@MP3Mike, it seems to me that the cameras are used as safety equipment. The CEO of Tesla says that side mirrors are not even needed on their Cybertruck. Seems to me that this glare reduces or eliminates the safety that the cameras provide.
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Glare from side repeaters in blind spot camera?
- Thread starter Drlev
- Start date
The vehicles were fully qualified to drive on the road without displaying these cameras at all. They shipped cars from 2016-2021 with cameras with no way for the user to see them. Clearly they are not safety equipment. Nothing like the MCU where backup cameras and heater controls are legally required.
If Tesla wants, they can just take this feature away for old cameras as their solution if people complain. They have no requirement to provide it, even if it might "increase" safety. Lots of things do that, it doesn't mean you have to provide it. You can't just use "safety" as a hammer to make anyone do anything you want.
Is all of this dumb on Tesla's part? Possibly. They would get a lot of good will selling people replacement cameras at cost (~$100 each) instead of at normal markup, but Tesla doesn't really work that way. They've made a lot of outright promises and even more suggestions in the past that have never come true, and it doesn't seem to bother them or impact their success, so why should they behave differently with something they hardly even mentioned in the past? (although Elon has been claiming a birds eye view coming soon for years now). It really was an unforced error on Tesla's part to do this though- they could have easily just claimed it wasn't possible on older cars. My 2017 Model X (MCU2/AP3) doesn't get this feature for completely unknown reasons even though the HW is capable. Tesla makes all sorts of weird decisions.
All of this changes if Autopilot can't perform with these cameras. But as long as it can, that's the only performance related to these cameras that Tesla ever talked about when selling these cars in the past. It will be interesting if someone can prove that AP is less performant on cars with the older cameras.
This feature was super obvious and asked about for years- can you now guess why they didn't make it an official feature until they had a HW fix? People that bought cars with this on the menu when they ordered would have a valid complaint, so they didn't put it in the SW until they had started shipping a HW fix on all new cars.
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Tevo Solutions
Former Vendor
I did see a small amount of glare coming in from one side after I fixed the first two on mine but not enough to be noticed unless the lens was taped over. It's possible of course that certain batches of cameras were made differently and let light in differently but it would take more research and experimentation to determine if there is a 100% successful method and there's a limit to the amount of time I can spend on this. Pouring more sealant or potting compound in there may be the answer but who knows what the long term effects of that might be without lots of testing on several cameras? I'm of course interested in seeing variations of this fix and I'm sure someone can improve on my attempts!
Demented_Y
Member
Here's what I had to do. Drilled and dremeled a slit. Now I can see what to cover. I used black rtv because that's what I had. Also used to seal it back up. Not only a camera calibration is needed but the car has to power off and back on to recognize the camera again. BIG THANKS to Tevo Solutions for figuring this out! No more glare!
GlmnAlyAirCar
Active Member
there will be those who claim it is a safety issue (although I would not be among them). The brightness of the glow at night is enough to be seriously distracting. Of course I didn’t think the eMMC problem was a safety issue either but apparently I was wrong on that one. People will fight for it. Eventually they will give in if for no other reason than to stop the bad publicity.
You can turn off the display of the side cameras. It's an option in a menu if you find it distracting. Which is exactly what Tesla will do if it becomes a "safety" issue.
There's nothing you can do if your MCU fails, and the MCU wear out is Tesla's own fault for crappy software. The fact that MCU1 is basically guaranteed to fail at every function that came with the car within 10 years is a major issue too, while this is only an additive function to the primary functions of a light and an autopilot camera.
Would tend to agree with the above. It’s only distracting if you allow it to be, by enabling the feature (that didn’t exist when you bought the car and wasn’t sold to you).
It IS annoying to use on an older car, though, simply because it behaves inconsistently. You could use it perfectly fine during the day, maybe even dusk, but once it gets dark the effectiveness of the feature diminishes rapidly and dramatically, and the distraction factor ramps up.
In effect it becomes the worst kind of feature to have - one that can only work for you in limited circumstances while others, who just happened to buy their car after the point at which Tesla discovered the design was flawed, get to use it unencumbered 24/7.
I’m not happy with a feature that I can only use practically for maybe 2/3 of the day, having to turn it off during the compromised 1/3 period or suffer distracting orange glare in my peripheral vision.
It IS annoying to use on an older car, though, simply because it behaves inconsistently. You could use it perfectly fine during the day, maybe even dusk, but once it gets dark the effectiveness of the feature diminishes rapidly and dramatically, and the distraction factor ramps up.
In effect it becomes the worst kind of feature to have - one that can only work for you in limited circumstances while others, who just happened to buy their car after the point at which Tesla discovered the design was flawed, get to use it unencumbered 24/7.
I’m not happy with a feature that I can only use practically for maybe 2/3 of the day, having to turn it off during the compromised 1/3 period or suffer distracting orange glare in my peripheral vision.
Would it just be easier to buy new cameras and DIY replace?
Can you just buy new cameras and DIY replace? It seems this should be a plug and play fix with almost no risk for around $250 for both cameras.
Can anyone confirm if it's just the 1495865-20-D and 1495864-20-D cameras that are the fixed versions? What about the -C ? I've heard that -Ds aren't available in all markets currently.
@Tevo Solutions ?
GlmnAlyAirCar
Active Member
zef3215
Member
I have no clue if Tesla will just sell the parts alone. Looking at the quotations that other owners got for replacing the cameras, the parts seem to be the most expensive element so yes, replacing the cameras yourself will save you that part assuming Tesla will sell the parts separately at the same price (I doubt that).
Anybody on this forum: Do you know if Tesla sell parts alone for DIY repairs? If they do, are the price levels the same with what they mention on their repair quotations or higher and if higher, by how much?
Tesla will sell you parts, all you need is the part number. They may or may not grumble about them being incorrect for your VIN and that they may be incompatible and that there's no recourse if there is, warn you that your warranty might be affected, etc. Your mileage may vary.
I've bought a 2021 heated steering wheel and a bunch of parts to retrofit the USB-C ports to my Q1 2020 car.
I've bought a 2021 heated steering wheel and a bunch of parts to retrofit the USB-C ports to my Q1 2020 car.
israndy
Supercharger Hunter
Did you get the heated steering wheel to work? I would be tempted to add that, but I cannot imagine the car's software would ever recognize it, and who wants to have a physical switch in the car? Plus the wheel I have is wrapped in actual leather, not that pleather crud they use today.
Tevo Solutions
Former Vendor
-C are fixed. They have the completely new PCB design.
For all this side discussion about will Tesla sell you parts:
That is the full parts catalog for Teslas. Anything listed as "over the counter" can be bought by anyone. Annoyingly they don't list prices unless you have a special login.
Some of Tesla's prices are surprisingly affordable ($100 wheel bearings), some are annoyingly expensive ($500 brake pads). Tesla's overall business model continues to their parts department
The real issues Tesla has with right to repair is the difficulty in getting software access when needed, their restricted sale of drivetrain and body parts, and their aggressive behavior around turning off services for cars with major repairs.
That is the full parts catalog for Teslas. Anything listed as "over the counter" can be bought by anyone. Annoyingly they don't list prices unless you have a special login.
Some of Tesla's prices are surprisingly affordable ($100 wheel bearings), some are annoyingly expensive ($500 brake pads). Tesla's overall business model continues to their parts department
The real issues Tesla has with right to repair is the difficulty in getting software access when needed, their restricted sale of drivetrain and body parts, and their aggressive behavior around turning off services for cars with major repairs.
I had one of my repeaters replaces for a water leak and they replaced it with a C and it has the issue.
Tevo Solutions
Former Vendor
The complete part number was 1495865-20-C or 1495864-20-C? The glare looks like it does here?
Yep. Getting it replaced with D now and will see if that fixes it.
Attachments
Tevo Solutions
Former Vendor
Did you see the actual part number printed on the housing though? Can you keep that one if they're replacing it?
Scotty7
Member
I've made a dedicated thread for this, based on @Tevo Solutions 's video:
teslamotorsclub.com
I think we'll have more success arguing this from a FSD perspective. It will absolutely degrade the quality of the information FSD will be making decisions on. It absolutely sucks we have to fight Tesla to have them replace an obviously defective component that we have clear evidence of them trying to band-aid. There's many people, some in this very thread, who have had it replaced under warranty.
I'm not sure you can argue based on the blind spot pop-up given you can just turn that off. But I totally disagree dismissing that because it's a 'bonus' introduced in a software update. Software updates are products much like on iOS; they're selling points of the hardware and actively advertised as a benefit by Tesla. It's now a deployed feature on consumer vehicles. Could you possibly argue it's a 'bonus' to someone who bought an M3 yesterday? Or could you argue Hold Mode is a bonus as it arrived in a software update too? It blows my mind people try to defend Tesla who are trying abdicate responsibility.
Suspected repeater camera defect that affects FSD performance
The repeater glare seen by many people here has been revealed by the channel below to be a design flaw with the circuit board of the camera. The PCB has three holes which allows the indicator light to leak directly onto the image sensor, bypassing the front of the lens entirely (aka, it's not...
teslamotorsclub.com
I think we'll have more success arguing this from a FSD perspective. It will absolutely degrade the quality of the information FSD will be making decisions on. It absolutely sucks we have to fight Tesla to have them replace an obviously defective component that we have clear evidence of them trying to band-aid. There's many people, some in this very thread, who have had it replaced under warranty.
I'm not sure you can argue based on the blind spot pop-up given you can just turn that off. But I totally disagree dismissing that because it's a 'bonus' introduced in a software update. Software updates are products much like on iOS; they're selling points of the hardware and actively advertised as a benefit by Tesla. It's now a deployed feature on consumer vehicles. Could you possibly argue it's a 'bonus' to someone who bought an M3 yesterday? Or could you argue Hold Mode is a bonus as it arrived in a software update too? It blows my mind people try to defend Tesla who are trying abdicate responsibility.
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