Autopilot - do you use in frequent lane change conditions?

[AutomaticMan]

Collecting my Tesla M3 LR on the 11th, which will be my first Tesla. I'm trying to weigh up whether I should pay for Enhanced Autopilot after collection or not. I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos, and read a lot of threads, and it seems that most people in the UK think it isn't worth the money. From what I can see, in the UK the automatic parking is more of a cool party trick the few times it successfully detects a space than something that people can rely on for every day parking. Also looks like in the UK that smart summon is basically useless unless you have a very specific regular driving situation like a tight garage or something.

Therefore, that really just leaves the automatic lane changing. This tempts me because it looks like, otherwise, you would have to manually disengage and reengage autopilot with every lane change you do. This seems like it would be annoying to me.

So I was wondering how owners with Autopilot (but not Enhanced Autopilot) tend to use it on busy motorways/dual carriageways where you're having to change lane to overtake multiple times every minute? Do you disable it (either using the stalk, or by making a deliberate steering wheel input), make the lane change, re-enable it by pressing down on the stalk twice, overtake the car, disable it, make the lane change back into the left lane, re-enable it by pressing down on the stalk twice? Doing this several times a minute sounds like a real faff! Or do you just only use it in very light traffic where you can go a long time between lane changes?

On most British motorways, you're lucky if you can go more than a minute without changing lanes if you're trying to stick to 70mph I find unless it is the middle of the night.

 

[Billbrown1982]

I love AP on my daily commute. M25 29 around to 25. Soon as I hit that piece of tarmac it gets switched on and I generally sit in the 3rd or 4th lane with very little lane change necessary, although the occasional headlight flashing may come into play if there's a 50mph uber drive sitting in that 3rd lane.

I also LOVE it when I finish work between midnight and 4am. Although then I'll be in the 1st or 2nd lanes.

Either way, I do use it for lane changing when needed but not all that often. My car is ALWAYS nagging me to change lanes mind, but I have come to ignore that now.

BUT, is it worth the cost? No way. I got FSD lumped in with my original purchase so I could spread the payments and as much as I keep telling myself i'm "funding development" , unless Tesla decide to start letting us carry it over to future cars, then I've definitely (somewhat willingly) had my pants pulled down.

 

[Xdama]

yeah TACC is a bit slow to react - then will go ‘oh bugger’ and slam on a little harsh for traffic its closing in on, and a bit slow on the uptake for speeding up again. But AP is still helpful on long drives when less congested - really helps reduce your brain workload so you can continue to monitor everyone around you with the micro corrections you’re always doing being handled mostly by the car

And that is why I don’t tend to use it, it’s only any good when the road is quiet, which with even less to do gives the mind more time to wander ime. Adaptive cruise, lane assist are in themselves a route to less concentration on the job at hand. That and allowing phonecalls in cars, in some ways the old days were better, you want to make a call, pull over at a phone box and dig some change out

 

[GRiLLA]

And that is why I don’t tend to use it, it’s only any good when the road is quiet, which with even less to do gives the mind more time to wander ime. Adaptive cruise, lane assist are in themselves a route to less concentration on the job at hand. That and allowing phonecalls in cars, in some ways the old days were better, you want to make a call, pull over at a phone box and dig some change out

Less work driving, but I'm far more aware of the traffic around me when I'm not highly focused on steering. There is a reason why AP is significantly safer per mile than regular driving. My insurance was reduced by Churchill as I had the FSD option too.

 

[Xdama]

Less work driving, but I'm far more aware of the traffic around me when I'm not highly focused on steering. There is a reason why AP is significantly safer per mile than regular driving. My insurance was reduced by Churchill as I had the FSD option too.

I’ve never found steering to be an issue personally but each to their own. I’ve managed well over 30yrs without a claim on my insurance without FSD and certainly wouldn’t trust it as much as I trust myself. I have no idea if my insurance would reduce with FSD but I’m betting it wouldn’t be as much as paying for the option to have it.
As I say, each to their own, for me if I want to be driven I’ll call a taxi though

 

[Mrklaw]

steering isn’t hard, but on long motorway trips I’ve found myself considerably less tired/mentally drained when using AP, and I’m not paying less attention to the road - if anything its letting me focus on the important stuff like what other people are doing or likely to do.

 

[Xdama]

steering isn’t hard, but on long motorway trips I’ve found myself considerably less tired/mentally drained when using AP, and I’m not paying less attention to the road - if anything its letting me focus on the important stuff like what other people are doing or likely to do.

As I say, each to their own. I’ve been driving some seriously long distances in my life such as Hamburg to Leeds via Calais (as an example), in the days of no cruise control or modern comforts, convenience features. I’ve always looked several cars in front to read the traffic, very rarely used the brakes on motorways in normal traffic condition. I had a MB350cdi with 45k miles on the clock, still on the same pads it arrived with as a new car, full dealer service history. The dealers asked me if I ever used the brake pedal lol, my reply was not unless absolutely necessary. Modern cars with autopilot use speed up slow down tactics which is not that economical nor smooth and something which goes against everything I was taught to improve economy. I don’t like it and find it very odd

 

[Overworked]

Don't worry about buying EAP it as it is an option that you can always add later. Get your car and then just use standard AP and see what you think. I am of the camp that thinks EAP is not worth buying - and I have not had a trial, just found that with use and experience the AP is sufficient.

I travel a lot on northern motorways/dual carriageway. A9/A90/M9/M74/M6/A1 etc so it may be different on congested southern routes. I put AP on almost all the time when on these roads.

When you come up behind a vehicle travelling slower than you in your lane I do as you do before the TACC starts to slow. In the M3 I indicate to overtake before the TACC kicks in, after three or four indicator flashes the rigidity of lane keeping eases and the AP switches off with a bong as you gently move the steering wheel (TACC remains on). Gently move the car into the next lane. Either move back after overtaking or remain in the next lane. Centre the car in the lane and then re-engage AP with double bong. It is very smooth and very comfortable.

You will rapidly realise what I mean by "... centre the car in the lane and then re-engage AP ..." as soon as you get your car! Once you engage AP it rapidly moves you to what it thinks is the centre of the lane. It initially feels like it is a swerve and is quite harsh, once you have done it a few times you will soon adjust and it will become smooth and second nature.

Paying £3.4k for EAP which is something that will move me from lane to lane (as I consider all the other features to be worthless). The lane change as a single option would be worth purchasing as long as costs no more than £200.

 

[Ferret]

I purchased EAP after purchasing the car, glad I did. You have to keep an eye on it when passing A road exits though, sometimes it will indicate and start to move over. I assume it thinks it's a new lane.... Pretty rare but might suprise you

 

[spdpsba]

yeah TACC is a bit slow to react - then will go ‘oh bugger’ and slam on a little harsh for traffic its closing in on, and a bit slow on the uptake for speeding up again. But AP is still helpful on long drives when less congested - really helps reduce your brain workload so you can continue to monitor everyone around you with the micro corrections you’re always doing being handled mostly by the car

I don’t know whether you would agree but sometime when I use AP i feel like I am sitting on the sofa and watching everything happening in front of me with so much reaction time to do most corrections if needed. I wish we have motorways like Route 66 and a model 3!

 

[Mrklaw]

I don’t know whether you would agree but sometime when I use AP i feel like I am sitting on the sofa and watching everything happening in front of me with so much reaction time to do most corrections if needed. I wish we have motorways like Route 66 and a model 3!

Yes. I’m normally scanning as much as possible not only immediately around but so secondary - or things that might influence cars around me and therefore eventually me. Trying ti smooth things out as much as possible

AP let’s me do that with more focus or less brain power - at least feels like

 

[Terry F]

My M3 is on order for March delivery and includes EAP so I am keen to understand this, but have no experience. Several of the above posts mention that NoA will change lanes but can dither or be slow to do so or slow to speed up again after slowing while waiting for a gap in the traffic. I note in the owner's manual that NoA describes a setting called Speed Based Lane Changes that can be varied between Mild and Mad Max, though it does not mention the default setting. Could this default to Mild and be the reason the feature sometimes is slow to react? Has anybody experimented with this setting and if so how much does it affect the car's behaviour?

 

[Adopado]

Collecting my Tesla M3 LR on the 11th, which will be my first Tesla. I'm trying to weigh up whether I should pay for Enhanced Autopilot after collection or not. I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos, and read a lot of threads, and it seems that most people in the UK think it isn't worth the money. From what I can see, in the UK the automatic parking is more of a cool party trick the few times it successfully detects a space than something that people can rely on for every day parking. Also looks like in the UK that smart summon is basically useless unless you have a very specific regular driving situation like a tight garage or something.

Here's the poll related to last summer's Enhanced Autopilot trial ... on this very forum:

Poll - 14 day EAP trial!

Moderator comment - threads combined from "Summon appearing in the app despite no FSD or EAP" and "14 day EAP trial!" There are reports on Facebook that some people have just found summon appearing in their app despite not having FSD or EAP Anyone found this?

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[roadcred]

EAP is not fit for purpose in the UK. Autopilot isn't much better on a Tesla. The adaptive cruise control isnt bad and the emergency braking etc is OK.
Dont let anyone tell you that it is better than ICE cars with similar packages. I know from experience that Volvo and Merc ICE vehicles have better systems.

 

[GRiLLA]

My M3 is on order for March delivery and includes EAP so I am keen to understand this, but have no experience. Several of the above posts mention that NoA will change lanes but can dither or be slow to do so or slow to speed up again after slowing while waiting for a gap in the traffic. I note in the owner's manual that NoA describes a setting called Speed Based Lane Changes that can be varied between Mild and Mad Max, though it does not mention the default setting. Could this default to Mild and be the reason the feature sometimes is slow to react? Has anybody experimented with this setting and if so how much does it affect the car's behaviour?

This setting doesn't really do much, it defines how aggressively NoA suggests starting a lane change.

Once you start a lane change the gap required and speed of change is defined by the UNECE vehicle regulations we follow in the UK. This setting doesn't change how lane change works. Once you are used to it lane change works very well, but its not assertive at all in making a change so can leave you swamped trying to pull out on a busy motorway.

In general NoA is of limited benefit, at best its a helpful suggestion. It also takes sliproads fully automatically in a way that's never short of excitement. I turn if off before exiting.

 

[Ferret]

I have no issue with the speed of lane change, it's not fast but it is smooth. Maybe 1 in 100 it will abort mid change and hand back control though, so you have to keep aware. Mostly on A roads...

I pay little attention to suggested changes, unless nearing time to exit, it can be quite useful in ensuring you take the correct exit lane when they are staggered.

In normal usage I just signal (full push of the stalk) when I want to change and keep a little resistance in the wheel. The car checks it's safe and moves. If it's a bit sketchy (I.e. a car approaching fast) then the car will refuse to change lane and I can take over if I wish.

All in all I can go hours in end with auto pilot engaged, I have my distance set to 4 (2 seconds) and chill out. My lane changes are smooth, predictable and well indicated. If someone squeezes into my 2 second gap then I remain relaxed as it's not like it inconveniences me, the car is driving itself.

 

[Stuart1714]

I don’t have the lane changing feature, but have used it on a trial.

I recently came back from London on a Sunday night and I remember thinking how useful it would have been. If I were doing regular motorway miles, then I think I’d get it. As this car is a lease and I did no motorway miles in the first year (apart from a number of visits to the service centre for build issues) I decided not to get it.

If my next car is a Tesla, I’d probably get it.

 

[Overworked]

EAP is not fit for purpose in the UK. Autopilot isn't much better on a Tesla. The adaptive cruise control isnt bad and the emergency braking etc is OK.
Dont let anyone tell you that it is better than ICE cars with similar packages. I know from experience that Volvo and Merc ICE vehicles have better systems.

I have the M3 as a company car, and my own car is an older Merc S Class that I have had for some years that has normal cruise control not TACC and does not have lane keeping (as the newer models have). We clearly are not comparing like with like on price points etc. The Merc is a very comfortable long distance cruiser, but the M3 is actually more relaxing after a long M way/ dual carriageway run as the TACC/AP combine to do most of the driving. It is like having a fully alert co-pilot doing the handling and I am the non-handling pilot doing the supervision.

However, the M3 is still "twitchy" and hesitant at times. The TACC/lane keeping on a Honda Civic five years ago was more consistent.

 

[Mrklaw]

I’d be a lot more relaxed if I could be totally confident about phantom braking. I still hover my foot over the throttle to override at a moments notice, which isn’t super comfortable on a long journey

 

[Ben_]

I’d be a lot more relaxed if I could be totally confident about phantom braking. I still hover my foot over the throttle to override at a moments notice, which isn’t super comfortable on a long journey

Agree 100%. I even find myself pre-emptively disabling AP (I have EAP) when traffic behind is unreasonably close, knowing the car’s tendency to phantom brake. I‘m sure there have been occasions when the driver behind has thought “why’s that muppet in front slamming his brakes on!?”

 

[browellm]

Agree too. The 95% reproducible phantom brake from lane 3 > lane 2 with HGV in lane 1 is extremely tedious.