AP in 8.0

[brucet999]

Thank you for posting that, very helpful.

I have a question about something I see in your recent AP videos that I don't recall anyone else commenting on: I see frequently colored dots appearing on your display, they appear to start from the upper right or left corner of the display and arc downward toward the bottom in the center. Are they reflections from street lights? Thanks.

I saw those "meteorites" too, then noticed that the car's lights are on, so he's driving at night, and those would be reflections of sodium vapor street lights.

 

[mhan00]

Appreciate the info. Looks like there was a lot of preemptive wailing and complaining about "OMG the new nags will RUIN Autopilot and remove functionality that I PAID FOR" that is looking a little foolish right now. so far, it's looking like it was smartly handled by Tesla and the flashing border is a great addition that is easily noticed unless the driver is just completely not paying attention to what's in front of him at all.

 

[mach.89]

I just did a quick video to show an instance of the interval of nag also shows what happens when you ignore the BEEPS.

Sorry if this has been talked about already, I did a search and found nothing. But after watching the video I'm scratching my head about something. Prior to 8.0, after ignoring the nags enough times I believe the car would eventually slow to a stop and put the hazards on. Now I'm seeing from the video that ignoring long enough forces you to take over steering and disables auto-steer till the car is placed in Park. So if you have a seizure, heart attack, etc, you no longer have that safety feature? Just seems like they had a good idea with the original behavior and now a safety feature has been replaced with a different safety feature due to people not adhering to Tesla's instructions to hold the wheel. Maybe I'm missing something.

And to the OP, awesome report, so excited to try 8.0 when I finally get the update message.

 

[MP3Mike]

I'm assuming that it will still turn the hazard lights on and slowly slow down to a stop if you don't respond to the final warning.

Anybody with 8.0 up to test that for us?

 

[mhan00]

Sorry if this has been talked about already, I did a search and found nothing. But after watching the video I'm scratching my head about something. Prior to 8.0, after ignoring the nags enough times I believe the car would eventually slow to a stop and put the hazards on. Now I'm seeing from the video that ignoring long enough forces you to take over steering and disables auto-steer till the car is placed in Park. So if you have a seizure, heart attack, etc, you no longer have that safety feature? Just seems like they had a good idea with the original behavior and now a safety feature has been replaced with a different safety feature due to people not adhering to Tesla's instructions to hold the wheel. Maybe I'm missing something.

And to the OP, awesome report, so excited to try 8.0 when I finally get the update message.

Don't worry about it. Other people have said that the car actually does start to slow and autosteer stays active until you take over, iirc. So it's pretty safe to assume behavior stays the same in this situation, where the car will slow to a stop in the lane you're in if you completely ignore or are unable to respond to the warnings. I do wonder if the hazards turn on for you automatically in a situation like this. It makes sense for the car not to try to get to the side of the road or the shoulder since the sensors can't pick up on quickly overtaking cars and don't know if there is actually a safe place to pull over to, but hazards would seem like a no brainer here.

 

[mach.89]

I'm assuming that it will still turn the hazard lights on and slowly slow down to a stop if you don't respond to the final warning.

Anybody with 8.0 up to test that for us?

Right, makes sense... But I guess my point is that prior to 8.0 it will continue to stay in it's lane until it stops. But with 8.0, now you'll fly off the road if you happen upon a curve as it slows. Or, you crash into a car in another lane. hmmm... Maybe I'm overthinking this.


Edit:
mhann00- ahh... ok, so it sounds like auto-steer stays enabled until it stops. Answers my questions. thanks!

 

[donv]

Does 8.0 still have the 5mph over speed limit restriction on undivided roads?

Making that 10mph would really make it more useful.

 

[chillaban]

Does 8.0 still have the 5mph over speed limit restriction on undivided roads?

Making that 10mph would really make it more useful.

Still there. Now it's handled better though, engaging AutoSteer in a limited area also clamps TACC to the same speed. This way when you disengage Autosteer your car doesn't rocket forward unexpectedly.

You can still use TACC at whatever speed you want by manually adjusting it.

 

[chillaban]

Appreciate the info. Looks like there was a lot of preemptive wailing and complaining about "OMG the new nags will RUIN Autopilot and remove functionality that I PAID FOR" that is looking a little foolish right now. so far, it's looking like it was smartly handled by Tesla and the flashing border is a great addition that is easily noticed unless the driver is just completely not paying attention to what's in front of him at all.

Agreed. I just finished a 600 mile trip with 8.0, and I have to say, if you hit the AP lockout conditions, you should seriously re-evaluate how you are supervising AP and whether or not you're using it safely. Getting a beep every hour or two might be excusable, but there's no good excuse for hitting the lockout conditions.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Totally agreed. If you hit the lockout condition, perhaps you should not be driving.

 

[rog]

OK, here are my impressions after 2 days, 250 miles with AP 8.0 in highway as well as stop&go commute traffic:

1. Stop & Go traffic: AP is a lot smoother, more human-like driving. Definitely improved.
2. Highway traffic (+/- 70mph): no difference to 7.1 whatsoever. Still sways when losing one lane marking, still occasionally tries to follow cars when they exit.
3. Lane change: seems to work faster for me now compared to 7.1, the car seems to "think" less before it starts the maneuver.
4. The promised "turn signal detection" doesn't work. Ever. Had quite a number of scenarios today, and the car reacted as "surprised" as it did in 7.1 if a car cuts in, even with turn signal activated.
5. Lane change to exit: does not work. Ever. Tried a couple of times today, and it doesn't take the exit. Maybe it is better that way, since I am pretty sure that if it would work, the car would not start slowing down by itself... Which definitely defeats the purpose of this "feature".
6. See one car ahead: based on the display on the IC, it works fairly well for cars which are pretty close to the car directly in front of the Tesla. If there is a wider gap (I'd say more than maybe 20-30 feet), it doesn't seem to work (again, by judging the display). Thinking about it, I guess it makes sense - the angle for radar reflection gets more narrow the further the second car is from the first car, and hence the lower the probability of the Tesla radar catching a reflection back. I am not sure how effective it really is for AEB - it seems to allow for maybe another 20-30 feet of reaction time under ideal conditions. Certainly better than nothing, but it will never replace an alert driver being able to see ahead of the road.
7. Nags: subjective, but they seem to be more frequent. Nothing that gets me upset though.

Bottom line: I love the stop&go improvement (and that is big for me, as my commute consists of 75% of that traffic pattern). Other than that, there is not really a noticeable improvement compared to 7.1.

 

[cipherstream]

This is very good information guys - thanks for the reviews!

 

[ggnykk]

I have already seen like five videos on Youtube about people showing the performance of 8.0 autopilot. As someone already pointed out, some of the features promised by Tesla isn't really there, or it was implemented poorly. A few bad things I noticed:

1. autopilot still hug super close to some other cars occasionally
2. highway interchange is kind of scary and nerve wrecking. If the curve is too sharp, or the interchange is too complicated, you better take back control yourself. In fact, one video show the car almost crashed into the median, and the driver have to save himself from crashing.
3. some highway off-ramp is still taken at full speed, and doesn't slow down at all.
4. autopilot will sometimes go off the line and move into another lane if the curve is too sharp (probably because the car doesn't slow down enough before taking the curve, so it just overshoot to another lane in sharp curve)
5. autopilot's reaction to slowing traffic in the front is still kind of slow. Hard braking when the car get very close, instead of smooth and slow braking from a more comfortable distance.
6. if you have music or radio on, the volume of music/radio still doesn't tune down so the auto-pilot sounds can be heard. Good luck if autopilot is disengaged, and you didn't realize it.
7. when auto-pilot is dis-engaged, the audio sound is the same as before, although the driving wheel icon blink 3 times really fast. Personally, i don't think it is enough.
8. the auto-slow down before taking the curve kind of work most of the time. But judging from the video, the speed in which autopilot taking the curve is still way too fast for most people's comfort. Sometimes, you just never know if the car actually detect the curve coz its reaction is kind of slow and so last second.

Bottom line, just don't think the auto-pilot is smarter than human. For me, I would only use auto-pilot in wide open highway situations. And as Tesla recommends, Autopilot should never be used on local streets

 

[CTShore]

I have already seen like five videos on Youtube about people showing the performance of 8.0 autopilot. As someone already pointed out, some of the features promised by Tesla isn't really there, or it was implemented poorly. A few bad things I noticed:

1. autopilot still hug super close to some other cars occasionally
2. highway interchange is kind of scary and nerve wrecking. If the curve is too sharp, or the interchange is too complicated, you better take back control yourself. In fact, one video show the car almost crashed into the median, and the driver have to save himself from crashing.
3. some highway off-ramp is still taken at full speed, and doesn't slow down at all.
4. autopilot will sometimes go off the line and move into another lane if the curve is too sharp (probably because the car doesn't slow down enough before taking the curve, so it just overshoot to another lane in sharp curve)
5. autopilot's reaction to slowing traffic in the front is still kind of slow. Hard braking when the car get very close, instead of smooth and slow braking from a more comfortable distance.
6. if you have music or radio on, the volume of music/radio still doesn't tune down so the auto-pilot sounds can be heard. Good luck if autopilot is disengaged, and you didn't realize it.
7. when auto-pilot is dis-engaged, the audio sound is the same as before, although the driving wheel icon blink 3 times really fast. Personally, i don't think it is enough.
8. the auto-slow down before taking the curve kind of work most of the time. But judging from the video, the speed in which autopilot taking the curve is still way too fast for most people's comfort. Sometimes, you just never know if the car actually detect the curve coz its reaction is kind of slow and so last second.

Bottom line, just don't think the auto-pilot is smarter than human. For me, I would only use auto-pilot in wide open highway situations. And as Tesla recommends, Autopilot should never be used on local streets

#6. I've only done about 100 miles on 8.0 so far, but had a different experience. When my car was at highway speeds on AP, radio did tune down today when disengaging AP. So I tried it on slower local roads. It did not tune down. Appears that 45+ MPH speed limit & traveling on AP set at 45+ Is where I found the cutoff to be. Anyone else try this yet?

 

[shonline]

Well,

I have already seen like five videos on Youtube about people showing the performance of 8.0 autopilot. As someone already pointed out, some of the features promised by Tesla isn't really there, or it was implemented poorly. A few bad things I noticed:

1. autopilot still hug super close to some other cars occasionally
2. highway interchange is kind of scary and nerve wrecking. If the curve is too sharp, or the interchange is too complicated, you better take back control yourself. In fact, one video show the car almost crashed into the median, and the driver have to save himself from crashing.
3. some highway off-ramp is still taken at full speed, and doesn't slow down at all.
4. autopilot will sometimes go off the line and move into another lane if the curve is too sharp (probably because the car doesn't slow down enough before taking the curve, so it just overshoot to another lane in sharp curve)
5. autopilot's reaction to slowing traffic in the front is still kind of slow. Hard braking when the car get very close, instead of smooth and slow braking from a more comfortable distance.
6. if you have music or radio on, the volume of music/radio still doesn't tune down so the auto-pilot sounds can be heard. Good luck if autopilot is disengaged, and you didn't realize it.
7. when auto-pilot is dis-engaged, the audio sound is the same as before, although the driving wheel icon blink 3 times really fast. Personally, i don't think it is enough.
8. the auto-slow down before taking the curve kind of work most of the time. But judging from the video, the speed in which autopilot taking the curve is still way too fast for most people's comfort. Sometimes, you just never know if the car actually detect the curve coz its reaction is kind of slow and so last second.

Bottom line, just don't think the auto-pilot is smarter than human. For me, I would only use auto-pilot in wide open highway situations. And as Tesla recommends, Autopilot should never be used on local streets

I've not watched videos, but have actually driven the car on AP. Have you driven it yet?

1. I thought so too, until the car adjusted itself. I wish it would adjust sooner, but feel the perceived delay is more likely the result of where the sensors are on the car, vs where the other car is in the lane beside you.
5. I disagree. I find braking much sooner, and much, much, much smoother.
6. Again, I do not agree. The decrease in volume is rather jarring when it first happens, compared to 7.1.

I don't think it is smarter than a human either, nor does Tesla. But it is safer than a car without it.

 

[Apricot]

OK, here are my impressions after 2 days, 250 miles with AP 8.0 in highway as well as stop&go commute traffic:

1. Stop & Go traffic: AP is a lot smoother, more human-like driving. Definitely improved.
2. Highway traffic (+/- 70mph): no difference to 7.1 whatsoever. Still sways when losing one lane marking, still occasionally tries to follow cars when they exit.
3. Lane change: seems to work faster for me now compared to 7.1, the car seems to "think" less before it starts the maneuver.
4. The promised "turn signal detection" doesn't work. Ever. Had quite a number of scenarios today, and the car reacted as "surprised" as it did in 7.1 if a car cuts in, even with turn signal activated.
5. Lane change to exit: does not work. Ever. Tried a couple of times today, and it doesn't take the exit. Maybe it is better that way, since I am pretty sure that if it would work, the car would not start slowing down by itself... Which definitely defeats the purpose of this "feature".
6. See one car ahead: based on the display on the IC, it works fairly well for cars which are pretty close to the car directly in front of the Tesla. If there is a wider gap (I'd say more than maybe 20-30 feet), it doesn't seem to work (again, by judging the display). Thinking about it, I guess it makes sense - the angle for radar reflection gets more narrow the further the second car is from the first car, and hence the lower the probability of the Tesla radar catching a reflection back. I am not sure how effective it really is for AEB - it seems to allow for maybe another 20-30 feet of reaction time under ideal conditions. Certainly better than nothing, but it will never replace an alert driver being able to see ahead of the road.
7. Nags: subjective, but they seem to be more frequent. Nothing that gets me upset though.

Bottom line: I love the stop&go improvement (and that is big for me, as my commute consists of 75% of that traffic pattern). Other than that, there is not really a noticeable improvement compared to 7.1.

1. It does seem a little smoother. But 7.1 stop and go was already awesome.
2. I don't see much difference either. Maybe a bit smoother braking.
3. Agree.
4. Was this promised? Maybe 8.1. I have never had an issue with cars cutting in, but if it's really close I just brake myself without letting AP handle it.
5. Promised for 8.1.
6. AP seems to recognize a lot more cars (and motorbikes) out there. But I didn't notice that helping. Maybe a little less of the "car leaves lane, accelerate into the car in front" phenomenon.
7. I have not gotten a single pulsing nag. I don't go out of my way to jiggle the wheel. I usually just lightly hold it at 5 and 7 o'clock. Then again, I rarely got nags in 7.1.

My issues:
- I did have a couple of situations where AP put me very close to a wall, and once it got stuck on the right edge of a lane.
- Also, AP is still way more comfortable than I am with drifting to the outside of a lane on curves.
- it still sort of sways when one side of the lane is not read.

Other than my issues, AP is still awesome. All in all 8.0 is not life changing, but seems smoother, and I can see the potential of the radar.

 

[rog]

4. Was this promised? Maybe 8.1. I have never had an issue with cars cutting in, but if it's really close I just brake myself without letting AP handle it.

Yes, that was promised for 8.0:

• Improved cut-in detection using blinker on vehicle ahead

5. Promised for 8.1.

No, that was promised for 8.0 too:

• Will take highway exit if indicator on (8.0) or if nav system active (8.1). Available in the United States initially

 

[wcalvin]

Tesla's method of detecting hand-on-wheel is presumably the slight drag when the Autosteering makes a small change in wheel angle. But if you are on a straight stretch of road, it may not make any little moves for you to resist in the timeout interval.

So I make the habit of manually re-centering the car within the lane every minute--just little tweaks well short of popping out of Autosteer.

 

[Apricot]

Yes, that was promised for 8.0:

• Improved cut-in detection using blinker on vehicle ahead

No, that was promised for 8.0 too:

• Will take highway exit if indicator on (8.0) or if nav system active (8.1). Available in the United States initially

These look familiar, but I can't find where you're getting these?

This post with release notes does not list either one: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/goto/post?id=1750675#post-1750675

 

[andyaycw]

I received the 8.0 update this morning and tested it for a few miles. First impressions seem to be consistent with everyone else, and was pleasantly surprised:

• Stop and go traffic is much smoother and more human-like. When the car in front slowed, so did my car, and significantly more smoothly than in 7.1.

• On the flip side, the car seemed to overreact when a car in my right lane made an illegal lane change over double yellows into my carpool lane. There was plenty of room, so I left AP enabled to see how it would handle a car cutting in, and it seemed to have a bit of a delay in the sense that (1) it hit the brakes relatively hard, and (2) it only hit the brakes after the car in front of me had fully entered my lane and began accelerating away. I don't think the car behind me was very pleased with the unnecessary braking. I'll continue to monitor, but I'm hoping this is just a one-off glitch

• AP below 18mph can now detect lanes. In 7.1, the car seemed to have the requirement to be going at a minimum 18mph in order to detect the lanes to center itself. Below 18mph with AP enabled, the car would track the vehicle in front but would often drift either too far left or too far right. This is no longer the case in 8.0, as the car was able to detect lane markers at speeds well below 10mph, allowing for a significantly improved driver experience in stop and go traffic as I no longer have to constantly "fight" the car by applying torque to have it centered in my lane if going <18mph with AP enabled.
• Auto lane change seems to be noticeably quicker
• The new maps auto zoom feature is something I love. I thought it would be odd, but I got used to it in no time. When I'm on the freeway, it zooms out so I can the major freeways, and when I take a freeway off ramp, it zooms in so that I can see individual street names.

Overall, so far very pleased with the new changes.