Sentry Mode - Didn't Record Getting Rear Ended

[Marcust99]

So my daughter got rear ended recently at a light. There was minor damage to the bumper and I wanted to check the Sentry footage. But it's not there. Nothing was
recorded of the impact? Should it have not recorded it?

Sentry seems to be working fine and there's tons of events from that day just not the impact. Could it be that the impact wasn't strong enough to
trigger an event to record?

 

[ATPMSD]

Sentry is not enabled unless the car is parked and you have enabled Sentry Mode. You need to review Dashcam mode, from the manual:

1. Enable Dashcam by touching Controls > Dashcam. Dashcam allows you to choose how and when footage is saved. You can choose between:
   • Auto: Dashcam automatically saves a recording to the USB drive when Model 3 detects a safety-critical event, such as a collision or airbag deployment. When Auto is selected, detection can vary and is subject to your vehicle's power, sleep, and Autopilot state.
     Note: Several factors determine whether Dashcam automatically saves a recording of a safety-critical event (for example, amount of force, whether or not airbags deploy, etc.). Do not rely on Dashcam to automatically record all safety-critical events.
   • Manual: You must manually touch the Dashcam icon to save a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage.
   • On Honk: When you press the horn, Dashcam saves a recording of the most recent ten minutes of footage. You can enable this along with Auto or Manual simultaneously.
2. Once enabled, the Dashcam icon indicates when footage is saved. You can also view the status of the Dashcam icon in Controls.

Note also the car keeps a recording of the last 1-hour on the USB drive. After that hour it just overwrites.

 

[jjrandorin]

So my daughter got rear ended recently at a light. There was minor damage to the bumper and I wanted to check the Sentry footage. But it's not there. Nothing was
recorded of the impact? Should it have not recorded it?

Sentry seems to be working fine and there's tons of events from that day just not the impact. Could it be that the impact wasn't strong enough to
trigger an event to record?

That would not be sentry footage, it would be dashcam (since she was driving) and dashcam is erased in a 1 hour loop. If she drove more than 1 hour after that accident, thats why its gone.

 

[MOE J]

remove the usb and view on yr computer

 

[Zap!]

That would not be sentry footage, it would be dashcam (since she was driving) and dashcam is erased in a 1 hour loop.

Would a bigger USB drive increase the time, or is deletion after 1 hour set in stone?

 

[jjrandorin]

Would a bigger USB drive increase the time, or is deletion after 1 hour set in stone?

Im not an expert on this feature, so I am going to refer you to the thread one of our members put together on how dashcam / sentry works:

Dashcam / Sentry: How they work and what they do (and dont) do

You may have had the Auto save setting set, in which it may try to save the clip automatically, which may cause it to hiccup an skip a few seconds. That must be what happened. I learn something new every day. Thank you for that explanation.

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[ATPMSD]

Would a bigger USB drive increase the time, or is deletion after 1 hour set in stone?

"Deleted" is not the right word. The video overwrites itself so there is always the "last" hour and no, a bigger disk will not make any difference.

 

[MOE J]

Ya an hour of footage is like a huge amount of time/dates to sort thru.

 

[Petermcg]

Would a bigger USB drive increase the time, or is deletion after 1 hour set in stone?

No, the 1 hour buffer is non-negotiable and doesn’t change with drive size.