Happened the first time, today. It was on the sunny side. Being winter, the sun angle is low, so more likely to be shining straight at the camera. I don't think it was condensation given that it was 15F, a bit too low for condensation issues. I also had preconditioned the car.
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Door Pillar Camera Blocked
- Thread starter JSWE
- Start date
I've seen it recently when I head out in the early morning when the sun is coming up and at a certain point in the sky as I drive with the pillar facing it. Goes away when I make a turn in another direction.
Same also the last few early mornings when it was cold near freezing and humid outside and my car inside was in the 30s as well before preconditioning. In fact had ice formed on the car this a.m. even turned the rain drops from overnight into ice and I took a look at the front camera from the outside and saw it was foggy on the glass there. Ran the Climate on my app to HI and after a short period of time every thing defrosted and de-iced and no blocked camera messages.
I personally think it's good to know the front camera for example is blocked because you could start out driving not knowing otherwise and get in an accident and not have clear footage from you TeslaCam.
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DaFunGuy
Member
Got same message today, went to look at camera after I parked, and verified the pillar was fogged up.
I can report that TESLA Ranger came out to the house today and "repaired" both pillar cameras. Total time to "fix" was 15 minutes.
What he did was remove the pillar camera assembly and removed a piece of tape that blocked a hole to the camera. He said that now the camera could be heated by interior and the fog should go away quickly. "As long as you condition the car, you should not have this again when you are driving".
Here are some pictures to show the tape and removal of the tape. It was a pretty simple "repair".
Driver side with tape over hole
Passenger side with tape over hole removed.
We still have plenty of Winter left here, so I will monitor and report back.
Vin
What he did was remove the pillar camera assembly and removed a piece of tape that blocked a hole to the camera. He said that now the camera could be heated by interior and the fog should go away quickly. "As long as you condition the car, you should not have this again when you are driving".
Here are some pictures to show the tape and removal of the tape. It was a pretty simple "repair".
Driver side with tape over hole
Passenger side with tape over hole removed.
We still have plenty of Winter left here, so I will monitor and report back.
Vin
What problem were you having that this solved? Were you having a condensation issue or a sunlight/camera not working issue?
Preconditioning in really cold or moist weather can only be done using Climate -> HI on your App Only. Manual states it cannot be done from the screen on your car when inside. And when you open your door BTW the HI setting will turn off and go to the previously temp/fan setting.
from the manual on Climate Controls:
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.
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Had this happen for the first time today. Seems like the sun impacted it. First message was on the drivers side. I parked and it was fogged up. Passenger side was not. Driving the same route in the opposite direction and it said passenger side was blinded. This time the passenger side fogged up and the drivers side didn’t. This seems software related honestly. I just installed 2020.4.1.
Which problem, flare or a blocked camera? That's the point, the reports are from short term issues, not persistent problems.
How about a seeing eye dog for humid days? It can run out in front of the car and lead the way.
WilliamG
Hinge Fanatic
Not entirely true. Humans have the ability to change the eye/head angle and see if there’s a car in the lane next to you etc. The car can’t.
These are issues that need to be solved if FSD is to become a reality.
Fernand
Active Member
I had this msg last week. The sun was low. I got out and the glass looked scratched, but it was some gunk that took a while to get wiped off. There was some condensation within the pillar, but not in front of the lens. If the camera glass is dirty or there's ice or whatever, I sure want to know about it.
Whatever "better hardware" they might put on the car, there will always be limitations, and then there will always be people focused on the limitations. My car is autonomous on the freeways, where it matters most to me, there is no "if", the design works fine. But with a car like this, I think it's sensible to do a walk-around before heading out, wipe the cameras and make sure lenses and sensors are clear. You wipe your glasses and clean your ears, don't you?
If there's a film over the lens on some cars that fogs up, I hope we can find out more and correct it. This looks like a protective film that someone forgot to remove at the factory, it would pretty much have to interfere with image quality if it's over the lens.
@Vintre, is there a way to see that plastic film from the outside with the assembly intact? How is that assembly oriented? Where does that gasket face?
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Whatever "better hardware" they might put on the car, there will always be limitations, and then there will always be people focused on the limitations. My car is autonomous on the freeways, where it matters most to me, there is no "if", the design works fine. But with a car like this, I think it's sensible to do a walk-around before heading out, wipe the cameras and make sure lenses and sensors are clear. You wipe your glasses and clean your ears, don't you?
If there's a film over the lens on some cars that fogs up, I hope we can find out more and correct it. This looks like a protective film that someone forgot to remove at the factory, it would pretty much have to interfere with image quality if it's over the lens.
@Vintre, is there a way to see that plastic film from the outside with the assembly intact? How is that assembly oriented? Where does that gasket face?
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Same here. I never had a problem with pillar cameras until the 2020.4.1 software update. Now, I'm seeing them very frequently. I'm inclined to think it's a software issue based on the recent events for my car. Mine is more in the morning and with the passenger side more often than the drivers side. My car is garaged and I do the preconditioning via the app about 20 minutes before leaving to go to work in the morning before the sun rises. So, it could be condensation but it never happened previously, before update, and I've had my car since Aug 2019. So, you think if it was not due to the software update that I would have experienced this during the cold months of November and December and most of January.
Hey NuttyM3 . You are not dreaming. You are on the right track ! This issue came with the 2020.4.1 firmware update . Complain hard enough and they will send you a revised update that rids the issue. Can you say BOEING 737 software issues LOL. Some brainy ack Mucked up and this firmware ways not fully check out . Cheers _PTE_
KerryOH
Member
Yes, entire trip down the NJ Tpk on a very sunny winter morning. It went away as trucks passed or evergreens provided shade.
I've had it 3 times now and never had this happen since I've owned the car back in 2018. Sun is always blazing in Texas, and I travel into the sun both ways. My B pillar had condensation on the inside, which that and the sun caused it to trip. Then it shifted to my main camera and now I got it on the left fender tonight. Something is extremely sensitive in this software. Got the startling alert to take control immediately while in autopilot. Didn't make me happy at all. It has to be something in this firmware release, well, besides the condensation one, which will be looked at by service.
