FSD 10.5 cabin camera at night causes disengagement when headlights shine on it

[CubedRoot]

So another fun way that FSD 10.5 fails horribly. Coming home last night on I-75, running about 75 on FSD. When all of a sudden the car starts beeping telling me to take control immediately and gives an error that the cabin facing camera is blocked or blinded.

I take over, reset and think “that’s weird, there was nothing on the road, and no one in front of me”. So I engage it again, and in about 3 miles the same thing happens. I repeat this entire failure mode at least 8 more times, each time the car complaining the cabin camera is blocked or blinded. Each time I notice that I get this error anytime a car moves in behind me and their headlights shine on the cabin camera. I should mention that I used FSD on this same route (going the other direction) during midday and never received the cabin camera error, so I know the cabin cam is actually working in daylight.

GREAT! who would have ever thought a rear facing camera , right above the rear view would EVER have any problems with cars headlights from behind at night? Lmao.

Reading over the release notes for 10.5, if appears there is a greater emphasis on the cabin camera to prevent people from abusing FSD.

I have recalibrated the cameras today, and my wife and I will be heading to the Tabernacle in ATL tonight for a concert, so I’m going to see if this keeps happening. I can also report 10.5 still has ungodly amounts of phantom braking.

 

[boonedocks]

Drove home from the Atlanta airport to Gainesville/ Lake Lanier last night…67 mile drive and didn’t have any of those issues. First drive since it was installed while on vacation.

2021 refresh Model S

 

[alee]

Take a closer look at the front lens of the cabin camera. Might just have a little haze on it. I've had an obstructed side pillar warning in the sun when the car was dirty.

 

[PDX-Y]

GREAT! who would have ever thought a rear facing camera , right above the rear view would EVER have any problems with cars headlights from behind at night? Lmao.

Good grief. Tough love: people like you should never have been let anywhere near beta software. Either test and pay attention or turn it off, for all our sakes.

Also, maybe take a lens cloth to your cabin camera. My guess is that it's partially blocked or blinded, and flicking reflections into the frame, and that this problem the source of your warnings that are telling you the camera is blocked or blinded when lights shine on it.

 

[CubedRoot]

Good grief. Tough love: people like you should never have been let anywhere near beta software. Either test and pay attention or turn it off, for all our sakes.

Also, maybe take a lens cloth to your cabin camera. My guess is that it's partially blocked or blinded, and flicking reflections into the frame, and that this problem the source of your warnings that are telling you the camera is blocked or blinded when lights shine on it.

Yep,. I am testing, and fully paying attention. Especially after the first time I got the error, and even more so the second time. The remaining 6 times that I got the error I was fully paying attention, looking directly at the road. I did indeed check the camera, my wife even wiped it with the screen cleaning cloth I keep in the console for the MCU.

I've started a camera calibration today, and will give it a go tonight. I'm just simply reporting a datapoint of repeated failure modes. Every time I had a car get behind me on the interstate while I was in FSD, the car would complain about the cabin camera and then force disengage.

 

[nvx1977]

Hmm, cabin camera being blinded by a following car's headlight is not something commonly reported. The behavior you described is the same as when you tape over the camera and it sees black, so I would suspect too dark conditions triggering the error, rather than glare from rear headlights. Admittedly I haven't driven 10.5 at night, so I might go test this at some point. I have some really dark areas around me where FSD/AP complains about the side cameras being blinded or obstructed.

-edit-

Also worth emailing fsdbeta about this.

 

[Spaganator]

Try turning on ambient light. I get the cabin camera blinded message in the early AM. It also complains when I try to take a swig of coffee. This morning as a workaround I left the ambient lights on and seems to resolve\minimize.

 

[Spaganator]

Scratch that, ambient doesn't help after all.

 

[Atari2600]

I have never had this issue but I have the rear sunshade installed in my Model 3. Perhaps that would help.

 

[Spaganator]

I have never had this issue but I have the rear sunshade installed in my Model 3. Perhaps that would help.

Thanks, my solution was to use one of those rechargable led reading lights that clip on to a book. I put on the passenger visor and point it towards the roof on a low setting. Haven't gotten the message since then.

 

[alemnunez]

I reported this through the Tesla app and got an appointment for a few days later in Seattle. They found a problem with the camera and replaced it. I think they swapped a regular cabin camera (early 2022) for the IR camera module they are installing in new Model Y's or just fixed the IR LEDs that weren't working before. I used to see the cabin live camera feed completely dark at night, and no LED's showed when pointing with a phone camera.

You can check if you have IR LEDs and they are working by pointing with a phone camera above the rearview mirror while driving at night (someone else should do this while you drive). You can also point with a phone camera from outside the car while looking at the cabin live camera feed on sentry mode from the mobile app, it should show the LEDs that can't be seen normally.

You can also check the cabin camera from the Tesla app while in sentry mode to see if it show a nice infrared view of the interior when it's dark. If the interior is completely dark, then they need to replace your cabin camera.

When requesting support, be very clear and detailed about all the information you already gathered, so they know that you know what you are saying.

 

[CubedRoot]

I'm out of warranty at this point, with 98k miles on the car, I doubt they will do anything for free.

 

[DCGOO]

I reported this through the Tesla app and got an appointment for a few days later in Seattle. They found a problem with the camera and replaced it. I think they swapped a regular cabin camera (early 2022) for the IR camera module they are installing in new Model Y's or just fixed the IR LEDs that weren't working before. I used to see the cabin live camera feed completely dark at night, and no LED's showed when pointing with a phone camera.

You can check if you have IR LEDs and they are working by pointing with a phone camera above the rearview mirror while driving at night (someone else should do this while you drive). You can also point with a phone camera from outside the car while looking at the cabin live camera feed on sentry mode from the mobile app, it should show the LEDs that can't be seen normally.

You do not actually have to be moving, but the vehicle must be in Drive, to turn on the IR.