8.0 (2.52.22) Autopilot Nag Timing

[Saghost]

While I've seen a lot of discussions on the pros and cons of Autopilot "hold steering wheel" prompts and Elon's tweets/blog posts about the timing, I haven't seen anyone do an organized look at how often they occurs or what factors affect them.

Today I ended up going on a wild goose chase to central NJ in basically ideal conditions (mild traffic, light wind, well lit but overcast, big well marked lanes with slow curves,) so I decided to use my Apple Watch stopwatch to measure the timing.

At both 60 and 65 on freeways I saw a very consistent 2:05 between prompts - unless there was a car in my lane being followed (in white on the dash) around that time, in which case it extended out to 3 minutes even if the car wasn't there for most of the three minutes.

Using the turn signals to change lanes appears to reset the time interval, as long as it occurs before the prompt appears. After the prompt appears, it will not clear the prompt or reset timing.

The Commodore Barry bridge was very interesting and I don't entirely understand what I saw. The bridge was under construction, with one lane closed by cones and a reduced speed limit.

At 40 mph, I got hit with half a dozen 18 second interval prompts in a row when there were no cars in sight ahead of me, even though the car was steering perfectly and didn't seem to have any problems with knowing where the lane was (you can feel/see it move the wheel more when it isn't quite sure, and of course the dash displays change.)

Then it started seeing cars in front of me in the other lane and eventually in my own lane - and it ran the remaining two minutes on the bridge without another prompt.

I don't quite understand it, but it seems like some combination of the Ultrasonics seeing all the cones and the radar seeing all the stationary bridge structure tripped the very short prompts - until AP saw the other cars going through without problems.

 

[FarmerDave]

You have AP1 I assume?

 

[Saghost]

You have AP1 I assume?

Ooops. Yes, AP1.

 

[CHG-ON]

I've had a hard time figuring it out too. Sometimes I get repeated warnings and other times, it's as quiet as can be for a very long time. I have found that I get no warnings when in stop and go traffic and toodling along maybe 10-25 MPH. Even with cars all around me on both surface street and the highway. I would have thought that would be the time it got cranky. Go figure.

 

[Saghost]

I've had a hard time figuring it out too. Sometimes I get repeated warnings and other times, it's as quiet as can be for a very long time. I have found that I get no warnings when in stop and go traffic and toodling along maybe 10-25 MPH. Even with cars all around me on both surface street and the highway. I would have thought that would be the time it got cranky. Go figure.

Elon's tweets about it said that at low speeds you wouldn't get prompts. I thought he said 11 mph, but certainly there's a lower speed threshold. My experiences today didn't suggest a gradient based on speed above that threshold, though the data points are limited.

 

[BerTX]

I have learned how to hold the wheel, and I don't get prompts anymore. Pretty easy, non-intrusuve, and comfortable. I'm actually more comfortable with my hand on the wheel, anyway, so it is more relaxing driving. I know, it isn't as cool as going hands-free, but until they lift the restrictions, I'm satisfied. (AP1)

 

[Saghost]

I have learned how to hold the wheel, and I don't get prompts anymore. Pretty easy, non-intrusuve, and comfortable. I'm actually more comfortable with my hand on the wheel, anyway, so it is more relaxing driving. I know, it isn't as cool as going hands-free, but until they lift the restrictions, I'm satisfied. (AP1)

Aside from today's science project, I mostly do AP with one hand on the wheel. Of course, I still get prompted to hold the wheel anyway...

 

[BerTX]

Aside from today's science project, I mostly do AP with one hand on the wheel. Of course, I still get prompted to hold the wheel anyway...

Keeping a constant slight weight on the side of the wheel prevents nags. I keep my hand on the bottom quadrant of the wheel, just above the flat part of the wheel. I find it most comfortable to put my fingers inside the wheel rather than gripping the outside. Just the weight of the hand and forearm is plenty to prevent nagging. I also find it helps on long drives to move the seat slightly such that the back of my arm is resting on the back side-cushion of the seat. YMMV, but there should be a comfortable position that works. Don't fight the movement of the wheel, but don't steer either.

If on a 2-lane road, I keep my right hand on the wheel because that way the constant pressure is turning away from the oncoming traffic. It just feels better. On divided highways I switch back and forth between hands.

 

[CHG-ON]

I use my knee when I'm feeling spunky!

 

[BerTX]

I use my knee when I'm feeling spunky!

And here I thought I was being a rebel by just keeping "hand" on the wheel instead of "hands" like the car asks for.

 

[Nosken]

As soon as you step on the accelerator pedal you will get a nag, unless you have slight pressure against the wheel.

 

[bikeandsail]

I always have one or two hands circling the wheel, the friction of moving through my hands is sufficient to prevent nags. I let my elbows rest on my knees or the armrest. I also have created an "autopilot" seat position further back to better relax when on autopilot for long stretches.

I tell folks it is amazing how much effort it takes to "lane keep" which is what autopilot does for you.

 

[vandacca]

@Saghost: interesting, my experience is the opposite. My observation is that using the signal indicator to change lanes doesn't reset the timer. There are many times that I've gotten the nag within a few seconds of making an automated lane-change, which I thought was dumb. I just had my hand next to the wheel and I feel that should be equivalent to having hands on the wheels.

Anyway, my observation is that the nag comes more quickly when the AP is insecure (eg. losing lane awareness, curvy roads, poor visibility, etc.). If that is the case, then you won't be able to predict how often the nags will come without knowing it's confidence level.

I find that when I'm alone in the car-pool lane, the nags come less often than when I'm in light traffic. I don't use AP when traffic is moderate or heavy, unless it's stop-n-go traffic. Looking forward to more advanced AP with 8.1 coming this week...

 

[Saghost]

@Saghost: interesting, my experience is the opposite. My observation is that using the signal indicator to change lanes doesn't reset the timer. There are many times that I've gotten the nag within a few seconds of making an automated lane-change, which I thought was dumb. I just had my hand next to the wheel and I feel that should be equivalent to having hands on the wheels.

Anyway, my observation is that the nag comes more quickly when the AP is insecure (eg. losing lane awareness, curvy roads, poor visibility, etc.). If that is the case, then you won't be able to predict how often the nags will come without knowing it's confidence level.

I find that when I'm alone in the car-pool lane, the nags come less often than when I'm in light traffic. I don't use AP when traffic is moderate or heavy, unless it's stop-n-go traffic. Looking forward to more advanced AP with 8.1 coming this week...

It happened with the stopwatch on three separate occasions yesterday, so I'm pretty confident of that data point. I got over five minutes without a prompt from a series of lane changes.

Is it possible the prompt had already hit when you started signaling, or that you tapped the accelerator during the change?

 

[vandacca]

It happened with the stopwatch on three separate occasions yesterday, so I'm pretty confident of that data point. I got over five minutes without a prompt from a series of lane changes.

Is it possible the prompt had already hit when you started signaling, or that you tapped the accelerator during the change?

I very much doubt (but anything is possible) that I had already been prompted prior to making the lane change. I'll definitely try to note the exact number of seconds next time between me changing lanes and the nag.

But even if the alert had popped-up, using the indicator should be equivalent to putting your hands on the steering wheel. I won't go into the fact that my hands are already on the steering wheel and that the sensors can't detect that most of the time without me actually jerking the wheel.

 

[ptsagcy]

My experience has been that an "auto lane change" definitely resets the nag stop watch.

 

[Fred6936]

Need to change the nag, now, I don't like to drive my x because of the STUPID nag. Get smart Elon. Every 3 miles

 

[ptsagcy]

Need to change the nag, now, I don't like to drive my x because of the STUPID nag. Get smart Elon. Every 3 miles

This was Elon's reaction to a couple of lawsuits by morons who did really stupid things to cause a crash and them blamed it on Tesla. Can't blame him for being defensive in this litigious society we live in.