Advice Needed - Tesla smoked my DVR

[Akikiki]

But why should they be concerned and disconnect the camera? My Acura dealer doesn't mind them and my local SC didn't even care and I didn't even bother checking the footage

Well to be completely honest, I don't know. I am only guessing, but I suspect that when you go ask them why, they are going to tell you "there's proprietary information and actions that we take and we don't want those actions recorded so they could potentially be posted in a less Tesla-favorable viewpoint". But just guessing.

As for your SC not even bothering to check the footage? My guess they a) did notice your dashcam. b) no one at corporate has warned them c) they are not remembering that they've been told d) someone later is going to set the straight.

Acura? Don't know, don't care. No offense intended.

 

[K-MTG]

Well to be completely honest, I don't know. I am only guessing, but I suspect that when you go ask them why, they are going to tell you "there's proprietary information and actions that we take and we don't want those actions recorded so they could potentially be posted in a less Tesla-favorable viewpoint". But just guessing.

As for your SC not even bothering to check the footage? My guess they a) did notice your dashcam. b) no one at corporate has warned them c) they are not remembering that they've been told d) someone later is going to set the straight.

Acura? Don't know, don't care. No offense intended.

My SC isn't so strict or afraid, which I like. It seems like your SC goes fully by the book, like police officers enforcing stupid laws, such as getting a ticket for washing your car on your driveway.

They didn't touch my camera, I wouldn't want it touched either way. I didn't even bother checking the footage, it's been overwritten by now. If they did format my card that would make me suspicious and I would investigate further.

I have seen so many videos where they take the cars fitted with hidden cameras to make sure no scam is done, so I don't think a legal issue exist.

I still have a bunch of stuff that I need to get fixed at the SC

 

[whitex]

I know for me, Its not a big deal and no reason to make a big deal out of it.
I think of this situation as sort of my responsibility to have warned them, or unplugged it myself before I turned it over to them.
What ever the reason, no harm done.

Disconnecting camera that uses power from the car is one thing, they are even allowed to cut battery power from the car while servicing. Formatting SD cards that are not part of the car's original equipment on the other hand seems like a whole different issue, as would be accessing/watching any content on that card. Let's take a more extreme example, if I left a laptop charging from car's 12V, are the service people allowed to pull the hard drive and wipe it clean? It may or may not have been recording while in the car. How about a camera you leave in the glove compartment, are the mechanics allowed to look at the pictures on its SD card and/or format it? Where do you draw the "no harm done" line?

 

[Akikiki]

whitex, you think the SD card in a dashcam is the same issue as a laptop hard drive? Glad I do not work for you.
I draw the line at the dashcam that I left running in my car when I turned my car over for the techs to work on it inside their garage.
I trust the techs at our service center with my car. I don't object to them turning my dashcam off. I am confident they are doing it for a reason that is not necessarily known to me. I have no issue with them.

I'm not debating with you folks whether they did, should or would format a SD card in a dashcam. I'm just saying I can understand that they may have good reason to turn my dashcam off when inside the service center. And I do not object to it.

 

[Canuck]

But why should they be concerned and disconnect the camera?

I'm not concerned about someone recording me working, but I still don't want anyone to, and if certain files came to me with a camera that I can unplug, you can be certain I'd be unplugging.

 

[whitex]

whitex, you think the SD card in a dashcam is the same issue as a laptop hard drive? Glad I do not work for you.
I draw the line at the dashcam that I left running in my car when I turned my car over for the techs to work on it inside their garage.
I trust the techs at our service center with my car. I don't object to them turning my dashcam off. I am confident they are doing it for a reason that is not necessarily known to me. I have no issue with them.

I'm not debating with you folks whether they did, should or would format a SD card in a dashcam. I'm just saying I can understand that they may have good reason to turn my dashcam off when inside the service center. And I do not object to it.

So to clarify (using this and your previous post), you have no problem with tech turning off the cam AND no problem whatsoever with the techs removing, accessing content and/or formatting the SD card in the camera? What if the formatting the SD card destroyed evidence, say there was footage of a fatal car accident that the dashcam witnessed and the owner only locked it so it doesn't get erased but hasn't had a chance to make copies yet?

 

[Canuck]

For me, unplugging is fine, formatting the SD card is unacceptable. If they forget to unplug, the footage must stay on the card.

 

[Akikiki]

So to clarify (using this and your previous post), you have no problem with tech turning off the cam AND no problem whatsoever with the techs removing, accessing content and/or formatting the SD card in the camera? What if the formatting the SD card destroyed evidence, say there was footage of a fatal car accident that the dashcam witnessed and the owner only locked it so it doesn't get erased but hasn't had a chance to make copies yet?

Yes, that's what I am saying. If I had content on a SD Card from a dashcam, I would have collected it immediately. I doubt they format SC Card. I could be wrong. But I doubt it. If they do, I suspect they have a reason.

 

[Joelc]

I would definitely speak to the SC manager to ask what their policy is on dashcams and let them know that your SD card has been erased.

Although, could it be possible that the Blackvue automatically formatted your SD card at power-on?
I have the 650 and it's 'eaten' 2 SD cards already ( 1 OEM + 1 aftermarket SD), although the cards became completely non-functional vs formatted/blank.

And FWIW, my SC does not touch my blackvue and instead applies blue tape externally on the front & rear windows which obscures the camera lens.
I did not request them to do that, i just found out one time when i had to retrieve something from my car when it was in the service center bay and noticed the tape on the windows.

 

[noobey]

Thanks for the responses guys.
So I followed up with Tesla, and I've had 0 responses back from them.

I'd also like to clarify something that I posted in the original post;
The SD card was not inserted back into the Blackvue correctly. There's no way the Blackvue could have formatted it and half ejected the card itself. My guess is someone took it out and when putting it back in didnt push the card all the way down to where it clicks in.