TMC is an independent, primarily volunteer organization that relies on ad revenue to cover its operating costs. Please consider whitelisting TMC on your ad blocker and becoming a Supporting Member. For more info: Support TMC
  1. TMC is currently READ ONLY.
    Click here for more info.

How is your rear camera after MCU1 to MCU2 upgade (dark?)

Discussion in 'Model S' started by Battpower, Apr 28, 2020.

  1. Art_Vandelay

    Art_Vandelay Attractive Membrane

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2016
    Messages:
    149
    Location:
    Elon’s left eyebrow
    I have a 2017 Model S with MCU1 and my wife drives a 2020 Model X with MCU2, and as @Battpower mentioned, the rearview camera on the MCU2 is extremely dark on the low light condition of the garage.

    Sometimes I have to move both vehicles (depending on who leaves first in the morning) because our parking situation is one car in front of the other, and the difference between both images is literally like night and day! MCU2 renders the image feed with an extremely dark hue.
     
    • Helpful x 1
  2. SDRick

    SDRick Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2015
    Messages:
    1,432
    Location:
    SD CA United States
    That is unfortunate, I thought it would be fixed by now. I'm curious as to whether this is a hardware problem or software?
     
  3. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2019
    Messages:
    1,950
    Location:
    Uk
    I am pretty sure it is an MCU2 issue linked to how the image is rendered from the rear camera. Why it is different for that one camera, I can't establish. It is not camera related based on upgrade MCU's not having changed the camera.
     
  4. SDRick

    SDRick Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2015
    Messages:
    1,432
    Location:
    SD CA United States
    So it must be a software issue. That is surprising because it has not been addressed for over one year.
     
  5. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2019
    Messages:
    1,950
    Location:
    Uk
    ...or not! Some things just don't seem to be on Tesla's list to fix. How big of an issue can it be? And it likely effects all recent / MCU2 and MCU2 upgrade vehicles. My SC confirmed back in Jan that it is a known issue (not that I put too much value in that statement) and I really hope it gets fixed asap.
     
  6. blackhawk

    blackhawk Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Messages:
    85
    Location:
    USA
    I have a 2017 S90D upgraded to MCU2, and haven't noticed any issues with the rear camera.

    If anything, the image seems brighter than before, but that may just been the new screen?
     
  7. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2019
    Messages:
    1,950
    Location:
    Uk
    In daylight, I would describe the image displayed as 'very high contrast'. The blacks are way blacker than for the other camera views, but the image is clear enough.

    In low-light, the image is very much darker than others, and also far darker than rear on MCU1 cars.

    Compare yours with these:

    Would be interested to see the 4 camera view from your dashcam viewer - where images are easy to compare.
     
    • Like x 1
  8. blackhawk

    blackhawk Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Messages:
    85
    Location:
    USA
    I will have to try some night driving and capture some images. Maybe the reason I haven't noticed is because I've been mostly stuck in my house for six months! :(
     
  9. Battpower

    Battpower Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2019
    Messages:
    1,950
    Location:
    Uk
    It's sad isn't it?!
     
  10. SDRick

    SDRick Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2015
    Messages:
    1,432
    Location:
    SD CA United States
    I kind of forgot about it as I too have not been going out as much and rarely at night.
     
  11. Cheburashka

    Cheburashka Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2018
    Messages:
    2,001
    Location:
    Los Gatos, CA
    My street has no lighting at all and at night the camera is just black. Can't see anything at all.

    Have to turn on emergency blinkers but even then you can barely make things out.
     
    • Like x 1
  12. cruiserlarry

    cruiserlarry Gadgetologist

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2017
    Messages:
    275
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    My 2017 S90D had MCU1/HW2, and the rear camera image was great, even at night. Now I've had it upgraded to MCU2/HW3, and the rear camera image is much darker, and less detail - like when you give a screen to much contrast. Hopefully, it'll be a software bug fix, since it seems to be a software created issue.
     
    • Like x 1
  13. blackhawk

    blackhawk Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Messages:
    85
    Location:
    USA
    I did some night driving (finally!) and my rear camera is also really dark. I just hadn't noticed it before.

    Has anyone tried opening a service call?
     
    • Like x 1
  14. croman

    croman Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2016
    Messages:
    4,624
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Service center says it is normal. No one can do anything but engineering. Seems all mcu2 owners have been ok with this for years now. Insane to me as backup camera at night is critical to me. I leave the camera on all the time.
     
    • Like x 1
  15. Hank42

    Hank42 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Messages:
    514
    Location:
    United States - NY
    This is a HUGE problem for me. The backup lights don't illuminate the scene for the mirrors to be effective. The old "MCU1" image I had almost knew it was dark and adjusted the white balance accordingly so that those tiny backup LED's made it look like daylight.
     
    • Like x 5
  16. SoCal Buzz

    SoCal Buzz Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2018
    Messages:
    440
    Location:
    Orange County, CA, USA
    My 2018 original MCU2 car has always had a very dark rear camera at night (compared directly to my 2013). I can only see properly on dark street or driveway if I ride the brakes.
     
    • Informative x 1
  17. Hank42

    Hank42 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Messages:
    514
    Location:
    United States - NY
    Good tip. I try to do the same, but it is very dangerous in certain situations. For example, I back into my driveway at night. The driveway is sloped towards the street, so I need to apply pressure to the accelerator, and can't ride the brakes unless I get a "running start" <- the dangerous part. Furthermore, the rear camera is _essential_ when backing up a on a slope because the field of view out the rear window is to narrow on the vertical plane. While I might be able to see a human, or other large object out the rear window, or there might be enough light to reflect off a person wearing a white shirt, forget about seeing road obstacles such as pot holes, small children, cats, bikes etc..
    Oh, and no, my car is so old, it does not have the ultrasonic collision indicators, so the camera is even more important.
     
    • Like x 2
  18. SucreTease

    SucreTease Teslarian

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2017
    Messages:
    695
    Location:
    Huntsville, Alabama
    I sure wish we could find a way to get Tesla to put it back like it used to be. Isn't there some hero out there who can get a Twitter response out of Elon about this?
     
    • Love x 1
  19. Morristhecat

    Morristhecat Member

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    723
    Location:
    Burnaby, BC
    I had my MCU2 installed about 2 months ago, and now that the days are getting shorter I am using the backup camera more in the dark, and had noticed that the rear view is harder to see these days. Then I see this thread and realize I am not the only one and that it is indeed an issue & I am not going nuts. I don't expect Tesla to solve this issue. I am starting to wonder about installing some sort of infrared backup light that turns on with my regular backup lights. Something like this maybe?
     
  20. squarepeg77

    squarepeg77 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2018
    Messages:
    227
    Location:
    Hemel Hempstead, UK
    I can't believe they can't just turn up the gain a bit... or post-process in software
     
    • Like x 5

Share This Page

  • About Us

    Formed in 2006, Tesla Motors Club (TMC) was the first independent online Tesla community. Today it remains the largest and most dynamic community of Tesla enthusiasts. Learn more.
  • Do you value your experience at TMC? Consider becoming a Supporting Member of Tesla Motors Club. As a thank you for your contribution, you'll get nearly no ads in the Community and Groups sections. Additional perks are available depending on the level of contribution. Please visit the Account Upgrades page for more details.


    SUPPORT TMC