I didn’t know where to put this but I think it’s mostly about the software. If anybody has advice or the mods have a better place to put this, feel free.
Like most of you, I see regular alerts about Sentry Mode events when I get in my Model 3; usually, at least 1 event because the system flashes me as I approach even though I have the BT connected key in my pocket. I generally make a habit of walking around my car for a quick visual inspection even before I get in and see the event count so I don’t typically look again after that and I don’t usually pull the usb drive for review now that the software reuses space (especially since there’s no time stamp of the events).
Saturday, I actually got an alert to my phone that the alarm had been activated as I was leaving a restaurant. By the time I got out to the car, there was no sign of the alarm condition and, after visually inspecting it in the dark, I decided it was another false alarm but I made plans to review the footage.
On Sunday night, I pulled the usb and reviewed the Sentry files only to discover that a car had backed down the one way street and, in a very wide turn into a parking space against the opposite curb, had impacted my front right bumper just ahead of the wheel. I went out to my garage and took a closer look which gave me the bad news that there were some scrapes. Fortunately, doesn’t look like much more but no way to know for sure based on my knowledge and tools.
The upshot of this is that, if not for all the false positives, I might’ve been more careful with my inspection and I might’ve asked the nearby driver if he’d seen anything (he might’ve then admitted his mistake which he certainly didn’t seem inclined to do without my asking that night). Had I been able to review the footage on the screen (as we’ve all been hoping for), with time stamps for the events, I might’ve known where to look closer before driving away that’s night.
I don’t know if there’s any way I can zoom in on the plate in the low light footage or if it would be worth passing that on to my insurance (don’t even know if making a claim is worth it) but, again, I’m very frustrated with the way Sentry Mode’s false positives have made me less rather than more vigilant. I’m not sure I would’ve noticed this damage before the next time I hand washed so, even if my own behavior is disappointing and I wish SM was better, I guess I’m glad I have proof of the actual cause.
Suffice to say, if you think you had a false positive, reinspect your vehicle and review your footage before it gets erased. Don’t know what good it’ll do you but, at the very least, you’ll know what happened.
Like most of you, I see regular alerts about Sentry Mode events when I get in my Model 3; usually, at least 1 event because the system flashes me as I approach even though I have the BT connected key in my pocket. I generally make a habit of walking around my car for a quick visual inspection even before I get in and see the event count so I don’t typically look again after that and I don’t usually pull the usb drive for review now that the software reuses space (especially since there’s no time stamp of the events).
Saturday, I actually got an alert to my phone that the alarm had been activated as I was leaving a restaurant. By the time I got out to the car, there was no sign of the alarm condition and, after visually inspecting it in the dark, I decided it was another false alarm but I made plans to review the footage.
On Sunday night, I pulled the usb and reviewed the Sentry files only to discover that a car had backed down the one way street and, in a very wide turn into a parking space against the opposite curb, had impacted my front right bumper just ahead of the wheel. I went out to my garage and took a closer look which gave me the bad news that there were some scrapes. Fortunately, doesn’t look like much more but no way to know for sure based on my knowledge and tools.
The upshot of this is that, if not for all the false positives, I might’ve been more careful with my inspection and I might’ve asked the nearby driver if he’d seen anything (he might’ve then admitted his mistake which he certainly didn’t seem inclined to do without my asking that night). Had I been able to review the footage on the screen (as we’ve all been hoping for), with time stamps for the events, I might’ve known where to look closer before driving away that’s night.
I don’t know if there’s any way I can zoom in on the plate in the low light footage or if it would be worth passing that on to my insurance (don’t even know if making a claim is worth it) but, again, I’m very frustrated with the way Sentry Mode’s false positives have made me less rather than more vigilant. I’m not sure I would’ve noticed this damage before the next time I hand washed so, even if my own behavior is disappointing and I wish SM was better, I guess I’m glad I have proof of the actual cause.
Suffice to say, if you think you had a false positive, reinspect your vehicle and review your footage before it gets erased. Don’t know what good it’ll do you but, at the very least, you’ll know what happened.