Condensation between windshield and front facing cameras

[malventano]

Are there heaters to clear the B pillar cameras? I never noticed.

Yes, and they used to remain active even while the car was off. I can see how this would waste some power, but whatever change they made (assuming this is a firmware thing) prevents them from heating even with the climate+defroster on continuously for 10-20 minutes:

Another issue is that even if the windshield is fully defrosted, humidity from being in the car eventually clouds up the inside of the forward camera housing, meaning all driver assistance/safety features will deactivate and throw a bunch of warnings at some point on your drive in the cold weather.

 

[CharleyBC]

Yes, and they used to remain active even while the car was off. I can see how this would waste some power, but whatever change they made (assuming this is a firmware thing) prevents them from heating even with the climate+defroster on continuously for 10-20 minutes:

Another issue is that even if the windshield is fully defrosted, humidity from being in the car eventually clouds up the inside of the forward camera housing, meaning all driver assistance/safety features will deactivate and throw a bunch of warnings at some point on your drive in the cold weather.

Perfect set of photos to illustrate your point!

 

[WilliamG]

Yes, and they used to remain active even while the car was off. I can see how this would waste some power, but whatever change they made (assuming this is a firmware thing) prevents them from heating even with the climate+defroster on continuously for 10-20 minutes:

Another issue is that even if the windshield is fully defrosted, humidity from being in the car eventually clouds up the inside of the forward camera housing, meaning all driver assistance/safety features will deactivate and throw a bunch of warnings at some point on your drive in the cold weather.

Yep, it's bloody annoying driving around in wet, rainy, cold Seattle right now, with the warnings and systems disabling. Anyone here with the fast-track to Tesla to get this addressed?

 

[malventano]

Yep, it's bloody annoying driving around in wet, rainy, cold Seattle right now, with the warnings and systems disabling. Anyone here with the fast-track to Tesla to get this addressed?

Best I can recommend is to make a service appointment and to also email and call Tesla, inform them of these details, and to stress that it is not just common to your car, and also results in safety systems being disabled. Ask when you can expect this to be rectified. My guess is that they will need to push out a fixed firmware to address.

 

[Tallgeese3]

This happened to me on the way to Cabazon outlet on the thanks giving night it was raining heavily and I have the autopilot ingage and it keeps disengaging the autopilot

 

[fajitamondays]

A frosty 20 degrees (F) this morning here. I preheated the car on high for 20 minutes before the drive, with defroster on. Even after 15 minutes of driving with cabin temp cranked up to 80 (uncomfortably hot for my taste), and defroster on, the car was telling me the cameras were still not cleared up (mainly the pillar cams). It took about 25 minutes before the warning went away.

Definitely California engineering

 

[WilliamG]

A frosty 20 degrees (F) this morning here. I preheated the car on high for 20 minutes before the drive, with defroster on. Even after 15 minutes of driving with cabin temp cranked up to 80 (uncomfortably hot for my taste), and defroster on, the car was telling me the cameras were still not cleared up (mainly the pillar cams). It took about 25 minutes before the warning went away.

Definitely California engineering

Yep. Unless something is able to be done in software these cars are never going to be capable of FSD reliably without multiple pieces of hardware replacement.

 

[m4eyyz]

Seeing this on my mode 3 also. Sent in a service request and heard back from them that it is normal

I let them know that it didn’t operate like this last winter and they suggest I send in a big report via the car

so everybody send in a big report

 

[Resist]

This is just another reason why FSD won't happen this year and probably for another 10 years.

 

[je55e]

Was also having the same issue with the front camera fogging up - see picture. It’s super annoying just from a cruise control only stand point - let’s not even get into the whole full self driving discussion.

I don’t recall having this issue last winter.

This is the reply I received from the service center:
—————
Yes, to see a little condensation in this weather is normal. What happens is the cold exterior temperate combined with interior heat from our bodies and/or from the vehicle heater will cause temporary condensation in the cavity. The heating elements will clear it up in time, one way to help mitigate this is to precondition the vehicle when possible.
——————

 

[WilliamG]

Was also having the same issue with the front camera fogging up - see picture. It’s super annoying just from a cruise control only stand point - let’s not even get into the whole full self driving discussion.

I don’t recall having this issue last winter.

This is the reply I received from the service center:
—————
Yes, to see a little condensation in this weather is normal. What happens is the cold exterior temperate combined with interior heat from our bodies and/or from the vehicle heater will cause temporary condensation in the cavity. The heating elements will clear it up in time, one way to help mitigate this is to precondition the vehicle when possible.
——————

Lol, Tesla. Ask him how to enable the heating elements manually. Doesn’t appear to be a way! It feels like they were disabled at some point. As I recall, manually turning on either front defrost modes does not turn on that heating element in that front cameras housing, either.

On the plus side, the more of us out there with Model 3s with this issue, the more people will complain about this legitimate issue and the more chance there is that Tesla will actually address it.

 

[Roys3]

I've noticed the same every morning that has been just below freezing. The camera heater used to run even with the car off, but now not only does it not heat while off/idle, but it fails to heat while the car climate control / front windshield defroster is on. Tonight was a good night for me to test before / after a firmware update (2019.32.12.2 to 2019.36.2.1) and both firmwares failed to activate the forward camera resistive heater. On both firmwares, not only was the heating element not activating in freezing temps (car reported interior temp of 27F), with the windshield defrost turned on, the duct heating was able to clear the rest of the windshield while the camera just sat there frosted (10+ minutes of defroster activity). Then after manually clearing the exterior frost from the camera, we end up with the interior still fogged, which blinds the cameras as the sun hits the fogged glass (see attached pics). The duct defroster/heater can't clear the interior fog from the camera area because the camera shroud blocks the air, so the only way to properly clear that space is with resistive heat.

The same actions were tested on my AP1 S. Camera glass began visibly clearing via resistive element within seconds of enabling climate/front defrost, and the camera glass cleared before the duct heater was able to clear the rest of the windshield.

I get the desire to save on battery, but in the case of my wife's morning commute, we are talking a 90 mile / 1.5 hour drive with all driver assistance / safety features disabled and constantly throwing warnings every time it is below freezing (and these are the times where safety systems are even more important due to slick roads / increased chance of accidents). That tiny bit of battery savings kinda backfires when the cameras remain blind even with the windshield defroster enabled.

Well described. Same happened to me today. First time. Dewy conditions, clear, no snow, high 30's.
The windshield was clear, just the camera housing was fogged up like bad swim goggles.
My B-pillar camera, drivers side, also. Passenger side was good. Hope it "fixes itself"...

 

[CharleyBC]

Has anyone tried the voice command, "Turn on front camera defroster"? It'd be nice if that worked for this.

 

[pdx_m3s]

I had the same issue this morning. I made a SC appointment and then realized it would be useless. They will just tell me it's normal, blah blah blah. Cancelled it.

 

[malventano]

I had the same issue this morning. I made a SC appointment and then realized it would be useless. They will just tell me it's normal, blah blah blah. Cancelled it.

Make them show you the defroster working. If you're on any of the recent updates then it should be working, so if it's not, then it might be a hardware issue.

 

[jsmay311]

I stumbled on this thread after I had AP/TACC drop out several times with an error on the screen about a blocked front camera while driving my 2018 Model 3 in cold-ish conditions over the weekend.

In one instance, I did some highway driving when it was 32F. Cabin was heated to 70F with re-circulation off. It wasn't raining or snowing, but the pavement was wet and cars in front of me kicked up salty mist onto my windshield that required periodic wiping. AP/TACC dropped out multiple times, but never for too long.

When I got home I noticed condensation blocking the front camera of my Model 3. This is the first time I can recall this has happening after 16 months of ownership.

I'll follow this thread in hopes someone gets some plausible answers about root cause(s) or fix(es).

 

[WilliamG]

Make them show you the defroster working. If you're on any of the recent updates then it should be working, so if it's not, then it might be a hardware issue.

I’ve never seen the camera defrost working. Do you have any evidence of it working on any of the recent updates?

 

[pdx_m3s]

For those of you with condensation between the windshield and front-facing cameras, do you drive with HVAC in "Auto" or manual? I always drive in manual, with A/C on and recirc off. I'm going to try switching to Auto with A/C on to see if the condensation problem persists.

 

[WilliamG]

For those of you with condensation between the windshield and front-facing cameras, do you drive with HVAC in "Auto" or manual? I always drive in manual, with A/C on and recirc off. I'm going to try switching to Auto with A/C on to see if the condensation problem persists.

When I was having the issue, I did not have A/C on, but recirc is always off because recirc on is... gross. Since having A/C on, air flow in all directions, with recirc still off, I've not had the issue reoccur in the front camera. My tail lights and fog lights, though? Perpetual state of fogged up, lol.

 

[SMAlset]

It was pretty cold outside this morning, 6:36am, and my interior car temp was 35F. Car parked outside, just cold no snow in this part or ice on the car although it had rained in the early a.m. Had kind of preconditioned the car for maybe 15-20 minutes with temp set to 67F and defroster and driver seat heater on (3). Usually sufficient enough when the temp isn't quite this cold. In cold moist weather like this I will also take a kleneex and wipe the rear camera and two B pillars camera areas before I get in. Saves me from getting the alerts usually when the condensation is on the outside.

However this morning I got my first alert that my front camera was blocked. Wished I had taken a photo of the alert to say exactly what it said. Didn't get out and look but I'm sure it was excess condensation under the glass there however that didn't have time to dry up with my settings. Tesla does suggest for cold weather to precondition the car using the HI setting for Climate (also says only works by using your app not the car's screen*). There's a YT video that someone did that shows that on HI your Model 3 will also send air circulating to your door handles and charge port for example, actually forcing warm air out to the outside (the guy put some tinsel on the outside to show the flow). I assume setting climate during these times to HI will also reach the front and pillar cameras as well, given an appropriate amount of time for your conditions.

Turning on your rear defroster will also heat up your side mirrors btw. From Manual: "If equipped with the premium package, both exterior mirrors have heaters that turn on and off with the rear window defroster."


*from the manual on Climate Controls:

• It is possible that your charge port latch may freeze in place in extremely cold weather or icy conditions. In cases where you cannot remove or insert the charge cable, or the car is not Supercharging due to the latch being frozen in place, use your Tesla mobile app to precondition your vehicle on HI for approximately 30-45 minutes (you must use your mobile app to precondition the vehicle; setting your climate to HI using the touchscreen will not be effective). This helps thaw ice on the charge port latch so the charge cable can be removed or inserted.