Right door pillar camera blocked or blinded

[Chuck305]

Anyone seen this before. Started happening last Sunday and occurs every morning when I leave for work. It goes away after about 10 to 15 minutes of running the car and does not reappear till the following morning.

I'm taking it in to service, but my brief experience with the service center they pretty much don't want to troubleshoot anything.

 

[drtimhill]

Probably just condensation that evaporates after a few minutes. Tesla seem to have added extra AI checks to the latest software update warning you that the AI cannot "see" anything. I get this when I'm driving down a very dark lane late at night and one or other side cameras cannot see anything. Unless the warning stays on long-term the SC won't be able to do anything, its just normal operation.

 

[acarney]

Probably just condensation that evaporates after a few minutes. Tesla seem to have added extra AI checks to the latest software update warning you that the AI cannot "see" anything. I get this when I'm driving down a very dark lane late at night and one or other side cameras cannot see anything. Unless the warning stays on long-term the SC won't be able to do anything, its just normal operation.

I was getting that a lot last night... probably 50 plus times over a couple hours and sometimes for minutes at a time. BUT, when a car would pass by, or any section that had a bit more light the car would then "see" with that camera again.

 

[Chuck305]

Thanks for the feed back. It seems its the same issue as described in this thread. I wonder if there is a fix since the other cam doesn't do it.

B-pillar cameras fogging up?

 

[What The Frunk]

This happened to me twice. I noticed the sun shining right towards the camera. I guessed the camera was blind by the bright light.

 

[ilyak]

Thanks for the feed back. It seems its the same issue as described in this thread. I wonder if there is a fix since the other cam doesn't do it.

B-pillar cameras fogging up?

It's usually on one side because of the direction that the sun shines from. I drive on a twisty road in the mornings and my car will report the driver side pillar camera blinded, then clear the alert, then report it again a couple dozen of times.

 

[diezel_dave]

I wonder what Tesla's solution to this will be? I can't think of much that can be done when the sun is shining right in to a camera that wouldn't cause the rest of the image to be extremely underexposed.

 

[WesB]

Got this exact message this morning.. I wonder if this is a coincidence or a software issue?

 

[RickW]

I believe it's a software issue. I had the same thing happen when I crossed a certain area on the way home. Exact same area every time; so many times that I deemed it impossible to be a coincidence. I think something in the algorithm is awry because all of the comments on other forums detailing which camera goes out appear to point to the same camera.

 

[drtimhill]

I was getting that a lot last night... probably 50 plus times over a couple hours and sometimes for minutes at a time. BUT, when a car would pass by, or any section that had a bit more light the car would then "see" with that camera again.

I suspect Tesla added software to detect if the NN is not "seeing" any objects at all as a way to interpolate that the camera was broken/blocked etc. This is pretty important since if the AI just assumes "black screen means road clear around me" that is an accident waiting to happen. So while it's a bit annoying, its the car erring on the side of caution, which seems wise to me. I'd rather have the popup than have the car change lanes when it shouldn't!

 

[acarney]

I suspect Tesla added software to detect if the NN is not "seeing" any objects at all as a way to interpolate that the camera was broken/blocked etc. This is pretty important since if the AI just assumes "black screen means road clear around me" that is an accident waiting to happen. So while it's a bit annoying, its the car erring on the side of caution, which seems wise to me. I'd rather have the popup than have the car change lanes when it shouldn't!

Ya, mainly was just adding my feedback. It was raining really hard and was very dark. I actually pulled some dash cam footage to see just what the cameras could see and the repeaters for the most part was a vibrating wet mess of black and the occasional glare. Again, when a car came near it looked at least clear enough on the camera that the computer could identify and I suspect those were when the message went away.

 

[diezel_dave]

Ya, mainly was just adding my feedback. It was raining really hard and was very dark. I actually pulled some dash cam footage to see just what the cameras could see and the repeaters for the most part was a vibrating wet mess of black and the occasional glare. Again, when a car came near it looked at least clear enough on the camera that the computer could identify and I suspect those were when the message went away.

I have been driving in dark and rainy conditions the last few nights and I have been getting the messages saying various cameras cannot see. I can't really see how Tesla expects these cars to safely navigate roads when the cameras can be so easy blocked with water/dirt/snow. Seems like they really should have included some rear radars like basically every other automotive manufacturer since they didn't include any way for the car to automatically clean the cameras.

 

[SaloonGoon]

Happens to me intermittently, and strangely enough, on the same stretch of road

 

[dhrivnak]

Anyone seen this before. Started happening last Sunday and occurs every morning when I leave for work. It goes away after about 10 to 15 minutes of running the car and does not reappear till the following morning.

I'm taking it in to service, but my brief experience with the service center they pretty much don't want to troubleshoot anything.

I have seen this several times and appears to happen when the sun is low and shining right into it. I am assuming it is blinded by the sun.

 

[TheTonester]

Happened to me for the first time last night. It was cool and rainy so I assume the conditions had something to do with it. Lasted 5-10 minutes and then self corrected.

 

[drtimhill]

I have been driving in dark and rainy conditions the last few nights and I have been getting the messages saying various cameras cannot see. I can't really see how Tesla expects these cars to safely navigate roads when the cameras can be so easy blocked with water/dirt/snow. Seems like they really should have included some rear radars like basically every other automotive manufacturer since they didn't include any way for the car to automatically clean the cameras.

It's not quite that. There are really three triggers for this message so far as I can surmise. First, a camera malfunction that isnt detected by hardware (so it appears to be working to the software stack, but isnt). Second, a blocked camera (dirt covering camera etc). Third, a camera that sees only black because basically that's all there is to see.

I think the point is that the software cannot tell the difference (nor can I see how it could). Basically its saying "My AI/NN cannot make out any recognizable objects" and assuming (for obvious safety reasons) that this might mean the camera is blocked/malfunctioning. And as soon as it does see something it corrects itself and the warning goes away. Fo a camera blocked by condensation, this happens as the car/camera warms up, for a blackout this happens as you drive to a place where lighting/traffic gives the AI something to snap onto.

As for radar, this would not make any difference. Even if the car had radar/lidar/magic pixies, it is still going to have to tell you if a camera is blocked (as it should). Judging by this and other posts about this issue, most of the faults squarely fall into the condensation or nothing to see categories. So this is not a camera being bunged up with dirt; its just that its winter and cold and dark

 

[diezel_dave]

It's not quite that. There are really three triggers for this message so far as I can surmise. First, a camera malfunction that isnt detected by hardware (so it appears to be working to the software stack, but isnt). Second, a blocked camera (dirt covering camera etc). Third, a camera that sees only black because basically that's all there is to see.

I think the point is that the software cannot tell the difference (nor can I see how it could). Basically its saying "My AI/NN cannot make out any recognizable objects" and assuming (for obvious safety reasons) that this might mean the camera is blocked/malfunctioning. And as soon as it does see something it corrects itself and the warning goes away. Fo a camera blocked by condensation, this happens as the car/camera warms up, for a blackout this happens as you drive to a place where lighting/traffic gives the AI something to snap onto.

As for radar, this would not make any difference. Even if the car had radar/lidar/magic pixies, it is still going to have to tell you if a camera is blocked (as it should). Judging by this and other posts about this issue, most of the faults squarely fall into the condensation or nothing to see categories. So this is not a camera being bunged up with dirt; its just that its winter and cold and dark

I'm not seeing this issue on clear nights. Only when it's raining/snowing. If you look at the camera feeds in these conditions you can see why it says it's blocked. The water completely covers the lens and makes the video all but impossible to make out especially when headlights are involved which causes all sorts of crazy reflections/refractions on the water drops.

 

[Chuck305]

The issue first occurred for me during a very cold front for south Florida, temps dropped to the 40s overnight and would be cold mid 50s in the morning despite the sunshine. As soon as the weather returned to 60s the issue disappeared. I'm inclined to believe it was condensation/fogging. I didn't bother to take it in since the issue can not be reproduced now and I know they'll just turn me away.

If I experience another cold front below 60s I'll let you know if it occurs again.

 

[Verttheferk]

Anyone seen this before. Started happening last Sunday and occurs every morning when I leave for work. It goes away after about 10 to 15 minutes of running the car and does not reappear till the following morning.

I'm taking it in to service, but my brief experience with the service center they pretty much don't want to troubleshoot anything.

 

[Verttheferk]

This is happening every day lately and seems related to sun blinding left or right cameras. This and the bad weather detected. Makes you wander how will this car ever self drive when a little sun, a little rain, a little tight curve are throwing it off its game.... lack of radar and lidar might have been a fatal call!!!