Auto steer question

[rsk12]

Hi group
I got my 2018 MS 75D 3 weeks ago and I took my first road trip of about 245 mi this weekend,
I had one super charger stop on the way. I pulled into the super charger and plugged into a random one not realizing that the supercharges are numbered and I would get less power if I plug it in a charger who pair is already in use. So did not do that on my way back.
I also tried auto steer for the first time. While the auto steer was engaged, a message would pop up asking me to hold he steering wheel every 5 or so minutes. Does it mean that while auto steer is engaged we are expected to have our hands on the wheel. If i dont obey that order, it then pops up another message saying that auto steer is not available anymore for that drive and he car starts slowing down, Is this the way it is supposed to work?

Thanks
rsk

 

[cmal]

Auto steer is definitely meant to only be used when you have your hands on the wheel and are paying attention to the road. Think of it as more of an advanced cruise control feature than a self-driving feature.

If you really need a reason to keep your hands on the wheel, it looks like the recent fatal accident involving a Model X happened when autopilot was engaged and the driver had ignored warnings to keep his hands on the wheel.
An Update on Last Week’s Accident

 

[GatorGuy]

The car is telling you to hold the wheel and you question if you need to hold the wheel?

 

[DFibRL8R]

To the OP, yes you need to hold the wheel. The car does not require a constant hold but as you note it will periodically remind you if it detects no hands on the wheel. From experience, if you have a light touch on the wheel, it may not be enough for the car to sense your hands are on so you could still get the reminder even if your hands are on the wheel. I just give the wheel a slight wiggle when that happens to keep the car happy. As stated, this is a safety issue. If you loose consciousness while on autopilot/autpsteer, the car should eventually come to a stop with no inputs from the driver. This is not meant as a criticism of the OP, but I find it interesting (concerning) that a new Tesla driver did not adequately receive this important information at delivery or internalize it in all the warnings that have to be accepted when the autosteer system is activated. Just an observation.

 

[rsk12]

The car is telling you to hold the wheel and you question if you need to hold the wheel?

Lol.. that was not my intention. May be I did not articulate my question properly. Any below is my experience.

 

[rsk12]

To the OP, yes you need to hold the wheel. The car does not require a constant hold but as you note it will periodically remind you if it detects no hands on the wheel. From experience, if you have a light touch on the wheel, it may not be enough for the car to sense your hands are on so you could still get the reminder even if your hands are on the wheel. I just give the wheel a slight wiggle when that happens to keep the car happy. As stated, this is a safety issue. If you loose consciousness while on autopilot/autpsteer, the car should eventually come to a stop with no inputs from the driver. This is not meant as a criticism of the OP, but I find it interesting (concerning) that a new Tesla driver did not adequately receive this important information at delivery or internalize it in all the warnings that have to be accepted when the autosteer system is activated. Just an observation.

Thanks for your response. Here is my experience.
As I am a new Tesla owner, I was trying to figure out how the auto steer worked.
When I engaged the auto steer, I was on a rural freeway which was straight for miles and not a single car in either direction in sight. There were no visible obstacles and i was pretty alert as it was the first time i used this feature. I assumed that auto steer would not require hands on the wheel where there are no perceived danger and I would see the message to hold the wheel.Like you mentioned, I slightly touched the wheel and it did not sense my hand on the wheel. I had to hold it with a little pressure for it to sense my hands. Now with that said, it looks like with auto steer engaged, I need to ensure that I hold the wheel with pressure just enough so it senses my hands and not any more pressure that I hinder its steering or tug at the wheel that it dis-engages,
This sounds like more work and attention I need to pay while auto steer than juty steering it myself.
Do you all find it useful.

 

[GatorGuy]

Thanks for your response. Here is my experience.
As I am a new Tesla owner, I was trying to figure out how the auto steer worked.
When I engaged the auto steer, I was on a rural freeway which was straight for miles and not a single car in either direction in sight. There were no visible obstacles and i was pretty alert as it was the first time i used this feature. I assumed that auto steer would not require hands on the wheel where there are no perceived danger and I would see the message to hold the wheel.Like you mentioned, I slightly touched the wheel and it did not sense my hand on the wheel. I had to hold it with a little pressure for it to sense my hands. Now with that said, it looks like with auto steer engaged, I need to ensure that I hold the wheel with pressure just enough so it senses my hands and not any more pressure that I hinder its steering or tug at the wheel that it dis-engages,
This sounds like more work and attention I need to pay while auto steer than juty steering it myself.
Do you all find it useful.

Just remember it isn't "squeezing" pressure it is looking for your hands on the wheel, but turning resistance. That is how the system knows your hands are on the wheel.

 

[bishoppeak]

You are correct that these requirements make autosteer less useful. Unfortunately, this is due to previous idiots watching videos, etc ruining this function for those of us that pay close attention to the road and would prefer not to keep our hands on the wheel.

 

[rsk12]

Just remember it isn't "squeezing" pressure it is looking for your hands on the wheel, but turning resistance. That is how the system knows your hands are on the wheel.

Thank you, will try it. I guess it will take some getting used to and I am sure i will eventually figure it out. But at least I now know my hands need to be on the wheel.

 

[DFibRL8R]

.... Now with that said, it looks like with auto steer engaged, I need to ensure that I hold the wheel with pressure just enough so it senses my hands and not any more pressure that I hinder its steering or tug at the wheel that it dis-engages,
This sounds like more work and attention I need to pay while auto steer than juty steering it myself.
Do you all find it useful.

With regular use, I think eventually you learn how to respond to the prompt with proper inputs/weight on the steering wheel without actively thinking about it so much. I have an old Model S, preautopilot and my new (3mos old) Model 3 has autopilot so I'm still adjusting too. I have found the autosteer helpful on longer trips to reduce fatigue that comes from having to spend so much mental attention on lane keeping or maintaining a safe following distance. I suppose it also allows the driver to focus on other tasks more like looking further ahead or checking for approaching vehicles from rear (or spotting speed traps), all things I do anyway without autopilot. I keep the autopilot on a short leash though, it is still being refined and the anecdotal failures of late (fatal Model X crash referenced above) certainly should provide us early adopters of this tech a healthy reminder of the present limitations of this system.

 

[rsk12]

With regular use, I think eventually you learn how to respond to the prompt with proper inputs/weight on the steering wheel without actively thinking about it so much. I have an old Model S, preautopilot and my new (3mos old) Model 3 has autopilot so I'm still adjusting too. I have found the autosteer helpful on longer trips to reduce fatigue that comes from having to spend so much mental attention on lane keeping or maintaining a safe following distance. I suppose it also allows the driver to focus on other tasks more like looking further ahead or checking for approaching vehicles from rear (or spotting speed traps), all things I do anyway without autopilot. I keep the autopilot on a short leash though, it is still being refined and the anecdotal failures of late (fatal Model X crash referenced above) certainly should provide us early adopters of this tech a healthy reminder of the present limitations of this system.

completely agree. I dont think I will ever completely relax on autopilot until the time it becomes as mainstream as the actual autopliot of an aircraft.