Autopilot and TACC off, Model S corrected turn to avoid barrier

[gabeincal]

The other day I was driving up to Tahoe on a 2-lane 65mph twisty freeway and in a right turn, I changed lanes from right to left lane. This meant that I was 'drifting' towards the middle barrier and I must've gone a little closer than the car liked because it pulled the steering into the corner just a little bit more to avoid getting very close. Autopilot and TACC was definitely off. Maybe this is not news for anyone, but I never seen hints that the car will do this..? I was pretty proud of it, but then couldn't reproduce it by just drifting towards the barrier within the same lane. Must've been the combination of approach speed towards the barrier, maybe even G's measured by the car...

 

[calisnow]

That's very cool and very good to know!

 

[gabeincal]

That's very cool and very good to know!

Perhaps it will save someone's life when they fall asleep in a corner...

 

[ecarfan]

I must've gone a little closer than the car liked because it pulled the steering into the corner just a little bit more to avoid getting very close.

That sounds like the "Collision Avoidance" aspect of the "Active Safety Technologies" which also includes Automatic Emergency Braking. Very cool.

 

[Model S M.D.]

The other day I was driving up to Tahoe on a 2-lane 65mph twisty freeway and in a right turn, I changed lanes from right to left lane. This meant that I was 'drifting' towards the middle barrier and I must've gone a little closer than the car liked because it pulled the steering into the corner just a little bit more to avoid getting very close. Autopilot and TACC was definitely off. Maybe this is not news for anyone, but I never seen hints that the car will do this..? I was pretty proud of it, but then couldn't reproduce it by just drifting towards the barrier within the same lane. Must've been the combination of approach speed towards the barrier, maybe even G's measured by the car...

Awesome save!

This is unrelated but AP saved me this morning. I had AP on in stop and go traffic, and unbeknownst to me, the car in front of me didn't have functioning brake lights! No problem for AP, as it braked as normal. I would have probably hit them or at least come very close.

 

[ev-now]

That sounds like the "Collision Avoidance" aspect of the "Active Safety Technologies" which also includes Automatic Emergency Braking. Very cool.

Very cool if it is that, hoping it is as I just took possession of a Model S with AP. Could have been camber on the road too, sometimes that can 'pull the wheel' when you are not paying attention - which I guess you can't have been or you'd not have been drifting. I'm pulling for it being Collision Avoidance though!

 

[DDotJ]

Sounds like Side collision avoidance from the Autopilot Active Safety suite. this feature has caught me by surprise on numerous occasions.

It's saved me from a Prius that swerved into my target lane (he was changing 3 lanes at once without looking from an on-ramp) while I was doing a lane change and it also triggered when I was getting a bit close for comfort to a construction barrier on an off-ramp that I had misjudged in the dark of night. Both times it sounded an alarm and increased resistance on the steering wheel so that I wouldn't steer into a potential collision. Both times AP and TACC was off and I was in full manual mode.

Also, I went on a road trip last weekend and AP was an absolute godsend. I was in AP doing a lane change when traffic suddenly came to a grinding halt. I was checking my mirrors and the car was in the middle of a lane change when the car suddenly began slowing down rapidly. At first, I thought Autopilot had made a mistake and was slowing down for a false positive. But it turns out traffic was coming to a complete stop, and Model S was braking even before the car in front of me had hit the brakes. Since the car in front of me was a huge SUV, I couldn't even see that the car in front of me was braking but Model S was able to detect it (thanks to advanced radar processing in 8.0). During the course of the trip, it did this multiple times where Model S slowed down before the car in front of me could even react. And the entire drive to Vegas was so easy with Autopilot as well. I arrived at my destination so much more refreshed and less tired than I would have been otherwise.

And to think, when I first bought my car it had none of these features. It barely had lane departure warning!

Very impressive tech. Thanks Tesla!

 

[JenniferQ]

Hmm. I doubt this. Unless the new cars are way more advanced than my 1 year old one who tries to kill me periodically. But I still love her!

 

[robby]

They had tested this feature on early MX prototypes. I wondered why they never announced and integrated it. Maybe there was an edge case that was tricky and they finally got it.

Jump to 0:29:

 

[jerjozwik]

i too have had my first experience with the system just yesterday, and ive had my car since feb. unfortunately mine was not as ...helpful?

i was in the HOV lane, on a portion i normally have AP off for because of the winter suns shadows. a motorcycle was lane splitting and the car thought i was in trouble and pulled the car more to the left, closer to the center divider. not close enough for any puckering but... it was definitely unexpected.

 

[gabeincal]

Hmm. I doubt this. Unless the new cars are way more advanced than my 1 year old one who tries to kill me periodically. But I still love her!

Doubt it? Try it

 

[gabeincal]

Very cool if it is that, hoping it is as I just took possession of a Model S with AP. Could have been camber on the road too, sometimes that can 'pull the wheel' when you are not paying attention - which I guess you can't have been or you'd not have been drifting. I'm pulling for it being Collision Avoidance though!

It was not camber. The car actively turned the steering wheel a good 1 inch more to the right. It might've beeped, but I cannot remember that part because I was pleasantly surprised at the action it took. I was paying attention, but since I was passing a truck from the left in the right hand corner, I wanted to give him more space. Plus I was changing lanes at about 75mph in the corner which caused higher G forces with the combination of close hard object.

 

[green1]

It's a common feature that's been in the car since at least 7.0 (maybe 6.2?) It's called side collision avoidance and it works great... when it works at all. That's the problem, like many Tesla features it's extremely intermittent, so yes, it may save your life, but if you expect it to be there, it may not be.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Doubt it? Try it

This was included in the release notes for 8.0.

 

[2fast2]

When I was driving last week, with TACC engaged but not autopilot, 45 mph, 5 lane counting center left-turn lane, non-divided highway, there was no traffic. I was looking left at an old industrial site wondering what it used to be when my S hit the brakes fairly firmly which immediately got my attention and foot on the brake, thinking there was an emergency. The two traffic signals at the intersection I was approaching had turned red and I hadn't noticed, but the car did and auto-braked. I completed the braking myself and everything was fine.
Looking on this forum, the consensus seem to say that it can't and didn't happen. What do I know? Except it did. Quite surprising to me!
Firmware is 8.0.2.46.16

 

[msnow]

When I was driving last week, with TACC engaged but not autopilot, 45 mph, 5 lane counting center left-turn lane, non-divided highway, there was no traffic. I was looking left at an old industrial site wondering what it used to be when my S hit the brakes fairly firmly which immediately got my attention and foot on the brake, thinking there was an emergency. The two traffic signals at the intersection I was approaching had turned red and I hadn't noticed, but the car did and auto-braked. I completed the braking myself and everything was fine.
Looking on this forum, the consensus seem to say that it can't and didn't happen. What do I know? Except it did. Quite surprising to me!
Firmware is 8.0.2.46.16

Yeah, it doesn't read stop lights. Maybe someone or something was crossing in front of you.

 

[2fast2]

Yeah, it doesn't read stop lights. Maybe someone or something was crossing in front of you.

Right, Except there were no cars or people. (cue Twilight Zone theme)

 

[jeffro01]

Right, Except there were no cars or people. (cue Twilight Zone theme)

My guess was the radar saw the cross post from the overhead stoplight and reacted just enough to get your attention... In reality it was a false positive but it could certainly look and feel like something else...

Simply just a WAG...

Jeff