I’m always amazed by the small features of the Tesla operating system and software. There is always something new to learn.
During a recent visit service visit at home from a Tesla technician to install Homelink, I learned about the ability to submit a bug report if something quirky happens.
Recently I had an issue that said my left pillar camera was not available for autopilot. In that situation, we were able to reboot the car at our next stop. It seemed to resolve the issue, but that might have been a coincidence.
To reboot your Tesla, here are three methods.
The Scroll Wheel Reboot – Easy
Press and hold both scroll wheels on either side of the steering wheel for up to 10 seconds, and the main/central screen will reboot. While rebooting, you may have seen the airbag icon become visible in the dash, and the clicking noise from the indicator will not be heard.
Full Steering Wheel Hard Reset and Brake Pedal
This reboot is a little harder to do. You need to be sitting in the car with the doors closed and not open them for the reboot duration to perform the hard reset.
- Place your foot on the brake and keep it there. Although some believe this is optional, it does no harm.
- Now press and hold both buttons above the scroll wheels, and the scroll wheels on either side of the steering wheel (MS and MX). or just the scroll wheels (M3)
- Hold for up to 10 seconds, and the driver’s dash/screen will reboot (center screen on the M3).
- Wait, keeping your foot on the brake. Eventually, the screens will restart.
Full Power Down and Restart
Sit in the car with the door closed and don’t touch anything or open the door other than follow the instructions. This is also best done where it’s quiet, as listening to the car can help. Otherwise, pay attention to the time.
- It’s recommended that the full steering wheel hard reset and brake pedal option is performed first
- Release the brake pedal is pressed
- Go to the main screen, bring up the service menu and select “Power Off”.
- After a while, the screens will have gone out, the interior light will have gone off, and the system is shutting down.
- If you can hear the car, you may still hear some background noises from the car. If this is the case, wait until the car is quiet.
- If you can’t hear the car because of background noise, wait for several minutes, we suggest a minimum of 5 – it seems a long time but it is worth doing to ensure the car is fully shut down.
- Press the brake pedal to reawaken the car. – Source
In the case of my blocked camera, it seems the more significant issue may have been the hot sun beating down directly on the left side of the cold car on a chilly morning and causing just a bit of condensation in front of the camera lens.
How to Report a Bug While Driving
The technician said all you have to do is push the right scroll button, to initiate a voice command.
Then when the microphone icon comes up, you should give a short explanation of the issue. In my situation, the technician said just saying “Left pillar camera not available for autopilot” would have been short and sweet.
The bug will be sent to Tesla and can be investigated remotely.
Super simple.