Model 3 TeslaCam USB Port May Have Fried my Memory Card

[DB-Cooper]

Interesting issue, and I believe it indicates that the Tesla itself may have likely fried the card. I bought a Silicon Power 256 GB C10 Elite which has extreme conditions operations microSD card and a USB adapter. All was working well with DashCam and Sentry for 2-3 weeks. However, this morning I noticed an X over the little camera icon. It definitely wasn't full. I physically removed the memory and plugged it in, the X came up again. I removed it again, put it back in three minutes later, and the icon never appeared, Sentry was greyed out, etc.

I plugged it into multiple PCs, Macs, used different adapters, card readers, etc. The entire thing is completely dead. The fact that it went from X to completely blank upon insertion leads me to believe it more or less completely broke/fried during these insertions. It could just be the card and coincidence, but I verified the USB adapter is fine, I used low level disk tools (diskpart) and it is completely dead now. I've returned it (Amazon) and ordered a similar spec Samsung one, but I do wonder if there's some power issue on the USB port as it went from at least recognized by Tesla to unrecognized by simple insertion. Again, could be coincidence or a bad card, but I found some threads on Reddit. At less than 2 weeks old, I don't think it was running into a limit of re-writes, etc.

Anyways, I'd avoid this stick, but I'm not convinced the Tesla is not slightly abusive to these things:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H8M2M1G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Tam]

...coincidence or a bad card...

It got a few bad reports from buyers: "...Beware. It started malfunctioning...", "Not recognized on multiple devices - Didn't work"...

Other praises just sound too scripted: "Only computing brand I trust in the clutch is Silicon Power".

 

[Atari2600]

Buy a Samsung external SSD. As Tesla adds more cameras etc you will want more storage.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Other praises just sound too scripted: "Only computing brand I trust in the clutch is Silicon Power".

LOL!!!

 

[animorph]

Have you tried to reformat the card? TeslaCam has corrupted a few memory sticks in the past but I think they all came back with a reformat.

 

[DB-Cooper]

Have you tried to reformat the card? TeslaCam has corrupted a few memory sticks in the past but I think they all came back with a reformat.

Yeah tried that, we're totally fried. The disk no long even appears on a variety of hosts, including using low level utilities (Disk Utility, DISKPART, diskmgmt.msc, etc.).

 

[SMAlset]

I noticed one of the comments said that they noticed the card got "warm to the point where we wont use it" and doubt all these people reporting issues were using the card in their Tesla. Likely it's a card issue and not that "Tesla itself may have likely fried the card". Two to three weeks is surprising though.

I just received a Samsung Pro Endurance 128GB microSD card from Amazon to swap out with a similar size card from Blackvue and curious to see how that does. First time using the Samsung product and it has similar specs and advertised features as your Silicon Power one. I will say I haven't had any issues with the Blackvue cards in our Model S BV dashcam like you indicated you were having with the Silicon Power and so far seems fine in my TeslaCam.

I did feel my card reader a few times to check on heat since it is in an enclosed area of the car and it was barely warm. It has an aluminum body and just under 3 inches in length both of which might help dissipate heat generated. If you think your reader might contribute to the problem here's what I'm using with USB-A/USB-C connectors: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Reader-Adapter-Portable-Windows/dp/B07D1J88CF. They have just a USB-C version too: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D2BQ7K5

 

[DB-Cooper]

I noticed one of the comments said that they noticed the card got "warm to the point where we wont use it" and doubt all these people reporting issues were using the card in their Tesla. Likely it's a card issue and not that "Tesla itself may have likely fried the card". Two to three weeks is surprising though.

I just received a Samsung Pro Endurance 128GB microSD card from Amazon to swap out with a similar size card from Blackvue and curious to see how that does. First time using the Samsung product and it has similar specs and advertised features as your Silicon Power one. I will say I haven't had any issues with the Blackvue cards in our Model S BV dashcam like you indicated you were having with the Silicon Power and so far seems fine in my TeslaCam.

I did feel my card reader a few times to check on heat since it is in an enclosed area of the car and it was barely warm. It has an aluminum body and just under 3 inches in length both of which might help dissipate heat generated. If you think your reader might contribute to the problem here's what I'm using with USB-A/USB-C connectors: https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Reader-Adapter-Portable-Windows/dp/B07D1J88CF. They have just a USB-C version too: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D2BQ7K5

It definitely gets warm, but I selected that card based on its support for extra high heat conditions (considering I'm in Texas). It's just the way it failed which seemingly had more to do with insertion into the USB port is what made me think perhaps there's something a bit more harsh for these types of devices. Prior to switching to this, I used a junk 5-year old 16 GB stick (just for the driving recorder) for months without issue, but clearly that's not enough space for Sentry.

 

[SMAlset]

There are a lot of owners using TeslaCam/Sentry Mode now and while I do see some instances of people saying their cards is unusable, the vast majority aren't having that kind of issue. Tend to think it's more the card than the car relative to the issue you mentioned.

 

[Eyeimager]

Interesting issue, and I believe it indicates that the Tesla itself may have likely fried the card. I bought a Silicon Power 256 GB C10 Elite which has extreme conditions operations microSD card and a USB adapter. All was working well with DashCam and Sentry for 2-3 weeks. However, this morning I noticed an X over the little camera icon. It definitely wasn't full. I physically removed the memory and plugged it in, the X came up again. I removed it again, put it back in three minutes later, and the icon never appeared, Sentry was greyed out, etc.

I plugged it into multiple PCs, Macs, used different adapters, card readers, etc. The entire thing is completely dead. The fact that it went from X to completely blank upon insertion leads me to believe it more or less completely broke/fried during these insertions. It could just be the card and coincidence, but I verified the USB adapter is fine, I used low level disk tools (diskpart) and it is completely dead now. I've returned it (Amazon) and ordered a similar spec Samsung one, but I do wonder if there's some power issue on the USB port as it went from at least recognized by Tesla to unrecognized by simple insertion. Again, could be coincidence or a bad card, but I found some threads on Reddit. At less than 2 weeks old, I don't think it was running into a limit of re-writes, etc.

Anyways, I'd avoid this stick, but I'm not convinced the Tesla is not slightly abusive to these things:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H8M2M1G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I

 

[Eyeimager]

I have been using the Samsung 32gb Pro Endurance microSD card in a Cocka USB/C connection. It's has work flawlessly. I really enjoy plugging microSD into my phone and reviewing the video while sitting in the car.
IMPO you may be overthinking the failing of the SD card as an Tesla electrical problem. Poor quality control of the SD card is much greater likelihood as the culprit.

 

[latimerluis]

Hmm ... interesting. I think the car fried my 16GB Kingston USB stick as well. I posted this on a different thread. Unlike your situation, an X never appeared. It just stopped recognizing the stick when I checked it one morning. I tried different machines and none of them recognized the device. I don’t know what could have happened since I don’t use Sentry mode and I hadn’t downloaded a single video.

Random guessing, but I wonder if there are power surges that occur when the car is plugged that it can’t regulate. I use a Schneider electric EVLink (level 2 - 30 amp) ... do you use a Tesla charger?

 

[DB-Cooper]

Hmm ... interesting. I think the car fried my 16GB Kingston USB stick as well. I posted this on a different thread. Unlike your situation, an X never appeared. It just stopped recognizing the stick when I checked it one morning. I tried different machines and none of them recognized the device. I don’t know what could have happened since I don’t use Sentry mode and I hadn’t downloaded a single video.

Random guessing, but I wonder if there are power surges that occur when the car is plugged that it can’t regulate. I use a Schneider electric EVLink (level 2 - 30 amp) ... do you use a Tesla charger?

If it just stopped working, I’d blame it on the card, I’m still not convinced, hence why I said it “may” have fried the card. The X thing a couple times and then immediately upon insertion it never came back and was totally fried just led me to believe there might be an overly harsh condition the car is putting on these things. Who knows.

My previous card seemed to indicate extreme conditions and continuous recording. I bought a Samsung one but I now see in the fine print it says the warranty isn’t covered for continuous operation including security cameras and dash cams. We will see, I might try this for 30 days. Looks like Sandisk Extreme or Samsung Endurance are the marketer ones for this application.

That said, Sentry isn’t continuous recording and in reality, my average drive time in 15-20 minutes which isn’t dissimilar from a GoPro clip, so I don’t think it’s particularly harsh, and the data rate the Tesla writes at isn’t particularly high.

 

[Knightshade]

FWIW, Sentry is continuously recording when on... it just doesn't SAVE anything unless it alerts.

It's always recording a 10 minute buffer, which it will overwrite if nothing alerts it- and if it alerts it saves that (10 minutes leading up to the alert) buffer to the saved folder.


Dashcam is also always recording when car is otherwise awake (1 hour buffer- saves previous 10 minutes if you tap the button)

So essentially the only time the car is NOT recording anymore is asleep/no sentry

 

[DB-Cooper]

FWIW, Sentry is continuously recording when on... it just doesn't SAVE anything unless it alerts.

It's always recording a 10 minute buffer, which it will overwrite if nothing alerts it- and if it alerts it saves that (10 minutes leading up to the alert) buffer to the saved folder.


Dashcam is also always recording when car is otherwise awake (1 hour buffer- saves previous 10 minutes if you tap the button)

So essentially the only time the car is NOT recording anymore is asleep/no sentry

Ahh good to know on Sentry. I only use Sentry when I park somewhere, but that could be up to several hours at a time (never overnight). We'll see how this run-of-the-mill Samsung card works:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072HRDM55/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If it fails (which I hope would be within 30 days if it were to fail at all), I'll go with an Endurance line or something.

 

[SMAlset]

The Samsung EVO microSD line is for general use if you read the specs--ie. photos, music data files. The warranty does not cover dashcam use. Samsung's PRO Endurance line says it was developed for continuous use read/write and they specifically mention dashcam and surveillance use for what it was developed for.

 

[SMAlset]

FWIW, Sentry is continuously recording when on... it just doesn't SAVE anything unless it alerts.

It's always recording a 10 minute buffer, which it will overwrite if nothing alerts it- and if it alerts it saves that (10 minutes leading up to the alert) buffer to the saved folder.

Dashcam is also always recording when car is otherwise awake (1 hour buffer- saves previous 10 minutes if you tap the button)

So essentially the only time the car is NOT recording anymore is asleep/no sentry

Actually it's TeslaCam that is always creating video clips when the car is awake. TeslaCam records video clips from the 3 cameras and stores them in the 1-hr buffered RecentClips folder.
Whenever you either:

1) manually press to Save a 10-min. clip or
2) Sentry mode is on and senses sound vibration or motion and automatically saves a 10-min. clip​

TeslaCam will pull those 10 minutes of video clips (3 cameras) out of RecentClips and will save them to a date/time stamped folder in SavedClips folder. You can see this happens by looking at the time stamps of the clips. Just posted two photos yesterday in another thread showing how this happens:
Sentry Mode USB Recording Question

 

[GolanB]

There is a strong body of evidence which shows that storage media fails at a higher percentage when running hot. Our cars are typically not temperature controlled to the degree that a data center would be, and I have a feeling that failure rates will go up during the summer months. Its not even mid April, and my car is regularly getting above 100 degrees while parked in the sun -- this is going to have an impact on the longevity of these components. The good news is that these devices are cheap, some come with solid replacement warranties and are adequately rated for continuous use. Let's just hope they don't fail when you need them most and that a future release will upload the data to the cloud (there has been some discussion about that).

 

[JeffK]

Personally, I'd steer clear of off-brands like this.

Link to the one star reviews

Stick to name brands like Sandisk, Kingston, Samsung, PNY, Corsair, etc.

 

[SMAlset]

Personally, I'd steer clear of off-brands like this.

Link to the one star reviews

Stick to name brands like Sandisk, Kingston, Samsung, PNY, Corsair, etc.

And people on here have already reported problems when using some of those manufacturer names too.