No dashcam footage captured for a collision

[marielg]

My Y's dashcam is set on "Auto". So I'd expect it to automatically capture and save videos that involves a collision.
Recently, I had a minor accident where a parked car suddenly backed into me while I was momentarily stopped behind it (waiting for the car in front of me to move and turn) and hit me as I was about to move forward.

Since I was going slow (just starting to accelerate), the car only hit my front right bumper (thank goodness!!!), but it was hard enough to push the bumper a bit out of alignment and bend the plate at the bottom. Of course, I was upset after that incident (it's my newer Y, barely 3K miles on it!), and didn't remember about my dashcam and didn't click the button to "save" the video.

A couple of hours later, realizing my car is set to "auto" record, I started scanning for footages, and didn't find anything for that incident at all -- nothing for the day!
Was worried the other party would deny responsibility and I don't have any dashcam footages to show as additional proof (although all the circumstances and the right of way definitely clear me from any fault).

I'm still waiting on Tesla to tell me why the "auto" setting didn't work at all. This was an actual collision, as there was an impact.
Asking them if this could be a bug in the system.
The first response I got was maybe the USB wasn't there. I was like, it is there because I have all my other footages in there. I could see all my manually captured videos and those from Sentry, but nothing for the actual collision which I expected Tesla would automatically store.

Just relieved that the other party's insurance has confirmed responsibility. But if the camera's auto setting is buggy, there's no guarantee that those precious footages will be available when you need them most.

Any similar experience with missing collision footages?

 

[Mulkogi]

If it was a light touch like the one you describe, i would assume the car didn’t really notice the impact. If you expect the car to save every instance the vehicle is somewhat bouncy then I wouldn’t like to drive on hwys with many road imperfections and pot holes.

Easy way to save incidents like this is to just honk and will save the video automatically.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Here’s what the manual says about the Auto setting: “Several factors determine whether Dashcam automatically saves a recording of a safety-critical event (for example, amount of force, whether or not airbags deploy, etc.). Do not rely on Dashcam to automatically record all safety-critical events.”

If you haven’t continued to record dashcam footage, you might be able to recover the deleted files that were recorded when the accident occurred. Search for other threads about how to do that. If those files have been overwritten by new footage, you’re out of luck.

 

[ATPMSD]

For future reference, whenever you have an incident, touch the dashcam icon and it will save the video. If you have enabled save on honk, honking the horn does the same thing.

 

[MY1stEV]

A 3rd way to save the footage is press the right scroll wheel (voice command) and say "save that." I use it all the time when I see someone driving erratically, just in case an accident happens shortly thereafter.

 

[fholbert]

I tap my horn once in awhile just to make sure recording is working.

For those who don’t know, you’ll get a tone a few seconds after honking. A few months ago I didn’t get a tone so I replaced the Tesla USB stick with a much larger new one.

 

[kimwin]

I just witnessed one accident today, I pushed the camera button right away to save the clip.
It's a good clip.

 

[Mulkogi]

I just witnessed one accident today, I pushed the camera button right away to save the clip.
It's a good clip.

Did you give it to the no fault driver?

 

[DOVEL]

The other day I had a similar parking accident. When I looked for the recording, I realized dashcam has been inoperable due to a full flash drive. (I don't recall any notification to this effect.) The latest recordings in the flash drive are from 2 months back. What could have happened and how do I prevent it from happening again?

 

[MY1stEV]

The other day I had a similar parking accident. When I looked for the recording, I realized dashcam has been inoperable due to a full flash drive. (I don't recall any notification to this effect.) The latest recordings in the flash drive are from 2 months back. What could have happened and how do I prevent it from happening again?

The dashcam feature only retains the last 24 hours of footage, so it consumes a relatively fixed amount of space on the drive. What will fill the drive up are sentry mode recordings and dashcam clips you explicitly save (horn honk, tapping the dashcam button, etc...).

If your parking situation is such that you generate a lot of sentry mode recordings, you should consider purging them every few months. Unless there is really something you want to save, quickest way to do this is to just reformat the drive right from the UI in the car.

If you are using the 128gb USB drive that came from Tesla, you could consider buying a larger drive. I upgraded to a SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card with a USB adapter. Some people go even bigger and get a Samsung T7 Portable SSD, 1TB External SSD. (Sorry for the US links, hopefully you can find similar in Israel).

Again, remember, going bigger wont increase the amount of live dashcam video retained. That is still capped at last 24 hours regardless of drive size. A bigger drive just gives you more space for sentry mode videos and explicitly saved dashcam clips.

 

[DrDiesel1]

IIRC the dash cam will buffer five minutes before the trigger (horn/dash cam icon/ETC.
and one minute after. I have mine set to trigger with the horn, so I can have it all saved.

Dashcam​

Note
Depending on market region, vehicle configuration, options purchased, and software version, your vehicle may not be equipped with Dashcam or the features may not operate exactly as described. It is your sole responsibility to consult and comply with all local regulations and property restrictions regarding the use of cameras.
Dashcam records video footage of your vehicle's surroundings while driving. Use Dashcam to record driving incidents or other notable events, like you would for an external dashcam on other vehicles.
The Dashcam icon is located in the app launcher. You can add the Dashcam app to the bottom bar for easy access (see Customizing My Apps). When Model Y is in Park, touching the Dashcam icon displays the Viewer (see Viewing Video Recordings).

To protect your privacy, video recordings are saved locally to a formatted USB flash drive's onboard memory. Recordings are not sent to Tesla. Model Y does not record videos when Dashcam is Off.

How to Use Dashcam​

1. Format a USB flash drive. Dashcam requires a properly formatted USB drive inserted in your vehicle's USB port to store and retrieve footage. Vehicles manufactured beginning approximately 2020 are equipped with a pre-formatted USB flash drive in the glove box.There are two ways to format the flash drive if needed:
   • Format the flash drive with Model Y. Insert the flash drive into the USB port and navigate to Controls > Safety > Format USB Drive.
   • Format the flash drive on a computer. See USB Drive Requirements for Recording Videos for more information.
2. Insert the USB flash drive into your vehicle's USB port, preferably the one in the glovebox (if equipped).
   Note
   For some vehicles manufactured after approximately November 1, 2021, the center console USB ports may only support charging devices. Use the USB port inside the glove box for all other functions.
3. Enable Dashcam by touching Controls > Dashcam. Dashcam allows you to choose how and when footage is saved. You can choose between:
   • Auto: Dashcam automatically saves a recording to the USB drive when Model Ydetects a safety-critical event, such as a collision or airbag deployment. When Auto is selected, detection can vary and is subject to your vehicle's power, sleep, and Autopilot state.
     Note
     Several factors determine whether Dashcam automatically saves a recording of a safety-critical event (for example, amount of force, whether or not airbags deploy, etc.). Do not rely on Dashcam to automatically record all safety-critical events.
   • Manual: You must manually touch the Dashcam icon to save a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage.
   • On Honk: When you press the horn, Dashcam saves a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage. You can enable this along with Auto or Manual simultaneously.
4. Once enabled, the Dashcam icon indicates when footage is saved. You can also view the status of the Dashcam icon in Controls:The icon changes to show the status of Dashcam:
   
   RECORDING: Dashcam is recording. To save video footage, touch the icon. To pause recording, press and hold the icon.
   
   AVAILABLE: Dashcam Is available but not actively recording. Touch the dashcam icon to start recording footage.
   
   PAUSED: Dashcam is paused. To resume recording, touch the icon. To avoid losing video footage, pause Dashcam before removing the flash drive.
   
   BUSY: Dashcam is in the process of loading, saving, or overwriting footage. While dashcam is busy, footage is not being captured and recorded.
   
   SAVED: Footage is saved. You can also save Dashcam clips by touching the Dashcam icon in the app launcher while Driving.
5. When your desired footage is saved, view the clips on the touchscreen or a computer:
   • Touchscreen: Ensure Model Y is in Park and touch the Dashcam icon in the app launcher. Videos are organized by timestamp. See Viewing Video Recordings for more information.
   • Computer: Insert the USB flash drive into a computer and navigate to the TeslaCam folder. Videos are organized by timestamp. See Viewing Video Recordings for more information.
6. To turn Dashcam off, navigate to Controls > Dash cam > Off. If set to Auto, Manual, or On Honk, Dashcam automatically enables (but may not be actively saving footage, depending on your preferences) every time you drive.