So I bought this Autopilot “nag reduction device” from eBay (“Steering Wheel Booster for Tesla Model 3 Y 2016-2021 Counterweight Ring US”) from “idealseller-002”.
Long story short: It doesn’t work. When I attempted to return this item, the seller kept contacting me, offering me $5.00 if I would keep the item and not return it. I used the USPS return label provided by eBay to return the item, and it was shipped all the way to NY, but then the USPS returned it to me “RTS” (Return to Shipper), citing that the business had moved and not left a forwarding address. I contacted the seller again, asking what was going on, but they went dark on me. (It seemed obvious that this was a Chinese seller throughout this experience.) Left with no other choice, I contacted eBay via telephone, and—within 5min of taking my call—the eBay representative said that eBay would REFUND my money and I can keep my hunk of steel. I was obviously satisfied with that outcome.
Now for why this product and others like it no longer work…
These “nag reduction devices” used to work, but TESLA has obviously had plenty of bad press from drivers misusing Autopilot, including YouTubers whom we’ve all seen videos of riding in the back seat alone in the car (sometimes asleep!) with Autopilot engaged. This is WAY stupid!
It seems evident to me that TESLA has rendered these “nag reduction devices” obsolete with just a few lines of code sent over-the-air. It appears that TESLA’s Autopilot driver engagement sensors now look for weight/tension applied to the steering wheel that is not merely consistent but actually fluctuates slightly, as a normal grasp of the steering wheel from a human driver would actually fluctuate. I’m assuming this affects all such static “nag reduction” solutions alike. I don’t blame TESLA for doing this.
Long story short: It doesn’t work. When I attempted to return this item, the seller kept contacting me, offering me $5.00 if I would keep the item and not return it. I used the USPS return label provided by eBay to return the item, and it was shipped all the way to NY, but then the USPS returned it to me “RTS” (Return to Shipper), citing that the business had moved and not left a forwarding address. I contacted the seller again, asking what was going on, but they went dark on me. (It seemed obvious that this was a Chinese seller throughout this experience.) Left with no other choice, I contacted eBay via telephone, and—within 5min of taking my call—the eBay representative said that eBay would REFUND my money and I can keep my hunk of steel. I was obviously satisfied with that outcome.
Now for why this product and others like it no longer work…
These “nag reduction devices” used to work, but TESLA has obviously had plenty of bad press from drivers misusing Autopilot, including YouTubers whom we’ve all seen videos of riding in the back seat alone in the car (sometimes asleep!) with Autopilot engaged. This is WAY stupid!
It seems evident to me that TESLA has rendered these “nag reduction devices” obsolete with just a few lines of code sent over-the-air. It appears that TESLA’s Autopilot driver engagement sensors now look for weight/tension applied to the steering wheel that is not merely consistent but actually fluctuates slightly, as a normal grasp of the steering wheel from a human driver would actually fluctuate. I’m assuming this affects all such static “nag reduction” solutions alike. I don’t blame TESLA for doing this.