Front Camera - 2014 Model S

Check out the front camera switch kit developed by artsci ( Front-rear camera touchscreen parking protection switch kit reservations ). It uses Tesla's rear camera mounted on the front of the car. When the car is in reverse, the image from the rear camera is shown on the 17 inch screen. When the car is in drive, the image from the front mounted camera is shown. The switch automatically selects which camera signal is inputted to the touchscreen.

I can't speak for Tesla and its warranty but with the switch we developed the touchscreen thinks it's seeing the rear camera when it's connected to the front camera. There's no way the screen would be damaged. The touchscreen system has incredible self-protection from shorts, misconnections, etc, which is why it won't work with any camera other than Tesla's camera.

The Sunnyvale SC conveyed to me when I purchased my camera that under the direction of the Fremont SC, they were to tell anyone buying the camera that the installation of the front camera switch would void the warranty of the display/computer assembly. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one who has gotten a warning, and it might have been a miscommunication in the first place. I asked for clarification of Tesla's stance and never got a response.

So yes, there is some risk regarding the warranty, but I'm not sure it's a big risk. I expect you'd be fine.

Gizmotoy said:

The Sunnyvale SC conveyed to me when I purchased my camera that under the direction of the Fremont SC, they were to tell anyone buying the camera that the installation of the front camera switch would void the warranty of the display/computer assembly. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one who has gotten a warning, and it might have been a miscommunication in the first place. I asked for clarification of Tesla's stance and never got a response.

So yes, there is some risk regarding the warranty, but I'm not sure it's a big risk. I expect you'd be fine.

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Apparently this varies from SC to SC. My SC loves the front camera and switch and have complemented owners who show up for service appointments with it installed.

(LMB spouse)

@artsci - Does the front screen kit work with the non-HD camera system in the Model S without Tech Package? Is it a different camera and video system? And is the switch "dumb" (e.g. just relays or gates) or does it work with a specific digital video signal (I'm referring to the switch; I know the screen electronics requires a specific signal).

Gizmotoy said:

The Sunnyvale SC conveyed to me when I purchased my camera that under the direction of the Fremont SC, they were to tell anyone buying the camera that the installation of the front camera switch would void the warranty of the display/computer assembly. As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one who has gotten a warning, and it might have been a miscommunication in the first place. I asked for clarification of Tesla's stance and never got a response.

So yes, there is some risk regarding the warranty, but I'm not sure it's a big risk. I expect you'd be fine.

Click to expand...

Under the Magnuson-Moss Act, the onus is on Tesla to prove the switch (or any aftermarket product, for that matter) caused the failure. They can't arbitrarily deny warranty coverage just because you installed an aftermarket part.

Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

tga said:

Under the Magnuson-Moss Act, the onus is on Tesla to prove the switch (or any aftermarket product, for that matter) caused the failure. They can't arbitrarily deny warranty coverage just because you installed an aftermarket part.

Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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True. Though almost as a rule, manufacturers deny coverage first and force the battle into court knowing 99.99% of owners won't bother to take the time. Certain brands are known for that kind of behavior. I had a nice "Drivetrain warranty void - Do not service" note on my Mitsubishi from the 2nd or 3rd month I owned it for swapping out the intake and intercooler pipes. They noticed the changes when I took the car in because the seats were literally falling apart at the seams. I never had to fight the voiding, though, because the drivetrain was solid throughout the warranty period.

In any case, it's pretty unlikely to be an issue here. We've seen some rumblings in earnings calls (Tesla lists mods as a business risk) and here on the forum that Tesla might begin to take a hard line against modders, but it's been pretty minimal to this point (a few threats of voided warranties with no follow-through, refusal to service heavily modified/salvage components).

This is more of an "Ooo, neat!" thing rather than something Tesla is going to make a stand on.

Gizmotoy said:

True. Though almost as a rule, manufacturers deny coverage first and force the battle into court knowing 99.99% of owners won't bother to take the time.

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Agreed, I probably should have waited until I got back to a real keyboard rather than do a short response on the phone.

At one time, Audi was fairly lax on this. My dealer knew that I had chipped my 2000 S4 and added an aftermarket exhaust, but they never complained. The only pushback I got was after going through 2 or 3 sets of front rotors, the service advisor hinted that if I was going to continue to track the car, I should probably look at an aftermarket brake upgrade, as they couldn't keep giving me free rotors.:wink:

LMB said:

(LMB spouse)

@artsci - Does the front screen kit work with the non-HD camera system in the Model S without Tech Package? Is it a different camera and video system? And is the switch "dumb" (e.g. just relays or gates) or does it work with a specific digital video signal (I'm referring to the switch; I know the screen electronics requires a specific signal).

Click to expand...

Yes - my brother installed a HD front camera and he has the non-HD rear camera (no Tech package). His car was manufactured in Feb 2013.

LMB said:

(LMB spouse)

@artsci - Does the front screen kit work with the non-HD camera system in the Model S without Tech Package? Is it a different camera and video system? And is the switch "dumb" (e.g. just relays or gates) or does it work with a specific digital video signal (I'm referring to the switch; I know the screen electronics requires a specific signal).

Click to expand...

The switch just toggles the signal from the front and rear camera. If it's a Tesla camera, HD or not, the touchscreen electronics recognize and display it.

radrick said:

Thanks to everyone for the info. The installer I was referred to in south FL does a lot of high tech installations of many items but has not installed a Model S front camera, but was willing to do it. I don't think he was planning on using the Tesla rear camera (said it was a rear camera so orientation would be wrong). Did say he has done other high end car front cameras and would use the 17" screen.

artsci - I noticed that lighted Ts were for sale in your "Items for Sale" link but not the camera kit. Does one order it by the wait list link sent by swegman? If so, does one need to order the Chinese cables separately or is everything now packaged together except Telsla camera? My car is in production and has the tech package with sensors. From my reading about others parking woes, I thought a front camera would be a nice insurance policy for my possible poor parking / right hand turns.

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I think he sold all of them. He had 100 made and the ones that were not pre sold to guys like me were bought by openevse and they have them for sale on their site.
Tesla Front Camera Switch OpenEV Store

As Shumdit said, OpenEV is selling the unit now. Note that only the Tesla camera will work with the 17 inch touchscreen. The image of the front camera will be reversed, which is not a big issue for parking. We are still trying to figure out how to reprogram the front camera to turn off the image reversing, which is turned on by default from Tesla.

radrick said:

The installer I was referred to in south FL does a lot of high tech installations

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Can you supply the name/company of your installer as I need one for a parking sensor mod.
Thanks

Perhaps Tesla is listening?

-> https://chc.tbe.taleo.net/chc01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=TESLA&cws=1&rid=20556