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Front Camera Unavailable / Pre-collision System Off

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jazhanel

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
On my drive this morning, I got a pop up message: Front camera unavailable, see owners manual. Then the yellow pre-collision system off light came on.

I was in no position to pull over so I kept on driving. The message went away after a min, the pre-collision system came back after a few, and a few miles down, the camera is reading signs and lanes again. By the time I got to work and got out and checked, I saw no debris on the windshield over the camera lens.

I chalked it up to running Remote Climate in the garage. It tends to fog up the inside of the glasses, since it is pumping humid air into the cabin, heating it up, and the moisture tends to condense on the inside of the glasses since the outside is colder. Maybe the camera compartment is slow the dry off?

Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
jazhanel said:
On my drive this morning, I got a pop up message: Front camera unavailable, see owners manual. Then the yellow pre-collision system off light came on.

I was in no position to pull over so I kept on driving. The message went away after a min, the pre-collision system came back after a few, and a few miles down, the camera is reading signs and lanes again. By the time I got to work and got out and checked, I saw no debris on the windshield over the camera lens.

I chalked it up to running Remote Climate in the garage. It tends to fog up the inside of the glasses, since it is pumping humid air into the cabin, heating it up, and the moisture tends to condense on the inside of the glasses since the outside is colder. Maybe the camera compartment is slow the dry off?

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I agree with your assessment. On my Subaru with Eyesight, the inside camera lens would fog up and shut the system down even though there was little moisture on the windshield.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
I ran Remote Climate in the garage again this morning. It was 45F outside, 55F inside the garage and humid, heating to a target of 67F. The lens was more fogged up than the rest of the windshield, glasses.

Lane tracking and sign reading was dodgy for a few miles but it did not trip the Camera Unavailable error this time.

Image
 
#6 ·
Sorry to revive an old thread, but this also happened to me this morning. I checked the front camera and the windshield was completely condensed over. Never happened before, but I recently had the windshield replaced. Have any of you guys been having this issue recur?
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
mililani said:
Sorry to revive an old thread, but this also happened to me this morning. I checked the front camera and the windshield was completely condensed over. Never happened before, but I recently had the windshield replaced. Have any of you guys been having this issue recur?
Click to expand...
OEM windshield on mine. Only happens when preheating in a humid garage.
 
#8 ·
jazhanel said:
Found this for a dash cam. Looks like Toyota added vent slots to the front camera tray for the newer models. Maybe they know this area is prone to fogging?
Click to expand...
mililani said:
Sorry to revive an old thread, but this also happened to me this morning. I checked the front camera and the windshield was completely condensed over.
Click to expand...
jazhanel said:
OEM windshield on mine. Only happens when preheating in a humid garage.
Click to expand...
Does anyone know if changing the cover to the vented style will help? Will it fit the older 5th generation RAV4?

I just got the pre-collision unavailable message this morning after my car was parked in the sun for an hour. Didn't think to look at the TSS sensor window. Everything seems to be working fine except for my CarTrimHome HUD with was blank. Strange.
 
#9 ·
FKHeath said:
Does anyone know if changing the cover to the vented style will help? Will it fit the older 5th generation RAV4?

I just got the pre-collision unavailable message this morning after my car was parked in the sun for an hour. Didn't think to look at the TSS sensor window. Everything seems to be working fine except for my CarTrimHome HUD with was blank. Strange.
Click to expand...
It is possible that if the sun was shining on the windshield, the camera itself could have gotten too hot to function. If so, it should be back to normal once it cools. If it was cold out, the camera box might not get hot enough to shut the camera down though.
 
#10 ·
FKHeath said:
I just got the pre-collision unavailable message this morning after my car was parked in the sun for an hour. Didn't think to look at the TSS sensor window. Everything seems to be working fine except for my CarTrimHome HUD with was blank. Strange.
Click to expand...

wscan said:
It is possible that if the sun was shining on the windshield, the camera itself could have gotten too hot to function. If so, it should be back to normal once it cools. If it was cold out, the camera box might not get hot enough to shut the camera down though.
Click to expand...
Thanks wscan for the info. Doubt that it was the sun that caused my problem. I think it must be the radar device just behind the grill, not the camera at the top of the windshield.

After thinking about this overnight, here are some observations:

1. Earlier in the day, I experience a hesitation for the car to accelerate. At the time I though it was just my big feet on both the accelerator pedal and brake at the same time. But I recall some earlier posts on the forum (years ago) where people complained that their RAV4 would not accelerate when there was cross traffic; the radar thinking a collision was eminent and would not allow acceleration. For some reason, it appears that my car thought something was in front, even though it was completely clear.

2. I cleaned the grill emblem (in front of the radar) and cleaned the windshield. Still have the problem.

3. I disconnected the battery overnight to see if the problem was reset. Still have the problem.

4. My HUD and folding mirrors are no longer working; they both plug into the same place under the steering wheel. . I'm thinking the radar may have malfunctioned and blown a fuse.

I made an appointment Monday morning to have the dealer look at it.
 
#11 ·
FKHeath said:
Thanks wscan for the info. Doubt that it was the sun that caused my problem. I think it must be the radar device just behind the grill, not the camera at the top of the windshield.

After thinking about this overnight, here are some observations:

1. Earlier in the day, I experience a hesitation for the car to accelerate. At the time I though it was just my big feet on both the accelerator pedal and brake at the same time. But I recall some earlier posts on the forum (years ago) where people complained that their RAV4 would not accelerate when there was cross traffic; the radar thinking a collision was eminent and would not allow acceleration. For some reason, it appears that my car thought something was in front, even though it was completely clear.

2. I cleaned the grill emblem (in front of the radar) and cleaned the windshield. Still have the problem.

3. I disconnected the battery overnight to see if the problem was reset. Still have the problem.

4. My HUD and folding mirrors are no longer working; they both plug into the same place under the steering wheel. . I'm thinking the radar may have malfunctioned and blown a fuse.

I made an appointment Monday morning to have the dealer look at it.
Click to expand...
Yes, the heat would only be a temporary problem. Both the camera behind the rear view mirror and the radar behind the emblem are used by the pre-collision system. The message did say camera, so I would think it would be the camera behind the rear view mirror.
 
#12 ·
wscan said:
The message did say camera, so I would think it would be the camera behind the rear view mirror.
Click to expand...
I guess I was not clear. The OP's dash message had "camera" in it. Mine does not. The message on my MID says "Pre collision system malfunction, see dealer".
 
#14 ·
FKHeath said:
I made an appointment Monday morning to have the dealer look at it.
Click to expand...
wscan said:
OK. I am sure you will let us know what the dealer finds.
Click to expand...
The only thing the dealer found was that the 5 amp "ecu dcc no. 1" fuse was blown. They don't know why. Every thing works now.

They replaced the fuse and charged a diagnostic fee since they can't show there was a warranty problem. The fuse may have blown because of my add ons such as the HUD, dash cam, and folding mirrors.

If it happens again in the near future, I will unplug one of those, and replace the fuse.
 
#15 ·
FKHeath said:
The only thing the dealer found was that the 5 amp "ecu dcc no. 1" fuse was blown. They don't know why. Every thing works now.

They replaced the fuse and charged a diagnostic fee since they can't show there was a warranty problem. The fuse may have blown because of my add ons such as the HUD, dash cam, and folding mirrors.

If it happens again in the near future, I will unplug one of those, and replace the fuse.
Click to expand...
Since the fuse is only 5 amps, the culprit is probably the folding mirrors. They may use just under the power required to blow the fuse, but when you add cold weather and maybe some ice and snow, the motors have to work a little harder thus using more power. I would try to find a different fuse to operate the mirrors on. The hud and dash cam probably do not use too much power and will probably be ok on that fuse.
 
#16 ·
wscan said:
Since the fuse is only 5 amps, the culprit is probably the folding mirrors. They may use just under the power required to blow the fuse, but when you add cold weather and maybe some ice and snow, the motors have to work a little harder thus using more power. I would try to find a different fuse to operate the mirrors on. The hud and dash cam probably do not use too much power and will probably be ok on that fuse.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your insight, wscan! Agree it could be a temporary overload.

All those systems are plug and play into existing OEM connectors, so it would be very difficult to power from a different source. If it happens again in the near future, the mirrors will be the first system I unplug.

Not sure that all those systems use the same power source (fuse).
 
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