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rear view camera not working

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Just took my Model Y (received delivery Oct., 2020) into the Tesla service center, initially for a recall inspection, but as un-luck would have it, the rear back up camera went black on me a couple of days ago, followed shortly thereafter by the GPS/navigation system malfunctioning (the red arrow that usually tracks the car's movement remained at our home address, even as I was driving or was parked at work. I tried ALL the things recommended on this and other forums (soft reset, hard reset, powered off and left overnight, removed USB, made sure sentry mode was turned off, etc.) and no dice. I took it in this morning at 9AM and just received a message from the SC that they are still working on diagnosing the problem with the rear camera and the navigation system, and will need to keep it overnight to continue work on it tomorrow. Frustrating and really inconvenient timing, as we're supposed to drive to Michigan to visit family on Saturday morning. I'm crossing my fingers that the issue is resolved by then and won't impact our travel plans. Once I find out what they determined to be the cause of the malfunctions, I'll be sure to update this post.

I think most in this thread are talking about issues that end up being related in one way or another to their aftermarket drunk / trunk openers. If you dont have that, its probably different than what is being discussed here.
 
Update

from my observations and posts from @12seconds, I can also see the rear camera turning to black when trunk switches to CLOSE state on the screen. This is clear in the video below.


I have the V6 kit but had not plugged the CAN Bus. When I close the trunk while screen is turned off, then it stays permanently off for the next drive(s). It comes back on after a deep sleep.

I plugged the CAN Bus yesterday evening and now the trunk on the screen no longer bounces between OPENED and CLOSED states. Camera seems also more stable but I need a couple of days to confirm that.
I lost the ability to Close from the screen but I'd rather keep the camera on at the moment :)
My 2018 M3 is stock and this has been happening intermittently for the past 3 years!!! Intermittent open close trunk switch which (probably uses a level sensing liquid mercury switch) is causing my rear camera to be black screen intermittently. What do you think? I think I’ll set up a appointment for them to check it out. Trunk light would go on and off and was noticeable at night when pulling out packages, but I never put two and two together till now after reading your post that this could be causing the problem on the rear camera.
 
I'm still have this problem. 2018 Model 3 LR RWD - Hansshow V3 automatic trunk kit installed. 2021.24.4. had the trunk kit installed for over a year or 2, and only about earlier this year this issue started happening.... usually resolves itself when the car goes to sleep overnight and in the morning it works, until some random combination of either opening the trunk via different methods (app/trunk button on screen, or actual trunk physical button) then the rear backup camera would appear black on the screen =(
 
Hello,

I waited a bit before posting this here.

I am glad to say that since the latest update 2021.12.25.7 I no longer have the issue discussed in this thread. Can anyone else confirm ?
Hi,

So no mercury switch as I speculated. It looks like the truck deck lid harness on the right side is the problem. Earth ground wire was probably broken causing an intermittent ground connection which caused the trunk light issue. Tech replaced harness today and said that it will also probably take care of intermittent rear camera black screen issue. Harness replacement took care of trunk light. Will keep my fingers crossed that rear camera issue is fixed. I post back in a week.
 
I'm still have this problem. 2018 Model 3 LR RWD - Hansshow V3 automatic trunk kit installed. 2021.24.4. had the trunk kit installed for over a year or 2, and only about earlier this year this issue started happening.... usually resolves itself when the car goes to sleep overnight and in the morning it works, until some random combination of either opening the trunk via different methods (app/trunk button on screen, or actual trunk physical button) then the rear backup camera would appear black on the screen =(
Probably bad trunk lid harness, broken ground wire due to flexing opening/closing of lid.
 
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and just got my new model 3 delivered about 3 weeks ago.
So far I have been very happy with car with one exception : the rear view camera. I know there are a few posts on this forum and the now read-only Tesla one, but I don't see a lot of recent complaints on it.
I then wonder, if there are other new 2021 owners that have similar issues than mine:
- rear view camera usually works after the car has been parked overnight
- all of a sudden it could turn black
- "rebooting" the car doesn't help
- powering off the car doesn't help
- removing USB key, turning off sentry mode doesn't help

Mobile Service came twice already. The first time they re-pushed the latest firmware, although I was already on it --> it did not help.
The second time, they replaced the camera itself --> worked flawlessly for one day, but I have the issue again.
I'm waiting for them to get back again, but I guess the next thing would be a trip to the SC.

Does anyone has similar issues with newer models ? I see similar complaints in 2018 but I would hope it would have been fixed 3 years later...

Thank you.
See my other comments in another thread. April 2018 manufacturering date. Check and see if you trunk lights flicker when you open/close the trunk lid. Bad harness.
 

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Hi,

So no mercury switch as I speculated. It looks like the truck deck lid harness on the right side is the problem. Earth ground wire was probably broken causing an intermittent ground connection which caused the trunk light issue. Tech replaced harness today and said that it will also probably take care of intermittent rear camera black screen issue. Harness replacement took care of trunk light. Will keep my fingers crossed that rear camera issue is fixed. I post back in a week.
Finally fixed. Cam working flawlessly. Bad rear deck harness. Broken ground return wire causing intermittent connection.
 

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Hello,

thanks for your feedback. My harness is also not damaged.

I also have the opinion that it is more related to a software bug. Is your V3 connected to the CAN Bus ? Mine is not and so I see the trunk on the screen bouncing between Opened and Closed states. I might also give a shot and connect to the CAN Bus, see if it improves.
Wire can appear to be ok but can break within insulation from open close motion of deck lid.
 
I'm still have this problem. 2018 Model 3 LR RWD - Hansshow V3 automatic trunk kit installed. 2021.24.4. had the trunk kit installed for over a year or 2, and only about earlier this year this issue started happening.... usually resolves itself when the car goes to sleep overnight and in the morning it works, until some random combination of either opening the trunk via different methods (app/trunk button on screen, or actual trunk physical button) then the rear backup camera would appear black on the screen =(
Had the same symptoms.
 
  • Like
Reactions: akidesir
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and just got my new model 3 delivered about 3 weeks ago.
So far I have been very happy with car with one exception : the rear view camera. I know there are a few posts on this forum and the now read-only Tesla one, but I don't see a lot of recent complaints on it.
I then wonder, if there are other new 2021 owners that have similar issues than mine:
- rear view camera usually works after the car has been parked overnight
- all of a sudden it could turn black
- "rebooting" the car doesn't help
- powering off the car doesn't help
- removing USB key, turning off sentry mode doesn't help

Mobile Service came twice already. The first time they re-pushed the latest firmware, although I was already on it --> it did not help.
The second time, they replaced the camera itself --> worked flawlessly for one day, but I have the issue again.
I'm waiting for them to get back again, but I guess the next thing would be a trip to the SC.

Does anyone has similar issues with newer models ? I see similar complaints in 2018 but I would hope it would have been fixed 3 years later...

Thank you.
I have a 2019 3 and my camera worked flawlessly until about two months ago. It just went out again today. This is the third time over a two month period… and it is very annoying! Given all the other posts and YouTube vids on this problem I think it’s time for Tesla to recall these cars and fix this problem once and for all. Clearly restarts, reboots, and firm/software patches are not resolving this issue. If musk can reland rockets he can resolve this annoying camera problem. GEEZ!!
 
well having this issue since long but didn't bother to call for support, today I did it thinking it was software and it seems that my wire harness is also broken and needs replacement... did anybody find a solution? I'm not willing to pay 225 for that replacement, the cable is like 60
 
well having this issue since long but didn't bother to call for support, today I did it thinking it was software and it seems that my wire harness is also broken and needs replacement... did anybody find a solution? I'm not willing to pay 225 for that replacement, the cable is like 60

Read post number 14 in this thread
 
Read post number 14 in this thread
I've read all the posts, I know that doing that temporarily solves the issue, tesla has explained me that it removes the intermitent errors from the buffer and then the camera works again, but if it repeats 3 more times, then the computer shuts down the camera until next removal (sleep).
So I'll live with it until I can't stand it and I'll try to see if I can find the harness broken or bad ground somewhere as my car is not covered by waranty anymore.
 
I've read all the posts, I know that doing that temporarily solves the issue, tesla has explained me that it removes the intermitent errors from the buffer and then the camera works again, but if it repeats 3 more times, then the computer shuts down the camera until next removal (sleep).
So I'll live with it until I can't stand it and I'll try to see if I can find the harness broken or bad ground somewhere as my car is not covered by waranty anymore.

It didn't temporarily solve my issues, it never happened again after doing that one time.
 
My car sleeps home everynight without sentry or pendrive or anything, plus the SC confirmed via remote service that there is a bad connection on my trunk wire harness.

Is sentry completely disabled, or is it just disabled for your home? Normally mine is disabled for home/work and it still had the issue. I had to completely disable it.
 
CC8782D5-CBDE-47D0-8DF6-0B8D2EABBC02.jpeg
Replaced the rear deck lid wiring harness yesterday due to having the same issue as most here. I have the v3 hansshow auto trunk kit. Looks like damage in the wiring harness causing my back up camera issue, and just last week the trunk physical button stopped working, but opening and closing the trunk from the app or screen still works.


Replaced the wiring harness and everything works again. Had to wait the next morning for the car to go to sleep and wake up for the back up camera to work, but opening and closing the trunk all day and my backup camera still functions.

Green wire is the trunk open/close button wire, which was completely broken. Two others showing signs of fray.