AutoPilot trial, well it is a disappointment

[Lasairfion]

I just think that it is really really cool that a car you bought without an options package can give you a free trial of that options package. In the future when you sell your car to someone else, perhaps they could then add on the EAP package if they so wished to do so. Who else offers a service like that?

For the OP, I can't imagine this will be the last trial of autopilot, so keep an eye out for another go at it next time.

 

[dethman]

False.



Lots of people who have lots of miles on AP feel the exact opposite. I guess some people will just not get it. I feel sorry for them -- like people who don't want to give up their fliphone or blackberry or cable tv.

seems to me that remembering to keep force on the wheel every 30 seconds would be more cumbersome than just driving normally on a straight stretch of road.

it seems that prior iterations of autopilot required much less of you, but since the latest updates it would seem more of a chore than a benefit.

i also can't get over the fact that any crash, whether it was caused by autopilot or the driver, will clearly be automatically be labeled by musk as 'the driver wasn't paying attention/holding the wheel autopilot was not at fault it was the driver entirely' despite the fact that this may not be entirely true.

 

[bhzmark]

"It also requires more of you when you are traveling on a straight highway, since you have to apply pressure to the wheel when you normally wouldn’t."





I disagree with the "False" Long straight stretches of highway, my daily commute, DO require more "light force" than keeping the car straight without autosteer. If yours doesn't then your car probably needs an alignment

You just rest your hand on the wheel. No need to consciously apply any force. Just rest hand in the right way — keeping it on the wheel for easy quick action if ever needed. Safe and easy. But does take a small bit of common sense.

seems to me that remembering to keep force on the wheel every 30 seconds would be more cumbersome than just driving normally on a straight stretch of road.

it seems that prior iterations of autopilot required much less of you, but since the latest updates it would seem more of a chore than a benefit.

i also can't get over the fact that any crash, whether it was caused by autopilot or the driver, will clearly be automatically be labeled by musk as 'the driver wasn't paying attention/holding the wheel autopilot was not at fault it was the driver entirely' despite the fact that this may not be entirely true.

As above.

AP relieves the driver of the need to make the small micro adjustments to accel and steering wheel. It’s really pretty easy for lots of people. Including older people that I have explained this to in very simple terms.

If you don’t get it, you probably better stick to just TACC if you can figure that out.

 

[boonedocks]

You just rest your hand on the wheel. No need to consciously apply any force. Just rest hand in the right way — keeping it on the wheel for easy quick action if ever needed. Safe and easy. But does take a small bit of common sense.



As above.

AP relieves the driver of the need to make the small micro adjustments to accel and steering wheel. It’s really pretty easy for lots of people. Including older people that I have explained this to in very simple terms.

If you don’t get it, you probably better stick to just TACC if you can figure that out.

LOL You might want to have that alignment checked next time your car is in for service.

 

[jorobsand]

I for one think Tesla is just a few steps away from something like this...

It fits right in with Tesla's current (or lack of) advertising model. Just give away the code for a free trial of EAP and spam away!

 

[RDoc]

We really like our AP1 and will have it on all our future cars. Highway driving is nice with it, but stop and go is where it really shines.

 

[Az_Rael]

ou just rest your hand on the wheel. No need to consciously apply any force. Just rest hand in the right way — keeping it on the wheel for easy quick action if ever needed. Safe and easy. But does take a small bit of common sense.

The amount of force required to keep the nags away varies greatly between cars. My 3 requires a pretty firm hold, our S is a much lighter touch. I have gotten used to the "firm grip" required for my 3, but it still isn't exactly great on long trips - when I drove to Phoenix I had to keep switching hands as one would get tired holding the wheel firmly enough to keep the nags at bay on that long straight road that is I10. I have taken my car in to the service center for this several times and the answer I got back was that amount of force is set at the factory and can't be changed by the SC. Basically, it is what it is, luck of the draw on your VIN.


I also totally get 14 days not being long enough to see the value of AP. When I first started using AP, it took me and my husband several months before we started really seeing the benefits of autosteer on our daily commutes (TACC was instant love). A lot of that is how trusting you are of the system. We tend to be not trusting, so initially it felt like it was more work than just driving manually. Once we got comfortable with the nuances of the system, then you start to actually appreciate the workload lowering, but that could take a while. I don't think Autosteer is love at first drive for a lot of folks.

 

[deonb]

You just rest your hand on the wheel. No need to consciously apply any force. Just rest hand in the right way — keeping it on the wheel for easy quick action if ever needed. Safe and easy. But does take a small bit of common sense.

It's not enough. Without autopilot I drive one of two ways, either my left elbow on the door and hands on the wheel, or hands in the lap and fingers on the wheel.

Neither of those methods provide nearly enough torque against the wheel to keep autopilot happy.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I can steer the car around the normal curves of a highway with less force required than is necessary to keep autopilot happy.

 

[dethman]

You just rest your hand on the wheel. No need to consciously apply any force. Just rest hand in the right way — keeping it on the wheel for easy quick action if ever needed. Safe and easy. But does take a small bit of common sense.

sorry, as evidenced by the multitude of threads and complaints from existing AP drivers about the new updates, this is clearly untrue.

guess some people will just not get it. I feel sorry for them -- like people who don't want to give up their fliphone or blackberry or cable tv.

It’s really pretty easy for lots of people. Including older people that I have explained this to in very simple terms.If you don’t get it, you probably better stick to just TACC if you can figure that out.

you can try to minimize concerns from other drivers and passive aggressively condescend, but clearly the problems are there.

 

[bhzmark]

LOL You might want to have that alignment checked next time your car is in for service.

That makes no sense. Alignment is perfect and driving with a hand resting is easy and fine and safe.

And I was responding to the assertion that AP “requires more of you” — not just more “force” but more time and attention and cognitive load. That is simply false. The main benefit of AP is that it frees you from paying attention to small adjustments to stay in the lane so that you can pay more attention to farther down the road to traffic and road conditions. Safer and easier. Maybe some won’t understand.

sorry, as evidenced by the multitude of threads and complaints from existing AP drivers about the new updates, this is clearly untrue.





you can try to minimize concerns from other drivers and passive aggressively condescend, but clearly the problems are there.

The sample in this thread is not remotely representative. I know of many people who find AP to greatly ease long distance and stop and go driving. That is just an empirical truth that is plain to me based on posts throughout this forum and personal experience and multiple conversations with other people who use it.

If you think using AP is harder than not using it you are in the minority.

 

[Brian's ReX]

It also requires more of you when you are traveling on a straight highway, since you have to apply pressure to the wheel when you normally wouldn’t.

Really?!?!?! I don't know about you... but my "non-Tesla" vehicle requires (or should I say 'recommends') constant pressure - some very light, and some not. I'm now not sure how many people there are on the road with me that don't touch their steering wheel, except just 'on occasion'?!?!?!

Thank Gawd I have EAP!!!

 

[DCsportsfan]

False.



Lots of people who have lots of miles on AP feel the exact opposite. I guess some people will just not get it. I feel sorry for them -- like people who don't want to give up their fliphone or blackberry.

 

[DCsportsfan]

There’s a learning and trust curve to EAP. Recently A buddy with a 75D used his EAP for the first time. Doesn’t do much driving over 50 miles and avoided using it. He tried it and had trouble not touching brake or steering wheel when we got into stop and go traffic. We bought our cars in March 2017 and over time I have experienced the pluses and minuses and appreciate how to use EAP safely. I love how it reduces my workload driving to and from LA. It’s amazing technology and looking forward to more, whenever.

 

[s1rk]

There’s a learning and trust curve to EAP.

Totally agree! I was able to drive my parent's MX for almost a month and It took me a week to feel comfortable with the EAP but once I did -- it was awesome! Especially for my 30 mile each way freeway commute in Socal (60 and 10 freeways ). My old school dad, however, still does not trust EAP to this day lol. He thinks TACC is really great tho!

I also think it helps me be more of a patient driver... since it's doing the driving for me on stop-and-go traffic, I stopped feeling the need to constantly switch lanes -- which usually doesn't make it any faster anyways, lol. Instead I'm just sitting there chillin with one hand on the wheel for the EAP nag while enjoying my music. It might be psychological but I feel it's greatly reduced my fatigue while driving that I ended up ordering a Model S for myself.

 

[brkaus]

It's not enough. Without autopilot I drive one of two ways, either my left elbow on the door and hands on the wheel, or hands in the lap and fingers on the wheel.

Neither of those methods provide nearly enough torque against the wheel to keep autopilot happy.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I can steer the car around the normal curves of a highway with less force required than is necessary to keep autopilot happy.

I do the same and both provide enough feedback to the car that I do not get nags very frequently.

 

[Tesomega]

I have had EAP from Day-One (Drive from the Delivery center back home was 320 mile drive used EAP about 85% of the time) and this is the one most important factor that I bought my car. I now have about 15K miles on it so far and have had several road trip where i had used the features for more than 80%-90% of the drive. This greatly reduces the fatigue associated with long drives I have done many of such drives (12-14 hrs), its worth every penny.

EAP has not been this way, it has greatly improved in the 11 months of my ownership. The Nag is a recent introduction (read: to reduce negative press for Tesla Autopilot) because of the drivers who fail to obey basic rules on using EAP.

The way i see it, Tesla introduced a whole bench of test vehicles (who have never had EAP) to validate the EAP code base 8.1 and sell the feature as an added benefit for people who wish to have it.

Said that, Its hard to justify for someone who prefers to drive on their own and rely less on technology provided comforts.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Alllright guys. Different people have different experiences w/ respect to the nags. I think that's been pretty well established a few hundred times in other threads.

 

[ZAKEEUS]

Really?!?!?! I don't know about you... but my "non-Tesla" vehicle requires (or should I say 'recommends') constant pressure - some very light, and some not. I'm now not sure how many people there are on the road with me that don't touch their steering wheel, except just 'on occasion'?!?!?!

Thank Gawd I have EAP!!!

I wrote that post after getting the warning to apply pressure to the wheel when I was holding the wheel like I normally do. It’s easier to just drive the car. Maybe it’s because I drive 18 wheelers and driving cars is just extremely easy to me, but I feel like it’s easier to drive the car than it is to babysit Autopilot.

 

[Mediocrates]

The sample in this thread is not remotely representative. I know of many people who find AP to greatly ease long distance and stop and go driving. That is just an empirical truth that is plain to me based on posts throughout this forum and personal experience and multiple conversations with other people who use it.

Anecdotal evidence is not "empirical truth"...whether it be in support of or opposed to a held belief. It is a common fallacy to misconstrue anecdotal evidence as data: posts here do not count as proof of a conclusion.

 

[xyeahtony]

seems to me that remembering to keep force on the wheel every 30 seconds would be more cumbersome than just driving normally on a straight stretch of road.

Yeah to me its less effort to tug a wheel every 30 seconds than it is to continuously make micro-adjustments in steering to make sure you don't drift out of your lane.

Anecdotal evidence aside, i've driven many hundreds of thousands of miles. never been exhausted driving a tesla 1000 miles, always been exhausted driving any other car for half that distance. But that sentiment is echoed by most around here.