Autopilot Malfunction Question

[phys23]

Hi guys,

I have owned a model x for about 4 days now. We have been using the autopilot function, and it has worked great. Last night we were driving down a road at about 45 miles per hour. It was working just fine, however as soon as it hit the intersection, the car swerved to the right. My hands were on the wheel, so I swerved it back, but it did go through the lane on the right. I am assuming it did it because the road lines didn't continue through the intersection. When it swerved, a red flashing indicator went off.

Everything was fine because nobody was in the lane next to me, but even though I had my foot on the brake and the hands on the wheel, when going 45 and a sharp swerve, you can't avoid the lane immedately next to you. Now, I have only had the car for a few days, but it did scare me. Does this happen often? Was this a fluke? This was a pretty major road 3 lane road, so it wasn't a side road.

Advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Az_Rael]

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a autopilot malfunction because autosteer is only for use on limited access freeways and highways per the manual. People do use it on roads with intersections, but you should be prepared for events like you experienced to happen. I don’t use it on roads with intersections, but have seen reports of the behavior you describe. AP2 seems to be worse in that situation than AP 1 was.



Also note that there is a warning in the manual for TACC not seeing stationary objects reliably, so you should be very alert when approaching stopped traffic at a light at speed with AP or TACC engaged.

 

[dsnows]

Sudden widening of the lane lines, such as at a highway on ramp or an intersection wher a line disappears, will cause the car to try to find the new center of the lane. If you lose the right side lane line, it will swerve to the right to center in the new wider space. I will sometimes use AP where there are intersections, but you should always be prepared to steer through the intersection. The car will sometimes handle them correctly, but not always. For what its worth, it is much better that in these situations than it was 6-12 months ago. And, it will continue to improve.

 

[ewoodrick]

First response. Remember the words BETA next to the feature and the disclaimer when you enabled it. That wasn't there for the heck of it.

Next, it happens. Quite often, the swerve is more nerve wrecking because it is unexpected, than it is dangerous. The car is generally watching out around it and should clear the path before it swerves. Also, the swerve, being unexpected, will cause the driver to disengage, whereas the car would have resolved itself.

The fact that you got the warning horn and the pop up is indication that it just got lost. All of the sudden it couldn't figure out how to drive. It may have still recovered, it may not.

It takes a little time to get used to its idiosyncrasies and as soon as you do, a new update appears and the situation changes.

Welcome to the self driving BETA!!

 

[phys23]

Thanks for all your help! Very new to this, so just learning! I am so very nervous with that feature, so I watch like a hawk while it is on. I'll only use it on the interstate and continue to be super cautious.

Thanks again!

 

[RRM998]

Something else to watch out for are intersections with multiple turn lanes -- usually that means there's a dashed line to indicate the path for the outer turn lane. AP can be confused by the turn lane lines and tend to follow them because they are generally larger than the normal lane lines.

 

[jboy210]

Has the warning to only use Autopilot on limited access divided roads (aka freeways) changed? I only use AP on the freeway.

 

[wcorey]

Welcome to the self driving BETA!!

There is currently nothing about the Tesla that is self driving and people should refrain from referring to it as such. Advanced Driver Assistance is more appropriate. Note, this is not merely a semantic difference. The purchasable option call FSD is Self driving and short of the red hidden cars feature, there are no FSD only features yet.

 

[wcorey]

Has the warning to only use Autopilot on limited access divided roads (aka freeways) changed? I only use AP on the freeway.

I use it everywhere except the in the immediate neighborhood. It works largely fine. Yesterday I drove on a 21 mile trip to PVD and it failed to work in an area of the road it had been previously solid on. HOWEVER, and I can't stress this enough, you have to be fully away of where the car is, whats around you, and any subtle change the software may not expect. You can't be playing games, texting or having engaging conversations on your phone. Remember this as well, should you get into an accident you cannot blame the car.

 

[brkaus]

My advice is to practice taking over control. It takes some time to get the feel of how much pressure is required and just to get comfortable with taking over.

 

[HostileHarry]

Shocked that people use it on any roads other than a freeway/highway.

 

[wcorey]

My advice is to practice taking over control. It takes some time to get the feel of how much pressure is required and just to get comfortable with taking over.

I've found, except in a emergency situation, the least jarring way to take control is flick the drive stem up once. It negates the requirement to jam on the brakes. By doing that when using EAP the TACC stays active you simply resume direct control of the vehicle.

 

[wcorey]

Has the warning to only use Autopilot on limited access divided roads (aka freeways) changed? I only use AP on the freeway.

I can't conceive of using the software version of owners manual via the touch screen, its too large. You can get downloadable PDFs of the owners manuals online. Note: as new features come out you'll need to refresh the PDF.

 

[buckerine]

Shocked that people use it on any roads other than a freeway/highway.

Agreed. Just use it on the highway, people.

 

[chillaban]

Any time lane lines are not continuous and prominent, you should feel more paranoid about Autopilot momentarily misreading lane lines.

But I use Autosteer just fine in most city conditions. It's just you really have to be vigilant and imagine "what if my car makes a sudden steering movement right now?". Hopefully the answer is either "my hand is on the wheel so it can't" or less ideally "nothing is near me so I'll just look like a stupid driver". If the answer isn't either of those, disengage Autosteer and pilot the car yourself!

 

[BerTX]

I think of AP as a 15 year old Driver's Ed student taking their first drive. There are some places I'd just rather drive myself, because, unlike a teenager, it isn't going to benefit from the experience and do better next time.

 

[dsnows]

Shocked that people use it on any roads other than a freeway/highway.

Don't be shocked. AP can be quite safe and helpful on local roads and secondary roads. It will still stay in the lane and maintain a safe distance from the car ahead. You do have to stay alert and be ready to take over if needed, same as a highway.

Understand it's capabilities and use it accordingly. Don't expect it to recognize stop signs or signal light or to navigate complex intersections with confusing or absent lane lines. Less intervention is needed on highways, but it can still be useful on other roads.