Tesla is recalling about 356,000 Model 3s because of a kink in the backup camera cable when the trunk is closed. It applies to Model 3 sedans manufactured between July 15, 2017 and September 30, 2020. Eventually, with lots of openings and closings of the trunk, the kink in the coaxial cable could cause the cable to crack. Then, you wouldn’t be able to see the picture the backup camera normally shows.
I was disappointed that I haven't seen any pictures that show the problem. I figured that it would be easy to climb in the closed trunk and take some pictures, but when I looked at the cable, I realized that the cable is outside the rubber gasket that keeps rainwater out of the trunk. So climbing into the trunk and getting closed in wouldn’t help.
The way I took the pictures below was to stand outside the car and take pictures of the cable with the trunk in various degrees of closure. Fortunately, camera phones have such tiny lenses that it’s feasible to photograph things through very narrow slits and get a reasonably clear picture.
You can see from the photographs that with the trunk wide open, there’s no kink in the cable at all, but the more the trunk is closed, the sharper the angle of the cable becomes. If your cable gives out before you have the opportunity to get the fix, you’ll still be able to back up. You’ll just have to twist your neck around the way you did it before they invented backup cameras.
You also won't get video coverage of collisions if someone rear-ends your car if the cable fails. I suspect that the way Tesla will handle this recall is that they'll space out the inspections but will give priority to people who already have failure of the backup camera.
If you want to see the same cable in your own car, open your trunk. It’s on your right as you’re facing the trunk looking from the rear.
Checking if your car is affected
You can confirm your Tesla is affected by the recall by visiting Tesla's recall search page. You'll need your vehicle VIN number, which you can find at the bottom of Tesla's mobile app, or by logging in to your account page on Tesla's website.
If you're doing this on your mobile device, you can simply tap and hold on your VIN number in the app in order to copy it.
At this time Tesla has started to send out email to some owners stating that no immediate action is required unless your rear camera has stopped working. Tesla will reach out to you to schedule a service visit once they have enough parts in stock.
The service visit will be covered free of charge.
