Just a general discussion to get some thoughts on the forward facing camera. I’m new and open to being educated, thanks.
Hi All, first post here after buying a 2018 RF (absolutely love it) just over a month ago. After 1 hour of driving my gleaming car it got dark. I was in some slow moving traffic and noticed the warning which stayed on around 5 minutes by which time I had arrived home. Next day it didn’t come on.
This has now happened twice more, always in the dark, I’ve checked the windscreen - clear.
Mazda have looked at this twice now and say there’s nothing wrong.
So, this sensor/camera which controls some safety feature(s) can stop working on a whim (dust/condensation/sun on the windscreen)? Why bother with it and if it’s so temperamental then should they explain things in detail to all those who buy a car with one?
What do people think about this system - is it a longstanding issue in the Mazda cars?
I have had my 2017 RF for just over 4 years now, never seen this message before
Only one I have seen related to that camera is to defog my front windscreen which has come on when it has been completely clear (I think it was due to the way the light was hitting it)
Have you tried:
Defogging (even if it looks clear)
Screenwash (always worth a test)
Also, do you know if is the original screen or a replacement?
Hi Ian - good point, I haven’t checked if it’s the original windscreen.
Each time, it has stayed on for over 5 minutes. 10 minutes second time, I got home, got out, cleaned windscreen, turned engine off for 1 minute, back on and the warning was still there.
This is the thing, there are a lot of people talking about this online and some articles "System Disabled Due to Poor Outward Camera Visibility" in Mazda
Some say it happens a lot, others say they haven’t seen it - hence why I’m asking - if this is a safety feature, why bother? It needs to be extremely reliable.
Interesting, first time I have heard of it
Have you combed through all your fuses etc.?
is it still the original battery, might be a power issue?
Don’t ask me how but…I know that certain “safety” systems fail first (lane departure etc., can’t rememebr the exact order) when your car is not charging and the battery is just depleting.
I believe ths is so the core fundamentals to enable driving last the longest.
Therefore, you could be seeing the start of that.
I’d say that the system is working exactly as designed. For some reason it can’t obtain a clear image and is turning off and advising you to that fact. If you’ve not already done so, have a read through the full owners manual you’ll learn the reasons why a forward sensing camera may not be able to function. There will be an operational record for the FSC which your dealer may have looked at and that should have displayed the reason for the camera’s inhibition. Perhaps get the alignment of the camera checked by your dealer for piece of mind but my first question would be “how are you using the heating, ventilation and air conditioning?”
I got the message a few times last winter. Always in the dark and really awful weather. Heavy rain, snow, frost etc.
So I assume something weather related was reducing the camera’s effectiveness hence the message.
The main thing to watch out for is the main beam will stay on if you’ve pushed the stalk forward to activate the auto dipping headlights, so watch out for that, you don’t want to be driving around dazzling everyone with your full beam on without realising.
