Is Tesla built in dash cam reliable?

[stonefocus]

Hi all,

Long story short, police damaged my car while he was trying to pull out from the snow. (Yes, I was stuck..)
While he was trying to pull my car out, he hooked to my front bumper (and told me "Stay in the car") and totally ripped off.
Unfortunately, Tesla built in dashcam did not record at that right moment when I needed it.
I could file a claim to PD if I had the video.

Has anyone experienced something similar?
How should I fix my car? Should I use insurance comprehensive coverage since it was not a collision and happened due to a snow storm?

Thanks all!

 

[sduck]

In answeer to your thread subject, no. The body of your thread is about something different, good luck with that.

 

[The_Observer]

There has been reports stating that Tesla Dashcam isn't super reliable, and often misses footages during accidents. If you are worried about it, get a dedicated dashcam installed.

As for the damages, it should be comprehensive coverage through your insurance, but if you decide to pursue with the PD, that's your choice.

 

[GZDongles]

Why do you need the dashcam footage? Is the officer lying about pulling the bumper off?

 

[Kevy Baby]

Hi all,

Long story short, police damaged my car while he was trying to pull out from the snow. (Yes, I was stuck..)
While he was trying to pull my car out, he hooked to my front bumper (and told me "Stay in the car") and totally ripped off.
Unfortunately, Tesla built in dashcam did not record at that right moment when I needed it.

Did you trigger to SAVE the footage, by either hiking the horn or tapping the button on the screen? If not, then the failure was NOT on the part of the car.

 

[Apone]

Why do you need the dashcam footage? Is the officer lying about pulling the bumper off?

underrated comment. You don't need that if the cop says "oops that was me, dept help this young person"

 

[Phlier]

I’m sure it varies from state to state, but here the police cars have forward and rearward pointing cameras that record constantly.

The video files are recorded to a locked unit in the patrol car that the officer doesn’t have access to.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find out the process you need to go through in order to view the recording of your incident.

As far as Tesla dashcam reliability, it is as dependable as the user makes it. If you have set it up correctly and with a quality storage device, it’ll be reliable.

Edit: one last note about TeslaCam reliability. Sometimes firmware updates will corrupt the file structure on the SSD I have setup for the cam. So you do need to keep an eye on it to make sure it’s working. We have just gotten in the habit of looking for the appropriate icon on the display to make sure the SSD is currently being recognized by the car.

 

[john5520]

Did you trigger to SAVE the footage, by either hiking the horn or tapping the button on the screen? If not, then the failure was NOT on the part of the car.

This is important! You have to remember to save the footage. I guess this can be considered a downside of the Tesla cam versus your typical dashcam. I also make it a habit to save and re-check the footage every so often to be sure it's doing what it's supposed to.

 

[Phlier]

Did you trigger to SAVE the footage, by either hiking the horn or tapping the button on the screen? If not, then the failure was NOT on the part of the car.

Great info right there.

Is the “honk to save dashcam” option now enabled by default? I ask as it seems like I had to enable this option on the first version of the firmware that offered it.

 

[Big Dog]

what did the cop say? (I would be shocked if his local community tax payers will pay to repair your car as you were stuck and he was trying to help.) Regardless of my assumptions, did he admit fault? Did he say, 'call my office and they'll pay for your repairs'?

Call your insurer and ask them if you file a claim in such a situation will it raise your rates?

 

[GZDongles]

what did the cop say? (I would be shocked if his local community tax payers will pay to repair your car as you were stuck and he was trying to help.) Regardless of my assumptions, did he admit fault? Did he say, 'call my office and they'll pay for your repairs'?

Call your insurer and ask them if you file a claim in such a situation will it raise your rates?

I think it all depends. If I let someone hook up a tow rope or chain in the wrong place, I wouldn't expect anyone to pay for it, especially if it were a police officer or good samaritan helping me out. However if an officer insisted that I stay in the car for some reason hooked up a tow rope to my bumper, I would be a little bit peeved. All the same, it's hard for my to imagine a scenario where I would let someone do that and not feel like I could stop the process before my bumper got ripped off.

 

[hellocar]

Seems like you should use your insurance comprehensive here - you're the one who got stuck in the snow and needed help.