Bad HX_Guy! Reprimanded by AP2!

[HX_Guy]

Had a chance to test out AP2 on a stretch of freeway this evening and one of the things I was curious about is how long does the system let you go without touching the steering wheel...and what happens next? I was surprised by the end result..

Engage system to first on-screen visual notification to place hands on the wheel: 60 seconds
First notification to second notification (double beep and visual): 15 seconds
Second notification to third notification (quadurple beep and visual): 13 seconds
Third notification to final notification (system disables): 5 seconds

A total of just over one minute and thirty seconds of not touching the steering wheel results in the system disabling and it will not allow you to reactive Autopilot until you have pulled over, placed the car in park, and then start again.

Is that behavior new or is that how AP1 has always worked? I've seen people mention the with AP1, if you went over 90 MPH, the system would disable until you stopped and started again, but I don't recall ever seeing someone mention a penalty for not placing your hands on the steering wheel.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Yep AP1 does it too. You get the "red hands of punishment" and can't use AP again till you've stopped and moved the selector lever to park.

 

[chillaban]

Correct. If you have either:

1 "red hands of shame" final escalation warning, or
3 beep beep "hold steering wheel" audio warnings within an hour, or
(some greater number, haven't figured out) silent "hold steering wheel" flashing screen warnings within an hour,

you will get locked out for the rest of the drive. The very last one I've found to be most frustrating for those with a light grip on the wheel.


EDIT: Note that AP2 will feel more brutally punishing compared to AP1 at the moment -- the lower confidence with the lane markings seem to result in way more hold steering wheel nags compared to AP1. Below 45mph with multiple cars visible in front of you on AP1, sometimes you can go 5+ minutes between nags. I haven't seen any videos where there's longer than ~45s or so between nags on AP2.

 

[HX_Guy]

Is grabbing the steering wheel the only way to satisfy the requirement of being "alert"?

My wife's E300 allows you to touch the steering wheel buttons in lieu of grabbing the steering wheel - does Tesla have something similar or your only option is to tug on the steering wheel?

 

[chillaban]

Is grabbing the steering wheel the only way to satisfy the requirement of being "alert"?

My wife's E300 allows you to touch the steering wheel buttons in lieu of grabbing the steering wheel - does Tesla have something similar or your only option is to tug on the steering wheel?

You gotta tug. The NHTSA report claims that fidgeting with the cruise stalk and turn signals resets the counters, but that was not my experience at least with the first 8.0 release.

It's pretty easy to thoughtlessly nudge the steering wheel or keep a constant tug on it without paying much attention. Of course, I'm not endorsing such behavior, but just illustrating that over time you get used to the differences.

 

[ZeroDarkSilver]

It senses hands-on with a torque sensor. So you have to exert some rotational force on the steering wheel. If you simply squeeze the wheel, but don't exert rotational force, it won't sense it.

I've found that keeping one hand around the bottom of the steering wheel on either side of the descending spoke, with an overhand grip, like holding riding reins, produces enough torque to keep the AP threshold happy. I keep my other hand nearby the steering wheel but not gripping it fully because I find that balances out the force. With both hands on with same grip in laterally symmetric positions, on straight roads AP will sometimes think I'm not holding the wheel because the forces balance out, and I have to jiggle the wheel to keep it happy. The asymmetric grip keeps me from ever having to jiggle the wheel, even on long perfectly straight stretches of road.

This is on AP1. Your AP2 mileage may vary.

 

[ZeroDarkSilver]

Btw, when you say you've never heard anyone mention this before, this is probably this biggest, most notable change Tesla made in response to the Joshua Brown accident in Florida. In the NHTSA report it's called the strike-out system, and its implementation by Tesla last year was probably a critical requirement for obtaining a favorable conclusion from the agency, is my guess.

 

[JohnnyG]

Correct. If you have either:
...
3 beep beep "hold steering wheel" audio warnings within an hour, or
(some greater number, haven't figured out) silent "hold steering wheel" flashing screen warnings within an hour,
...

I've not heard of the "within an hour". I've always read, and experienced it as "within your current drive"; meaning between the time you took it out of Park and the next time you put it back in Park.
Can you post your source of it resetting the counter outside of an hour?