New car firmware?

[MrJack]

Mine MY2021 4S has 3378 ?
Mine hardware is different too.

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[Kingske]

Mine MY2021 4S has 3378 ?
Mine hardware is different too.

So, there are MY2021’s with PCM software versions 3378 and 3379.

 

[evanevery]

OTA Update? I thought we had to bring the car to the dealer for all "OTA updates" (except Map data)?

I'm not kidding here. Porsche doesn't seem to understand what real "OTA updates" are...

 

[NC_Taycan]

And there was some video where someone felt the PCM in a MY2021 looked much more responsive / snappy. If indeed there is new PCM hardware too, that leaves those of us with MY2020 cars stuck. Not feeling good about being an early adopter here...

 

[Mwa3aan]

And there was some video where someone felt the PCM in a MY2021 looked much more responsive / snappy. If indeed there is new PCM hardware too, that leaves those of us with MY2020 cars stuck. Not feeling good about being an early adopter here...

That was me commenting on the speed of the UI in one of the other threads.

I dont think the event this whole thread is based on was any significant update (if any).

We have seen a tiny update before like the Apple Music (not CarPlay) icon turning Red.

I have seen 3 different hardware versions on this forumfor the Taycan. The 2020 models have one consistent version and the 2021 model year have 2 different hardware versions so far.

The challenge with the Taycan is that there are over 90 micro control units in the car, whereas a Tesla only has 5. So which one (or combination) specifically that hardware version refers to isn't known. Its hard to tell what and if any significant changes there are.

We will know when the OTA update expected in January lands through the dealer network. Will be fun to see how it all plays out.

 

[NC_Taycan]

The challenge with the Taycan is that there are over 90 micro control units in the car, whereas a Tesla only has 5. So which one (or combination) specifically that hardware version refers to isn't known. Its hard to tell what and if any significant changes there are.

I'm not sure this is the case about the number of MCUs and how it relates. All modern cars (ICE or EV) have tens if not over a hundred MCUs - however not all of them are "big" ones like the Tesla MCU and instrument cluster display, auto-pilot, etc. There is an MCU for each window control, an MCU for suspension, one for ambient lighting, etc. Many of them may not ever need an update and many of them may not be able to be updated OTA for various reasons.

Your point is valid though about we don't know specifically what a software or hardware version refers to on the Taycan (or more specifically, what versions of the updateable MCUs are bundled in with a software version).

 

[chrisk]

If you read the TSB of any module update (all models and most brands) it usually starts with something like "make sure the 12v battery is in good shape and plug it in on a battery conditioner during charging. If there is a power loss during the update the module will probably be dead for good. So how can they perform any important module OTA updates when the 12v batteries die out of nowhere? For a module OTA they would have to guarantee uninterrupted power supply during the update and that update itself will not drain the battery.

We know that the recent Charging module update had to be performed at the dealer. If they could do it OTA then why would they pay dealerships labor hours for the update?
I expect important updates to be done at the dealer. I am not sure if we will get notified when updates become available if they are not part of a safety recall.

ps. My Macan had pending updates and nobody notified me. I just found out when I took the car in for an oil change.

 

[NC_Taycan]

@chrisk has a very good point above...

 

[Mwa3aan]

I'm not sure this is the case about the number of MCUs and how it relates. All modern cars (ICE or EV) have tens if not over a hundred MCUs - however not all of them are "big" ones like the Tesla MCU and instrument cluster display, auto-pilot, etc. There is an MCU for each window control, an MCU for suspension, one for ambient lighting, etc. Many of them may not ever need an update and many of them may not be able to be updated OTA for various reasons.

Your point is valid though about we don't know specifically what a software or hardware version refers to on the Taycan (or more specifically, what versions of the updateable MCUs are bundled in with a software version).

Sorry, I should have been more clear. my point was that we cannot tell purely from one hardware version number if there are any significant enhancements that were made to the car in general because the features are spread between 10s of controllers (to your point).

it might be that the hardware version referred to in the screens are PCM only. I would love to know what that processing module is responsible for.

I wish there was a full breakout diagram available for these modern cars. I would really like to get my hands on material that shows what is replaceable and plug and play between model years. They won’t completely re-engineer the platform from one year to the next.

 

[Dave T]

If you read the TSB of any module update (all models and most brands) it usually starts with something like "make sure the 12v battery is in good shape and plug it in on a battery conditioner during charging. If there is a power loss during the update the module will probably be dead for good. So how can they perform any important module OTA updates when the 12v batteries die out of nowhere? For a module OTA they would have to guarantee uninterrupted power supply during the update and that update itself will not drain the battery.

We know that the recent Charging module update had to be performed at the dealer. If they could do it OTA then why would they pay dealerships labor hours for the update?
I expect important updates to be done at the dealer. I am not sure if we will get notified when updates become available if they are not part of a safety recall.

ps. My Macan had pending updates and nobody notified me. I just found out when I took the car in for an oil change.

They always say that, but it is possible to design a firmware upgrade process such that I can handle loss of power in the middle. I would be surprised if it wasn’t properly done to be able to handle that.

 

[Skystorm]

I have 3378 in my Taycan 4S 2021 loaner..

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