Supercharging for an Early Model S - Can't Tesla do the right thing?

[scgaskill]

I wish this wasn’t as entirely predictable as it ultimately was.

Yep, I knew it would happen, and I told them that I wouldn't do their inspections if this would be the end result, and I told them that my car never had SuC to the best of my knowledge, and they still didn't do their f--cking job and figure out that this would be the outcome and instead went full steam ahead and then cluelessly woke up and said, hey wait a minute, this won't work!

No *sugar*, thanks for getting my hopes up AGAIN thinking you dolts actually figured out a sensible workaround! I feel like Charlie Brown, laying on my back staring up at a grinning Lucy.

 

[ucmndd]

So are you gonna pay for the inspections?

 

[scgaskill]

When the SM was apologizing and trying to explain why 9 year old original feature purchases were posing problems now, he also said that he was not going to charge me for the inspections. Small miracles.... I will not pay for them as I told him this last week, see my screenshots of the mobile app messages we exchanged.

I also told him that my summary of our phone conversation i put in the app was specifically to document what we had discussed, and when he didn't correct or contest anything I said I took that as a implicit agreement to the statement. He said someone else messaged back the "no problem, have a great night" reply.

On a side note, I had purchased a home link module off eBay for $25 with the intent that, if it was recognized by the car, id use it, if not, id just "write off" the $25 as a loss. When I dropped off the car yesterday I mentioned this and asked about enabling it.

I got the usual Snide looks and "we'll have to inspect it to see if it was installed properly..." and they'd charge me a half hours labor, $122.50, but if it were ok, they'd enable it. $122.50 to replace the clicker on the visor is silly but, what the hell, go ahead.

Then, in the middle of the SuC fiasco, the estimate for the home link went to $269 which included a remove and replace charge. I had talked to them earlier in the day, when they told me they hadn't even started on the car, I told them if it were more than the half hour labor charge not to do it, it wasn't that important to me. The guy on the phone started to say that since I have a MS I didn't need a home link model, but then I think he caught himself, realizing the vintage of my car, and he retracted his statement. Sigh....

They sent me a message saying it needed to be removed, and asked if I wanted to buy a new one. When I spoke to the SM about the SuC fiasco, he said to disregard that message about the home link, that the tech got my used one working, and that they'd only charge me the half hour labor as originally stated. I wasn't really interested in talking about the home link anyway, that seemed to be a dodge to get off the SuC fiasco and I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

So I don't have SuC but I can take the garage door clicker off the visor! Woohoo!!!! But maybe I'm being too optimistic, I don't have the car back yet, so I shouldn't assume that they got the home link working.

 

[Gloff]

sorry bud, I understand you and you don't understand the history behind these cars that were sold for a loss only to meet a prior contractual agreement. Back in 2012/2013, supercharging was just supercharging... there was no pay-per-use supercharging and there were just a handful of SC sites. Elon even stated that 'it would be too complicated to charge people to use superchargers, so they will be without fees.'... obviously this changed over time, and FUSC became a desirable thing. Back to your rant: you are either asking for something that wasn't an option on that car (fee based supercharging) or asking for a discount on an option just because the car is old and you are far removed from the original sale. This gets complicated and irritating though bc if you sold the car to Tesla, they would activate fee-based supercharging and then resell (prob to auction) the car...

Supercharging was a $2500 when these extreme-base models were sold.. No car company would offer a $2500 upgrade for 90% off just because it's a 2nd or 3rd owner that has the vehicle now. Because it's just software enabled, it seems more extreme than other similar situations.

Can't have it both ways. But of course Tesla, like Apple, controls the entire ecosystem, so they do what they want anyway.

 

[scgaskill]

When the SM was apologizing and trying to explain why 9 year old original feature purchases were posing problems now, he also said that he was not going to charge me for the inspections. Small miracles.... I will not pay for them as I told him this last week, see my screenshots of the mobile app messages we exchanged.

I also told him that my summary of our phone conversation i put in the app was specifically to document what we had discussed, and when he didn't correct or contest anything I said I took that as a implicit agreement to the statement. He said someone else messaged back the "no problem, have a great night" reply.

On a side note, I had purchased a home link module off eBay for $25 with the intent that, if it was recognized by the car, id use it, if not, id just "write off" the $25 as a loss. When I dropped off the car yesterday I mentioned this and asked about enabling it.

I got the usual Snide looks and "we'll have to inspect it to see if it was installed properly..." and they'd charge me a half hours labor, $122.50, but if it were ok, they'd enable it. $122.50 to replace the clicker on the visor is silly but, what the hell, go ahead.

Then, in the middle of the SuC fiasco, the estimate for the home link went to $269 which included a remove and replace charge. I had talked to them earlier in the day, when they told me they hadn't even started on the car, I told them if it were more than the half hour labor charge not to do it, it wasn't that important to me. The guy on the phone started to say that since I have a MS I didn't need a home link model, but then I think he caught himself, realizing the vintage of my car, and he retracted his statement. Sigh....

They sent me a message saying it needed to be removed, and asked if I wanted to buy a new one. When I spoke to the SM about the SuC fiasco, he said to disregard that message about the home link, that the tech got my used one working, and that they'd only charge me the half hour labor as originally stated. I wasn't really interested in talking about the home link anyway, that seemed to be a dodge to get off the SuC fiasco and I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

So I don't have SuC but I can take the garage door clicker off the visor! Woohoo!!!! But maybe I'm being too optimistic, I don't have the car back yet, so I shouldn't assume that they got the home link working.

Update: this afternoon I picked up the car from the SC. As I knew would be the case, they said that they had contacted the SuperCharging group and were told that the only option was the ridiculous $12K FUSC option, there was no PAYG option for my car.

They said that the BMS had the cars codes configured, which say it was originally a 40kW car, and even though that software limit was removed when a previous owner paid for the upgrade to 60kW the BMS would not allow SUC. I told them to change the codes since it is now a 60kW battery but he said that was something they had never done before and could not do.

I did some research tonight and see that the BMS is built into the battery pack, and the pack needs to be removed from the car to replace it, so it's not a DIY job, even though the BMS circuit boards are available on eBay.

I'm sure the BMS board can be programmed can't it? For my specific cars config? Not sure how that would be done but very sure I don't have the knowledge or tools to do it. They did get the homelink working, they charged me $122.50 to enable it, a half hours labor. I will try programming it to my garage door opener tomorrow.

 

[scgaskill]

Update: this afternoon I picked up the car from the SC. As I knew would be the case, they said that they had contacted the SuperCharging group and were told that the only option was the ridiculous $12K FUSC option, there was no PAYG option for my car.

They said that the BMS had the cars codes configured, which say it was originally a 40kW car, and even though that software limit was removed when a previous owner paid for the upgrade to 60kW the BMS would not allow SUC. I told them to change the codes since it is now a 60kW battery but he said that was something they had never done before and could not do.

I did some research tonight and see that the BMS is built into the battery pack, and the pack needs to be removed from the car to replace it, so it's not a DIY job, even though the BMS circuit boards are available on eBay.

I'm sure the BMS board can be programmed can't it? For my specific cars config? Not sure how that would be done but very sure I don't have the knowledge or tools to do it. They did get the homelink working, they charged me $122.50 to enable it, a half hours labor. I will try programming it to my garage door opener tomorrow.

The $122.50 was the only charge, they didn't try to charge me for the battery and OBC inspections.

 

[brainhouston]

They said that the BMS had the cars codes configured, which say it was originally a 40kW car, and even though that software limit was removed when a previous owner paid for the upgrade to 60kW the BMS would not allow SUC. I told them to change the codes since it is now a 60kW battery but he said that was something they had never done before and could not do.

this makes no sense...
i seriously doubt bms is responsible for that, it should only control the current..
u can swap to diff pack n pretty sure it still won't charge
Tesla needs to change SC00 to SC04 in their system, but for whatever reason they claim it can't be done without 12k..
When u connect the cable to SuC it communicates with Tesla servers, thats how u get billed
If it sees SC00 u don't get anything, no matter what BMS u have or what setting in the car u have...

For salvage cars, they turn off a setting in the car, NOT on their server, thats why when u unlock SC via root or other non-tesla way u still able to charge

 

[gaswalla]

Supercharging is tied to the VIN via the handshake from the supercharger to the car. You can switch battery packs, but the Vin stays the same, the BMS has nothing to do with it.

 

[popgodazipa]

OP why not reach out to Rich Rebuild or some other non authorized Tesla service?

 

[scgaskill]

OP why not reach out to Rich Rebuild or some other non authorized Tesla service?

That seems to be my last option as they are giving me no real official option. I'll need to research what non-Tesla options are in the Chicago area where I live.

They keep bringing up that originally my car was an MS40 but was later licensed for full 60kW battery, making it an MS60, but the codes for the VIN haven't changed so I got the "Scarlet letter" hanging around the cars neck making SuC impossible for all practical purposes.

Here's an idea Tesla, how about updating the status of my VIN so it's not cursed with it's original MS40 designation since the previous owner PAID to increase it to full 60kW capability?!?!?! Have it actually indicate it's current status! The status it's had for who knows how many years! What a radical concept!

Im sitting in the car now, 8am Saturday morning, ready to program the Homelink, it's enabled, and shows it's a Homelink 4.

When I start the programming process, it says to have the original remote and park in front of the garage door - check - click start, says to wait up to a minute, then it seems to time out, it never gets to the next step.

I've tried rebooting the MCU but no change. I've tried switching to D-mode(?) but get an error that it was not enabled. Nit sure what D-mode is but thought I'd give it a try.

Will go back in the house and start researching this.

I've got an MCU1 and 2022.8.10.16 software. Maybe the HL is too new for this SW?

They said they programmed it at the SC to test it, but the only entry was "Homelink 1" which was unprogrammed. More SC BS perhaps.

I'm assuming that's a default entry. I deleted it and started from scratch adding my own but no luck so far.

 

[scgaskill]

Supercharging is tied to the VIN via the handshake from the supercharger to the car. You can switch battery packs, but the Vin stays the same, the BMS has nothing to do with it.

 

[scgaskill]

Supercharging is tied to the VIN via the handshake from the supercharger to the car. You can switch battery packs, but the Vin stays the same, the BMS has nothing to do with it.

And that seems to be the heart of the problem, my VIN is forever cursed with it's original MS40 heritage and the fact that it has now been licensed to be a full MS60, Tesla seemingly refuses to change it.

Having said that, I'm not they only one who has had this $12K price quoted. Back in this thread I saw where another poster uploaded their estimate showing the $12K charge. This prompted me to insist on getting a written estimate, which is when they somehow imagined that maybe my car was a salvage or something that had LOST SuC and needed it to be re-enabled, which isn't the case.

They would have known that of course if they actually looked at their records rather than just assuming and guessing, but that's too much work. Instead just go blindly ahead, wasting 4 days of my time and get my hopes up, only to finally realize they guessed wrong.... AGAIN!

So, even if I had an "always-MS60" that was never licensed for SuC, like the OP, the answer would be the same, $12K FUSC or nothing. Ok, but then why keep bringing up that mine started as an MS40? That's totally irrelevant now that it has been licensed for full MS60 battery. There seems to be no PAYG option for any MS60.

 

[brainhouston]

OP why not reach out to Rich Rebuild or some other non authorized Tesla service?

that won't work...
as far as I know hackers can only change things on the car, not in Tesla database...

@scgaskill u forget how large corporations work
not everyone has access to everything
seems old models got either forgotten or computer systems were setup/upgraded in a way that they can't find a way to modify it any other way
i'm sure they can if they find the right engineers/software ppl but most likely its not worth their time
think about it, how many ppl actually didn't pay for SC back in a day, considering how few 40/60 models were sold...

also, 40>60 upgrade was just unlocking the software locked battery, nothing to do with Supercharging issue or 'licensing' as u say...
u can have any battery u like in a car these day, software supports it...

at this point u either have to live with no SC, or just sell n get a diff tesla.
prices are really low on used cars, just look at carsandbids.com

 

[n2mb_racing]

that won't work...
as far as I know hackers can only change things on the car, not in Tesla database...

@scgaskill u forget how large corporations work
not everyone has access to everything
seems old models got either forgotten or computer systems were setup/upgraded in a way that they can't find a way to modify it any other way
i'm sure they can if they find the right engineers/software ppl but most likely its not worth their time
think about it, how many ppl actually didn't pay for SC back in a day, considering how few 40/60 models were sold...

also, 40>60 upgrade was just unlocking the software locked battery, nothing to do with Supercharging issue or 'licensing' as u say...
u can have any battery u like in a car these day, software supports it...

at this point u either have to live with no SC, or just sell n get a diff tesla.
prices are really low on used cars, just look at carsandbids.com

Yeah, I agree. Stop wasting your time, sell this car and buy a different one with supercharging. The price difference has to be only a few thousand, if that. You could probably even get a larger battery, which is going to make supercharging and road trips much better. Or screw Tesla and go buy something else entirely.

 

[MP3Mike]

I've tried rebooting the MCU but no change. I've tried switching to D-mode(?) but get an error that it was not enabled. Nit sure what D-mode is but thought I'd give it a try.

Will go back in the house and start researching this.

I've got an MCU1 and 2022.8.10.16 software. Maybe the HL is too new for this SW?

I'm not positive but I thought that Homelink support was part of the tech package which your Model S doesn't have.

 

[scgaskill]

I'm not positive but I thought that Homelink support was part of the tech package which your Model S doesn't have.

I bought one off eBay and paid the SC a half hours labor to enable it all carte.

 

[scgaskill]

Yeah, I agree. Stop wasting your time, sell this car and buy a different one with supercharging. The price difference has to be only a few thousand, if that. You could probably even get a larger battery, which is going to make supercharging and road trips much better. Or screw Tesla and go buy something else entirely.

I can live w/o SuC, it's more principle at this point, that they have increased the cost to enable SuC almost five fold, from $2500 after initial purchase to now $12K. I could understand if they left it at $2500, which used to be for FUSC, but was now for PAYG, since they want to get rid of FUSC, but they have no option for PAYG and $12K is just nuts.

No, I'm not going to sell the car and take a loss and then spend even more for another car, only to find issues with it as well, that Tesla won't tell me about until AFTER I buy it, and only when I run into them. I'll save my money for our next trip to Hawaii or my next liveaboard dive trip rather than waste it buying my way out of this car.

As I've said before, this car meets my needs 95% of the time, so in the end I'm happy with it, it IS a beautiful car that I DO enjoy driving. Just hope it's a while before I have LDU or emmc issues to deal with. My tolerance for issues is pretty low right now!

Thank you all for your advice, I was hoping that I would be the squeaky wheel that got the grease, and they would come up with something, but this has run its course and I'm ready to let it go now.

 

[n2mb_racing]

I can live w/o SuC, it's more principle at this point, that they have increased the cost to enable SuC almost five fold, from $2500 after initial purchase to now $12K. I could understand if they left it at $2500, which used to be for FUSC, but was now for PAYG, since they want to get rid of FUSC, but they have no option for PAYG and $12K is just nuts.

No, I'm not going to sell the car and take a loss and then spend even more for another car, only to find issues with it as well, that Tesla won't tell me about until AFTER I buy it, and only when I run into them. I'll save my money for our next trip to Hawaii or my next liveaboard dive trip rather than waste it buying my way out of this car.

As I've said before, this car meets my needs 95% of the time, so in the end I'm happy with it, it IS a beautiful car that I DO enjoy driving. Just hope it's a while before I have LDU or emmc issues to deal with. My tolerance for issues is pretty low right now!

Thank you all for your advice, I was hoping that I would be the squeaky wheel that got the grease, and they would come up with something, but this has run its course and I'm ready to let it go now.

This was probably mentioned earlier, but I wonder if one of the Tesla hacking experts could enable CHAdeMO on your car? At least you'd have something for trips.

 

[MP3Mike]

I bought one off eBay and paid the SC a half hours labor to enable it all carte.

Right, but if the option is really keyed to the "tech package" then it isn't going to work, since you don't have it.

 

[scgaskill]

Right, but if the option is really keyed to the "tech package" then it isn't going to work, since you don't have it.

Hmmm.... I have the HL icon at the top of the screen and can start to program a new HL but I get a screen saying "preparing to program, please wait it can take up to a minute", then it times out and goes back to the screen where you can add devices.

Seems odd that it would show enabled and partially work. But the CCS adapter also said it was enabled and didn't work either due to the missing SuC license. But SuC is an individually licensed feature, Tech Package was a feature bundle sold as one item as a sales incentive vs buying features all carte. I would think the individual features themselves could be enabled individually. Additional Vehicle Features doesn't list Tech Package as an item does it? Aren't the individual features listed separately? I'm not at the car to check.

Supposedly the SC tried it and programmed it there to make sure it worked, but as I said, the default "Homelink 1" said it was unprogrammed so they probably didn't do anything other than add the device w/o actually trying to program it.