AP in heavy rain

[joebiker25]

The SF Bay Area was hit by a heavy winter rain storm yesterday and I had the pleasure of driving through it on my way home. I was leery of using my AP 1.0 but after about 15 minutes of stop and go annoyance, decided to turn it on. Much to my pleasant surprise, despite the high winds and heavy rain, AP performed perfectly. I did increase my following distance and stayed only +5 over the speed limit.
It only takes a few minutes of "manual" driving in heavy traffic to realize how awesome and stress relieving AP really is...despite its imperfections.

 

[calisnow]

I have been super impressed with AP 1.0 in the rain - far better performance than I would have expected.

 

[Hazelwood]

Funny, my AutoSteer was mostly disabled yesterday on the way home in the rain yesterday. It would become available sporadically, but once enabled (during that brief moment it became available) it would stay on. I'd say it wasn't available for 90% of my drive home due to rain.

 

[rhumbliner]

I was hit by a downpour in Chicago this past summer. It was so heavy that I was just barely able to see the lane markers. I didn't try using AP but I did use the TACC and it worked superbly. After several similar heavy rain experiences I now trust the forward looking radar more than my own eyeballs.

 

[green1]

The manual does specifically say not to use it in those conditions (just like any cruise control system ever made)
That said, if it is heavy traffic, it will probably do ok, on the open road, not as much.

 

[Steveb48]

This may be voodoo but in rainy conditions, turning on my defroster seems to make auto steer more available.

 

[green1]

This may be voodoo but in rainy conditions, turning on my defroster seems to make auto steer more available.

defroster also helps keep the camera clear, so it makes sense.

 

[MG1234]

I noticed similar results using the defroster.

I also noticed voodoo where deactivating TACC then reactivating it seemed to similarly allow enabling Autosteer when it was not coming back.

 

[Modeler]

Funny, my AutoSteer was mostly disabled yesterday on the way home in the rain yesterday. It would become available sporadically, but once enabled (during that brief moment it became available) it would stay on. I'd say it wasn't available for 90% of my drive home due to rain.

The difference is likely due to the speed you were driving compared to the OP. He was in a stop-and-go traffic where AP relies more on the position of vehicles around you and in front of you. If you are driving on an empty highway, the rain is likely to obscure lane markings. Which is what I also experienced driving in heavy rain yesterday.

 

[green1]

The difference is likely due to the speed you were driving compared to the OP. He was in a stop-and-go traffic where AP relies more on the position of vehicles around you and in front of you. If you are driving on an empty highway, the rain is likely to obscure lane markings. Which is what I also experienced driving in heavy rain yesterday.

yeah, that's basically what I was trying to say

That said, if it is heavy traffic, it will probably do ok, on the open road, not as much.

 

[Hazelwood]

Actually not sure it was speed, though doesn't seem like a hardware issue either. It's more luck of the draw. Same problem today, light mist tonight in stop and go traffic. While I know it's programmatic, it feels random.

 

[boonedocks]

Funny, my AutoSteer was mostly disabled yesterday on the way home in the rain yesterday. It would become available sporadically, but once enabled (during that brief moment it became available) it would stay on. I'd say it wasn't available for 90% of my drive home due to rain.

Ditto "" Before the my last update that fubar'ed AutoPilot usability, I could activate AP in the rain with no problems. Last Monday on a 65 mile drive in the rain from the Atlanta Airport it wasn't available for quite a while. Once it flashed I enabled it quickly and it ran quite well without interruption even in worse rain downpours once activated...

 

[Hazelwood]

Yeah that's exactly what I did...Grab it while i could.