"Cabin Camera Unavailable" Kills FSD. AP Okay.

[MentalToast]

As expected - 2023.44.30.14 was merely the recall fix, unfortunately issue still remains prominently.

Called Tesla support to see about any kind of exception given the situation for a partial refund or extension of my FSD subscription since the issue is largely out of my control and I went through all the proper channels of service/support and have just been told to 'wait'.
First was told to email ownership loyalty, then they said to call ownership support - finally spoke to someone who at least was able to make the request though it was pretty hastily denied any extension.

Their recommendation was to unsubscribe until the update to avoid wasting more money on a feature I can't use.

Largely concerned of getting into the same software forking problems that occurred last year during 2023 March's recall - where many customers received updates surpassing the current FSD branch and even after subscribing had to wait for FSD branches to 'catch up' before they finally had access.
All that said, still going to cancel for now. 2024.8 could be weeks or months out given that there hasn't been any sighting of it at all on fleet vehicles or employee vehicles as of yet.

The rep was also surprised and confused that they didn't just replace the camera hardware, or even offer it. I explained how I went in expecting that to be the end resolution and as far as requested for a quote for the camera replacement in my initial estimate - only for them to not offer it as a remedy at all and instead defaulted to 'wait'.

Additionally bummed as it looks as though v12 is starting a slow roll out to customers in a 2023.44 branch - was hoping to get a chance to give that a spin ( for the 10-30 minutes before it crapped out as it always does - or in an even less likely desperate hope, that it some how solved the issue) but I'd be surprised if it pushed that update when my subscription is set to expire in about 11 days.


I hope anyone else running into this problem has better luck, would love to find out if there's a fix or if it actually IS a hardware issue... I just don't want to spend upwards of $600 and end up with it still happening and it being truly a firmware problem.

 

[retinoic]

2018 M3 here. My experience has been nearly identical to MentalToast’s. I started noticing this after parking my car in the sun for a few hours. I haven’t been driving much since the 12/2023 update but prior to the update had parked my car in hot weather for hours & rarely, if ever, saw this issue. Now it happens after every parking session in ~80F weather. So I think there’s a good chance this is primarily a software issue coupled with some difference in temperature sensor throttling/overheating on earlier cameras/boards. The fact that resetting DAS in service mode immediately restores functionality, even if briefly also points toward a software related issue (at least in part), rather than solely hardware related-one.

IMO any defect with the cabin camera as related to FSD safety (considering the system doesn’t even activate without a functional cabin cam) should be serviced/rectified at no cost to the customer, given the defect kills the ability to use paid software that we’ve barely been able to use to date.

Ultimately if hardware is deemed the root issue, I think this is what a “recall” should address, a defective “safety” mechanism. Shutting down the DAS system mid-drive due to a faulty cabin cam (which doesn’t even affect use of the system’s main camera array) seems unsafe.

I won’t bother with Tesla service for this anytime soon and if I take a road trip before then or otherwise feel a strong need for AP features, I’ll be disabling FSD, since Auto-Steer/EAP doesn’t depend on cabin cam activation.

The cabin cam has proven useful only as a major source of frustration since they turned It on for FSD.

Anyway, fingers crossed for a software fix!

 

[legendsk]

I decided to put in a service request for this today. A few minutes after scheduling a mobile servicing I received this message. So sounds like we will be getting an over the air fix for this. Hopefully soon.View attachment 1005476

I'm a little surprised at the extensive answer. I would have expected 42, (the answer to life, the universe and everything).

 

[MentalToast]

My subscription lapsed and the following day I had 2024.2.7 (Previously 2023.44.30) pushed out to my vehicle (No clue if it's related to the lapsed sub or just merely coincidental.)

Update took quite a while compared to some previous ones, however so far things are looking good. The first day I made my commute without a cabin camera failure message. I decided to give it some more testing and turned on Sentry Mode while I was at work, which I usually don't enable to save battery - but having seen sentry mode for prolonged periods also cause the camera issue, I figured it would be a good continuation of the test.
To my surprise, no cabin camera error messages after returning to my car 8 hours later. Nor on the 1hr 15min commute back home.

I'm still partially skeptical, uncertain if it's just slightly better reliability following the fresh deep-restart with the full software update and worried the issue may return as time goes by and it's in a less of a 'fresh' state. That said, Day 2 had no issues on my 1hr 20m commute to work. I'm continuing to test with Sentry mode enabled during work hours to continue to run the cabin camera to see if a failure will occur.

If Wednesday afternoon rolls around and there still hasn't been any error messages or cabin camera problems, I may try resubscribing again. My biggest fear is that the cabin camera issue is somehow tied to when FSD is enabled on the vehicle and not just the general software. I'd hate to resubscribe only for the issue to suddenly return.

The other confusing part is the mixed messaging I got from the service center regarding the potential fix version to look out for. The tech originally saying that it was a 2024.x build, but the invoice writing saying '2024.8'. I'm uncertain which was more accurate or what information each answer was pulling from. It's entirely possible that it was a fix slated for a later build but was pushed into a newer one to be rolled out sooner, or perhaps the .8 was a misunderstanding or a mistake along a game of telephone to whomever wrote the invoice. Either way. I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood that 2024.2.7 had the magical fix for the cabin camera issue so that I can return to enjoying my FSD functionality...

 

[Ctime]

I guess I am going to +1 this thread. I have been having all sorts of camera issues culminating with the cabin camera failure and inability to use FSD on my 2018 Model 3. Like others here, I love the car but this kind of monkey poo really chaps my hide. Waiting for 6 years for a reliable FSD that was sold to me and it is pretty clear we are never going to get what the spec let alone the hype was at that time. For something like 5 of those 6 years have been faithfully submitting beta feedback. Now service wants $600 to replace the cabin camera and cable but they cant guarantee that it will fix the problem. AGHH rant....

In the end service charged me $156 to replace just the cable as they thought that was the most likely problem and I was willing to roll the dice on that amount. Just replacing the cable did NOT fix the problem for me as I got the cabin camera error on the way home from the service center. (After being rear ended by a policeman at a traffic light...)

Like others, this just sits wrong. It is perverse because I have actually upgraded my repeater cameras at the suggestion of service, and did not mind paying for an upgrade... But paying to maybe fix a component of something I paid for 6 years ago that still does not work properly when the problem probably was made worse by a software update.... Somehow abusive.

I would love to know if anyone has replaced the camera and still had the problem come back.

Thanks

 

[Ed243]

I guess I am going to +1 this thread. I have been having all sorts of camera issues culminating with the cabin camera failure and inability to use FSD on my 2018 Model 3. Like others here, I love the car but this kind of monkey poo really chaps my hide. Waiting for 6 years for a reliable FSD that was sold to me and it is pretty clear we are never going to get what the spec let alone the hype was at that time. For something like 5 of those 6 years have been faithfully submitting beta feedback. Now service wants $600 to replace the cabin camera and cable but they cant guarantee that it will fix the problem. AGHH rant....

In the end service charged me $156 to replace just the cable as they thought that was the most likely problem and I was willing to roll the dice on that amount. Just replacing the cable did NOT fix the problem for me as I got the cabin camera error on the way home from the service center. (After being rear ended by a policeman at a traffic light...)

Like others, this just sits wrong. It is perverse because I have actually upgraded my repeater cameras at the suggestion of service, and did not mind paying for an upgrade... But paying to maybe fix a component of something I paid for 6 years ago that still does not work properly when the problem probably was made worse by a software update.... Somehow abusive.

I would love to know if anyone has replaced the camera and still had the problem come back.

Thanks

Pretty lousy treatment from Tesla and $600 for a crappy camera is ridiculous. I had occasional camera errors since new (6/23). Camera was replace 1/24 by mobile service. No camera errors since with about 2500 miles mostly FSD on mostly long drives.

 

[Cyber_Kars]

2018 Model 3 Long Range

Cabin camera unavailable since the holiday update. I had this before several versions ago but not recently.

Most recently I was on 2023.44.30.14 before being pushed 2023.44.30.25(FSD 12)

My FSD made it my hour commute to work this morning(first time since december)
However last night after sitting in my car at the supercharger upon unplugging and reentry I still received the error.

It should be noted that I took the car into the service center where they determined that there was increased resistence in the right body harness. Whethor this is hardware or software pushing incorrect amperage I can not say.

Its possible when they reseated it that my highway issues were address, its equally possible that the recent update resolved the mid drive failure for me. I will try the supercharger again tonight when I head out of the office. Sentry mode has been enabled. So far so good.

 

[Cyber_Kars]

The update did not resolve the issue. I lost the camera about an hour ago while parked outside the office.

I am hopeful that an update still may resolve this though as the last one did not mention bug fixes.

Tesla service quoted me $~1200 for the replacement harness. I may end up having the "repair" done if this goes on for much longer.

 

[mokonack]

2018 Model 3 Long Range

Most recently I was on 2023.44.30.14 before being pushed 2023.44.30.25(FSD 12)

I’m in a similar boat - 2018 RWD Long Range with FSD. Back in December I had the HW3 retrofit installed (previously was using original HW2 hardware) and have seen the cabin error fairly consistently on every drive even when not using FSD. Just got the FSD 12 update on 3/24 and have not seen it again in the next two days albeit with minimal driving. I am hopeful the software update resolved or at least greatly improved the issue.

 

[Chuy Ayala]

I’m in a similar boat - 2018 RWD Long Range with FSD. Back in December I had the HW3 retrofit installed (previously was using original HW2 hardware) and have seen the cabin error fairly consistently on every drive even when not using FSD. Just got the FSD 12 update on 3/24 and have not seen it again in the next two days albeit with minimal driving. I am hopeful the software update resolved or at least greatly improved the issue.

Same issue as you, same year and model, had the cabin camera issue, after V12.3 update, no issues for a few days, thought it fixed it. Then when leaving the car in the sun for a few hours, issue popped up again.

 

[Cyber_Kars]

Direct sunlight and or cabin temperature in the high 70s or greater as well as preconditioning for supercharging cause the error. There may be other causes as I have experienced seemly non tempurature related failures in the past.

Copper wires resistence will increase in heat due to the electrons speeding up and colliding with one another.

Either as mentaltoast suggested 2024.8 will include a bug fix that dynamically can adjust amperage on the selfie camera circut or the harnesses are going to need to be replaced.(mine ran under the floor and through the passanger side door panel, into roof and mirror area, all other electronics are fine)

 

[Brian N]

The update did not resolve the issue. I lost the camera about an hour ago while parked outside the office.

I am hopeful that an update still may resolve this though as the last one did not mention bug fixes.

Tesla service quoted me $~1200 for the replacement harness. I may end up having the "repair" done if this goes on for much longer.

Yeah I am not paying $1200 to fix this issue if that is what needs to be done. There should be a recall or something for defective parts like this. I would probably consult some sort of lawyer and see what he thinks of it. I wonder how many of us are affected? My 2018 m3p only has 2k miles it’s not wear and tear for sure. It totally could have been replaced under warranty if I got access to FSD before it expired.

I have gotten this error when the car has been completely cold as well in the garage. So I don’t know if it’s activated by heat in my case.

I am crossing my fingers that 2024.8 fixes it. My family’s a non FSD Model Y just received 2024.8.7. So if they are supposedly sending all cars the FSD trail I’m hoping that it will be updated to the 2024.8 branch for the rest of us in a few weeks.

Just a thought are most of us with this problem HW3 retrofit cars? (Don’t know if this was asked before)

 

[Cyber_Kars]

Yeah I am not paying $1200 to fix this issue if that is what needs to be done. There should be a recall or something for defective parts like this. I would probably consult some sort of lawyer and see what he thinks of it. I wonder how many of us are affected? My 2018 m3p only has 2k miles it’s not wear and tear for sure. It totally could have been replaced under warranty if I got access to FSD before it expired.

I have gotten this error when the car has been completely cold as well in the garage. So I don’t know if it’s activated by heat in my case.

I am crossing my fingers that 2024.8 fixes it. My family’s a non FSD Model Y just received 2024.8.7. So if they are supposedly sending all cars the FSD trail I’m hoping that it will be updated to the 2024.8 branch for the rest of us in a few weeks.

Just a thought are most of us with this problem HW3 retrofit cars? (Don’t know if this was asked before)

I hear you about considering a lawyers opinion on the matter. This experience with the cabin camera certainly has been interesting.

Regarding tempurature. Were you using preconditioning on the cold mornings? That could be why.

Since 2023.44.30.25 I have not had it go out while driving or parked overnight. This further reinforces my hope as well that a 2024.8 version may include a patch for this.

To answer your question it looks to be a solid yes. Everyone here appears to have a 2018 model 3. Additionally, to my understanding that year did not include the current FSD computer from the factory.

 

[smartass505]

I have a 2022 MYLR that's having this problem. I didn't find out about it until this past Saturday when I received the free FSD v12 trial. I set a service appointment for this Friday.

 

[sllowsteady]

Sentry Mode Live View now works in the dark and I can now see the two pink dots near the camera when looking through the iPhone. The IR emitters work!

 

[jeromelofton]

Same problem with my 2018 Model 3. A temporary solution is to enter service mode, go to the Cameras tab of the driver assistance section, and reset the DAS. This reboots the ECU and camera and gets it working again until it randomly flakes out again later. The car entering sleep will sometimes fix this because this power down reboots the same system.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am having the same issue. Does this reset delete the FSD free trial?

 

[brawndo]

Chiming in with my own experience here, I have yet to put in a request for service but my 2019 Model 3 Performance has had intermittent issues with its Autopilot cameras since I purchased it in January. I just received the 2024.3.10 update last week including the one month FSD trial, didn't seem to make this issue any better or any worse however FSD completely disengages whenever the cabin camera becomes unavailable which is extremely annoying. The cabin camera drops out all the time, then occasionally other cameras error out and the Autopilot computer then has to be reset to being the cameras back just to even be able to use auto turn signals or basic cruise control. Sometimes I can run a DAS reset then run FSD for an hour or longer with no issues, then other times I will reset it and a camera will error out again immediately, there's no rhyme or reason. Based on what I've read here I'm holding out to see if the 2024.8.x update will resolve this but we'll see.

Every alert seems to show the same payload, I'm assuming 'deserLockError' means the chip in the AP computer that is part of the signal path is failing to lock on & deserialize the data streams from the cameras, only a guess but it makes me wonder if this issue is being caused by electrical noise or a failing coaxial cable somewhere in the car. I haven't noticed any correlation with temperature in my case.

APP_alertSource = TURBOA
APP_sw190_bufferError = false
APP_sw190_currentTemperature = 59
APP_sw190_deserCrcError = false
APP_sw190_deserLineLengthError = true
APP_sw190_deserLockError = true
APP_sw190_deserParityError = false
APP_sw190_exitStatus = STREAM_EXIT_FAULT
APP_sw190_firstFrameGrab Failure = false
APP_sw190_frameGrabFailure = true
APP_sw190_gainControlFailure = false
APP_sw190_imagerHeartbeat = IMAGER_HEARTBEAT_NOMINAL
APP_sw190_maxTemperature = 60
APP_sw190_min Temperature = 52
APP_sw190_numCaptureRecoveries = 0
APP_sw190_serializerCrcErrCount = 0
APP_sw190_tempMonitorFailure = TEMPERATURE_MONITOR_NO_FAILURE

 

[Cyber_Kars]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am having the same issue. Does this reset delete the FSD free trial?

I can not imagine it would. The DAS is like Windows and FSD is like photoshop. When you turn the computer back on the software and its license will still be there and valid within the trial period.

 

[CJtes]

My car occasionally pops up the warning “ camera unavailable “. I am assuming it’s because I have turned off the interior camera? But I'm not sure. I don’t use the FSD, but if I did I would be more alarmed.

 

[BossHoggz]

I guess I am going to +1 this thread. I have been having all sorts of camera issues culminating with the cabin camera failure and inability to use FSD on my 2018 Model 3. Like others here, I love the car but this kind of monkey poo really chaps my hide. Waiting for 6 years for a reliable FSD that was sold to me and it is pretty clear we are never going to get what the spec let alone the hype was at that time. For something like 5 of those 6 years have been faithfully submitting beta feedback. Now service wants $600 to replace the cabin camera and cable but they cant guarantee that it will fix the problem. AGHH rant....

In the end service charged me $156 to replace just the cable as they thought that was the most likely problem and I was willing to roll the dice on that amount. Just replacing the cable did NOT fix the problem for me as I got the cabin camera error on the way home from the service center. (After being rear ended by a policeman at a traffic light...)

Like others, this just sits wrong. It is perverse because I have actually upgraded my repeater cameras at the suggestion of service, and did not mind paying for an upgrade... But paying to maybe fix a component of something I paid for 6 years ago that still does not work properly when the problem probably was made worse by a software update.... Somehow abusive.

I would love to know if anyone has replaced the camera and still had the problem come back.

Thanks

I purchased a camera from ebay for $50...came off a 2018 model 3 (same as mine)...it was from a car that was totalled...i installed it...it worked for about 24hrs...then get the same error again. So, i do not think it is a camera issue...but at the same time I have the latest software and it still occurs