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Camera(s) blocked or blinded

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Moderator comment - posts moved from "Blocked Cameras"

Most days in the current weather I get to the "camera blocked" messages tends to be one or both of the left or right pillar cameras. I can see that it is caused by condensation which clears after a while. Is this a" problem " that Warrents a service call, is there even anything they can do to" fix" it, or is it just something I need to live with until the weather warms up?
 
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Most days in the current weather I get to the "camera blocked" messages tends to be one or both of the left or right pillar cameras. I can see that it is caused by condensation which clears after a while. Is this a" problem " that Warrents a service call, is there even anything they can do to" fix" it, or is it just something I need to live with until the weather warms up?

Make sure to run the AC to remove moisture from inside the car. If it still persists after a day or two then it may be some leakage somewhere so worth reporting. Condensation in the B pillar cameras should be an infrequent event if everything is working as intended.
 
Hi all

Driving back from Scotland yesterday in bad weather, nearly 90% of the trip had constant cameras blocked error messages. Yes it was raining but that’s it.
Is the rain alone, enough to block cameras and start kicking out stacks of errors? Surely these cars and cameras were tested in all climates?
 
It’s a pain. I posted about it on here last month. I had no idea about this and my car was new. The messages became so frequent I made a service appointment but Tesla phoned and cancelled saying it wasn’t a fault. They told me I had to give them specifics of a journey of not less than 40 mins so they could check humidity.
Going from replies on this forum it’s clear the pillar cameras (left one in particular) don’t work for a large proportion of the time at this time of year. They don’t like the dark either. All very odd. I just wish you could clear the message off the screen. It’s a premium car. You don’t want warnings flashing up all the time.
More disappointing was the way it was dealt with by Tesla. My earlier thread is on here if you look for it.
 
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It’s a pain. I posted about it on here last month. I had no idea about this and my car was new. The messages became so frequent I made a service appointment but Tesla phoned and cancelled saying it wasn’t a fault. They told me I had to give them specifics of a journey of not less than 40 mins so they could check humidity.
Going from replies on this forum it’s clear the pillar cameras (left one in particular) don’t work for a large proportion of the time at this time of year. They don’t like the dark either. All very odd. I just wish you could clear the message off the screen. It’s a premium car. You don’t want warnings flashing up all the time.
More disappointing was the way it was dealt with by Tesla. My earlier thread is on here if you look for it.
Spot on mate. Learning curve for me too. Trip back from Scotland last night, constant warning messages on screen yeh.
 
Moderator comment - posts moved from "Multiple cameras blocked or blinded"

I fairly regularly get messages on the screen saying either pillar camera blocked or blinded, or multiple cameras blocked or blinded. This usually happens when driving at night and I think in particular on dark country roads. Even when the car is clean.

Is this normal? How can I actually tell if there’s a problem with a camera or just the dark?
 
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Happens all the time in winter, and at night. It's just another of those annoying warnings that pop up when nothing is really wrong, just nature outside doing it's thing and confusing the heck out of the car . . .
 
Unfortunately the error is the same whether the camera is actually blocked or it can’t see anything because it’s too dark.

You’d think it would have some sense of the time of day/ambient light and decide whether it’s likely to be the time of day rather than an actual blockage, but hey ho.
 
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Is this normal? How can I actually tell if there’s a problem with a camera or just the dark?

The most consistent cause in my S is condensation in the B pillar cams. I used to always pull over and take a viusal look, log it, take a pic etc but service centre just shrugged their shoulders. Even if the condensation isn't totally blinding the camera under most circs it will diffract low sun and trigger the message.
Bad design again - the UK isn't the arizona desert.
 
Agree completely. (2019 MSR)

It only takes a splash of rain on the b-pillar appliqué and the cooling effect on the outside of the glass as the water evaporates is enough to make conditions right for condensation on the inner surface. Condensation can form and clear quickly, so while I ha e seen those 'camera obscured' messages when driving past tall, close hedges in the dark, I'm never certain if there was condensation or not.

From this post (link a couple of posts back What the eye cannot normally see - what an IR camera tells us on a cold morning) it's clear that b-pillar gets little heating from the inside, so will be highly susceptible to external cooling.

Screenshot_20210105_122720_com.opera.browser.jpg
 
Both my B pillar cameras have signs of condensation, from misting to micro-droplets depending on the time of day. Pretty much every journey starts with a "left pillar blocked or blinded" or "multiple cameras blocked or blinded", regardless of how long I precondition for. As said above, the cameras enclosures don't get any meaningful heating and are therefore highly susceptible to this.

If I leave the car parked all day with sentry on (so, not asleep) then the journey home tends to be error free, save for the odd intermittent one.

I have a mobile service appointment booked for the end of the month, but honestly expecting them to just say "it is what it is". It seems like a fundamental design flaw to me, particularly the lack of internal heating.
 
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IMG_20210105_165842.jpg


This image (LHS b-pillar, MS) is pretty typical for me. In this case, it was immediately after a 30 mile motorway drive with internal at 19C and ambient around 5C. The clear area near to the camera could be due to heat from camera (which I doubt) or from mini greenhouse effect. The condensation tapers off at the opposite end of the window from the camera - where the inner molding is close to the glass & presumably warming the glass slightly more. In either case, there won't be much heat, but I have also found that holding the palm of your hand on the applique can quite quickly clear the condensation on the inside. Evidently it doesn't take much!
 
It
Moderator comment - thread renamed from "Left door pillar camera blocked or blinded" and "Door pillar camera blocked or blinded"

Anyone else getting messages like this?

Ever since the last update I seem to be getting this message at least every other trip.

There looks like there might be some condensation inside the glass by the camera but haven't had the chance to properly inspect it.

Anyone know what the fix is?
Its all part of elons self driving mods he's been bragging about.... FSD until its not and you die....yes blinded cameras every single day at sunrise commute and sunset commute home...FSD WHAT A CROCK