Autopilot cameras failing?

ourmanbob_98209737

I've had an intermittent issue where Autopilot would fail and it would say "Features may be restored on next drive" over the last few months. I had wondered what was causing it. I theorized there was a camera issue. This week proved it. Autopilot stopped working because "Autopilot cameras unavailable." I tried cleaning them at my next stop but it made no change. I scheduled an appointment next week to have a mobile service but this sucks. My car is barely a year old! I hope this is covered under the warranty.

surfpearl

Of course it will be covered, don't worry. Good luck and do report back after the appt.

Spuzzz

Yes it will be covered, why wouldn’t it be? You got 50k miles on your car already? Take photos of your screen warning in case it’s hard to replicate during your service appt

-TheJohn-

Trippy and my sympathy! This is the first time I've ever heard of such a failure.
Tesla will definitely make things right and you'll walk away with the Grin.

M3phan

I’m wondering why you waited so long to service it… After the second fail I would’ve booked an appointment.

HummerMan3

I've had my 3 for 1 year. 3 months in, the front camera failed. Initially intermittently, then constantly. I waited ~6 weeks to see if there was any chance I could get HW 3.0 if it was a computer issue, but once I brought it to the Tesla repair center, was told it was a camera issue. Replaced per warranty, had my car back the next day (kinda sad about the turnaround time because they gave me a S P85D to prance around in until repairs were complete) ;-)

aperfectecho_92946885

I was just going to do a post about this-I have had this happen intermittently over the past few months, booked an appointment at Tesla, then cancelled it because it seemed to clear up. But, I noticed condensation in the B-pillar camera, most notably on the driver's side.
Got the 2019.40.2.1 update, was excited to try the more aggressive lane changing, and got the message that my driver's side camera was blocked or blinded. Pulled over, sure enough, condensation. I think it happens there more regularly because that camera faces the sun as I drive South in my daily commute, so heats up a bit.
Will have it addressed, but it seems the seal on those B-pillar cameras need to be updated

bjrosen

I get the same warning every now and then.

rogerdata

Got the 2019.40.2.1 update last night. This morning for the first time I got "Left side fender camera blocked or failing".
Maybe a coincidence but never got it before. It was misting this morning but checked the camera when I arrived at work. It did not seem dirty. Also had the wipes on auto and was almost completely blind when I had to press the wiper button to see. This happened several times and I had to switch to manual. The wipers worked OK on 2019.36.2.4 yesterday afternoon. Don't know if the two problems could be related.I am also on hardware 2.5.

FISHEV

I get the Blind Side and Lane Avoidance going off and on when it rains. The moisture inside the pillar is something to get fixed.

Spuzzz

"Left side fender camera blocked or failing" Is that the camera in the sidemarker? Do they really call it the "left side fender camera?" Doesn't sound very official. What to they call the rear camera? "The back bumper camera thingy?"

davembond_98401986

I had the same camera experience as rogerdata above (except for the right side). My car was definitely dirty, but it had been in the garage all night so the only difference was the update. I encountered it almost immediately when I came in for work. I stopped to (attempt to) clean the cameras but the warning persisted for nearly an hour. It came and went intermittently as I neared work. I'm going to give the fenders a wipe down and reboot before I head home and see if that prevents it from arising again.

SalisburySam

@spuzzz123, What to they call the rear camera? "The back bumper camera thingy?"

Hardly. It’s the ass camera.

Joshan

I normally check and clear the cameras every day before my drive. But I also use AP/FSD daily and have seen how much better it works with clean cameras.

garretn_98314663

@spuzzz123 - Left side repeater is what they call it.

So many times I have been told this is a known software issue it will be resolved next update. These issues with my car have been going on for close to a year now. I do have to admit since my last visit to the SC I have had no more issues. They didn't do anything except check the system. Maybe it was a loose connection and by them checking all the connections they fixed it or they fixed it but didn't document finding anything wrong so that the visit would not count as another repair to that system instead the paperwork stated system performing correctly.

FISHEV

Cruise, Blind spot and Lane Keeping go off and on with regularity in wet weather as the cameras are blocked and then clear and then get blocked again. That seems part of "normal operations" for the Tesla AP system. Only time Subaru's Eyesight system kicked off was intense fog. Tesla looks to do more but the price is a less robust system.

The moisture in the "B" pillar on the other hand is a malfunction that needs to be fixed and, based on previous posts about this, Tesla does fix that under warranty.

rogerdata

I had a different camera cut out/fail yesterday morning while on AP the system warned that I was to immediately take over, with and alarm sound then it shut off AP. Message on screen said due to "front camera" this time. It took some time for the AP indicator (steering wheel icon) to show back up. I checked the windshield when I reached my destination and it was clean. I tried a reboot later at work (two buttons and brake) and when the system came back up I had no sound, so I rebooted with just the two buttons (since I was driving) and the sound returned. No camera issues since then.
I am wondering if they are exceeding the capacity of the 2.5 hardware to keep up. Will post again if these problems persist.

FISHEV

"I am wondering if they are exceeding the capacity of the 2.5 hardware to keep up"

I'm told my LR AWD AP only car has 3.0HW and it loses Cruise, Blind spot and Lane Keeping with regularity so don't think it's a hardware issue as much as a software issue.

Magic 8 Ball

@FISHEV I think you may have a lemon, have you filed for a lemon law to make you whole?

shank15217_98085455

@M8B FISH works for that Canadian Infinity dealer that recently had to sell their customer a Model 3

Magic 8 Ball

I wonder if all those years as EaglesPDX sealed his fate and Tesla karma put him in a Lemon? I sometimes wonder about such things.

WW_Iсefree

Hmm Strange. Just drove in the rain with AS and AP on and surprise no error no warnings. Nothing

davembond_98401986

Follow up from my previous post. I rebooted and cleaned the cameras. I still encountered intermittent notifications for the right front fender, left front fender and both cameras. Eventually they subsided and have gone away completely for the last day or so. We'll see if they come back. shrug.

ytr3wq

My bad front camera's first symptom was "auto" headlights always on. As the camera got worse, the self driving status display was missing (no lane lines or other cars).

I waited on making an appointment for those issues figuring a software update would fix it since I didn't care much about self-driving. Sometimes it really is a broken hardware issue ...

Tronguy

Public Service Announcement:

FISHEV is a known troll of several years standing and several user
names who pushes an anti Tesla narrative. Please
take his opinions with a grain of salt, avoid any advice he may
suggest, and do not let him implant any Fear, Uncertainty, or, Doubt
about Tesla or your car into your own opinion.

Tyguy

Thanks Tronguy, and to set the record straight, the Subaru Eyesight system is good, but no more reliable than Tesla. I’ve owned a 2015 Outback since new and I’ve observed it cut out far more often than my Model 3. Eyesight works well and has tested better than premium manufacturers, but I prefer the Tesla implementation much more. Eyesight is confused by rain, snow, fog, ice build up on the windshield, bends in the road, construction zones, steep hills, and frequently false alarms for slowing vehicles. It’s also much less capable than Tesla. It’s a good system, but definitely not perfect as one poster would have you believe.