APH3: Autopilot hardware 2.5

A car still on hardware 2.5 cannot run today's Full Self-Driving. If FSD was bought for this car, Tesla says it qualifies for a free upgrade to the 3.0 computer; FSD is now sold only as a subscription, and a subscriber pays for the upgrade. If the record shows APH4 instead, that upgrade has been done. Software features are the one part of a Tesla that can change hands separately from the car, and Tesla's policy on whether a Full Self-Driving purchase stays with a used car has changed more than once. Treat the code on Tesla's record as the starting point and confirm the current state in the car's own Software screen before paying for it.

Three families of codes describe driver assistance. APH and AP04 codes are the hardware generation the car has now: 1.0, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 (the Full Self-Driving computer) or 4.0. APP codes are the package as ordered: APPB is Enhanced Autopilot, APPF is the Full Self-Driving Capability package, for years sold as a one-time purchase for the car. APF codes are the software state: APF2 means the FSD software is active, and APFB is what Tesla calls the “Base Autopilot Package”: basic Autopilot, no FSD active. Read together they tell a story a listing never does. APPF beside APFB is a car whose FSD was bought and is no longer active: moved to a new Tesla under Tesla's transfer offers, which ran from mid-2023 to March 2026, or removed, for example when the car went back through Tesla. Hardware 3.0 on a car built before 2019 was fitted afterwards, something Tesla did for FSD buyers and, later, subscribers. None of it replaces looking at the car's own Software screen, where purchased packages are listed, before paying for any of it.

Buyer’s guide: Does a used Tesla have Full Self-Driving? How to check by VIN

Buyer’s guide: Why some VIN checkers get Full Self-Driving wrong

The free decoder reads the Full Self-Driving codes from the factory record for any VIN. The $1.99 report lists every other code. It also says whether the car can have free Supercharging, and how likely it is.

See a sample report →