NHTSA complaint #11699992

Owner complaint summary

The forward-facing camera on my vehicle repeatedly fogs up inside the sealed camera housing, creating a light to severe haze across the camera lens. This internal fogging obstructs the camera’s view and affects the vehicle’s safety systems that rely on it, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise control. The components are available for inspection upon request. This obstruction puts my safety at risk because these systems either disable themselves or operate unpredictably when the camera view is blocked. The issue occurred again this year under normal outdoor temperatures, and the fogging cannot be cleared by the driver or by using defrost or cabin heat. The problem has been confirmed previously by a Tesla service center, where technicians inspected the camera area and told me my vehicle had one of the worst cases they had seen and told me this is a common issue. They attempted a repair, but the issue has returned, making it a recurring defect. No police or insurance representatives have inspected it. During the first occurrence, the vehicle displayed messages indicating that features like Autopilot, cruise control, and lane assist were disabled due to camera obstruction. The current recurrence produced visible internal haze over the camera lens and a warning message appeared which I do have that Tesla acknowledges this is an issue and that rather than fixing it, you can bring your car in for expedited cleaning. I have read others stating Tesla changed their windshield design and it doesn't heat up this area properly any longer. This issue has happened in multiple winter seasons and directly affects the proper operation of safety-critical driver assistance systems.