Inconsistent "vision" with front camera - film inside case the cause?

[joebruin77]

I have had some problems with my front camera seeing clearly and consistently. I get frequent "front camera blocked" error messages even though the windshield in front of it is clean and not in direct sunlight. Last night, while driving on the freeway, I noticed that sometimes the camera would "see" the cars around me and show them on the animation on my screen, but many times the cars around me in the animation on my screen would suddenly disappear even though the cars around me were physically still there.

I took a closer look at the camera and it looks like there is either condensation or a cloudy film on the inside case covering the camera. I made an appointment for Tesla mobile service to come to my home this week and clean the inside of the case.

BTW, when I view the camera in my "Live camera view" in the Tesla app, part of the frame is out of focus and not as clear as the other camera views. So I am hoping that cleaning the inside of the cover will fix the problem.

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? Was cleaning the inside of the cover sufficient or do you think I will need to replace the camera?

Thank you,
Joe

 

[borland]

I used to have a similar problem with cameras and windshield glare, but after removing an almost invisible film on the outside of the windshield, the problem went away. I thought I could see dirty glass in front of the cameras, but it was actually on the outside. The camera warning messages however were when driving into the direction of the Sun, at times mostly early to late morning and afternoon.

Here's a link to another thread that provides more information on this..

Have you de-scummed your glass yet?

 

[GreenHokie]

Hey Joe. Below is a photo showing my front/windshield camera. As you can see, I have a few areas/spots of what appear to be a dirty film or stain. Definitely on the back/underside of the windshield glass. Not really sure how long these spots/film have been there. Fortunately, I’ve never experienced any type of strange behavior or received any type of error/warning messages from this front camera. This photo makes the spots look very noticeable but in reality, they are not. So, for this reason (I don’t really notice/see them and they have not affected the functionality of this camera), I have not bothered to dismantle the housing/trim to access & clean the inside surface of the windshield. However, in your case and based on your description, I think cleaning it will likely solve your problems. Good luck!!

 

[IsthataTesl.a?]

I'm glad I finally found a thread about this. I thought it was condensation initially but now it appears to be filmbildung (or something) as someone said Germans might call it. I've had a silica gel packet in that area and it seems really difficult to access for cleaning. Does this get accessed from the underside or does a cleaning fabric need to be slid in there? Can/will Tesla be able to rectify this easily?

 

[joebruin77]

I'm glad I finally found a thread about this. I thought it was condensation initially but now it appears to be filmbildung (or something) as someone said Germans might call it. I've had a silica gel packet in that area and it seems really difficult to access for cleaning. Does this get accessed from the underside or does a cleaning fabric need to be slid in there? Can/will Tesla be able to rectify this easily?

I'm the OP. Tesla Mobile Service came to my home, removed the plastic casing, and fully cleaned on the inside. This completely fixed the problem.

I remember the technician made a comment that it is very challenging to remove this plastic cover and it took him quite a while to do it. I would recommend having Mobile Service fix it for you instead of trying to fix it yourself.

 

[IsthataTesl.a?]

I'm the OP. Tesla Mobile Service came to my home, removed the plastic casing, and fully cleaned on the inside. This completely fixed the problem.

I remember the technician made a comment that it is very challenging to remove this plastic cover and it took him quite a while to do it. I would recommend having Mobile Service fix it for you instead of trying to fix it yourself.

I will do that and add a cabin filter. This 2018 Model 3 Performance + without AP has been bulletproof.

 

[Sandrosia]

I'm the OP. Tesla Mobile Service came to my home, removed the plastic casing, and fully cleaned on the inside. This completely fixed the problem.

I remember the technician made a comment that it is very challenging to remove this plastic cover and it took him quite a while to do it. I would recommend having Mobile Service fix it for you instead of trying to fix it yourself

What year and model is your vehicle? I have 2023 model s and mobile tech told me I have to make appointment to take car to service because camera casing is part of the windshield and most likely tesla will have to replace whole windshield

 

[joebruin77]

What year and model is your vehicle? I have 2023 model s and mobile tech told me I have to make appointment to take car to service because camera casing is part of the windshield and most likely tesla will have to replace whole windshield

I have a 2018 P3D

 

[Adam3]

 

[IsthataTesl.a?]

Tesla charged me diagnosis fee and cleaning. $120. Not really willing to fight about it.