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Double vision (ghosting) at night through windshield?

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Within tolerance? Wow. This is quite the gamble by Tesla -- to the point I have to assume that they are trying to figure out a way to reduce the effect. Why? Because someone is going to get hurt and those ghost images are a very plausible scapegoat. Could destroy Model X as a sellable vehicle.

(imagine someone using skittering auto steer + an army of lights = eek)
 
I can see the ghosting even in their relatively close image. I wonder how far away the LED is from the windshield. Those of us with the problem know that distance is a huge factor - as the light source gets farther away, the separation between ghosted images increases dramatically. Your photo looks like it's right up on the windshield, which is a poor measure of how bad the issue is.
Yes, I agree completely and I raised the exact same point with the service manager and he said the device is supposed to accommodate for distance. I'm not buying it.
 
Here is a photo of the laser test the service center performed on my MX a couple days ago. Keep in mind that my MX has severe ghosting. If my MX is "normal" I can't imagine how bad it would have to be to miss the target. This is very frustrating.

"Here is the pic from seating in your Model X. The alignment stand is placed at a set distance away and hight. The center of the target is a LED light that is projected on the windshield and the image in the ring is the ghost. If it is in the ring it is considered normal."


View attachment 211954
This "Target" test is measuring the angle between the image and ghost which is related to the thickness and angle of the windshield. My problem is with the INTENSITY of the ghost and not the angle.The ghost is much more intense than any other windshield I have ever seen before.

I don't understand the "Target" test. If the LED light were projected downward from above the windshield, the ghost would be below the main LED light. If the LED light were projected horizontally from the drivers head through the windshield, the ghost would still be below the main LED light. The LED looks like it's in the canter of the Target and the ghost is ABOVE the center.

When the image is coming from the outside of the car, the ghost is always seen above the image. If the LED light is coming from above or inside the car the ghost would be below the LED light. Something is wrong with this test.
 
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I wonder how far away the LED is from the windshield.
I asked my service center the very same question by email the other day but have not heard back yet (but that’s not out of the norm yet). It is all about distance when planning for oncoming traffic, not traffic across the streetlight box, which is all they could hope to accomplish inside such a small shop where I take my car.
 
Unfortunately, I don't think they are categorizing the problem; it seems they just found a pseudo-scientific way to tell everyone their ghosting windshield is within tolerance. I had my windshield tested with the laser device on Friday and they said....

"We have done the testing of the windshield and it does fall in specifications that Tesla determined. The engineers said there no action needed."

When I brought my X to the service center and mentioned the ghosting, I was also told "we'll test it to see if it falls within specifications." So I'm expecting the same B.S. answer that "there is no spoon."
 
The double vision is with my new P100D and same as our P90D from March 2016. Tinting it with photosync definitely helped. My MX is now at Premier getting a host of things done. To it (full wrap, photosync ,blackvue, led foglights, 9500ci, etc).

Sorry, might be a bit off topic, but how did your 9500ci install turn out? Where did they mount your controls inside and your diffusers outside? Any pics?
 
The P85+ I was just loaned did not have it and these forums were not filled with complaints about the windshield in the early S days before glass production moved to the new plant
Plain and simple, the curvature, rake, and shape of the X windshield is significantly different than the S, so therefore is more susceptible and sensitive to issues of ghosting. It is most likely the most difficult windshield ever to be produced. I have heard a few outliers on S windshields exhibiting ghosting but are very rare. I believe the X windshield has different coatings on it as well which probably is having impact on the ghosting as well.

That said, it is a very complex design issue with many variables and factors not only with the windshield itself but also between different height people, seat position, and some people's vision are just more susceptible than others. Short of significant redesign of the windshield and probably even A-pillar position to change the rake, I think best they can do is minimize it but in my opinion will never be able to totally eliminate it.
 
Plain and simple, the curvature, rake, and shape of the X windshield is significantly different than the S, so therefore is more susceptible and sensitive to issues of ghosting. It is most likely the most difficult windshield ever to be produced. I have heard a few outliers on S windshields exhibiting ghosting but are very rare. I believe the X windshield has different coatings on it as well which probably is having impact on the ghosting as well.

That said, it is a very complex design issue with many variables and factors not only with the windshield itself but also between different height people, seat position, and some people's vision are just more susceptible than others. Short of significant redesign of the windshield and probably even A-pillar position to change the rake, I think best they can do is minimize it but in my opinion will never be able to totally eliminate it.

From my conversations with a service manager about the testing of MX windshields, he indicated that they are finding a significant difference in the severity of secondary image separation between the windshields they are testing. This is based on actual testing using the laser measuring device rather than anecdotal observations. My only request of Tesla is that they replace my windshield with one that tests at the lowest end of the secondary image separation spectrum. I feel like this is a reasonable request that is measurable and attainable.
 
I and a sales associate recently through three model X windshields of similarly date produced vehicles (don' know about the windshield production source or date, however). The secondary imaging wasn't so bothersome, but the tertiary image, on a night driving test was on every light source-vehicles, street lamps, security lamps, etc., and once seen very prominent The one X in the show room had not only tertiary imagine, but banding, which was heavy and prominent, when looking through the windshield from an onbtuse angle at an LED or LCD display on the wall. I returned to the showroom a few days later and the display was moved, so no further documentation on that.

My guess is that there needs to be a redesign of the front windshield on X, with a two piece solution, including a rather flat front, cross member at the apex of that windshield, where traditional designed windshields terminate and a more distal glass piece, to the point that the current windshield terminates. We'll see, but this laser test and within specifications commentary is going to make resales of the vehicles that are out there, in large measure difficult and just maybe not possible. If we believe that there are windshields in produced X's that don't have ghosting, I suppose TESLA has data, with some windshields, whose specs are different in some parameter(s) and don't have primary, secondary and tertiary imaging displays, although they haven't determined the variant that does that. OTOH, they nay know that and are facing a VERY xepensive recall. This is not an insignificane issue, given the production of vehicles in the field and the likely % with imaging issues...

Thank you very much

Fury
 
If we believe that there are windshields in produced X's that don't have ghosting
I have yet to see one that doesn't. Mine has it. It has been compared to windshields of cars that have severe ghosting and the same characteristics appear (the tertiary images from enhanced light sources). But mine seems tolerable, probably based on my seating height, seat distance and my anatomy.

So I am more a believer of configuration than actual windshield differences. Besides, if it was truly an anomaly with the manufacturing process on a few windshields, they would have resolved this a long time ago and it would have been fairly easy with the number of complaints to track down exactly what the differences were.

Is it solvable? Answer is still pending. And if they do, it will be a costly retrofit for someone.
 
Hi Aesculus!

Have you had commentary from others, who have driven ur model X, as regards the "ghosting" issue?

If, as seems waaaaaay more likely than not, that the visual imaging observations, of many are due to the design characteristics of the windshield, the problem is so;cable and the remedy lies in a modification of that design...most likely, as I noted above. Additionally, could anyone share here, when the specs of the currently acceptable windshields were established, as they have recently been posted here?

Thank you very much

Fury
 
We have the ghosting. I've never been confused by it and nobody who's driven the car at night or rode in it at night with us has mentioned it, even though it's plainly obvious to my eyes.

We definitely see ghosting from lights and headlights at night, but it's hard for me to imagine it making it difficult to drive or unsafe. We haven't had any trouble telling the ghosts apart from the real lights.

I think the issue is inherent to the shape of the X's windshield and Tesla is not likely to modify the vehicle's overall shape to decrease the ghosting. If they can modify the glass composition to reduce it, that I could see. But reshaping the car? I put my money down on "no way."
 
The ghosting (or secondary image) can be really bad with LED tail-lights. These tail-lights are very thin and sharp, so the secondary/tertiary images also are fairly bright and sharp. The more popular these tail-lights become, the more noticeable (and annoying) the ghosting becomes.
 
Tesla is crushing my faith in the company; first, I inquired and proposed to move my purchase out by few months due to anticipation of AP 2.0, there were no definitive answers or more of a nudge to by the car; so I bought my MX end of Sept. and within 15 days the company introduced AP 2.0. :-(
Second I was under the impression that the company will go to any extent to correct any problem reported by its customers and it was one of the deciding factors for me to pull the trigger on an MX ... However, the recent email I got from the SC on the 'ghosting' issue that I reported on the day one after taking delivery, suggests that the company is not even considering to take this ghosting issue seriously even when so many of the MX owners are reporting the issue everywhere... I find it very strange for a company that totally relies on its current owners for its advertisement/marketing and initial sales traffic, to turn a blind eye to this problem.

Earlier (Nov 2016), when I complained about the issue, the local SC told me that Tesla is aware of the problem and are working toward a fix.
"
Item 4: Double/Tripple vision and Ghosting on the windshield: Like we spoke, I am aware that Tesla has no solution now and my complaints have nothing to do with touchscreen reflections as both parties are aware. I just want to log this as an issue with the manufacturer, just in case any corrective action is taken by the company or by other means that I am included in the list and I don't need to keep logging the issue with the Tesla..
"

When I inquired about the status on this issue last week (Jan 2017), this is what I got from them:

"We’ve designed our windshields to meet all regulatory and safety requirements and do not anticipate any windshield to fall short of specifications. However, if you like, we can schedule your vehicle in for a complementary service inspection to ensure you’re satisfied with your vehicle’s assessment."
 
Tesla is crushing my faith in the company; first, I inquired and proposed to move my purchase out by few months due to anticipation of AP 2.0, there were no definitive answers or more of a nudge to by the car; so I bought my MX end of Sept. and within 15 days the company introduced AP 2.0. :-(
Second I was under the impression that the company will go to any extent to correct any problem reported by its customers and it was one of the deciding factors for me to pull the trigger on an MX ... However, the recent email I got from the SC on the 'ghosting' issue that I reported on the day one after taking delivery, suggests that the company is not even considering to take this ghosting issue seriously even when so many of the MX owners are reporting the issue everywhere... I find it very strange for a company that totally relies on its current owners for its advertisement/marketing and initial sales traffic, to turn a blind eye to this problem.

Earlier (Nov 2016), when I complained about the issue, the local SC told me that Tesla is aware of the problem and are working toward a fix.
"
Item 4: Double/Tripple vision and Ghosting on the windshield: Like we spoke, I am aware that Tesla has no solution now and my complaints have nothing to do with touchscreen reflections as both parties are aware. I just want to log this as an issue with the manufacturer, just in case any corrective action is taken by the company or by other means that I am included in the list and I don't need to keep logging the issue with the Tesla..
"

When I inquired about the status on this issue last week (Jan 2017), this is what I got from them:

"We’ve designed our windshields to meet all regulatory and safety requirements and do not anticipate any windshield to fall short of specifications. However, if you like, we can schedule your vehicle in for a complementary service inspection to ensure you’re satisfied with your vehicle’s assessment."

Well in that case let's request a detailed evaluation by a independent third party testing agency of each one of our windshields that provides evidence that they precisely meet the regulations for secondary image separation listed below.

Federal Register :: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Glazing Materials


10. Visual Distortion Paragraph S5.15 of ANSI Z26.1 requires glazing materials used as windshields to undergo visual distortion and optical distortion tests. The purpose of these tests is to ensure safe driver visibility. To conduct the visual distortion test, the sample is placed in front of a light source and a circle is projected through the test specimen onto a screen. The tester then records the separation between the primary and secondary image. The separation of the secondary and primary image is not allowed to exceed 3.95 minutes of arc or 8.9 mm (0.35 in). The procedure for the optical distortion test specifies that the sample be placed 7.62 m (25 ft) from a light source and moved toward the light source and away from the screen positioned behind the specimen at 127 mm (5 in) intervals. Each time the sample is moved, the tester observes the showdown pattern on the screen. The performance requirements of the test require that no light and dark patches representing a secondary image appear on the screen before the sample has been moved 635 mm (25 in) toward the light source. The test procedure requires that the sample be keep parallel to the screen at a right angle to the light source. Proposed Change The GTR visual distortion test, reflected in paragraph S6.11 of today’s proposed regulatory text, is conducted at the angle of installation rather than at a perpendicular angle. The latter is currently used in paragraph 5.15 of ANSI Z26.1. Since distortion is a function of the angle of incidence, the agency tentatively believes that testing at the angle at which the glazing will be installed is a more accurate representation of real world driving conditions. We note that the curvature of modern windshields at the margins makes it impractical to test the entire windshield for optical distortion at the angle of installation. The GTR specifies three vision measurement areas, reflected in S6.15 of today’s proposed regulatory text, on which the optical distortion test is performed, which are designed to capture the area of the windshield used by the driver to see the forward roadway. The vision measurement areas used in the GTR are based on SAE J941, Motor Vehicles Drivers Eye Locations, JAN 2008. SAE J941 defines a range of eye positions developed from a statistical analysis of 2,300 drivers’ physiological data (with a male-to-female ratio of one to-one) performing a straight ahead driving task.29 Elliptical contours defining a range of eye positions were developed from a statistical analysis of this physiological data. These contours, or eye ellipses, offer a representation of a driver’s eye location and can be used to determine what a driver could see in the straight ahead driving task. The optical distortion test in the proposed GTR applies different vision testing areas to differing classes of vehicles. These vision testing areas are referred to in the GTR as Zones A, B and I. The defined vision testing areas Zones A and B apply to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) and less also referred to as light vehicles. Zone I applies to vehicles with a GVWR over 4,536 kg (10,000 lb). Zone A is defined as the area on the outer surface of the windscreen bounded by four planes. The first plane is parallel to the Y axis passing through V1 and inclined upwards at 3° from the X axis (plane 1 in Figure 18). The second is a plane parallel to the Y axis passing through V2 and inclined downwards at 1° from the X axis (plane 2 in Figure 18). The third plane is a vertical plane passing through V1 and V2 and inclined at 13° to the left of the axis (plane 3 in Figure 18). The fourth plane is a vertical plane passing through V1 and V2 and inclined at 20° to the right of the X axis (plane 4 in Figure 18). The four planes correspond to an area forming a box directly in front on the driver’s forward eye position.30 In order to determine the extended Zone A, the part of the windshield subject to the optical distortion test, the box formed by the four planes is extended to the vehicle’s center line and then to the area of windshield symmetric to Zone A on the opposite side of the vehicle’s centerline. The extended Zone A represents an area of the windshield extending horizontally across the center of the windshield. The area of the windshield that comprises extended Zone A must exhibit a maximum of 2 degrees of arc when subjected to the optical distortion test. Reduced Zone B consists of area along the bottom third of the windshield bounded by extended Zone A on the top, plane 9 (in figure 19(a)) on the bottom and plane 3 (in figure 19(a)) and a plane symmetrical to plane 3 on the opposite side of the vehicle centerline on the sides as well as the areas in the upper corners of the windshield separated from each other by the opaque area where the rear view mirror is mounted. The area of the windshield that comprises reduced Zone B must exhibit a maximum of 6 degrees of arc when subjected to the optical distortion test. Zone I, the defined vision testing applicable to vehicles with a GVWR over 4,536 kg (10,000 lb), is determined from the ‘‘O’’ point which represents the driver’s eye location. The ‘‘O’’ point is a point 625 mm above the R point which is determined using the three dimensional vehicle reference system described in ISO Standard 6549, Road Vehicles—Procedure for H- and R-point determination, December 16, 1999. Zone I is comprised of the area of the windshield bounded on the sides by vertical planes extending 15 degrees from the right and left of the O point and on the top by a horizontal plane extending from the O point to 10 degrees above horizontal and on the bottom by a horizontal plan extending from the O point to 8 degrees below horizontal. The area of the windshield comprising Zone I must exhibit no more than 2 degrees of arc when subjected to the optical distortion test. We tentatively believe that testing only in these areas sufficiently assesses the windshield’s optical properties, given that the eye ellipses appear to offer a good estimate of the windshield area typically used by the driver and taking into account practicality considerations. The performance requirements for Zones A and I are more stringent than Zone B because Zones A and I represent the area of the windshield used most by the driver to observe the forward roadway. Zone B is also the area of the windshield closer to the edge where the windshield displays greater curvature. Given that the agency is testing the windshield at the angle of installation rather than at a perpendicular angle, we have tentatively concluded that allowing a maximum of 6 degrees of arc in the reduced Zone B at the margins of the windshield is a reasonable approach to ensuring safe visibility through the windshield. We believe that other than specifying an area of the windshield to be tested, the procedure and performance requirements for these tests are equivalent with those currently included in FMVSS No. 205. The secondary image test in paragraph S6.12 of today’s proposed regulatory text specifies two test procedures, only one of which the glazing must meet to satisfy the test’s requirements. The first test measures secondary image separation by projecting the image of a target through the windshield being tested and recording the secondary image shift of the target. Other than only applying this test to the defined vision testing areas described above, we believe that this procedure is substantially the same as the procedure specified for testing secondary image separation in paragraph 5.15.2.1 of ANSI Z26.1. The other is a collimation-telescope test. When a test piece exhibiting a secondary image is placed between the collimator and the telescope, a secondary image will appear on the polar co-ordinate system. The secondary image separation of the test piece can be determined by measuring the distance of the secondary image from the center of the polar co-ordinate system. This procedure differs from the procedure in ANSI Z26.1 where an image is projected through the test piece and secondary image separation is determined by visual inspection. The agency solicits comment on these proposed changes. We note that in its previous comment, Solutia expressed concern that the GTR’s method of testing the windshield using the installation angle ‘‘does not provide for testing the optics for a driver looking down or to the sides. A fixed angular test methodology can appropriately represent skewed driver vision (down or to the sides) for all vehicles, and reduces the test burden and ultimately costs for manufacturers.’’