Auto Pilot Comes Close to Freeway Divider

[Jbequer]

Is it normal for AutoPilot to go very close to freeway divider wall? There are times when the divider is close to the left yellow line and the AutoPilot comes within inches from the cement barrier . Why doesn't it move more to the right where there is plenty of room. I have had to grab the wheel quickly to move to the right. The thing is, it feels like it will hit the divider if not corrected.
The cameras have been calibrated and still acts funny around close barriers. The other day it was moving so close to the yellow line, that it was rolling over the lane markers and stayed there for a bit before correcting itself? This has been making me nervous lately.

I have noticed that it happens at over 60 MPH. It seems like it doesn't adjust fast enough at higher speeds, to the point that i think it WILL hit the barrier.

Is this something i need to put in a service request for or is it normal behavior?

 

[Dewg]

Two things to check:

1) Is your car driving in the center of the lane? It should always drive in the center, and not shift around or hug one side of the lane or the other.
2) Does the visualization show the car is centered in the lane when it's not physically? This could indicate a camera problem.

Another issue that could be causing problems at higher speed would be an alignment problem - if you drive manually at 60+MPH on a straight, level road, and let go of the wheel, does the car pull left or right?

Personally, I'd open a service ticket and have the car checked out. Report to the tech the answers to the above questions to help them narrow in.

 

[Tronguy]

I've had Lanekeep get close to the concrete barriers, but, as @Dewg stated, the car stays in the center of the lane. The "close" occurs when there's narrow lanes in construction areas.

 

[2101Guy]

If you are talking about the jersey wall barriers, I'd suggest using extreme caution. There is at least one Sentry Mode/Dashcam clip somewhere on the web that shows AP or FSD or FSDB or FSDb or FSDBb or FSDB(b) sideswiping a jersey wall. Drivers side if I recall. Doing "the worst possible thing at the worst possible time" (but yet "safer than a human driver")

 

[Jbequer]

1- The car shows that its hugging the left side very close to wall. Usually happens as the road turns to the right, the car wants to go straight, not adjusting in time. Normally it does stay in the center when the cement barrier is further away from the yellow line. It's almost like the barrier is more of an attraction like a magnet instead of the car pushing away from it.

2-It does show that it is close to the barrier and even shows the yellow symbol on left of car actually turns red. It just does't correct as needed?

Alignment seems fine. Does not pull and stays on course if not in Autopilot.

I think i will open a ticket just so they can check things out.

Thank you.

 

[Jbequer]

If you are talking about the jersey wall barriers, I'd suggest using extreme caution. There is at least one Sentry Mode/Dashcam clip somewhere on the web that shows AP or FSD or FSDB or FSDb or FSDBb or FSDB(b) sideswiping a jersey wall. Drivers side if I recall. Doing "the worst possible thing at the worst possible time" (but yet "safer than a human driver")

This is in California, LA area on different freeways. 101 especially going west after passing Topanga where cement barrier gets close to the lane.
So strange, like i said earlier, it feels like the car is being sucked into the wall. Instead of the car correcting itself, it seems to want to go towards the wall. The other day, testing it very early , no traffic and i let it go until it got about 6 inches way and it never corrected itself, i had to take over.
I was going about 65 mph.

 

[Supcom]

1- The car shows that its hugging the left side very close to wall. Usually happens as the road turns to the right, the car wants to go straight, not adjusting in time. Normally it does stay in the center when the cement barrier is further away from the yellow line. It's almost like the barrier is more of an attraction like a magnet instead of the car pushing away from it.

2-It does show that it is close to the barrier and even shows the yellow symbol on left of car actually turns red. It just does't correct as needed?

Alignment seems fine. Does not pull and stays on course if not in Autopilot.

I think i will open a ticket just so they can check things out.

Thank you.

It's the high strength magnetic forces generated by the motors being pulled toward the steel rebar embedded in the barrier.

Same effect that seems to cause my windshield to be hit more often by rocks than any other car I've owned. Trace amounts of iron in the rocks are pulled slightly downward toward the motors.

Seriously, if your car is otherwise properly centering itself in the lane, there's unlikely to be anything for the service center to fix. You could try recalibrating your cameras, but, as you say, the car centers itself under normal conditions. SC will likely tell you that its a software issue that will be corrected in a future update.

I have noticed that NOA/AP has a noticeable latency in steering. Normally, this is not an issue since interstates have gentle turns. But, when there is construction, sometimes the lanes will do a bit of serpentine with barriers around a work zone. The car's latency causes it to come uncomfortably close to the barrier. I usually take over in these areas. Maybe you have a similar situation?

 

[Dewg]

This is in California, LA area on different freeways. 101 especially going west after passing Topanga where cement barrier gets close to the lane.
So strange, like i said earlier, it feels like the car is being sucked into the wall. Instead of the car correcting itself, it seems to want to go towards the wall. The other day, testing it very early , no traffic and i let it go until it got about 6 inches way and it never corrected itself, i had to take over.
I was going about 65 mph.

What @2101Guy was referring to is called a "Jersey Barrier", in California it's called a "K-Rail". He wasn't referring to New Jersey.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Your perception of your proximity to the barrier may be off because you‘re sitting on the left side of the car. Chances are the car wouldn’t hit the barrier, but if it’s too close for comfort, you should take over.

 

[Jbequer]

Your perception of your proximity to the barrier may be off because you‘re sitting on the left side of the car. Chances are the car wouldn’t hit the barrier, but if it’s too close for comfort, you should take over.

Trust me, it's way too close for comfort, especially with the wife covering her head getting ready for impact. She basically said she would not ride in the car if i used autopilot when in the carpool lane in that area. Everywhere else it works fine.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

s it normal for AutoPilot to go very close to freeway divider wall? There are times when the divider is close to the left yellow line and the AutoPilot comes within inches from the cement barrier

This is in California, LA area on different freeways. 101 especially going west after passing Topanga where cement barrier gets close to the lane.

Yes, this is not surprising.

As was mentioned, cars on Autopilot have hit the walls in such scenarios. For the most part it is just a lane-line following device, so if you see the K-rail jut out, as they do in some places especially on tighter LA freeways, exercise extreme caution and either disengage or avoid traveling in that lane. Sometimes there is extremely low clearance and it could definitely hit the wall.

 

[Jbequer]

Yes, this is not surprising.

As was mentioned, cars on Autopilot have hit the walls in such scenarios. For the most part it is just a lane-line following device, so if you see the K-rail jut out, as they do in some places especially on tighter LA freeways, exercise extreme caution and either disengage or avoid traveling in that lane. Sometimes there is extremely low clearance and it could definitely hit the wall.

You would think that the car would notice the wall being so close and push away from it. It's like it wants to follow the lines but doesn't notice a wall, strange. The the car even shows an object being close so it highlights the sensor lines red and doesn't move away.
Strange thing also is that one day it was on top of the left yellow lane running over the markers and took a good 10 sec before adjusting?

I just heard from a friend who has a Tesla that says this is very common. His does some crazy things at times. Autopilot need some work for sure.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

It's like it wants to follow the lines but doesn't notice a wall, strange.

Yeah it just follows lines AFAICT. This will probably become more sophisticated at some point but it depends on the capabilities of state-of-the-art neural networks, where no one knows what is possible yet.

Be careful! I bet if you drive it enough in the worst-case situations it will hit the wall. Just have to make it happen.

 

[Jbequer]

I just got an email from Tesla postponing my appointment from Sept 5 Sept 14. They said they need more time to diagnose the issue.
Is this something they can see remotely even if I never sent a video or a car report to them?

 

[Jbequer]

If i were to want to send a bug report about this issue, how do i go about doing so?

I know they can see things remotely, but what if i never sent anything to them? Can they still see when the car alarms in certain situations? Like getting close to barriers and such while in Autopilot?

 

[EVRider-FL]

When something happens, you can use the “bug report” voice command. This creates a snapshot of your system that Tesla Service can use for diagnosis. The bug report won’t go anywhere unless you follow up with service. There’s no other mechanism for reporting bugs other than contacting Tesla Support.

I don’t know if Tesla has access to things like obstacle warnings, but I’m pretty sure they’re not monitoring that data in real time.

 

[Jbequer]

When something happens, you can use the “bug report” voice command. This creates a snapshot of your system that Tesla Service can use for diagnosis. The bug report won’t go anywhere unless you follow up with service. There’s no other mechanism for reporting bugs other than contacting Tesla Support.

I don’t know if Tesla has access to things like obstacle warnings, but I’m pretty sure they’re not monitoring that data in real time.

Why would they postpone my appointment saying that they need to further diagnose the issue when i haven't sent them a bug report? That is why i think they can access previous issues with the car.

 

[hgmichna]

I also observe this behavior when there is no white line between the lane and the barrier. The autopilot drives fairly close to the barrier, less than one meter, approx. 3 ft, perhaps only 2 ft.

I have experimented with this several times and suspect that the autopilot is using the ultrasonic sensors to keep a precise distance. In a tight lane, like in a construction zone, this is actually very convenient. I like it, apart from not feeling safe.

There are a few problems with this kind of automated driving. The biggest problem is that the ultrasonic sensors cannot look ahead. If something sticks out from the barrier or if there is a sudden bend, the car could not possibly react in time, based on the ultrasonic signal. I cannot tell whether the cameras would pick up such corners in the barrier, but I suspect not. I remember a video of one potential or real accident where there was a protruding column, and the autopilot either scratched it, or the driver took evasive action at the last moment.

Another problem is that, if a car on the opposite side comes too close, the car has very little leeway to avoid a collision and could only brake hard, which has its own problems.

Yet another problem is that Tesla says not to use the autopilot in a construction zone for a reason. The autopilot easily gets confused by a mixture of differently colored lines and painted areas.

In short, my recommendation is, if you try this, remain extremely attentive and continuously watch out for (a) any bends or protrusions in the barrier, (b) any lines painted on your lane, and (c) any cars in the neighboring lane that do not behave perfectly. Whenever you spot even the slightest potential problem, instantly take over and steer manually. Do not take any unnecessary risks.

 

[Jbequer]

I also observe this behavior when there is no white line between the lane and the barrier. The autopilot drives fairly close to the barrier, less than one meter, approx. 3 ft, perhaps only 2 ft.

I have experimented with this several times and suspect that the autopilot is using the ultrasonic sensors to keep a precise distance. In a tight lane, like in a construction zone, this is actually very convenient. I like it, apart from not feeling safe.

There are a few problems with this kind of automated driving. The biggest problem is that the ultrasonic sensors cannot look ahead. If something sticks out from the barrier or if there is a sudden bend, the car could not possibly react in time, based on the ultrasonic signal. I cannot tell whether the cameras would pick up such corners in the barrier, but I suspect not. I remember a video of one potential or real accident where there was a protruding column, and the autopilot either scratched it, or the driver took evasive action at the last moment.

Another problem is that, if a car on the opposite side comes too close, the car has very little leeway to avoid a collision and could only brake hard, which has its own problems.

Yet another problem is that Tesla says not to use the autopilot in a construction zone for a reason. The autopilot easily gets confused by a mixture of differently colored lines and painted areas.

In short, my recommendation is, if you try this, remain extremely attentive and continuously watch out for (a) any bends or protrusions in the barrier, (b) any lines painted on your lane, and (c) any cars in the neighboring lane that do not behave perfectly. Whenever you spot even the slightest potential problem, instantly take over and steer manually. Do not take any unnecessary risks.

Great feedback..
I have been avoiding lanes where the barriers are very close to the yellow line.
I really like the Autopilot feature on normal roads with clearly painted lines, it works as expected. Autopilot has come a long way but definitely needs some things worked out.
I'm curious as to what service will do if anything. The cameras have already been recalibrated.

 

[Dewg]

AP should be staying dead center of the lane. What's concerning me is that your car is drifting in the lane and driving close to the left side of the lane, bringing you close to the k-rail.