Tesla owners running the latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) update have noticed an unexpected and persistent headache on their center screens. After updating to version 14.3.9, drivers across the fleet are reporting frequent alerts warning of dirty front-facing FSD cameras and demanding service visits, even when the windshield glass and camera housing are completely spotless.
Thankfully, hardware isn’t to blame, and if you’re seeing this message on FSD v14.3.9, your camera isn’t actually dirty. Highlighting the problem on X, user @CARN0N shared confirmation from a Tesla Support representative that these alerts are being caused by a software bug Tesla is aware of.
The Bug Behind the Warnings
The issue surfaced right after Tesla rolled out FSD v14.3.9 earlier this month. While the release introduced Tesla’s new Automatic Collision Evasion feature, it also brought an overzealous vision encoder bug.
The software appears to hyper-sensitize the neural network’s camera visibility checks, falsely reading minor sun glare or regular optical conditions as a dirty camera that needs to be cleaned. In the car, this triggers an on-screen warning demanding increased attention while FSD is engaged and camera service.
Tapping into the Camera Visibility diagnostic screen shows an even more specific message pointing directly to the forward-facing windshield unit: “Poor camera visibility detected. Interior windshield residue cleaning is required.” Under normal circumstances, drivers who see this message should schedule a service appointment or clean the camera themselves (which isn’t as easy as Tesla would like it to be).
What You Should Do If You See the Alert
Because it’s a software issue that’s triggering the message, you don’t need to pry off the windshield camera housing or book a service appointment. In fact, Tesla Service is already proactively canceling scheduled cleaning visits for affected customers, sending messages stating that service isn’t required because the alert stems from a known bug.
If you’re dealing with these alerts on FSD v14.3.9, the best move right now is simple patience. Tesla should roll out a fix for the underlying issue causing these false warnings in an upcoming update.
For owners who already paid for an interior windshield cleaning at a service center before this bug was widely identified — only to watch the warning reappear on the drive home — reach out directly to Tesla Support. Service advisors will likely issue credits or refunds once Tesla establishes standardized internal guidance for this issue.
Earlier this week, Tesla started rolling out FSD v14.3.10. However, it currently remains unknown if the update fixes this issue since the release notes are the same as FSD v14.3.9. That said, reports of false camera cleaning alerts remain limited to v14.3.9 so far. We’ll know more once the FSD v14.3.10 update starts making its way to affected users.
