So I've had autopilot now for about 18 months and it seemed to be getting better and better. But I just downloaded a new update 2019.40.2.1 and it's horrible all of a sudden. It brakes hard for no reason out of nowhere, is seating back and forth in the lanes, and waits until the last second to make corrections. It's to the point I can't even use it without feeling stressed. What the heck happened?
Some of your comments are very familiar. I wrote this to Tesla in hopes of getting some kind of action:
We have a 2014 Model S and a 2018 Model X, both with the FSD package then available. The S continues to perform well, to the limits of the capability available in that early system.
The X is another matter. From the outset, the vehicle’s Autopilot has been jerky. VERY jerky!
1. The vehicle appears to be hypersensitive to speed, causing a near-constant surging, which is easily felt and shows dramatically on the power usage display, jumping to strong use to recovery randomly, but sometimes 30-40 times per minute.
2. The vehicle swings continuously left and right in trying to maintain lane position. It appear to be in a constant 1-1.5 second cycle, and moves between 6-12” total. No setting has been found to reduce this “deadband wandering”.
3. The worst situation is the sudden, unwarranted braking that occurs about every third drive. On the freeway, we no longer use Autopilot if a vehicle is following too closely behind. Our fear is that our vehicle’s violent braking will ultimately result in our being rear-ended. There is no pattern to these “full-on” braking events, and often no vehicle ahead of us for 100 meters or more.
I brought this matter to the attention of Tesla during a one year service visit, but the message was that “Yes, that happens”, with a suggestion that there would soon be a software fix. That has not happened. So, here at the end of 20 months of ownership, Autopilot is still not safe to use in certain situations, and not comfortable to use in any. I am elevating this to you in hopes of getting a solution.
If all Tesla’s performed like our X, I will guarantee you that NHTSA would ask Tesla to take these cars off the road!