AP -- Improvement So Gradual That You Hardly Notice, Until ...

[Az_Rael]

Before TACC, I never used cruise control. It was too much of a PIA to adjust the speed constantly, as I never drive on totally open and free roads, which is a true dream of mine. I used to be able to in the 70's. But that was a long time ago in a far away place...

You just need to come a little south and east to experience those open roads again. There are miles and miles of lovely paved highways out here in the desert where you can drive for hours without seeing another soul.

 

[CHG-ON]

You just need to come a little south and east to experience those open roads again. There are miles and miles of lovely paved highways out here in the desert where you can drive for hours without seeing another soul.

I know!!! But where are the curves?. And that damned sand. Oy!

And there's a good reason there is nobody out there. It's a F***ING DESERT! Ha!

I have a friend, who is a NASA genius, who is out there all the time testing fantastical things that I can't imagine, and he loves it. But I like nothing higher than 65 deg. Whimp that I am.

Of course, no offense intended.

 

[Beryl]

The best experience I have had with AP was after a day-long hike at Ano Nuevo and then dinner after at Costanoa, about an hour from home on the Central CA coast. I was exhausted. I got on HWY 1, which many know as a challenge. I set AP at the limit and sat back and relaxed for a good 45 minutes until I entered Santa Cruz, where I took over. I think it was the most relaxing time I have ever had in a car, while driving, and it really proved the value of AP to me. I just sat back and watched as the car not only negotiated the road flawlessly, but also slowed down at the speed limit changes and then went back to cruising speed with no intervention. And in all that time, the car only asked me to hold the wheel once. Now THAT is true luxury, IMO.

I haven't experienced the emboldened. It slows down a bit to handle curves and traffic but no speed changes based on posted speed. Is there a setting that I missed to make this occur?

 

[Electroman]

I drove from Houston to Plano with a 30 minute stop at a Super charger - a total of 280 miles over 4:30 hours. Best ride I ever had (see I said, "ride" and not "drive" )

 

[Todd Burch]

I agree with the statements here but What I can't stand is the car hugging the lane markers and getting dangerously close to neighboring traffic. It pisses me off the car has a love affair with cars and big trucks directly to my side. I wish I could dial in a bias to the left or right side of a lane. It tries to keep the middle but on every turn it seems momentum swings it to the outside - often very close to other traffic.

You probably don't have one of the recent builds. I was the OP for a post complaining about this a month or two ago...a recent build either completely fixed it or made it dramatically better.

 

[Todd Burch]

I haven't experienced the emboldened. It slows down a bit to handle curves and traffic but no speed changes based on posted speed. Is there a setting that I missed to make this occur?

This happens if you're on an undivided road (or a road where autopilot is restricted) and your set speed is >5 over the speed limit. In that case, it will slow to 5 over the speed limit.

 

[Cyberax]

This happens if you're on an undivided road (or a road where autopilot is restricted) and your set speed is >5 over the speed limit. In that case, it will slow to 5 over the speed limit.

And that's why I'm still on v7.

Fsck Tesla.

 

[kort677]

And that's why I'm still on v7.

Fsck Tesla.

if you allowed the car to update the improvements offered by the software you could easily over ride the limitations that you don't like.
here's a 1 step tutorial; using your right foot press on the accelerator until the desired speed is reached.

 

[Todd Burch]

And that's why I'm still on v7.

Fsck Tesla.

The improvements to autopilot since v7 completely outweigh this very minor thing, IMHO.

Really, it gets you upset that you're only allowed to go 5 mph over the speed limit on an undivided road on autopilot? Just how much over the speed limit do you normally drive on those types of roads? I mean, it wouldn't kill you to have to place your foot on the accelerator and apply a little pressure.

I think eventually this limitation will be lessened, but it seems you're getting pretty worked up over something that in the grand scheme of things isn't that big of a deal.

Just my opinion.

 

[Cyberax]

Really, it gets you upset that you're only allowed to go 5 mph over the speed limit on an undivided road on autopilot? Just how much over the speed limit do you normally drive on those types of roads?

Yes, it does. Tesla has an extremely ***** speed database (yes, even after the map update) and constantly misreads signs so it would force me to drive 30 mph on a 45 mph country road that I frequently travel. I reported it to Tesla, no action for close to 2 months.

Fsck artificial limitations.

 

[CHG-ON]

I haven't experienced the emboldened. It slows down a bit to handle curves and traffic but no speed changes based on posted speed. Is there a setting that I missed to make this occur?

Hmmm. Check your speed offset. If you are using auto pilot, not just TACC, it should slow when the limit lowers if you are not on a divided highway. My drive was on an undivided road (one lane each way, no barrier), where AP will not go above 5MPH higher than the posted limit with offset. Works every time for me.

 

[nctalkinghead]

I once had a boss who believed that every one of his employees should work 24/7 and never take a moment off! I am sorry that I cannot introduce him to AP because that is exactly how it functions IMHO. Although I am a cautious old fart driver, I occasionally lose focus for a moment or so and when I have AP engaged it is still paying attention. I have owned my AP Model S since 12/23/15 and have gone through the "hovering" stage to a trusting and more relaxed AP user.

 

[RogerHScott]

1. Better vehicle control when cresting hills or going through dips/valleys in the roadway.

I just gave AP its first serious workout today and this was the one problem that really stood out: unless the road is completely straight
and the lines on both sides are very clear, scary things can happen when you crest a hill. I assume this is because it can't "see" past
the top of the hill, so it is "guessing" about what's just on the other side. I think this is closely related to:

4. Better vehicle control when passing through intersections--particularly curved intersections with no lane markers in the intersection..

which I've also noticed. It seems to get "lost" in these situations and desperately "grabs hold of" the first line that it can see. I wish
it would just assume (when it can't "see" [enough]) that the road ahead is going to be basically like the last road it saw, until it sees
evidence to the contrary. If this problem only occurred at full-on intersections -- where the driver should be paying a lot of attention
anyway -- I wouldn't mind so much, but I was driving along a limited-access highway yesterday that has few actual intersections but
quite a few places where side roads T into it and every one of those Ts caused AP to lose its grip to some extent -- not to a dangerous
extent, but unnerving.

3. Stop light recognition so I don't have to disengage autopilot when approaching a stoplight and am the first in line. (Yes, I know it's "intended" for highway use).

+1, though this is definitely in the "enhancement" rather than "bug fix" category. But boy would this make TACC more useful, which,
for me, at least, has a knock-on benefit: I don't care for how sudden the deceleration of full regenerative braking is, so for now I'm
only using the "lite" mode. If I could use TACC most of the time in in-town traffic (without having to constantly turn it off and back on
when I just happen to be the first one at a light or stop sign) then I'd be happy to leave regeneration in full mode and let the car handle
the speed control (and save some energy in the process).

My other enhancement request for AP is I'd like to be able to adjust how rapidly it make course corrections and smooth that out a little.
Right now, as others have pointed out, it can be a little too much like driving with a nervous teenager.

 

[RogerHScott]

Something else I've noticed which, on one hand, is kind of alarming but, on the other hand, is unlikely to matter in the current
recommended usage only on divided highways is that it doesn't read yellow speed limits such as for curves (!) or for construction.
It is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when it recognizes numerous white signs prior to blithely ignoring a big yellow
SLOW THE HELL DOWN! sign.