Front Windscreen Camera Heating Elements Not Working?

[Andy718]

Moderation comment - thread renamed from "Sentry Mode Windscreen Heating Elements" and merged with similar posts

I switched on sentry mode last night as an experiment on my 2021 M3 LR.

This morning, the door pillar cameras were clear of ice, but I noticed that only the area of the windscreen above the cameras was clear of frost, just about uncovering the front facing cameras. The heating elements under the cameras were still covered in frost.

Are the heating elements in the windscreen used for Autopilot only with sentry mode instead using a different heater or is there a fault with the heating elements?

Would appreciate your advice please. I can't find it mentioned in the manual.

 

[Steely]

Looks perfect to me.
Try setting off the sentry mode so that it has a record and then reviewing it in the car.

 

[Gatsojon]

Looks like an efficient use of power to me. It would take quite some considerable power to clear the whole screen for no good reason.

 

[Andy718]

Thank you for the replies. I'm referring to the lower section of the heating elements which are still covered in frost. Is the element actually in two sections so that only the top area is switched on in sentry mode?

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Thank you for the replies. I'm referring to the lower section of the heating elements which are still covered in frost. Is the element actually in two sections so that only the top area is switched on in sentry mode?

I suspect it's just that the large area of very cold glass below the camera is reducing the effect of the heating elements at the bottom. It looks as if Tesla's solution is to extend the heated area well below that needed for the cameras to see out, so that the area in front of the cameras is de-iced.

 

[MrBadger]

Was there a clear narrow line on passenger side running along the top of windscreen and down parallel with the A post? Seems like it is not from the image.

If front camera is defrosting is working, these seem to be the supply to the front heating elements and will also clear. If they are not, as looks to be the case, then it would suggest that for whatever reason, the front camera heating elements are totally not functioning and something else is warming the camera enclosure.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Was there a clear narrow line on passenger side running along the top of windscreen and down parallel with the A post? Seems like it is not from the image.

If front camera is defrosting is working, these seem to be the supply to the front heating elements and will also clear. If they are not, as looks to be the case, then it would suggest that for whatever reason, the front camera heating elements are totally not functioning and something else is warming the camera enclosure.

Good point, as the cameras themselves generate heat when they are powered up, so what's being seen might just be heat from them warming up the inside of the enclosure.

 

[Andy718]

Good points. Thank you.

I did take another photo (below) and it does appear that there is a strip at the top on the near side which had also defrosted. Unfortunately, I was concentrating on the camera area and didn't check the A post. I'll try again tonight.

 

[kuruma]

I noticed this on my car the other day even though I never use Sentry at home so is it something else... or is it the key to me losing 6% of my battery overnight regularly.

 

[MrBadger]

Moderation comment - posts moved from Winter is coming

We got our first hard frost of the season.

What are people seeing happening with the front windscreen camera after a pre condition?

I've seen mixed results in the past so went to double check. No good for vision and certainly wipers would have an issue clearing it. Took a bit of effort to start clearing by hand even though front and rear screens cleared nicely. I'm not convinced that our front camera heater is working as well as perhaps it might? Certainly if we were vision only the front camera would be useless for safety features that are active irrespective if TACC/AP etc.

The clear part lower left (first closer image) is where I manually cleared the ice. Second image is before I tried to clear.

 

[Adopado]

We got our first hard frost of the season.

What are people seeing happening with the front windscreen camera after a pre condition?

I've seen mixed results in the past so went to double check. No good for vision and certainly wipers would have an issue clearing it. Took a bit of effort to start clearing by hand even though front and rear screens cleared nicely. I'm not convinced that our front camera heater is working as well as perhaps it might? Certainly if we were vision only the front camera would be useless for safety features that are active irrespective if TACC/AP etc.

The clear part lower left (first closer image) is where I manually cleared the ice. Second image is before I tried to clear.

View attachment 728358 View attachment 728359

Had you used the new “defrost car” button on the app? (No frost in Scottish Borders so can’t compare this morning!)

 

[MrBadger]

Yes. The occluded defrost mode under the slider. Probably 15-20 minutes. We got the new message saying cabin warmed to temperature and doors and side windows not frozen (would have expected some 'stickiness' this temperature) so they opened fine so pre condition certainly done enough of its thing, except front camera.

Rear and front screens fully cleared, didn't check the door mirrors (they are not as quick as our other cars so not a great test anyway). We had a windscreen replaced last year and due to covid and lockdowns I didn't use the car much last winter, but I do know the windscreen heater has worked since replacement as it will clear with sentry use. No obvious discreet line around passenger side of windscreen which was a good tell tale but windscreen nicely cleared so not so easy to tell as if it was just cameras with sentry and no windscreen.

Unfortunately my IR camera is out of action to check warming in that area as Flir updated their app and discontinued support of older cameras and I changed phone so need latest app and noticed that that previous phones app had been updated too

I seem to recall that others had mentioned that they had similar behaviour - possibly firmware.

Otherwise I see a service request going in... its unacceptable as it currently stands (wiper blade wiping fairly thick uneven ice) let alone when radar gets disabled when they push TeslaVision on us.

 

[Big Earl]

Yes. The occluded defrost mode under the slider. Probably 15-20 minutes. We got the new message saying cabin warmed to temperature and doors and side windows not frozen (would have expected some 'stickiness' this temperature) so they opened fine so pre condition certainly done enough of its thing, except front camera.

Rear and front screens fully cleared, didn't check the door mirrors (they are not as quick as our other cars so not a great test anyway). We had a windscreen replaced last year and due to covid and lockdowns I didn't use the car much last winter, but I do know the windscreen heater has worked since replacement as it will clear with sentry use. No obvious discreet line around passenger side of windscreen which was a good tell tale but windscreen nicely cleared so not so easy to tell as if it was just cameras with sentry and no windscreen.

Unfortunately my IR camera is out of action to check warming in that area as Flir updated their app and discontinued support of older cameras and I changed phone so need latest app and noticed that that previous phones app had been updated too

I seem to recall that others had mentioned that they had similar behaviour - possibly firmware.

Otherwise I see a service request going in... its unacceptable as it currently stands (wiper blade wiping fairly thick uneven ice) let alone when radar gets disabled when they push TeslaVision on us.

I'd report it to Tesla in your app by scheduling a service appointment and describing the problem. Either your camera heater has a problem or it's a software bug that they can fix with an update. Either way, you'll want to get it addressed.

 

[Adopado]

Yes. The occluded defrost mode under the slider. Probably 15-20 minutes. We got the new message saying cabin warmed to temperature and doors and side windows not frozen (would have expected some 'stickiness' this temperature) so they opened fine so pre condition certainly done enough of its thing, except front camera.

Definitely concerning.
Out of interest does the new app also show a battery warming symbol as before?
(That "occluded defrost mode" UI feature is a really weird thing ... surely that will be changed.)

 

[MrBadger]

Out of interest does the new app also show a battery warming symbol as before?

Doesn't look like it

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Yes. The occluded defrost mode under the slider. Probably 15-20 minutes. We got the new message saying cabin warmed to temperature and doors and side windows not frozen (would have expected some 'stickiness' this temperature) so they opened fine so pre condition certainly done enough of its thing, except front camera.

Rear and front screens fully cleared, didn't check the door mirrors (they are not as quick as our other cars so not a great test anyway). We had a windscreen replaced last year and due to covid and lockdowns I didn't use the car much last winter, but I do know the windscreen heater has worked since replacement as it will clear with sentry use. No obvious discreet line around passenger side of windscreen which was a good tell tale but windscreen nicely cleared so not so easy to tell as if it was just cameras with sentry and no windscreen.

Unfortunately my IR camera is out of action to check warming in that area as Flir updated their app and discontinued support of older cameras and I changed phone so need latest app and noticed that that previous phones app had been updated too

I seem to recall that others had mentioned that they had similar behaviour - possibly firmware.

Otherwise I see a service request going in... its unacceptable as it currently stands (wiper blade wiping fairly thick uneven ice) let alone when radar gets disabled when they push TeslaVision on us.

I just tested this on my M3P. Interior temp was 4C exterior 6C. No snowflake symbol on app. Front camera area covered in moisture but no ice.
Set app to precondition car/cabin at 22C and HVAC started but front camera heater didn't turn on and neither did rear demist heater.
So then I selected defrost in the app and then the rear defrost turned on but front camera heater still didn't.

Maybe the temperatures need to be lower or the snowflake symbol has to appear before the defrost setting will turn on the front camera heater?

 

[MrBadger]

I just tested this on my M3P. Interior temp was 4C exterior 6C. No snowflake symbol on app. Front camera area covered in moisture but no ice.
Set app to precondition car/cabin at 22C and HVAC started but front camera heater didn't turn on and neither did rear demist heater.
So then I selected defrost in the app and then the rear defrost turned on but front camera heater still didn't.

Maybe the temperatures need to be lower or the snowflake symbol has to appear before the defrost setting will turn on the front camera heater?

It was a bit colder here (2C / 3C according to the car and I saw even colder over night) and a good hard crust of ice on the car but otherwise your experience sounds similar. I think you may be relatively close to us?

Being on a hill, we get the sudden deep freezes that will suddenly turn condensation to ice which is probably what happened overnight and which seem to be a bit of a nemesis for the car. I noticed that Farnborough (a few miles away) topped the coldest places in the country list on the weather this morning and it was absolutely crystal clear night when I went out for a walk last night but not yet freezing so unsurprising it got so cold.

I don't think our front screen heater is broken as I am pretty sure I saw it clear with sentry last year and will test that again next hard frost. But I have raised a service request as last year we had a new windscreen and a new MCU this year so anything could have been disturbed. If its software determining how cold it should be all I can say is that Tesla have their thresholds wrong. I would kind of like to think that if I told the car to defrost it wouldn't do half a job especially when the front cameras are apparently going to play a more key safety feature.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

It was a bit colder here (2C / 3C according to the car and I saw even colder over night) and a good hard crust of ice on the car but otherwise your experience sounds similar. I think you may be relatively close to us?

Being on a hill, we get the sudden deep freezes that will suddenly turn condensation to ice which is probably what happened overnight and which seem to be a bit of a nemesis for the car. I noticed that Farnborough (a few miles away) topped the coldest places in the country list on the weather this morning and it was absolutely crystal clear night when I went out for a walk last night but not yet freezing so unsurprising it got so cold.

I don't think our front screen heater is broken as I am pretty sure I saw it clear with sentry last year and will test that again next hard frost. But I have raised a service request as last year we had a new windscreen and a new MCU this year so anything could have been disturbed. If its software determining how cold it should be all I can say is that Tesla have their thresholds wrong. I would kind of like to think that if I told the car to defrost it wouldn't do half a job especially when the front cameras are apparently going to play a more key safety feature.

Yes, I'm near Camberley. I reckon it thinks that as long as the temp is >0C when you press defrost, it doesn't need to turn the camera heater on. More testing required!

 

[Irata]

To clear the front cameras on the windscreen and the windscreen, I've always turned on sentry as well as defrost - that's what works for me. Defrost alone for me, has never activated the camera heating elements whatever the temperature. I remember this all last winter as it puzzled me.

I have always found the camera heating elements are only active when the cameras are active.

I have also thought this to be a bit silly and it would make sense to turn on with defrost.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Update. I found that by turning on one of the heated seats it activates front demist, camera heater, rear demist without turning on cabin heating ( sets it to Lo). You can then dial in whatever cabin temp you want.