Repeater camera issues. Blinkers seen on screen when flashing.

[WhiteM3P-]

Has anyone gotten repeaters replaced under warranty due to this issue. I have the chrome version of the fender repeaters and at night when the blinker is on it washes out the image.

 

[dlo3366]

just got my car and this was one of the first things I noticed as well.

 

[zef3215]

Has anyone gotten repeaters replaced under warranty due to this issue. I have the chrome version of the fender repeaters and at night when the blinker is on it washes out the image.

There is another thread on this topic and many people provide input. See my input on the topic - this Friday I have an appointment to have the second repeater exchanged.

My car is one of the early 2021 models delivered late 2020 in EU (made in US). Both caleras had that glare effect when blinking the light and I kind of thought that is crap but took it as is. However, the camera on the left repeater “decided to die” some time ago and Tesla replace it in 5-10 minutes with a mobile service. Well, since then, the left one is super clear compared with right – only noticed some good time after the service I mentioned. With the latest controversial UI update and the functionality to display blind spot cameras this glare effect becomes annoying on the right side. I now have a mobile service appointment for Tesla to look at that camera as well.
The color of the car is Midnight Gray but I strongly believe the glare we experience has nothing to do with it. The light itself on the repeaters left vs right look slightly different if analyzed closely but not easy to catch it on a camera or so.

https://imgur.com/a/V3K4oXJ

 

[Tez~La]

I think they all do the same thing as far as seeing the blinker flash on the screen at night. My car is red and reflects about the same.

 

[zef3215]

I think they all do the same thing as far as seeing the blinker flash on the screen at night. My car is red and reflects about the same.

As you can see from my post, the camera from the left side repeater does not show the same glare effect (it was replaced at an earlier point). This Friday I have an appointemnt with Tesla Mobile service to look at the one from the right side.

https://imgur.com/a/V3K4oXJ

 

[WhiteM3P-]

So I replaced the cameras myself yesterday. $150 each. With the new black ones and my right one is the only one that is still having the glare issue. They are rev C cameras. Not sure if this is addressed in the later revisions.

 

[borijess3]

I have the issue with both my cameras. You think they will replace both? Let me know if you can see the videos below.

Google Drive: Sign-in

Google Drive: Sign-in

 

[WhiteM3P-]

They didnt replace anything. I had to pay out of pocket to fix this. I am not happy about this. How is it functioning normally if the image is washed out at night. Even AP trips over itself when making lane changes due to this flashing

 

[Resist]

This is not a faulty repeater camera issue, it's normal because of where the blinker is in the camera housing. You have to remember that the repeater camera views are a fairly recent feature, so they weren't designed with this in mind. Just like our cars were never designed with Sentry Mode in mind. If they were then all the cameras would be 1080P. So obviously Tesla needs a hardware change to these cameras.

 

[Gyrolion]

As the famous tesla service centers will say, it is within spec.

I was at a SC last week for some issues of my lights fogging up and I asked them about the blinkers, and the politely told me that the can replace them for a newer model.. and it will cost me 300 euros. It is not a warranty thing.

So I think the smart thing to do now is to turn that feature of and never think about it again. At least that is what I did.

 

[zef3215]

As the famous tesla service centers will say, it is within spec.

I was at a SC last week for some issues of my lights fogging up and I asked them about the blinkers, and the politely told me that the can replace them for a newer model.. and it will cost me 300 euros. It is not a warranty thing.

So I think the smart thing to do now is to turn that feature of and never think about it again. At least that is what I did.

Honestly, it didn't bother me much before the "blind spot camera option" but now when I see the left camera very "clean" vs the blury one on the right it's irritating every single time I look at it. Two more days to go before my service appointment on this topic, I'm curious how will they handle this from warranty point of view (the car is 13 months old).

As you can see from my post, the camera from the left side repeater does not show the same glare effect (it was replaced at an earlier point). This Friday I have an appointemnt with Tesla Mobile service to look at the one from the right side.

https://imgur.com/a/V3K4oXJ

 

[Jclboston]

So is it just the trim that is different between the older and newer blinkers/cameras (chrome vs black) or were there actual changes to the cameras themselves as well. Seems like the latter, but just curious if anyone knows for sure.

 

[zef3215]

So is it just the trim that is different between the older and newer blinkers/cameras (chrome vs black) or were there actual changes to the cameras themselves as well. Seems like the latter, but just curious if anyone knows for sure.

My model is the 2021 with "chrome delete" Having said that, the left camera that was replaced (it just stopped working one day) looks the same like the original one mounted on the car yet, I suspect the camera itself is different.

 

[Dysan911]

I noticed I see the flash on the camera at night when I use the full click-down blinker. The one that stays on. If I use the partial down for lane changes that only blinks a few times it doesn't really blind the camera. This made me wonder if the lane change signal doesn't activate the side repeater. Only during a full down on the turn signal stalk will. If so, really how critical is the side repeater? Maybe we can block out the light with a little piece of black vinyl or something inconspicuous. I'd rather have a view of my blind spots and lose the amber light blinking than the other way around.

 

[Dysan911]

Ok so I checked. (Should have before posting). But both full signal or the half press 3 flash to lane change both activate the side camera amber signal.

I’ve got some really dark tint I use for blacking out side indicators on previous vehicles. It still lets some light through but it’s like limo tint dark. I may give that a try and see if that cures the side camera blinding. .

 

[borijess3]

So I had my service appointment for tomorrow. The tech sent the latest firmware update to see if it will fix issue. Of course it did not. So he calls me that they will replace cameras with same model under warranty free for charge, but the issue will persist. If I wanted the updated cameras it will cost me over 379.50.

 

[Jasper2020]

If you need your blind spot cameras to safely get through traffic you are not worthy of a license. Dont even think about covering the lights, they are there for a reason. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Dysan911]

If you need your blind spot cameras to safely get through traffic you are not worthy of a license. Dont even think about covering the lights, they are there for a reason. Just my 2 cents.

I get where you're coming from for sure but don't feel blocking out or dimming the side repeaters would create a dangerous driving situation. FWIW, I believe they're just a cost savings thing to make it a standard on Model 3's since the European market requires them but in the US fender side indicators are not required.

It's great that Tesla made the camera view available now during turn signal operation but was probably never designed for it thus the amber blinker situation but you are right, anyone should be able to drive safely without them. I just like trying to overcome what a great concept, even half-baked as it is, and see if I can get 100% usability out of it with little to no modification.

The dark strip of tint was not dark enough to dim the amber light. So it looks like a thin strip of black vinyl would probably take care of it.

 

[zef3215]

I get where you're coming from for sure but don't feel blocking out or dimming the side repeaters would create a dangerous driving situation. FWIW, I believe they're just a cost savings thing to make it a standard on Model 3's since the European market requires them but in the US fender side indicators are not required.

It's great that Tesla made the camera view available now during turn signal operation but was probably never designed for it thus the amber blinker situation but you are right, anyone should be able to drive safely without them. I just like trying to overcome what a great concept, even half-baked as it is, and see if I can get 100% usability out of it with little to no modification.

The dark strip of tint was not dark enough to dim the amber light. So it looks like a thin strip of black vinyl would probably take care of it.

Someone cover the cameras with tape and the glare is still there . That suggests the issue is within the body of the camera (some light gets into it) or there is some interference in the wiring. Today my service appointment for this issue is due and I’m curious what will they say.

We just did a light bleed test and that's conclusive. I'm going to tear down one of the units to find the root cause but that's largely pointless because it's a sealed unit so nobody in warranty will want to carry out a DIY fix, and those out of warranty would probably find it too difficult to do but it's just interesting for me to see what's happening. Maybe we'll find a way to do it which isn't too destructive? I'll know in a few days.

Here's the result with the camera blacked out.
View attachment 751779

The gaffer tape is over the top of a thinner black adhesive tape you can't see clearly in the photo, so it may look like the top of the camera lens isn't covered, but it is. I can't think of an easy software fix for this but maybe the clever people at Tesla will.

 

[WhiteM3P-]

Has anyone tried to make sort of a sleeve that fits around the whole round camera lens. Light may be leaking in from the top inside the housing. If we make a sleeve out of thin material like black vinyl. We might be able to block the light. I'm gonna try this. Will report back with findings. There is a very tight opening all the way around the camera that may allow me to do this.