Auto high beams still comically bad

[rubyred]

I’ve seen lots of incidental reports from folks saying auto high beams are dramatically improved recently (I think from .40 on?), but having just come from 36.20 to 44.25.5, I’m not seeing it. At all.

I do agree the behavior is different — I think it’s being more respectful of other traffic and turning the high beams off earlier and more reliably. But I traveled a dark country road last night with no traffic, and they were toggling between low and high every 5-10 seconds with zero traffic around. It’s hard to say what was causing them to go low, but if I had to guess, it was signage reflections. Aggravating at best, dangerous at worst.

Anyone else having this experience? It’s hilarious that I’m jealous of the great auto high beams in my partner’s Ford.

 

[astrobill]

Concur. They're awful.

The fact that Tesla forces auto-headlights to be on when on Autopilot is ridiculous. Maybe Tesla's programmers could spend more time improving them as opposed to better "fart apps" and "light show scheduling".

By the way, the auto-high-beams on our Volvo XC40 all-electric are significantly better. Volvo just quietly does a better job on all this stuff without a fuss.

Also, the insane number of "bug release" fixes that drop after every significant Tesla software update is also ridiculous. If one needs a dozen "bug fix" releases for every planned software drop, then one's software development and testing processes stink.

 

[MY1stEV]

It’s hard to say what was causing them to go low, but if I had to guess, it was signage reflections.

I've noticed that they automatically go low when your speed drops below 25 mph. This is most noticeable in my neighborhood, where the speed limit is 25 mph but the roads are a little hilly so my speed is frequently crossing back and forth over this threshold.

 

[rubyred]

I've noticed that they automatically go low when your speed drops below 25 mph. This is most noticeable in my neighborhood, where the speed limit is 25 mph but the roads are a little hilly so my speed is frequently crossing back and forth over this threshold.

Interesting - what version are you on? I was pulling into my driveway last night and noticed they stayed on (this was like 5-10 mph).

 

[MY1stEV]

2022.44.25.3

 

[Rice&Curry]

Concur. They're awful.

The fact that Tesla forces auto-headlights to be on when on Autopilot is ridiculous. Maybe Tesla's programmers could spend more time improving them as opposed to better "fart apps" and "light show scheduling".

By the way, the auto-high-beams on our Volvo XC40 all-electric are significantly better. Volvo just quietly does a better job on all this stuff without a fuss.

Also, the insane number of "bug release" fixes that drop after every significant Tesla software update is also ridiculous. If one needs a dozen "bug fix" releases for every planned software drop, then one's software development and testing processes stink.

I agree, that the level of bugs per release is very high. Looks like they are not exhaustively testing the release with all the code branches thoroughly. May be they need to reduce the number of releases per year ( except for safety critical releases) and ensure that each release does not have these many bugs and issues/ features not working.

 

[OxBrew]

I agree, that the level of bugs per release is very high. Looks like they are not exhaustively testing the release with all the code branches thoroughly. May be they need to reduce the number of releases per year ( except for safety critical releases) and ensure that each release does not have these many bugs and issues/ features not working.

Or, you know, use an actual regression bucket? I don't code, but my SIL does, and I've shown him some of the regressions that have happened just in the last 14 months. He is apoplectic. Absolutely nothing about any of this is how any of this is supposed to work.

And back to the OT, yes, auto headlights became useless again. I had a couple trips when they were better than not using them, but last night they were back to their old ways. Spent a lot of time repeatedly turning them off on the 6 hour drive home in the dark.

 

[arbitrage000]

Concur. They're awful.

The fact that Tesla forces auto-headlights to be on when on Autopilot is ridiculous. Maybe Tesla's programmers could spend more time improving them as opposed to better "fart apps" and "light show scheduling".

By the way, the auto-high-beams on our Volvo XC40 all-electric are significantly better. Volvo just quietly does a better job on all this stuff without a fuss.

Also, the insane number of "bug release" fixes that drop after every significant Tesla software update is also ridiculous. If one needs a dozen "bug fix" releases for every planned software drop, then one's software development and testing processes stink.

Once you engage AP you can just tap the high beam stalk away from you and the Auto Highbeams are off for the duration of AP staying active. Yes if you change lanes and need to reengage you will need to tap the stalk forward again.

 

[Unclepaul]

My refreshed Model X work pretty well. Then have been improved lately with recent updates.
They work pretty well, but not perfect.

 

[astrobill]

Once you engage AP you can just tap the high beam stalk away from you and the Auto Highbeams are off for the duration of AP staying active. Yes if you change lanes and need to reengage you will need to tap the stalk forward again.

Yes....thus forcing the driver into yet another mandatory monitoring and action task they didn't ask for.

The need to manually shut off the poor-performing "auto high beams" every time one engages Autopilot is similar to many other features of Tesla's "Autopilot"...it doesn't really reduce driver workload as much as shift your focus to *different* attention tasks.

Another great example is Tesla's poor model for lane-keeping assistance. With almost every other modern car (including my Volvo XC40 Recharge all-electric) the lane keeping assistance *stays on* when you have it turned on, turning off only briefly when you signal and complete a lane change and re-engaging when you're done. Heck, even the Ford Focus I rented before buying the Model Y in 2020 behaved that way. It was helpful and effortless.

In contrast, anytime a driver makes a lane change in a non-"FSD" Tesla, "Autopilot's" lane-keeping turns off permanently, forcing drivers to remember to put it back on. That's just forcing drivers into a different, unnecessary, attention task. The only way to get this behavior to change in a Tesla is to purchase some additional level of features, such as "FSD" to allow lane-changes on Autopilot. However, that forces drivers to also turn on a lot the additional "FSD" features that one may not want (or trust).

To add to Tesla's dangerous decision making, they've repeatedly shrunk the blue "Autopilot engaged" steering wheel icon to an almost un-seeable tiny little size at the top, so it's easy to forget whether it's on or not. It's totally nuts.

Tesla's programmers appear to be a bunch of fresh-out-of-college 20-somethings with no human interface, controls engineering, or symbolic logic training or experience whatsoever. In the 2.5 years I've owned the Tesla, not once have I ever seen a survey or been asked for feedback on any of it. They just wing it. But sure guys...keep improving the "fart app"....*eye roll thumbs up*.

 

[Yippydog]

It would be nice if Tesla would just, dare I say it, give enhanced autopilot, for FREE
Maybe tweets to the big guy are in order

 

[archae86]

I've noticed that they automatically go low when your speed drops below 25 mph. This is most noticeable in my neighborhood, where the speed limit is 25 mph but the roads are a little hilly so my speed is frequently crossing back and forth over this threshold.

The behavior I see differs from that. There is indeed a threshold at 25 mph. But it is sticky. In other words, Once I've got high beams enabled by being over 25 mph for just a moment, the high beams stay active until something (usually a detected car) causes them to go low. Once low they won't go back high again until another moment above 25.

This goes back at least a couple of releases, and I see it currently on 2022.44.25.5.

The entrance road to my development has a 25 mph limit. Once I learned this beam behavior I've been able to get the high beams on in the entrance road, and they usually stay high all the way until they turn low in response to reflected light from my garage door. I like this, as our streets have no lights, some curves, and some slight ups and downs, and the matric low beams on my new 3 are much less able to give me good vision for these streets than the highs, even after I adjust them up about 14 ticks.

 

[SalisburySam]

Gee, the auto high beams on v2022.20.8 work pretty well, and are not mandated whilst using AP. Another reason for me to stay on this version, as if I needed one.

 

[TLej]

Yes....thus forcing the driver into yet another mandatory monitoring and action task they didn't ask for.

The need to manually shut off the poor-performing "auto high beams" every time one engages Autopilot is similar to many other features of Tesla's "Autopilot"...it doesn't really reduce driver workload as much as shift your focus to *different* attention tasks.

Another great example is Tesla's poor model for lane-keeping assistance. With almost every other modern car (including my Volvo XC40 Recharge all-electric) the lane keeping assistance *stays on* when you have it turned on, turning off only briefly when you signal and complete a lane change and re-engaging when you're done. Heck, even the Ford Focus I rented before buying the Model Y in 2020 behaved that way. It was helpful and effortless.

In contrast, anytime a driver makes a lane change in a non-"FSD" Tesla, "Autopilot's" lane-keeping turns off permanently, forcing drivers to remember to put it back on. That's just forcing drivers into a different, unnecessary, attention task. The only way to get this behavior to change in a Tesla is to purchase some additional level of features, such as "FSD" to allow lane-changes on Autopilot. However, that forces drivers to also turn on a lot the additional "FSD" features that one may not want (or trust).

To add to Tesla's dangerous decision making, they've repeatedly shrunk the blue "Autopilot engaged" steering wheel icon to an almost un-seeable tiny little size at the top, so it's easy to forget whether it's on or not. It's totally nuts.

Tesla's programmers appear to be a bunch of fresh-out-of-college 20-somethings with no human interface, controls engineering, or symbolic logic training or experience whatsoever. In the 2.5 years I've owned the Tesla, not once have I ever seen a survey or been asked for feedback on any of it. They just wing it. But sure guys...keep improving the "fart app"....*eye roll thumbs up*.

A cruise control that doesn't turn the windshield wipers on would be nice as well.

 

[Metralla]

I see comments about the auto headlights, but mine are great. They dip later than I would in some situations, but never flash or dazzle anybody.

I don't know how much of this is odd differences between cars vs tolerance for actions that differ from the driver's normal intentions. Similar I suppose to reactions about FSD.

BTW the auto wipers work better than any of my previous cars- and like those, air currents will keep the rain sensor from getting fine mist while the main viewing part of the screen is obscured.

 

[Supcom]

To add to Tesla's dangerous decision making, they've repeatedly shrunk the blue "Autopilot engaged" steering wheel icon to an almost un-seeable tiny little size at the top, so it's easy to forget whether it's on or not. It's totally nuts.

How can you forget whether AP is on?

 

[SDRick]

My auto high beams work just about perfectly. I really can't remember when they needed to be overridden.

 

[astrobill]

It would be nice if Tesla would just, dare I say it, give enhanced autopilot, for FREE
Maybe tweets to the big guy are in order

Elon Musk isn't paying attention to Tesla-related tweets anymore. He's busy baselessly accusing Twitter employees of pedophilia, forcing entire families to flee their homes for fear of their personal safety as his army of online stalkers makes death threats against them.

 

[astrobill]

How can you forget whether AP is on?

Happens to people all the time.

In fact, the reason Tesla was forced to add the single "ding" and double "ding" method of distinguishing between cruise control (TACC) only mode and full lane-keeping Autopilot was due to some accidents in Asia, and at least one vehicle owner sued because it wasn't clear to them which level of Autopilot was engaged because the old method didn't distinguish between TACC-only and lane-keeping ("Autosteer" in Tesla parlance).

Then there was the big recall in China for the same issue. This was all pretty well publicized.

It's very easy to forget Autosteer lane-keeping was turned off due to a lange change. If one is driving on a mostly straight highway for hours at a time and has to do a single lane change which turns it off, t could be hundreds of yards before one realizes you never turned lane keeping back on. That's especially true especially if you have other vehicles in your household, because almost all of the other ones work that way.

Or, if one is dense traffic, you'll be reminded you forgot to turn AP back on when you veer into another car and Tesla's awful "corrective steering" algorithms don't really do anything. That's why almost every other automaker turns their version of lane-keeping assistance back on after a lange change.

I'm pretty sure that decades of human factors engineering expertise and automotive experience went into the practice used by the other manufacturers, and logically, it just seems to make common sense, honestly.

By your logic, Tesla never needed the big blue steering wheel icon or chimes of any kind or any indication either level of Autopilot is on at all because drivers will just..."remember", right? That doesn't pass the common sense test in my view.

Tesla rolls out Traffic-Aware Cruise Control chime to make its vehicles even safer

Tesla’s driver-assist system just became safer, with the company adding a chime when Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) is engaged or disengaged. With the new feature in place, drivers would likely be more aware of their vehicles’ active features at a given time. “You will now receive an audio...

www.teslarati.com

My auto high beams work just about perfectly. I really can't remember when they needed to be overridden.

You're in a minority. This site and others is dense with people complaining about them worldwide. Would be interesting to compare the typical routes and situations you typically encounter compared to the legions of people who detest the auto-high-beams and find them constantly turning on and off through certain turns, under overpasses bridges, tunnels, etc.

 

[nurusz]

How can I change the language of the Android Tesla app? I have default English language