Model X didn't warn when my wife was backing up the car and hit a parked car

[JPP]

If you just get into your car and start backing up, and the BT connection to your iPhone finally connects, and if you have your iPhone's Calendar set to sync with your Tesla, then your daily calendar pops up over most of your touchscreen, obscuring the backup camera. yes, lots of 'ifs' but a common occurrence for me. Another 'feature' that needs to be sorted out (...and, no, not a new one introduced in v. 8).

 

[MXWing]

The rear view camera comes on when the car is put in Reverse. There is not and never has been an "automatic stop" feature. There are loud warning chimes and prominent onscreen messages when you get to close to an object that the ultrasonic sensors detect and even before those warnings both displays show a graphic indicating how close the car is to other objects.
I know you said "But seriously" however you are mistaken thinking that what you said before that was a joke. It wasn't. It was just a stupid stereotype.

A few years back I had a tire pop when my wife hit the curb. I had just gotten a brand new set of 4 tires a few days before.

I had warranty on the tires but I was told, it doesn't cover it what my wife did.

 

[Electric700]

My main motivation was to bring this issue to Tesla's priority list of fixes in a public forum and I was told Teslamotorsclub would be the place.
Hope, very soon in the future, Tesla would override driver behavior if necessary to keep the people and the car safe.

You can also contact Tesla at [email protected].

 

[woof]

One can press the camera icon to turn the backup camera on at any time, in forward or reverse. No need to go into park and reverse again.

 

[timf]

I can relate to the OP's pain and see ways Tesla could improve, but wouldn't fault Tesla in the accident. My car was backed into another vehicle (I was not in it at the time) when it was about a month old. The damage was minor and I haven't bothered getting it fixed yet. At the time I couldn't believe it happened because the parking sensors and camera should have provided enough warning. However, spending more time with the vehicle has made it clear that the sensors don't provide the same level of warning that previous cars I've owned have.

The system is far more dependent on visual cues that audio tones. In some respects this is a good thing, since it results in less nuisance alerts such as if a leaf floats by or water splashes up. When approaching a legitimate obstacle, it seems somewhat random whether the chimes sound or not. Whereas other vehicles would be beeping at you incessantly as a warning to stop, Tesla only gives you gentle chimes if you get within range to STOP. Sometimes if you are really close to an object it will give a more alarming screech, but again this is inconsistent. If you are distracted in any way and don't check the screen you may miss the warning, even if you are doing something you should be doing like checking the surroundings (but happen to be looking the wrong way). I hope Tesla does improve the parking sensor operation in the future, but in the meantime over reliance on driver aids is no excuse for an accident.

 

[cmt489]

On the rare occasion my camera does not display when backing up. I immediately stop, fix the screen settings and then proceed. If I did not take this step, I would be backing up the old fashioned way - looking out the rear window looking over my shoulder.

One also needs to back up slowly and cautiously. One never knows what will dart behind a car (especially an electric one that does not make engine noises) when one is backing up. In fact, since driving a Tesla I have found I need to be more careful when backing up than before because people and animals are not conditioned to a car moving without noise. As others have said, thank goodness she only hit another car. Consider yourself lucky and pay the deductible. A "cheap" lesson learned.

And no, the car does not stop you from hitting things. It does, however, give very loud warnings if it detects an obstacle (real or otherwise).

 

[Darren Donovan]

I don't know about the MX but my experience with other vehicles equipped with backup camera have shown that the view on the screen cannot be overridden by any other function. When a call comes in, I can hear the ring, but the view behind the car is still displayed. Even if I wanted to bring up another app, nav, Pandora, or AC, I can't.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I can see how it may be a bug that blocked the back up camera, but your wife decided to forgo that and back up anyways without it. Not seeing how any fault can be assigned to Tesla.

 

[calisnow]

Our ModelX didn't warn when my wife was backing up the car

Sorry that happened to your wife - crappy for sure. One time I blew out the window on another car because I relied on the backup camera and didn't notice the giant pipe about to destroy my rear windshield. You're gonna catch some flak here on TMC because you just joined and your first post is a poll asking everybody if Tesla should compensate you. With some people, whether it is right or wrong, they are going to take an attitude that you are not a person here to discuss all things Tesla but simply to complain. Comes with the territory but welcome to TMC and I hope your future experiences with your Model X are better than this one.

 

[chipmunk]

There is not and never has been an "automatic stop" feature.

While I respect that your product knowledge far exceeds mine, I have to respectfully say I think you are incorrect here. One time I was in a parking lot backing up rather quickly and my Model S came to a full stop with my foot still on the accelerator because the sensors reacted to a parked car that I was actually not going to hit, but it was sticking out a bit from others. I freaked out because I thought I'd hit something. It also did it a second time on the same day.

That said, I don't think this is a feature anybody should remotely rely on and I don't think I've ever seen it advertised. I imagine that when moving slowly it likely warns rather than braking automatically. This only happened because I was moving more quickly (sorry, I'm not sure how fast).

 

[MP3Mike]

@chipmunk Most likely what happened is that you didn't have your seatbelt on and you lifted your butt out of the seat enough that it applied the parking brake because it thought you had exited the vehicle or had been abducted. (I assume that you weren't just using the camera that you were twisting around and looking through the back window?)

 

[Canuck]

It would be good if, at low speeds, if the sensors sense a object they stop the vehicle with a few inches of it, and you have to press an "override" button to get it to move any closer.

 

[MP3Mike]

It would be good if, at low speeds, if the sensors sense a object they stop the vehicle with a few inches of it, and you have to press an "override" button to get it to move any closer.

That is all good until you need to push a planter out of the way to avoid being hit by a dump truck. (The car can't know if you really want to hit that object or not, and having it delay your commanded action could have fatal implications.)

 

[chipmunk]

@chipmunk Most likely what happened is that you didn't have your seatbelt on and you lifted your butt out of the seat enough that it applied the parking brake because it thought you had exited the vehicle or had been abducted. (I assume that you weren't just using the camera that you were twisting around and looking through the back window?)

I'm afraid it was a while ago and I don't recall whether I was turned looking through the back window, or using the camera. Perhaps I'm wrong. It's unlikely I wasn't wearing my seatbelt as that's pretty automatic for me. Again, it was long ago. Perhaps I will try to safely re-create the events.

 

[Canuck]

That is all good until you need to push a planter out of the way to avoid being hit by a dump truck. (The car can't know if you really want to hit that object or not, and having it delay your commanded action could have fatal implications.)

I said "at low speeds" so you could step on the pedal and get out the way in your situation, and it wouldn't stop you. If you needed to get real close for some other reason, at a low speed, you press a button on the screen.

Perhaps I'm missing a reason as to why this should not be done? I don't see your reason as being it but perhaps there's another one.

 

[Gymee]

Is it possible the car was rolling back and not actually in Reverse? I have backed up or rolled back at red lights not really paying attention behind me. I'm so used tin the brake hold being on and also not hearing an engine rev that I occasionally carelessly rolled back a bit and coming uncomfortably close to cars behind me.

 

[ecarfan]

While I respect that your product knowledge far exceeds mine, I have to respectfully say I think you are incorrect here. One time I was in a parking lot backing up rather quickly and my Model S came to a full stop with my foot still on the accelerator because the sensors reacted to a parked car that I was actually not going to hit, but it was sticking out a bit from others. I freaked out because I thought I'd hit something. It also did it a second time on the same day.

That description does not convince me that there is an "automatic stop" feature, for the reason that @MP3Mike pointed out. Even the latest Teslas do not apply the brakes and bring the car to a complete stop if the ultrasonic sensors detect an obstacle in the situation you describe.

 

[stopcrazypp]

That description does not convince me that there is an "automatic stop" feature, for the reason that @MP3Mike pointed out. Even the latest Teslas do not apply the brakes and bring the car to a complete stop if the ultrasonic sensors detect an obstacle in the situation you describe.

I should note there might be an accelerator override (like if the sensors detect there is a wall and you tried to floor the accelerator from a stop). But I'm pretty sure there is no automatic stop.

 

[flyhigh123]

93% no.... ie, look before backing up... blaming something else doesnt change the issue, bad drivers...

 

[Colby Boles]

Just to confirm, I have also had it happen where I do something with the UI (phone, calendar, etc) and the backup display does not come up. It is pretty odd and no doubt a software bug. When this happens I stop and put the car in Park and then Reverse again. I'm too use to having the backup camera for the neighbors kids, toys, and cars.

I agree that there needs to be some prioritization to the UI. Some things need to happen right away and not be trapped behind what are effectively modal dialogs. I was backing up once using the rear camera when a calendar reminder popped up that it was someone's birthday that I no longer have any contact with. This message could have waited, or at least popped-under.