"Driver Assistance Features Unavailabe"

[MDMGSO47]

When I left for work this morning, my S was operating normally. I drove about 5 miles and then stopped at a store for about 5 minutes, and when I got back into the car, I received a warning message "Driver Assistance features unavailable. If the problem persists, contact Tesla Service". Sure enough, neither cruise control nor Autopilot would work. I rebooted to no avail, although I did not turn off the power to the car. I wondered if Tesla had disabled the Driver Assistance features, as some on here have feared.

I drove another couple of miles with the warning message on, and then stopped at another store for about 5 minutes. When I got back into the car, the message was gone and everything functioned properly.

We have had no recent firmware updates.

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[3Victoria]

Was something intefering with the sensors?

 

[MDMGSO47]

Was something interfering with the sensors?

I don't think so. When I first received the message, I was parked in a parking lot with a car in front of me, but I continued to receive the message after I left the parking lot and drove on a four lane divided highway. When I rebooted, there was nothing close to me.

BTW, British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

 

[3Victoria]

I was wondering if an errant leaf had messed one of the sensors up. Thanks for the BC support Victoria is pretty sweet.

 

[pdxgibby]

This is a known issue. If you park facing the sun in early morning or evening hours when the sun is lower on the horizon, the camera cannot adjust properly and at the time of putting the car in drive or reverse, the camera cannot calibrate and will not be available. I've tried 2-button reboot of 17-inch and IC, but neither seem to help. Best solution is what you discovered. Park in a place not facing the sun, get out and walk away letting the car enter sleep mode (or whatever it is). When you return, the system will re-initialize and everything should work.

I have actually starting thinking about how to park my vehicle because of this very reason.

 

[Doug4650]

I had the same. The on/off nature got worse and worse over the course of a week or two. Eventually replaced the camera.

 

[Sharkbait]

Has anyone else had this problem?

Yep! I got this morning, and I have had the car less than 48 hours, a brand new S75. It also has AP 8.0. Naturally, it has to be a Sunday. My car wasn't facing the sun btw. Called Tech Support, did the two thumbwheel reboot - no luck. Tech guy had me do a power off and power on - no luck. Sending a flatbed out for it. Maybe I'm back to ICE if this is what can expect after only 48 f'ing hours of ownership!

 

[mrElbe]

OK, here is my story:
I have a P85D with the radar unit in the lower front grille.
Last Friday, while driving in a snow storm I got the message. This has happened before and visiting a DIY carwash had solved the problem, but not this time. So, on Sunday I washed the car again and then took it to an underground parking garage to warm it up. After 1.5 hours I started driving and still same message. About 5km down the road, the message disappeared and I had lane and speed limit display but still no radar images and cruise control. On Monday drove on highway to Ottawa and after about an hour of driving, suddenly the radar display appeared and I had full cruise control and Autopilot. This worked all day and also today. After charging at the Port Hope Supercharger, I get a message "Park Assist Unavailable". OK, that is probable because it snowed and the sonar sensors are confused. But all Autopilot functions still worked despite some snow in the radar cavity. Since the car was filthy dirty, washed the car and afterwards "Park Assist Unavailable" disappeared BUT no radar images; therefore no cruise control.
Conclusion:
1. The "Driver Assistance Features Unavailable" message seems to be associated with a camera problem. In my case, there could have been condensation in the cavity.
2. Looks like I have a problem with moisture in or around the radar unit.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Hmm, interesting observations above. Thanks guys! I too have had this happen to me twice then "magically" start working again. The scenarios above don't seem to match mine. Perhaps it's a humidity issue of some kind.

 

[Sharkbait]

"Driver Assistance Features Unavailable"

With very same issues, my front-facing camera was replaced to correct the problem. Wait and repair was a bit over two hours. No problems since.

 

[pedriscoll]

I had this same issue about 6 months ago, At first it occurred rarely and over time became more frequent. Service first tried recalibrating the camera and when that did not work, replaced the camera. I have had no recurrence since. I would take it in for repairs. For the OP, I don't understand sending a flat bed. The car is drivable. It was about a 2 hour repair job at the SC.

 

[Sharkbait]

For the OP, I don't understand sending a flat bed. The car is drivable. It was about a 2 hour repair job at the SC.

Yes, the car is certainly drivable. When I called 24/7 support, the new guy on the line said not to drive the car. He was going to dispatch a flat bed. There was no way I was going to release my car to a gorilla driving a flat bed on a Saturday morning and taking my car to a closed SC. I waited until Monday and drove it to the SC myself. They didn't even try to calibrate the camera; they just replaced it and calibrated the new one.

 

[CuriousG]

With very same issues, my front-facing camera was replaced to correct the problem. Wait and repair was a bit over two hours. No problems since.

When I first got my car I had it happen several times then stopped. A year later it happened twice within a span of a week or week and a half. I brought it in to the SC and they recalibrated the sensors. Happened again today 4 days later. So you only let it happen once before taking it in?

 

[Footer]

It's happened to me 5 times since I took delivery, all during the day, none when parked towards the sun. Perfect weather. Each time it cleared after it was parked for a while. Don't recall the shortest time, maybe 20 minutes. Rebooting while driving had no effect. Putting it in park at a stoplight didn't correct it. Haven't called service yet. Appreciate the comments on this forum.

 

[Sharkbait]

So you only let it happen once before taking it in?

My problem started on the day after taking delivery (Saturday) Then it stopped for a day and returned. One time for an annoying problem in a new, $80K car is enough, especially if some poor owner lives 200 miles from a SC. I'm lucky. My SC is a relatively close 12 miles away.

 

[fallen888]

Yeah, this happens to me from time to time... maybe once every couple of weeks. SC told me likely something interfered with the camera sensor and it failed to properly initialize. Issue always resolves on is own next time I start the car. No big deal.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Yeah, this happens to me from time to time... maybe once every couple of weeks. SC told me likely something interfered with the camera sensor and it failed to properly initialize. Issue always resolves on is own next time I start the car. No big deal.

This has happened to me exactly one time since I got the car in June of 2015 over the course of 54000 miles. So, there must be something other than driving conditions that cause this issue. If anyone is receiving this alarm on a regular basis I would definitely suggest a trip to the service center - it's not normal.

 

[CuriousG]

Yeah, this happens to me from time to time... maybe once every couple of weeks. SC told me likely something interfered with the camera sensor and it failed to properly initialize. Issue always resolves on is own next time I start the car. No big deal.

I thought no big deal too when I first got the car as I realized the next time I got in, it would clear itself up. The problem is now I have to travel to the Bay Area on a weekly basis and if perhaps one of those times the feature is unavailable it would be a big deal. Commute is approximately 100 miles one way so you could be stuck in traffic 2-3hrs to your destination.

 

[jgs]

2. Looks like I have a problem with moisture in or around the radar unit.

I'm having similar after driving in snowy streets. Didn't try car wash but did clean sensors meticulously. Ended up taking the display's advice and called Tesla -- after some desultory troubleshooting I'm waiting on callback from SC. Hope they can get me a Ranger before my Thursday road trip!

 

[Drone Flyer]

I was wondering if an errant leaf had messed one of the sensors up. Thanks for the BC support Victoria is pretty sweet.

An errant Nissan Leaf you mean? Lol!