Hello, I am getting ready to order a M3 LR and have not been able to test auto pilot features due to the dealership being in a big city. Can anyone tell me, what does auto pilot include? Say I commute 2 hours every day to work on a long highway at 75mph, will I benefit from these any of the AP features?
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Autopilot M3
- Thread starter AlmightyDollar
- Start date
I works OK, but in the far left lane (if near a barrier) can be un-relaxing. With extra space on the left and set at 'ticket me please' speeds woks better.
Well marked roads are fine, center lane is fine, other drivers on those roads not as much.
I like it, and was a reason we bought the car - but it has limitations. It allows the driver to 'relax' a bit on long trips (constant small corrections, eye fatigue from constant focus, etc). If the AP is offered with a lane change option (I signal, it changes) I will be purchasing it.
You can ask for a longer test drive.
Well marked roads are fine, center lane is fine, other drivers on those roads not as much.
I like it, and was a reason we bought the car - but it has limitations. It allows the driver to 'relax' a bit on long trips (constant small corrections, eye fatigue from constant focus, etc). If the AP is offered with a lane change option (I signal, it changes) I will be purchasing it.
You can ask for a longer test drive.
Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Your use case is the single best place for the feature.
My own drive to/from work is similar (though not quite as long) and it's the biggest reason I bought the car (though I do have FSD with adds some nice to haves like lane changes and auto-handling of interchanges and exits)
Basic AP that comes on the car will auto-steer within a single lane, and maintain speed and follow distance relative to any car ahead of it in that lane.
Changing lanes is manual, as are handling exits and interchanges.
Officially the feature is only intended for use on divided highways where access is restricted (on/off ramps, no intersections, no cross traffic).
But it'll allow you to turn it on pretty much anywhere it can see lane markings. Just don't be shocked if it does something weird/unexpected/dangerous since it's not intended to be used in those situations
(for example in an undivided two way road, if a car way ahead oncoming turns in front of you the car may heavily brake since as far as it knows there's now a car that WAS going your way sideways blocking your lane- even though it's really an oncoming car turning who will be well clear of your lane before you'd get there)
But for highway use? It's awesome.
Needsdecaf
Active Member
Autopilot includes two features.
1. Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) or Tesla's fancy name for Active Cruise / Radar Cruise. This works decently. It will slow to a stop and start up all on it's own. I say decently and not excellently because the slowdowns can be abrupt.
2. Auto Steer. This can only be used when TACC is set. This is the feature which keeps you in your lane without your intervention. You will need to keep your hand on the wheel to either apply a slight torque every few seconds or use the steering wheel scroll switches or it will nag you and finally disengage. This is an extremely useful feature in traffic.
All other features are now part of Full Self Driving, although Enhanced Auto Pilot (EAP) was once offered and contained Auto Park, Summon, Smart Summon, Navigate on Autopilot, Auto lane change, etc. That was offered last year as a stand alone.
I had a 2018 M3 and had EAP as there was no basic autopilot then. When I got my 2020 I stuck with standard AP and that's what I use in traffic. It works very well. It's slightly annoying that when you make lane changes, you disengage AS (but not TACC) and then when done with your lane change you must re-engage AS every time by double pressing the stalk. That's not as annoying as the "bong bong" sound you hear every single time.
Hope this helps.
1. Traffic Aware Cruise Control (TACC) or Tesla's fancy name for Active Cruise / Radar Cruise. This works decently. It will slow to a stop and start up all on it's own. I say decently and not excellently because the slowdowns can be abrupt.
2. Auto Steer. This can only be used when TACC is set. This is the feature which keeps you in your lane without your intervention. You will need to keep your hand on the wheel to either apply a slight torque every few seconds or use the steering wheel scroll switches or it will nag you and finally disengage. This is an extremely useful feature in traffic.
All other features are now part of Full Self Driving, although Enhanced Auto Pilot (EAP) was once offered and contained Auto Park, Summon, Smart Summon, Navigate on Autopilot, Auto lane change, etc. That was offered last year as a stand alone.
I had a 2018 M3 and had EAP as there was no basic autopilot then. When I got my 2020 I stuck with standard AP and that's what I use in traffic. It works very well. It's slightly annoying that when you make lane changes, you disengage AS (but not TACC) and then when done with your lane change you must re-engage AS every time by double pressing the stalk. That's not as annoying as the "bong bong" sound you hear every single time.
Hope this helps.
Thank you guys so much! I am very excited for this new journey to start!
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