Autopilot and Pay attention!!!

[mbhforum]

Yes, I know Autopilot is meant to be a driving assistant and not a replacement. Unfortunately, I took this for granted and got cocky. Let this be a reminder for those that might do the same thing, pay attention to the road! I was coming home from the first road trip with the Tesla after owning it for 8 months and I was traveling Eastbound on the LIE on the left lane going about 60 mph with AP 1.0. I glanced down at my phone to pull up Waze (since we know the Tesla Navigation is inferior) and the next thing I know, my wife is screaming "watch out"! I went head on into construction cones and swerved into the right lane to avoid more of them. I havent used AP in this area before, so I was unfamiliar with the fact the lane was being closed off ahead. It all happened so fast, I can't remember if I heard the collision avoidance beeps. I would think if it did the car would stop short.

Fortunately, everyone was alright and there were no injuries. After I regained my composure, I wanted to pull over to see the car damage. I was fearing the worst, but fortunately, it isn't TOO bad. I was able to pop back in one of the front pieces and I do have some micro-scratches in front, and a little deeper scratches on the driver side. I tried using Meguir's ScratchX and it got out some, but not all. I am open to suggestions (other than paying attention next time, which I learned by myself). I might try Dr. Colorchip as I've had some success with that in the past. Also, the bottom black vinyl seems to be scraped, and I am not sure the best way to buff that area out.

I am just relieved that my family was ok to be honest and I wasn't as upset as I figured I would be considering it was 100% my fault and my car was damaged. At the end of the day, it's only a car, even if we all obsess over them

Here are some pics.

 

[Don85D]

I actually prefer a car with a few scratches and dents as it shows that it is providing useful daily transportation. The real world generates these badges and they can't be avoided.

My solution to AP weakness is to not use it. I am getting value from our Model S because it runs on sunshine (free) and that is worth more to me. I am not a gadget fanatic who needs to latest tech toys and APs.

We can leave that topic for another debate.

 

[Magus]

Thank you for sharing. It is helpful to know even for a small distraction that something can happen.

 

[Az_Rael]

Yikes, glad that wasn't worse. We haven't been using auto steer much on our road trip, but I do disengage it at the first orange sign of a construction zone. Read way too many incidents here with AP and cones.

 

[mbhforum]

Yikes, glad that wasn't worse. We haven't been using auto steer much on our road trip, but I do disengage it at the first orange sign of a construction zone. Read way too many incidents here with AP and cones.

This one came out of no where. I don't think Waze even warned me. It would have been a disaster if there was a car to the right of me when I swerved back into the right lane.

 

[Az_Rael]

This one came out of no where. I don't think Waze even warned me. It would have been a disaster if there was a car to the right of me when I swerved back into the right lane.

If that is the case, you could complain to the city/county where the construction was set up. You might be able to get some compensation for a road hazard if they didn't have any warning signs up.

 

[Big Dog]

Glad everyone is safe, and you only ended up with a few scratches..

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Electricfan]

Thanks for posting. I only use AP1 on my car on long trips. I just fled Houston for a week (hurricane Harvey) and AP1 was awesome for the long interstate drives. I wish I could use it for daily driving, but it can't handle Houston highways reliably.

 

[Tesmotorfaqcom]

Glad you are ok but you should still contact your SVC to let them know what happen so they can look into the accident why AP sensor didn't detect objects ahead so hopefully Tesla will make adjustment.

 

[kort677]

kudos for admitting operator error. I've always felt that using AUTO pilot was an unfortunate choice for what AP1 was, if I was in charge I'd have named it something like driver's assistant or interactive automation

 

[davidc18]

Glad you are okay.

 

[FlatSix911]

This one came out of no where. I don't think Waze even warned me. It would have been a disaster if there was a car to the right of me when I swerved back into the right lane.

Sorry to hear about your recent AP1 incident ... try using the custom Waze for Tesla app on the main display.
It provides a lot of current information on road hazards, construction zones and law enforcement locations
https://tesla-waze.excelsis.com/

 

[mbhforum]

Glad you are ok but you should still contact your SVC to let them know what happen so they can look into the accident why AP sensor didn't detect objects ahead so hopefully Tesla will make adjustment.

Great idea. I just sent an email to Service, to let them know about the incident. It's disappointing that I was also using Tesla navigation and didn't know about the lane closure either.

 

[mbhforum]

Sorry to hear about your recent AP1 incident ... try using the custom Waze for Tesla app on the main display.
It provides a lot of current information on road hazards, construction zones and law enforcement locations
https://tesla-waze.excelsis.com/

View attachment 244023

I usually do use that on my daily commute. I was using Tesla navigation at the time, with Waze on my phone. I always have Waze running on my phone for the audio alerts. So frustrating that we have to use all these alternative technologies to compensate for a poor navigation.

 

[SMAlset]

Sorry that happened and it doesn't look too bad; and thanks to your WEAS you got a few precious seconds of time to pull right and not plow into something more serious. Oh, WEAS is an acronym from my husband--Wife Emergency Alert System. It's a valuable feature that can also take over for you when you're too tired to drive. Hubby used it on our second roadtrip that we just came back from. Love sharing the drive time.

 

[kort677]

Great idea. I just sent an email to Service, to let them know about the incident. It's disappointing that I was also using Tesla navigation and didn't know about the lane closure either.

the nav in the tesla does not report temporary road hazards, except if it slows traffic on the limit that you set and then only if the NAV is directing you somewhere.
reporting it is a waste of time, use waze if you want that kind of info.

 

[mbhforum]

the nav in the tesla does not report temporary road hazards, except if it slows traffic on the limit that you set and then only if the NAV is directing you somewhere.
reporting it is a waste of time, use waze if you want that kind of info.

Oh trust me, I am well aware of that. The point I was trying to make is it can be improved to include this information especially considering it has an always on Internet connection.

 

[jeffro01]

Thanks for posting. I only use AP1 on my car on long trips. I just fled Houston for a week (hurricane Harvey) and AP1 was awesome for the long interstate drives. I wish I could use it for daily driving, but it can't handle Houston highways reliably.

We haven't always agreed, and I'm sorry for derailing this thread a bit, but I really hope you have a home to come back to... The flooding is almost unbelievable and it would be without the pictures and measurements to back it up...

Jeff

 

[Tangible]

. I've always felt that using AUTO pilot was an unfortunate choice for what AP1 was, if I was in charge I'd have named it something like driver's assistant or interactive automation

No need to be creative. Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane-Keeping Assistance are now industry standard terms. By adopting ACC/LKA Tesla could set expectations more realistically.

Fear of lawsuits has caused product suppliers to overwhelm consumers with safety warnings, most of which are silly. That obscures the critically important ones, like don't take your eyes off the road with AP any more than you would without it.

OP, Glad to hear you're unharmed.

 

[mbhforum]

I got an estimate today from a body shop and fortunately he believes that with some wet sand and compound, he will make the scratches disappear and will only charge me $150 for 2-3 hours of work. I would say I got off pretty easy.