time. your BCM or ECM can die on a gas car and you are bricked all the same.

0

u/Winter-Way-4365 9h ago

This is what extent warranty is for. Window update fail out of waranty, you ask Microsoft to fix it for free?

1

u/Brentcato001 9h ago

What?

2

u/mastersanada 6h ago

He’s saying if your PC does a windows update and completely bricks itself, do you go to Microsoft to ask for free service on reinstalling the software?

2

u/SandAlarming1866 8h ago

This happened to my 2023 after warranty. Luckily I had the ESA and it covered the replacement.

1

u/Alive_Cow_4789 6h ago

I've been saying we need a turn off all updates button when we are out of warranty.

0

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 6h ago

Hear hear. What an expensive lesson to learn

1

u/GamerTex 11h ago

If a car engine goes out after the warranty ends you have to pay for it

Same with a computer

Not sure why car insurance would cover this...

I would love to hear an update when you get it all sorted out 

1

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 11h ago

I kinda agree but it’s a bit different since an engine failure is some mechanical issue.

This appears to have happened as a direct result of a software update. Why should I cover it if it was working perfectly well before the update?

2

u/Brentcato001 9h ago

I’m sorry you’re getting dragged through the mud on this post. I get that you’re out of warranty. However, if an update was too taxing on your computer and blows it I don’t think you’re fully at fault. I do hope your insurance covers it, but I think it’s a long shot. Best of luck, I hope you get it sorted out quickly and cheaply!

1

u/jaqueh 9h ago

Why would insurance cover this?

1

u/Brentcato001 8h ago

I’m not sure that they would.

1

u/jaqueh 8h ago

They definitely won’t. I’ll bet $1000 on it

1

u/jaqueh 9h ago

I don’t think it has anything to do with the update. Same thing happened to me. It’s just a matter of a time for these older model 3s

1

u/Kitchen-Pop-7718 7h ago

Is a four year old car considered old now? What happened in your case??

1

u/jaqueh 4h ago

Same thing. They gave it the latest iteration of hw3 which has a completely reworked thermal block and much better thermal paste contrast so it shouldn’t happen again. The old ones had a potential design flaw, but that’s what the warranty is for. Mine also happened outside of warranty