Sentry Mode Disabling Cabin Overheat Protection?

[DerekP]

Hey everyone. I noticed that when I get into the car lately it has been very hot. I double checked my settings and cabin overhead protection was still on. I leave it on all the time so I don't have to ever get into a hot car! Which is amazing.

I started to dig into why it was so hot and found this...

At the time, I was on 2019.12.1.2 and noticed that there was text in the information bubble for sentry mode that said that cabin overheat would not work while Sentry was on. However, the UI indicated it was still on (and did not disable the option when sentry mode was on). However, it was clearly not working right.

Now I am on 2019.16.2. The interesting thing is that the wording that said cabin overheat would not work with sentry mode has disappeared from the help bubble. I thought maybe it was a bug, or they updated it to work. However, it still seems to not operate correctly.

I feel like this could be a safety concern if it says it's on but does not work.

Can someone else confirm this before I report it to the Tesla engineers?

A few screenshots attached for reference.

 

[FR365]

I have the exact same problem. I sent a message to Tesla, it didn't help, I only have the option of off or on, (NO A/C doesn't exist). Here's what they said:

Thank you for contacting Tesla. I apologize for the delayed response, and any inconvenience this may have caused. There are different modes when using cabin overheat protection.

OFF: Disable Cabin Overheat Protection.
NO A/C: Only the fan operates when the cabin temperature exceeds 105° F (40° C). This option consumes less energy but the cabin temperature may exceed 105° F (40° C).
ON: The air conditioning operates when the cabin temperature exceeds 105° F

Depending on how long your car is unoccupied (12+hours), this feature will also be temporarily disabled. Based on the pictures you sent me, I'm thinking that you've selected the NO A/C Cabin Overheat Protection setting. If this does not apply to your situation, I would recommend using our Chat support as we need to diagnose the issue further.

Chat Support is now available to customers on our Tesla website. Chat support is live and can be found directly via our Tesla support page Customer and Product Support | Tesla Support. If during hours of operation and agents are available, they will see a Chat bubble icon toward the bottom left hand-side of the main Support page. Our Chat hours are from 8 am to 9 pm PST.

 

[scottf200]

I had the exact same problem a couple days ago. Concerned about my X's screen (yellowing, etc) and other electronics.

I ended up using the 'Cabin Temperature Protection' feature of 'Dashboard for Tesla' -- Dashboard for Tesla
I set the car to 80F and then the +/-25F option. It appeared to work well. I may use +/-20F in the future. You can change the duration of how often it checks (10 min maybe the default).

 

[FR365]

Even connected to a wall charger, fully charged , it used to work fine. Must be a software bug

 

[FR365]

The best I can do is set the a/c to 81° (just before high to keep it cool, I also don't want a yellow screen!

 

[scottf200]

Even connected to a wall charger, fully charged, it used to work fine. Must be a software bug.

I'm confused. We are talking about it not working specifically with Sentry Mode. Are you saying, in general, it worked fine or *specifically* with Sentry Mode it use to work fine?

 

[G2019]

Are you saying the potential yellow line on the main screen is due to interior heat?

 

[bob_p]

We found Sentry mode disabled overheat protection - and have turned Sentry mode off in our S & X.

This is likely due to how overheat protection is triggered - and because the onboard electronics stay active with Sentry active, the overheat protection isn't being triggered. This is likely an oversight - and should be easily fixable in an upcoming release.

Overheat protection prevents the interior from getting too hot. Evidently the large displays are not "auto"-rated which has caused bubbles and yellow banding with the touchscreen adhesive. With overheat protection, the temperature stays no higher than 105 degrees, which should be cool enough to protect the touchscreens. Plus it should also help with other materials which degrade faster if exposed to extended periods of extreme heat inside a vehicle (like drying out of the seat materials).

 

[scottf200]

We found Sentry mode disabled overheat protection - and have turned Sentry mode off in our S & X.

This is likely due to how overheat protection is triggered - and because the onboard electronics stay active with Sentry active, the overheat protection isn't being triggered. This is likely an oversight - and should be easily fixable in an upcoming release.

Overheat protection prevents the interior from getting too hot. Evidently the large displays are not "auto"-rated which has caused bubbles and yellow banding with the touchscreen adhesive. With overheat protection, the temperature stays no higher than 105 degrees, which should be cool enough to protect the touchscreens. Plus it should also help with other materials which degrade faster if exposed to extended periods of extreme heat inside a vehicle (like drying out of the seat materials).

I know the Tesla S/X screen for example not explicitly only automotive grade but is industrial / amusement / vehicle (IAV) grade. Its storage spec is -40C to +90C but operating spec is -20C to +85C.

"G170J1- LE1 is a 17” IAV ( Industrial / Amusement / Vehicle ) TFT Liquid Crystal Display module"
http://www.acipower.com/LCDFactoryPanel/Datasheet/G170J1-LE1.pdf

 

[FR365]

I'm confused. We are talking about it not working specifically with Sentry Mode. Are you saying, in general, it worked fine or *specifically* with Sentry Mode it use to work fine?

It used to work fine, but I did just discover that it works fine if sentry mode is OFF, so somewhere along the code, sentry mode appears to disable cabin heat protection even though the display shows that cabin heat protection is enabled.

 

[hallucinate]

I just ran a fairly robust test and can confirm - on 2019.32.2 - this issue persists.

Anyone else confirm this is still an issue?

 

[rlasry1]

Hi all.
As per other forums, Sentry mode includes a microphone monitoring the sound inside your car. So if it is active, it is incompatible with Overheat protection (fans make noise...).

Best work-around I found is to switch Sentry mode on, but disable Sentry mode at Home (tick that option next to the Sentry mode on/off toggle button). Then overheat protection will work when you are parked at Home (presumably most of the time).
Whether you are comfortable to do this obviously depends on your area, but with the car and tilt alarm still on in the background, i find this a good compromise.

 

[mbp11]

Great solution!