I bought my Model S last December and have never had the blind spot warning work consistently. At times when a car passes in in my blind spot, the car and lane marker turn red. Other times with a car passing in exactly the same location, the car and lane marker do not turn red. I reported the problem with pictures and a mobile tech visited my home. He did nothing, not even a test ride to observe the problem. He said the online diagnosis system showed that the sensors were operating properly. He said that if the problem persists, I should bring the car in for a "deep dive." I took the car in and went for a test ride with a tech, who observed one car passing us turning red followed by two cars passing us that did not turn red. His only comment was that maybe the two cars that did not turn red were going too fast for the system to react. I left the car at the service center and just received a notice that all systems are working correctly. The explanation I received is that a car in my blind spot must be within 2 feet of my car for it to turn red. I know this is not true since the cars that do turn red are much more than 2 feet from my car. Has anyone had a similar problem?
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Erratic Blind Spot Warning
- Thread starter John J
- Start date
araxara
X-LR M3AWD, MYLR
As far as I know the blind spot warning only shows red cars when attempting to make a lane change by using the turn indicator. Also, when on Navigate on Autopilot, if it decides to make a lane change by itself, a red car may appear in the adjacent lane.
araxara
X-LR M3AWD, MYLR
Yes, I see what you mean. I guess the only time I really use the turn signal to change lanes (without much looking) is when I have auto pilot on. In all those cases there is always a red car showing if there is a car too close to the turning lane, and I expect there to be a red car. If I’m turning without autopilot, I always look to see if it’s clear before attempting to turn. I guess since I’m not looking at the dash at that time, I don’t really notice if there is a red car. There probably would not be a red car, since I only attempt to turn if it’s clear. If I’m making an emergency type turn or when trying to merge into right traffic, I don’t notice the dash, since I’m busy trying to handle the traffic situation. In all cases, I use my turn signal. I’ll try to recreate your turn g situation next time out.
I have my mirrors set correctly, but it is helpful to have a functioning blind spot warning as a backup. Especially since the Tesla blind spot is shown on a screen rather than the external rear view mirror as is common, having it turn red when a car is in the blind spot is important. The traffic in my area is very heavy and it is often necessary squeeze into the traffic flow, where an accurate indication of the position of adjacent cars is important. I do not trust the Tesla system to provide accurate information.
John J. Thanks for posting this. I have a Model 3 purchased new in Dec 2019. It sounds like I am having the exact same problem which arose about 2 months ago for the first time. I am also using the turn signals when this occurs. The problem is intermittent but has not occurred when using autopilot. It is distressing when a feature that was initially very helpful is no longer reliable. I have scheduled a service appointment for next week. Someone from Tesla service called me and asked me if I could provide time and date when this occurred. I have been able to provide that data for several instances occurring over 2 days, but have no idea if this will result in any type of fix for the problem.
Reeler
Decade of Pure EV Driving
I wish Tesla would work on getting the basics working. Blind spot, auto wipers, auto high beams, self park, etc. don't work as well as the competition. I don't need all the options for playing movies and arcade games while not driving, but would love a good podcast player that links to my app on the phone like Stitcher.
Edruby - good luck at your SC. The problem I found, at least at my SC which is in Tyson's Virginia, is that the SC techs do not know how the software based functions operate. I was told that all my sensors operate properly based on online testing. I asked how the online testing could determine if each sensor accurately determines if an object is in its operational sensing range. The only answer I received was that if a sensor is not working, it will not produce a signal. Ugh.
I asked if I could see some form of specification for the BSD function. I hoped to see a diagram with a zone with measurements around a Tesla in which the BSD is active. To my chagrin, the tech had no such information. He showed me a "confidential" Tesla document that merely stated that the blind spot warning is based on signals from the ultrasonic sensors. There was no range information and the tech could not tell me where or when the BSD should be active. The techs do not know how the function is supposed to work and cannot test if it is working properly. (I note that before showing me the document, the tech insisted that the cameras, not the ultrasonic sensors, were responsible for the BSD warning.)
The tech sent out a service manager to help explain the Tesla BSD system. His position was that Tesla's BSD operates differently from other cars and I needed to get used to the way my Tesla works. The clear message was that my inexperience with Tesla was responsible for my complaint, not the system itself. I responded that even Consumer Reports has rated Tesla's BSD among the worst in the industry and CS was not addressing the problems I encountered. He respectfully disagreed with CS and left it at that.
I was obviously not buying what the service manager was selling so he emailed me later saying he was willing to continue our discussion if I had more questions. Since the ultrasonic sensors are the source of BSD, I sent him pictures showing an instance where an arc is shown on my screen emanating from an ultrasonic sensor toward an adjacent passing vehicle and a second picture where there is also a passing vehicle, but no such arc is shown (see the first and second pictures in my message of Jan. 28). I asked him to explain when the arc should appear on my screen. He said he would get me an explanation, but never got back to me.
Consequently, while I wish you luck, I am not optimistic you will get much useful information. Nevertheless, I would appreciate hearing the results of your visit.
I asked if I could see some form of specification for the BSD function. I hoped to see a diagram with a zone with measurements around a Tesla in which the BSD is active. To my chagrin, the tech had no such information. He showed me a "confidential" Tesla document that merely stated that the blind spot warning is based on signals from the ultrasonic sensors. There was no range information and the tech could not tell me where or when the BSD should be active. The techs do not know how the function is supposed to work and cannot test if it is working properly. (I note that before showing me the document, the tech insisted that the cameras, not the ultrasonic sensors, were responsible for the BSD warning.)
The tech sent out a service manager to help explain the Tesla BSD system. His position was that Tesla's BSD operates differently from other cars and I needed to get used to the way my Tesla works. The clear message was that my inexperience with Tesla was responsible for my complaint, not the system itself. I responded that even Consumer Reports has rated Tesla's BSD among the worst in the industry and CS was not addressing the problems I encountered. He respectfully disagreed with CS and left it at that.
I was obviously not buying what the service manager was selling so he emailed me later saying he was willing to continue our discussion if I had more questions. Since the ultrasonic sensors are the source of BSD, I sent him pictures showing an instance where an arc is shown on my screen emanating from an ultrasonic sensor toward an adjacent passing vehicle and a second picture where there is also a passing vehicle, but no such arc is shown (see the first and second pictures in my message of Jan. 28). I asked him to explain when the arc should appear on my screen. He said he would get me an explanation, but never got back to me.
Consequently, while I wish you luck, I am not optimistic you will get much useful information. Nevertheless, I would appreciate hearing the results of your visit.
Thanks John J. Again, I think my experience is mirroring yours. A mobile service tech cam out last week. I explained the problem. He said he would do some diagnostics and it would take about 30 min. Instead, he finished in less than 10 minutes. Said all my sensors were working and that he took my vehicle for a drive and couldn't reproduce the problem. I explained that I had no expectation that the problem wouldn't continue but he more or less shrugged and said sorry, call us back if it happens again. So 30 minutes later I drove to work and the BSD system didn't work the two times I tested it. It still seems to work sometimes but I would say less than 50% of the time when I test an unsafe lane change with my turn signal on. The tech suggested I send a video of the screen while this is occurring. Why should I bother to have a passenger do this when it sounds like they have no clue as to what is causing the problem and no fix?
Follow up: I spoke to another service rep and explained the problem. He told me that I should be turning my head anyway, that the BSD system was only beta anyway. Ugh! I told him that it made me lose confidence in autopilot and other safety features that might not be working consistently. Of course I turn my head, but that's not the point. He did have someone from my local SC call me. I haven't bothered to call back yet. I really don't feel like wasting my time and having them tell me all my sensors are working again.
Reeler
Decade of Pure EV Driving
I think the software isn't working and your car is behaving as they expect. Tesla puts most of their features in perma-beta so they are no responsible when things don't work. Artful dodge to cover your poor software quality. Being in beta let's them avoid every car they have made being eligible for lemon law returns.
Reeler
Decade of Pure EV Driving
Your car is working the way the software is currently designed in their multi-year beta. It just doesn't work as folks have come to expect from other car brands that actually have working (non-beta) BSD. Short of Tesla changing the software in a future release, you have to live with this. There are things like autopark that have worked poorly for 5 years in beta so don't expect a fix anytime soon. Tesla keeps adding features like Hulu and Netflix instead of getting the basics that drivers need working reliably.
When I bought my Tesla last December, I was under the impression that Tesla was years ahead of the competition in software development. It now looks as though that lead is a mirage rather than a reality. Hopefully, Tesla's foundational rewrite of the autopilot software, if and when it occurs, will transform the mirage into a reality.
Reeler
Decade of Pure EV Driving
Tesla goes after headline grabbing features first that generate buzz. It is needed since they don't pay for advertising. Once the buzz wears off, they don't follow-through and actually get things working well. Who cares about another video game when Tesla doesn't support any decent podcast playback? The video game gets in the press, but unhappy podcast listeners are not a headline.
Good point. I had not considered that Musk was calling press conferences instead of paying for ads. You have to hand it to him, it is a smart marketing strategy, although at some point he may need to deliver or the media may ignore him.
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