Blindspot detection limited, corrupt dashcam video

[blkatx]

So I just took delivery of a Model 3 a couple days ago and have had a warning "Blindpsot detection limited. Camera visibility reduced" ever since. I've ensured the repeater and b-pillar cameras are all clean and clear. The traffic visualizations on screen won't show anything to the sides/rear - vehicles only seem to appear once seen by the front cameras.

Today I was checking out for the first time all the TeslaCam videos I had recorded, and every one of them is corrupt in one way or another, including the front camera. Many repeater cam videos won't even open. Of the ones that I can open/play, there's this green overlay on the bottom of them (including the front cam). And of these ones I can "play", they are all about 31s long, but it's just a single static frame - no actual video. Take a look at the screenshot attached. Seems this could be related, if the contents of these videos is what the vehicle actually sees.

I've tried two different thumb drives in each of the USB ports, same results.

Anyone ever seen this? Any clue on diagnosis? I've submitted a service request, and want to be hopeful that this is an issue that can be easily resolved. But on the other hand, I'm still in my 7-day return window and wondering if I should be worried or try to escalate the issue now.

How concerned should I be able this?

v2019.12.1.2

 

[halfricanguy]

I have never seen this but I wouldn’t say it’s worth returning the car for. Definitely schedule a service appointment ASAP and they will fix it under warranty for you, and give you a loaner if there is a wait. It sounds like an issue with the cameras.

My car gets the blind spot detection limited message when I start my car every morning but I think it’s because I park in a tight garage.

 

[carl_o]

I saw the "Blindpsot detection limited" warning for the first time today. I have a Model 3 with just under 10K miles and Version 2019.12.1.2. I assume this is a new bug that will be fixed soon. I'm fairly confident it's not a hardware issue.

I wouldn't think of returning my Model 3. It's the best car I've ever owned, far more advanced than anything else on the market, and getting better after every update. I can put up with minor annoyances for the time being.

 

[Cripps]

Yes I have examples of video like that in March 2018 Model S. But it seems to vary so I don’t think it is the camera itself.

 

[Gresh]

Just encountered the exact same issue as OP this morning. Any resolutions on this beside hoping for the next update to fix it? Tried reboot, no luck.

 

[Jase1125]

Have the same message on my 3. Took delivery 6/3.

 

[Barrygold]

Same message this morning. Model 3. 110mi took delivery 6 days ago

 

[Glamisduner]

So I just took delivery of a Model 3 a couple days ago and have had a warning "Blindpsot detection limited. Camera visibility reduced" ever since. I've ensured the repeater and b-pillar cameras are all clean and clear. The traffic visualizations on screen won't show anything to the sides/rear - vehicles only seem to appear once seen by the front cameras.

Today I was checking out for the first time all the TeslaCam videos I had recorded, and every one of them is corrupt in one way or another, including the front camera. Many repeater cam videos won't even open. Of the ones that I can open/play, there's this green overlay on the bottom of them (including the front cam). And of these ones I can "play", they are all about 31s long, but it's just a single static frame - no actual video. Take a look at the screenshot attached. Seems this could be related, if the contents of these videos is what the vehicle actually sees.

I've tried two different thumb drives in each of the USB ports, same results.

Anyone ever seen this? Any clue on diagnosis? I've submitted a service request, and want to be hopeful that this is an issue that can be easily resolved. But on the other hand, I'm still in my 7-day return window and wondering if I should be worried or try to escalate the issue now.

How concerned should I be able this?

v2019.12.1.2

I was getting this often on certain firmware revisions. AFAIK, the Sentry footage is still always corrupted like that. Less frequently with the dashcam though. Sometimes it's garbled images and sometimes it's corrupted files that won't open. Your on an older firmware so maybe wait for an update.

 

[DdotRoq]

I've had this numerous times and have taken it in for repairs. I've gotten repeaters replaced numerous times and I really don't think it's the repeaters. I could be wrong but based on my experience with computers, it's likely the HW.

 

[McQ14]

This has been a problem for my car since I got it back in November 2018. Was told by the service center that software update would fix it. Well, two software updates didn't fix it. Then was told mycomputer needed to be replaced. Replaced computer. That didn't fix it. Asked about the cameras themselves. Was told, no, they're fine. A new software update would fix it. Nope, not as of yet.

Telsa needs to get their story straight on this. I've got crap Sentry mode footage, and pretty poor general dashcam footage. Doesn't do much good if its not actually capturing image data.

 

[blkatx]

OP here, with some updates.

It seems that my blindspot warning issue is due to a faulty right repeater camera, as diagnosed by remote support. The corrupt dash cam video is supposedly a separate, unrelated, presumably firmware issue to be fixed in the future. My car is at the service center right now to fix the repeater; I've requested them also look into the dash cam corruption.

I learned from another person who took delivery with persistent blindspot warning problem; in their case it was an issue with the right B-pillar camera. Tesla fixed it, and now they get proper visualizations on both sides of the car. Takeaway is it seems if even just one side isn't working correctly, seems that the whole blindspot system shuts down and visualizations go away on either side.

On a separate note, and I just need to vent a little here, so far my experience with Tesla service has been pretty hellish. The folks are all nice, but the whole operation is completely dysfunctional. First they schedule a mobile tech to come out, which I believe was delayed because waiting on parts for two other minor cometic issues identified at delivery. When he finally showed up he had the cosmetic parts, but not the repeater camera. Also needed help with the license plate screws, but nope - mobile tech couldn't even help with that. I walked in unannounced to the local SC to get the license plate issue solved and they took pity on my about the repeater issue, so got me in the next available SC appointment slot (a few days later). That was almost 4 days ago. They've given me 1 update on the progress, which was (paraphrased) "No real updates yet. Car is in line to be worked on." So my car is just sitting there for no reason while I wait an indefinite amount of time for them to even start working on it. Sure, I have a loaner. But man, this experience is really bad. What's worse, I kinda expected it. I hope they start doing better.

 

[blkatx]

Final update in case this proves useful to anyone down the road.

Telsa replaced my right-side repeater camera. Blind-spot warning is gone, and I can now see other cars visualized on my screen on all sides. Problem solved.

I don't think they actually did any diagnosis of my corrupt dash cam video issues, but they did write a response on the invoice pointing out that this is a beta feature, needs to be FAT32, etc. etc. and this gem "The maximum partition supported by this file system is 32 GB", which is not only incorrect, but not even specifically true for Tesla's implementation, as is obvious by all the folks out there using larger drives.

...but the funny thing is, now all my Dash Cam and Sentry footage is recording properly - front, right, and left! They did update my software to 2019.20.2.1 (from 2019.19.2-ish, I think) so unfortunately I'm not sure what actually caused it to start working. Could have been the software update, the camera replacement, or possibly any other software/configuration resetting they had to do w/ the new camera.

 

[ChicagoP3D]

"The maximum partition supported by this file system is 32 GB"

Safe to assume your partition is larger than this, but it is still working perfectly now after the repeater replacement?

 

[Rothgarr]

I just got my Model 3 yesterday. Earlier today I inserted a blank USB stick in one of the USB slots.

How, exactly, does one go about telling it to record dashcam footage? Or sentry mode?

I have sentry mode on but have no idea if it's actually doing anything. The car didn't ask me to format the usb stick or anything when I plugged it in.

 

[ChicagoP3D]

I just got my Model 3 yesterday. Earlier today I inserted a blank USB stick in one of the USB slots.

How, exactly, does one go about telling it to record dashcam footage? Or sentry mode?

I have sentry mode on but have no idea if it's actually doing anything. The car didn't ask me to format the usb stick or anything when I plugged it in.

This should cover most of your questions — USB Flash Drives for Tesla Dashcam | TeslaTap

 

[blkatx]

Safe to assume your partition is larger than this, but it is still working perfectly now after the repeater replacement?

I’m using a 500GB Samsung T5 SSD right now. Tried a few others of various sizes and write speeds, every one recorded corrupt video. Now they are working.

I’m told the common cause of corrupt video is likely due to slow write speeds, but that definitely wasn’t my case.

Maybe the technician was referring to Windows’ limitation that it won’t natively format FAT32 beyond 32GB.

 

[McQ14]

Final update in case this proves useful to anyone down the road.

Telsa replaced my right-side repeater camera. Blind-spot warning is gone, and I can now see other cars visualized on my screen on all sides. Problem solved.

I don't think they actually did any diagnosis of my corrupt dash cam video issues, but they did write a response on the invoice pointing out that this is a beta feature, needs to be FAT32, etc. etc. and this gem "The maximum partition supported by this file system is 32 GB", which is not only incorrect, but not even specifically true for Tesla's implementation, as is obvious by all the folks out there using larger drives.

...but the funny thing is, now all my Dash Cam and Sentry footage is recording properly - front, right, and left! They did update my software to 2019.20.2.1 (from 2019.19.2-ish, I think) so unfortunately I'm not sure what actually caused it to start working. Could have been the software update, the camera replacement, or possibly any other software/configuration resetting they had to do w/ the new camera.

Thanks for the update. The SC people are nice but will absolutely ghost you if you have a problem that won't go away. You got a good result and I'm thrilled to hear it, but man, they really need to just start listening to the customers a little more. And the misinformation regarding the partition size they gave you is ridiculous. Glad you're up and running!

 

[Techniques]

Final update in case this proves useful to anyone down the road.

Telsa replaced my right-side repeater camera. Blind-spot warning is gone, and I can now see other cars visualized on my screen on all sides. Problem solved.

I don't think they actually did any diagnosis of my corrupt dash cam video issues, but they did write a response on the invoice pointing out that this is a beta feature, needs to be FAT32, etc. etc. and this gem "The maximum partition supported by this file system is 32 GB", which is not only incorrect, but not even specifically true for Tesla's implementation, as is obvious by all the folks out there using larger drives.

...but the funny thing is, now all my Dash Cam and Sentry footage is recording properly - front, right, and left! They did update my software to 2019.20.2.1 (from 2019.19.2-ish, I think) so unfortunately I'm not sure what actually caused it to start working. Could have been the software update, the camera replacement, or possibly any other software/configuration resetting they had to do w/ the new camera.

I am experiencing the exact same issue as you have described. Started slow with just the right repeater recording corrupt sentry video, then the occasional blindspot monitoring error.

Today when I started my commute to work, the error came back up and hasn’t gone away since. It’s to the point that I can’t use NoA, throws up an error that it’s unavailable when I try to engage AP.
I called Tesla to run a diagnostic on my vehicle, and should hear back the results by tomorrow.

My money is the right repeater died, but we’ll see what Tesla says.

Thanks for this post, definitely helps to read similar type issues.