My Mach-E was broken into today with items stolen. Ford, can we have Sentry Mode?

[MyLittlePony2022]

That really sucks. In the Bay Area it is a given that if you leave anything in the car, there will glass by the side of the car. I keep telling my wife to stop leaving stuff in the car since smash and grab is far too common. I second what others have said, put it in the trunk before you leave or a few stops before. They like to hang out and watch people. Parking lots and parking garages are prime hunting grounds for these buggers. They see it all and will catch that you put your laptop or Ipad under the back seek, just as you parked.

We parked our other car, around the corner from our Townhome in a nice safe neighborhood. Nothing in the car but they still broke the window to get into the console and stole about $2 in quarters. It was a Sunday and mid morning so joggers and dog walkers are always out. The thieves are very brazen. What sucks is that it cost me a few hundred to get glass replaced. Did not really care about the $2 theft. I think I will just tape $5 to my window next time and say take it and don't smash my window, noting in the car.

Sponsored

 

[Hammered]

Sentry mode is a huge electricity hog, though. Reports on Tesla forums indicate Sentry mode uses 6-7% of the battery daily.

Without even looking into it I can say that's false. In low power mode the vehicle is a laptop that's not rendering anything. At worst to keep it alive and processing requires about 30 watts. Let's, for argument sake, say it's 50w. That's 1.2kWh / day, and that's an extremely generous amount of power to use on a system that's realistically using less than 10 watts for the computing hardware, 5w per camera, and about the same 5w for cellular interface (while transmitting).

To use 6-7% of an 80kWh pack would require more power than their computer is capable of consuming, even while gaming with some rather intense 3D rendering.

 

[bp99]

Without even looking into it I can say that's false. In low power mode the vehicle is a laptop that's not rendering anything. At worst to keep it alive and processing requires about 30 watts. Let's, for argument sake, say it's 50w. That's 1.2kWh / day, and that's an extremely generous amount of power to use on a system that's realistically using less than 10 watts for the computing hardware, 5w per camera, and about the same 5w for cellular interface (while transmitting).

To use 6-7% of an 80kWh pack would require more power than their computer is capable of consuming, even while gaming with some rather intense 3D rendering.

Great, just dispute people that actually have the car without any hard knowledge beyond conjecture. My wife has a Tesla and leaves Sentry mode on. In our driveway, it's not that bad. When parked in a place with high traffic, it does drain quite a bit. When it wakes up to record, it uses more (very likely more systems in the car get enabled than just the computer and cameras - the headlights flash, the screen turns on and likely other things that are not visible). We can't leave Sentry Mode on when we park at the airport for a week, otherwise, we'd have low charge (it is smart enough to disable itself at ~30% battery - Tesla knows it uses considerable battery).

 

[Chainspell]

Sorry to hear about the break in. Since you have the video/pic of the perpetrator you could also use social media to ask the community who this guy is. I bet he lives within a 5 mile radius. Or do it the old fashion way and plaster the A**holes pic all over the area and ask for help ID'ing this human waste.

Not to be a voyeur, but how about sharing the Tesla footage of the break in. Or do I have to wait for an episode of "Wham Bam Tesla Cam"!!!

Here it is, posting as a warning for everyone else.

 

[Hammered]

Great, just dispute people that actually have the car without any hard knowledge beyond conjecture. My wife has a Tesla and leaves Sentry mode on. In our driveway, it's not that bad. When parked in a place with high traffic, it does drain quite a bit. When it wakes up to record, it uses more (very likely more systems in the car get enabled than just the computer and cameras - the headlights flash, the screen turns on and likely other things that are not visible). We can't leave Sentry Mode on when we park at the airport for a week, otherwise, we'd have low charge (it is smart enough to disable itself at ~30% battery - Tesla knows it uses considerable battery).

I used basic physics, not opinion. I don't have to look into it to know that the system isn't using 5-6kWh a day.

 

[Mach1E]

Here it is, posting as a warning for everyone else.

Wow that’s crazy to watch.

What sucks is that unless you have fingerprints or know the person (or got a license plate), not much to go on even with a clear picture.

Best case they catch him, but doesn’t help you.

My house got broken into years ago. Stole 8k of stuff. Got fingerprints. They caught the guy a couple years later from a different crime and his prints were in the system from my incident.

What did I get? A letter in the mail every few years telling me when he goes in and out of jail. None of my stuff or money back.

 

[Chainspell]

Wow that’s crazy to watch.

What sucks is that unless you have fingerprints or know the person (or got a license plate), not much to go on even with a clear picture.

Best case they catch him, but doesn’t help you.

My house got broken into years ago. Stole 8k of stuff. Got fingerprints. They caught the guy a couple years later from a different crime and his prints were in the system from my incident.

What did I get? A letter in the mail every few years telling me when he goes in and out of jail. None of my stuff or money back.

I did get the license plate, front and back. I trimmed the video to the actual break in, but the Tesla got clear videos him scouting out my car and others and pulling up and leaving on the other camera. All of that went to the police, but like you experienced I don't expect it to really go anywhere. But at least I could give them some solid evidence. Without the footage there would be zero chance, with the footage, a small (but non-zero) chance...

 

[RyZt]

I used basic physics, not opinion. I don't have to look into it to know that the system isn't using 5-6kWh a day.

Physics provides a lower bound.
Yes, one could have engineered Sentry to be more power efficient. But Tesla didn’t. As currently implemented, the power hungry computer in the car that is also responsible for things like Autopilot has to be kept on for sentry mode

 

[Hammered]

Physics provides a lower bound.
Yes, one could have engineered Sentry to be more power efficient. But Tesla didn’t. As currently implemented, the power hungry computer in the car that is also responsible for things like Autopilot has to be kept on for sentry mode

That's not quite how the architecture works as a whole. This desktop for instance can consume 700w or more at full tilt. Browsing the internet it's 'idling' at 1/14th of that. It's considerably more powerful than tesla's unit.

Autopilot is an application that isn't actually processing anything while the car is off. Just as a console or gaming computer isn't running wide open when it's not gaming / rendering. Yes the system is awake, it's the same computer. It's just not processing anything of value to have its CPU consuming more than 5w. You'd be surprised just how much processing power there is at 5w.

That's not to say that perhaps they're not efficiently using the DC-DC converter. If anything, I'd suggest that poor policy on its utilization would be an overwhelming contribution to the parasitic drain. That doesn't change the original response to the hyperbole saying the system is eating 5kWh daily. 100w average on earlier designs is a realistic scenario -- that's 2.4kWh daily.

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

At the very least, you have given the cops something and if they catch them later, they have evidence for this crime. I have no doubt that the stuff they stole is long gone and will not be recovered. One lesson on this unfortunate situation, if you see something suspicious and your gut tells you it is wrong, call the police. This assumes they are not overloaded and can come out. Who knows, maybe someone will see them casing a parking lot, do just that and the police will get them. Your evidence could be what send them to jail.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Why the heck can’t the police leave bags in bait cars to catch these guys? They could put a GPS tracker in the bag or device and find where they live or the stash house. Seems like a fleet of 25 bait cars could make a dent.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Without even looking into it I can say that's false. In low power mode the vehicle is a laptop that's not rendering anything. At worst to keep it alive and processing requires about 30 watts. Let's, for argument sake, say it's 50w. That's 1.2kWh / day, and that's an extremely generous amount of power to use on a system that's realistically using less than 10 watts for the computing hardware, 5w per camera, and about the same 5w for cellular interface (while transmitting).

To use 6-7% of an 80kWh pack would require more power than their computer is capable of consuming, even while gaming with some rather intense 3D rendering.

So, you have a Tesla and have found the estimated draw from other Tesla owners to be false? I'm just reporting what Tesla owners have reported from their Teslas.

I used basic physics, not opinion. I don't have to look into it to know that the system isn't using 5-6kWh a day.

So, you have no personal experience and are saying those Tesla owners don't know what they are talking about?

 

[Hammered]

So, you have a Tesla and have found the estimated draw from other Tesla owners to be false? I'm just reporting what Tesla owners have reported from their Teslas.

So, you have no personal experience and are saying those Tesla owners don't know what they are talking about?

Tesla's problem is much worse -- the cars are plagued with phantom power loses without it enabled.

 

[chimpster23]

this is good for insurance that you got a video and hopefully can show them documented proof, how is the repair of the side window going to work? do they have parts avail? hope nothing with the motor was damaged.

 

[dmastro]

Lots of victim blaming in here, maybe blame the perp instead. Also, OP did not blame Ford, simply suggested that enabling a "sentry mode" where the onboard cameras could record video would be a good feature. Tesla has shown great effectiveness with their sentry system, many published examples of capturing vandals and thieves on video who have been subsequently caught, so there is merit to the system.

To the claims of Tesla's system being an energy hog, 1) in more than 4 years of ownership I haven't experienced that kind of draw. Not saying others haven't but the draw could be from a myriad of other things such as waking up the car with the app constantly, cabin overheat protection, etc. 2) The system could be turned on or off, so if someone was concerned with whatever energy draw it incurs they could simply disable it.

Not sure where the claims of Phantom energy drain come from either. Again, haven't seen it and haven't seen much mention on the forums.

Sponsored