Autopilot 2018.21.9 appreciation thread

[selfbp]

With everyone posting negative points and getting upset on the new update, I just wanted to voice my appreciation on how well this new update is doing for me.
So far it seems like the vehicle is doing much better in intersections when there are vehicles on my sides. It is holding the lanes much better Instead of attempting to run into the left or right lane when the intersection is curved or the road lines displaced to a certain side some. Autopilot's breaking is much more smooth as well.
On top of those two, I've noticed that Tesla has updated the speed limit for my town again, as the limit used to be 55 in a 35. Autowipers seem to be better as well (faster rain intensity recognition). Autopark is noticing more spots.

I have only driven 60 miles on the new update, But I have thought more highly on this update than many others. No issues at all from me.


I came from 2018.18.2

 

[polymathic]

I agree with your points. I'll add that Autopilot is now also more assertive at speeding up to follow cars in stop and go traffic as well as traffic lights.

 

[selfbp]

I agree with your points. I'll add that Autopilot is now also more assertive at speeding up to follow cars in stop and go traffic as well as traffic lights.

Yes! I knew I was forgetting one. I used to have to help it get going in fear the people behind me may get irritated or think I was 90 years old

 

[navinsiri]

I agree with your points. I'll add that Autopilot is now also more assertive at speeding up to follow cars in stop and go traffic as well as traffic lights.

I noticed this as well. It’s good for city driving but really annoying on the highway because the car is always speeding up and slowing down even if it’s just 1-2 mph. I slightly appreciate this new update

 

[N..8]

Not sure if its in my head but the Regen seems smoother on ramp up to full. I also seem to notice that it doesn't apply breaking as quickly when cars are moving into right turn lanes while also slowing down. Still a little harsh but getting better than it did in the past versions.

 

[.jg.]

I have seen a lot of people complaining about the more frequent nagging prompts in this version but I have found that the detection of hands on the steering wheel appears to be more sensitive/tolerant of a lighter grip. On autopilot, I like to drive with my hands resting on my legs, holding the wheel lightly in the "twenty to four" position. With previous versions, I often had prompts to "hold the wheel" and had to move my hands and/or use a tighter grip - with this version, I have seen only one prompt.
This version also seems to be better with narrow lanes (with the temporary lane markings), used with road works in the UK.

 

[Aieukl378]

I'm going to hold the record for disagrees on this comment but...the additional nags don't bother me and have made me a safer AP driver!

 

[Sorabh]

Not sure what I think of your comment but disagreed to help you get the record

 

[chillaban]

As I mentioned in the 2018.21.9 thread, I drive between SF and Vegas (almost 1000 miles round trip) about once a month, and I was able to compare 2018.18 and 2018.21.9 back to back. The performance of Autosteer dramatically improved between these two versions on this route. It's much better at proactively slowing down BEFORE sharp curves, and staying centered while tracking curves, and recognizing when a neighboring car enters your lane much sooner.

Yes the nags are more frequent when I'm not touching the wheel, but it does not bother me.

Overall, if I were able to revisit my decision between staying on 2018.18 vs upgrading to 2018.21.9, I would do the upgrade all over again. So, for those holding back due to nag paranoia, in my opinion you're missing out on a solid improvement to general AP2 performance.


EDIT: Also to add, a few other miscellaneous improvements:
- Less false second-car-ahead braking in city roads with heavy traffic. Before it would much more frequently mistake a turning car one lane over as an extremely slow second-car-ahead
- Fewer false side collision assist interventions from sonic booms. Before when driving next to a semi truck's engines, when it shifted gears it would frequently cause side collision beeping

 

[chillaban]

I'm going to hold the record for disagrees on this comment but...the additional nags don't bother me and have made me a safer AP driver!

I actually feel the same way, so enter me in the contest for the number of disagrees on my comment too!

I do notice slightly more occasions where the nag shows up on my screen. And you know what? I'd say at least 50% of the time it made me realize "whoa, I was zoning out a little". I routinely scan my instrument cluster and mirrors in addition to paying attention to what's going on ahead of me.

The nag flag showing up, to me, is a reaction test for how long it takes for me to notice that nag and clear it. It's about 10 seconds from the message showing up to the screen starting to flash. It's another 10 seconds from there to the auditory beep.

For what I expect out of myself, it's completely unacceptable if 20 seconds pass without me noticing a message on my instrument cluster. It's even embarrassing if the first time I see the nag is when the screen started to flash. I take both as learning moments to recognize that I'm not as engaged as I should be in the whole driving experience.


Bottom line, I really like thinking of it as a little game to test whether or not I'm interacting with my car. Sure it's great when I hold the steering wheel and that implicitly keeps the nag from appearing. But even when it does appear, I'm not mad about having to apply a little pressure to the steering wheel to clear it.

 

[arcus]

I received mine only on Sunday. Perfect timing, as we still had over 1000 miles to cover when returning back home from our road trip. The increased nag does not bother me the least, if anything it forces you to be even more attentive. The addition of adjacent car renderings is a welcome one, although I wish it would distinguish between larger trucks or bikes as AP 1.0 does.

 

[selfbp]

Either way you look at it, those nags are only there to keep you watching your surroundings and remind you zoning out while you're at the mercy of an imperfect machine is dangerous.

Plus I believe this software is definitely an improvement over last, and I've noticed they're trying out new methods and parameters on some streets that aren't as proven as previous. I can understand engineers wanting people to be more attentive during large internal software changes!