It took a few months, but Tesla has released an official retrofit for the pedestrian warning speaker (PWS) that will enable the new Boombox feature.
According to information received by Tesla Owners Online founder Trev Page, the retrofit is only available for certain Model 3’s built after July 5, 2019 and Model Y’s built before August 14, 2020. The cost will be $200 USD (no Canadian pricing yet, but that works out to $245 CAD).
UPDATE: A Drive Tesla reader has confirmed the price in Canada is $250 plus taxes.
https://twitter.com/TOGregTO/status/1388482903185756163
The reason the retrofit only applies to certain vehicles is that the car must have the wiring harness already installed. It can also only be performed during a service visit (mobile or in person) as the car’s configuration needs to be updated in order for it to recognize it.
You can book your service now and refer to Tesla SI-21-90-001 in your appointment details.
Tesla first started including the PWS in cars built after September 1 2019 in order to comply with US regulations. Vehicles with the speaker play a low humming sound while at low speeds (30kmh or 19mph or under) when either in drive or reverse.
The speaker was annoying for some owners, but it became a little more wanted after Tesla took advantage of the speaker to introduce the Boombox feature in the holiday software update last year. Owners can now play custom sounds through the speaker when honking the horn, drive the car, or when your car is moving with Summon.
Be sure to check out our list of nearly 100 custom sounds for Boombox here. Will you be getting the retrofit? Let us know in the comments below.
