[davidalindsey1]

Well this service advisor refuses to give me reconfig via OTA unless I had an invoice for the speaker. Once I tried to order one the told me no. It started off good till asking for a invoice for the part.
They haven't cancelled the appointment at the service center yet. I'm hoping to roll in at the SC and see if they can do it.
Complete bull**** that others get it done and even for free sometimes. Why is Tesla such a prick to a customer installing a safety device that they themselves retrofit to their vehicles.
Anybody know anybody that could get this done?

 

[davidalindsey1]

Yeah they canceled my appointment, 😕

 

[radiolex]

Hi,
I'm from Canada and I have not had any luck trying to get them to enable the Pedestrian Warning/Boombox. They say that they can't or else they will get flagged even though it is installed.
The Tesla Service experience has not been the greatest compared to other "luxury" brands.

 

[JasonF]

Recently with the demand drop for new Teslas, it appears that Tesla has started closing down upgrade paths that might delay or prevent people from feeling the need to trade in the car.

So far, they no longer enable PWS for cars that didn't come with it; The "CCS upgrade" no longer exists (it's been removed from the app) for older Model 3's; And there was a reported dramatic price increase and stricter list of requirements for approving salvaged Teslas for supercharging to make it less worthwhile to buy those.

And I'm betting the next and final step will be when HW 4 starts making it out to all new models, the HW 3 upgrade for older Teslas will no longer be available, and along with that, FSD won't be available in HW 2.5 vehicles at all anymore, making it so trade-in will be the only path for those people who still have HW 2.5.

I guess it's inevitability, really. Most other car companies out there have done this forever, and Tesla has become a victim of its own iterative design, making it so people with 5+ year old cars with 100K miles can have all the latest features and still feel like they're driving a new car, and don't see any reason to upgrade. This is a way to nudge them toward upgrades without having to do an expensive major redesign of the cars to entice people.

 

[davidalindsey1]

Just to update I finally did get Tesla to activate my PWS speaker for my 2018 m3p.
I put in a service ticket to replace my repeater cameras as the blinker bleed was getting pretty bad. Once the mobile service tech came out he replaced the cameras and then I asked about the PWS.
I told him hey it's a 2018 I installed the harness and everything myself he said yeah buddy no problem he went and grabbed his laptop, literally took less than 3 minutes to log in, find the option under his software, and activate it. We tested it out and bam, farts activated, lol.
Works just as intended as on a brand new Tesla with PWS from factory...
The service advisor that I originally put a ticket in through the mobile app didn't want anything to do with it and canceled the appointment.
So made another one for the fender cameras talked to the mobile service guy and it was no issue for him to activate it took literally less than 3 minutes.
Mobile service tech even redeployed the firmware to my car just to make sure that it stuck and lo and behold it's in there for good.

 

[JasonF]

Just to update I finally did get Tesla to activate my PWS speaker for my 2018 m3p.

lol...sounds like you got a mobile tech that didn't really care much about the rules!

 

[davidalindsey1]

lol...sounds like you got a mobile tech that didn't really care much about the rules!

Yeah I'm not too sure if he cared or not about Tesla's rules. I know he's been with Tesla for five years which is a long time to be in with that company and takes his job very seriously.
But regardless rules or no rules, it can absolutely be done. So when a service advisor tells you repeatedly that even if they wanted to they can't, that's a lie cuz it can be done and within 3 minutes. I also know it can be done OTA without anybody actively being at the car as well. It's just crazy that so many service advisors refuse to activate a safety feature.

 

[JasonF]

Yeah I'm not too sure if he cared or not about Tesla's rules. I know he's been with Tesla for five years which is a long time to be in with that company and takes his job very seriously.
But regardless rules or no rules, it can absolutely be done. So when a service advisor tells you repeatedly that even if they wanted to they can't, that's a lie cuz it can be done and within 3 minutes. I also know it can be done OTA without anybody actively being at the car as well. It's just crazy that so many service advisors refuse to activate a safety feature.

I get the impression that it works just like activating FSD or Autopilot or EAP for a car that doesn't have it, and since they're forbidden to activate those on penalty of death, they just don't want to chance activating anything.

 

[btwong9299]

I’ve had mine installed for months now and have pretty much given up on having them try to configure it. The last straw was when I requested someone to come out for a tire rotation and they told me that my account has been flagged so basically every time I make any sort of appointment they’re warned beforehand that I might ask them about the PWS speaker. I’m in Pittsburgh if that matters for anyone so if you’re around the SW PA area, you’ll get nowhere with this retrofit.

 

[blunt25444]

Apologies for bumping an old thread but this one really caught my attention.
I have been trying to get the PWS retrofit on my car since it started rolling off the line. I have a 2018 LR RWD model 3. So I have been told it was not possible and just accepted it. I put in 2 service requests for the retrofit only to be told no. I was surprised to come across this forum and decided to give it a shot. Removed the kick panel, tapped the wires, and hooked up a 3rd party speaker. No sounds even after the hard reset of the car. Then flipped the wires and did another reset and it worked! Sound in forward and reverse. Now the hard part.

Called Tesla and was told it was not possible on my car (standard issue reply). I explained that it IS possible and that my speaker is fully functional in forward and reverse. Don't mention anything about it not working when the car goes to sleep and then having to do a reset. (Don't give them a reason to say "see it's not supposed to work with your car") I also told the rep that multiple people with invoices have already had this done on their cars the same year and configuration as mine. The rep put me on hold and claimed that they would need to have a tech verify the wiring install.

I had a safety recall where a tech needed to come replace something on the car. On the request I also noted I wanted boombox enabled. Service rep on app said its not possible. (They will keep saying it) The tech came and said it's not possible. I explained it is and that multiple people have already done it. He said he will give it a shot. He showed me he was trying to enable it but the car was rejecting the push. (I think he was genuinely trying but I think he was trying the wrong setting, but I'm no Tesla tech). I had him put in the notes that my PWS speaker did in fact work and that my install was successful. (This documented it for future requests on the app/service center)

I had about 30 minutes to make it to a service center before they closed. Got there and the "lead tech" was gone so the rep put in another service call for me but an "over the air" appt. He said once the person who does the OTA services gets in the office on Monday they will look at the request and get back to me.

I got out to my car later than night to head into work. PWS was not working because the car had gone to sleep in my driveway. I decided I was going to check the Toybox. Sure enough "Boombox"!!! I did a hard reset of the car so now the PWS speaker was working and tested the Boombox feature and it works! 2018 LR RWD Model 3

I am skeptical and did plan on asking anyone else who got it working for them how this is impacted by software updates and or the car going to sleep. Is doing a hard reset something I'm going to have to do all the time? I will find out within the next few days and report back but thought I would ask you all as well.
Thank you to OP for the help you really helped me out!

On a side note I used a 3rd party speaker, tapped the wires by the kick panel, ran through rubber grommet, and secured where the PWS speaker normally goes with machine screws. Also, service center did not charge me anything

 

[android04]

Apologies for bumping an old thread but this one really caught my attention.
I have been trying to get the PWS retrofit on my car since it started rolling off the line. I have a 2018 LR RWD model 3. So I have been told it was not possible and just accepted it. I put in 2 service requests for the retrofit only to be told no. I was surprised to come across this forum and decided to give it a shot. Removed the kick panel, tapped the wires, and hooked up a 3rd party speaker. No sounds even after the hard reset of the car. Then flipped the wires and did another reset and it worked! Sound in forward and reverse. Now the hard part.

Called Tesla and was told it was not possible on my car (standard issue reply). I explained that it IS possible and that my speaker is fully functional in forward and reverse. Don't mention anything about it not working when the car goes to sleep and then having to do a reset. (Don't give them a reason to say "see it's not supposed to work with your car") I also told the rep that multiple people with invoices have already had this done on their cars the same year and configuration as mine. The rep put me on hold and claimed that they would need to have a tech verify the wiring install.

I had a safety recall where a tech needed to come replace something on the car. On the request I also noted I wanted boombox enabled. Service rep on app said its not possible. (They will keep saying it) The tech came and said it's not possible. I explained it is and that multiple people have already done it. He said he will give it a shot. He showed me he was trying to enable it but the car was rejecting the push. (I think he was genuinely trying but I think he was trying the wrong setting, but I'm no Tesla tech). I had him put in the notes that my PWS speaker did in fact work and that my install was successful. (This documented it for future requests on the app/service center)

I had about 30 minutes to make it to a service center before they closed. Got there and the "lead tech" was gone so the rep put in another service call for me but an "over the air" appt. He said once the person who does the OTA services gets in the office on Monday they will look at the request and get back to me.

I got out to my car later than night to head into work. PWS was not working because the car had gone to sleep in my driveway. I decided I was going to check the Toybox. Sure enough "Boombox"!!! I did a hard reset of the car so now the PWS speaker was working and tested the Boombox feature and it works! 2018 LR RWD Model 3

I am skeptical and did plan on asking anyone else who got it working for them how this is impacted by software updates and or the car going to sleep. Is doing a hard reset something I'm going to have to do all the time? I will find out within the next few days and report back but thought I would ask you all as well.
Thank you to OP for the help you really helped me out!

On a side note I used a 3rd party speaker, tapped the wires by the kick panel, ran through rubber grommet, and secured where the PWS speaker normally goes with machine screws. Also, service center did not charge me anything

Once you have Boombox, it becomes part of your car's configuration and you will never lose it again. The hard part seems to be getting it activated on your car nowadays.

 

[btwong9299]

I still haven’t been able to get it activated. All the local SC’s near me have me black listed so anytime I make any service request they get a notification that I’ll probably ask about the PWS

 

[davidalindsey1]

Yeah I've had the PWS system activated on my car since January or so.
And all functions work properly even after being updated to latest FSD beta. On a 2018 model 3 performance.
Virtual service center on app denied me numerous times put a service ticket in for blinker bleed on my fender cameras had the mobile service tech come out and I asked him about it he didn't even look underneath the car or anything he just went through his laptop literally took 2 minutes to change a configuration for the PWS.
Don't know why Tesla corporate are such assholes for safety feature that can easily be retrofitted and not affect anything else on the car systems.

 

[blunt25444]

I still haven’t been able to get it activated. All the local SC’s near me have me black listed so anytime I make any service request they get a notification that I’ll probably ask about the PWS

That’s disheartening to hear. Personally my advice would be to not even bother with the app. I’d go into the SC. Much harder for someone to deny you while looking you in the face. Just be friendly and explain that plenty others have done it and that PWS works fine you just need boombox enabled.

 

[btwong9299]

That’s disheartening to hear. Personally my advice would be to not even bother with the app. I’d go into the SC. Much harder for someone to deny you while looking you in the face. Just be friendly and explain that plenty others have done it and that PWS works fine you just need boombox enabled.

Unfortunately I’ve tried that also, they know my face there so my only hope is trying a different SC out of state

 

[JasonF]

Unfortunately I’ve tried that also, they know my face there so my only hope is trying a different SC out of state

What the heck did you do?? I've made a pest of myself at the SC here over the chrome strips, but they don't hate me that much.

 

[btwong9299]

What the heck did you do?? I've made a pest of myself at the SC here over the chrome strips, but they don't hate me that much.

They said I “made too many requests” so it flagged my account. One of the reps tried to tell me that I would permanently lose my ability to make requests if I kept it up

 

[blunt25444]

Unfortunately I’ve tried that also, they know my face there so my only hope is trying a different SC out of state

Not saying you were but if you were at all disrespectful or demanding that would likely get you on the s*** list. One recommendation I would have as a last ditch effort is to have a mobile tech come out (for something unrelated to PWS) and while they are there ask them to enable it for you. Mine was willing to but could not figure it out. The mobile techs are usually super friendly and willing to help. Like I said also have them notate that the PWS does in fact work. I tested mine in front of the tech and asked him to note it in his closing invoice that it did work so when I requested somewhere else it had a little bit more "bite" with the request.

 

[meyersphoenixg37x]

They said I “made too many requests” so it flagged my account. One of the reps tried to tell me that I would permanently lose my ability to make requests if I kept it up

They are giving you bill. They can tell you anything and you’d believe it. It’s not true. They can’t do that. You know why? I have talked to the service manager to confirm the lack of judgement and knowledge of their reps. The worst they can actually do is charge you $20 for persistence. That’s what they did for me.

 

[grouchystitch321]

Today I was able to do the PWS with the instructions from this post. They are spot on. Now my issue will be getting the Tesla Service Department to activate my Boombox feature.