Blind spot monitoring in side mirrors?

[thgchris]

I own a 2015 Highlander Limited and the last car I owned before that was a 2008 Subaru WRX. Something I've really liked about the Highlander is the lighted warning of a vehicle in my blind spot on the actual side mirrors (never had this on my WRX). Is this something that is in a Model S or it seems it's only on the dash as a warning from some other threads I've read (and yet some people seem to have it?)

Just wanted to get confirmation from someone that owns an MS.

Would seem odd that for all the awesomeness that I've read about MS they wouldn't have lighted blind spot monitoring in the side mirrors.

Is it only something in the newest MS maybe or no one?

 

[Matias]

Unfortunately Model-S doesn't have blind spot warning in side mirrors. Only on the dash.

 

[thgchris]

Unfortunately Model-S doesn't have blind spot warning in side mirrors. Only on the dash.

Dang. Surprised they haven't added in one of the many revisions or at the time they added auto pilot I assume they'd have the sensors to make this possible.

 

[Matias]

Dang. Surprised they haven't added in one of the many revisions or at the time they added auto pilot I assume they'd have the sensors to make this possible.

It is not a question of sensors. Dash has the warning.

 

[BertL]

OP, when we say "on the dash", it's likely more sophisticated than you expect... Whereas some lesser implementations have a single light or one that changes from yellow to red on each of the side mirrors, the MS IC displays in real time a visual that changes color and extends in distance as it sees objects. IMHO, it's just a different implementation. I come from a Lexus and MBZ that used indicators in the side mirrors, and honestly I've grown to like this MS implementation in the IC better... When combined with Autopilot, you really begin to get a much better sense what your car is seeing without even having to turn your head to check the side mirror indicators as often.

 

[dirkhh]

"more sophisticated" is one possible description for sure.

Yes, there are arcs and beeps and all kinds of distracting ways the system alerts you. It also alerts you of impending doom in heavy rain with no other car around.
What it doesn't do is show you intuitively, as you look at the side mirror, that there is another car in your blind spot.

While there are people here who to my surprise seriously argue that showing this warning in the instrument cluster is even remotely useful, let's state that there are many current owners who will loudly disagree with that. I don't look at my dash board when changing lanes, I look at my mirrors and over my shoulder. The only reason I can come up with for the current implementation is that Tesla has no hardware in the mirror that would allow them to alert the driver, so they are trying to work around that shortcoming with that weird dash display. I find the current implementation (I am still on the 6.2 firmware - but have seen no indication that this has improved in v7) utterly useless and even worse as it quite regularly startles me with alarming beeps in heavy rain which cause me to take my eyes off the road in the worst possible situation only to then realize "the <censored> blind spot alarm is still a piece of <censored>"

 

[caddieo]

I've been happy with leaving the rear view camera on in the upper half of the screen. Anything visible in the space outside either lane marker is in your blind spot.

 

[green1]

On 6.2 the blind spot warnings on the dash were useless, but with 7.0 I don't mind then at all, and they seem to work quite well there. This surprised me quite a bit, because before I got 7.0 I was sure that tesla couldn't possibly come up with a way to make them useful without hardware in the mirrors. With 7.0 they proved me wrong, with all the information you can get about the car's surroundings from that graphic you tend to be paying attention to it anyway.
That said, I do find the implementation a bit weak, but not in how is displayed, just in how you can have a car in a pretty dangerous position "almost" in the blind spot and it won't see it at all. Other vehicles seem to do a better job of detecting vehicles in a larger area beside the car.

 

[LetsGoFast]

I disliked the 6.2 implementation intensely, but I'm pretty happy with the current version. The notion that you don't look at the dash when you are preparing to change lanes doesn't jibe with my experience. I don't even need to scan the mirrors when I can see that there is a car in my blind spot on the dash, which I routinely check every few seconds anyhow.

 

[Petra]

Honest question: how are you guys adjusting your mirrors? With the way I have mine adjusted, the only blind spot I've found (but it's workable) is when merging on the freeway with about a 1.5 lane distance between me and another car, a car can hide behind the b-pillar. During regular multi-lane freeway driving, the mirrors can be adjusted such that there isn't really even a transition point between the rear view mirror and side mirrors. Cars drop mostly out of the side mirror by the time they cross the b-pillar, but you can see the nose of the car ahead of the b-pillar and the tail of the car behind the b-pillar at that point.

My process for mirror adjustment involves parking the car to be adjusted in my long driveway and then having a second driver slowly crawl a second car up along side the target car (keeping in mind standard freeway lane spacing and having the second vehicle start about 90 feet (~27.5m) behind). This process is then repeated on the passenger's side. This process can be validated by tracking cars during freeway driving.

 

[BertL]

Honest question: how are you guys adjusting your mirrors? With the way I have mine adjusted, the only blind spot I've found (but it's workable) is when merging on the freeway with about a 1.5 lane distance between me and another car, a car can hide behind the b-pillar. During regular multi-lane freeway driving, the mirrors can be adjusted such that there isn't really even a transition point between the rear view mirror and side mirrors. Cars drop mostly out of the side mirror by the time they cross the b-pillar, but you can see the nose of the car ahead of the b-pillar and the tail of the car behind the b-pillar at that point.

My process for mirror adjustment involves parking the car to be adjusted in my long driveway and then having a second driver slowly crawl a second car up along side the target car (keeping in mind standard freeway lane spacing and having the second vehicle start about 90 feet (~27.5m) behind). This process is then repeated on the passenger's side.

After trying many setups in the past 2 months and trying other people's ideas from posts I've picked-up here in TMC, I have mine adjusted just beyond the point where I would otherwise see the side of my MS -- then I play with tilt for improved distance. I find that gives me fairly good visibility of most cars as they approach on either side using the rearview, then the side mirrors if someone creeps up on me, and there is a reduced area where I may not see smaller length vehicles. I think (I've not proven it) the BSM would pick that up if I didn't and tried to lane change. I don't elect to run with the rear camera on all the time as some do -- it's proven too distracting for me to have on 100% of the time. Honestly, rear & side visibility is probably the largest (safety) concern I have with my MS... The fixed and very high rear seat headrests, combined with the very sloped rear hatch and therefore small rear window driver-visible-area, and the large B-pillar IMHO are just flat out problematic with the current design -- as much as I adore the overall exterior appearance.

 

[Cyclone]

I drove my 4Runner today for a bit and as much as I vastly prefer the Tesla's drive, performance, and buttery smooth experience, the 4Runner has a VASTLY BETTER rear view than the Tesla -- both in the larger side mirrors (never bothered me in the Tesla though) and the rear view mirror (my single biggest gripe of the car - even worse than the cup holders!)

 

[7racer]

I also prefer the current set up for the blind spot warning.

Also don't see the need to push the side mirror setup when "hopefully" the will finally change the archaic rules and allow cameras instead of mirrors
but I suppose some people would still like to see a warning on the side "mirror"

 

[caddieo]

You really don't have to have somebody drive up either side. When you are in the mall parking lot, identify the car behind you that is at the left edge of the rear view mirror. It is probably cut off by the mirror edge. ID the same car in the left outside mirror and adjust the left outside mirror so that the rest of the car is visible starting at the inside edge of the outside mirror and starting with the same cut-off point. Do the analogous maneuver on the right side for the car at the right edge of the rear view mirror.

 

[aus]

To have your mirrors adjusted properly, you should NOT be able to see the side of the car. You should need to move your head 2 inches to either side the see the side of the car... if you really want to make sure it's still there.

If you have your mirrors like this, there is essentially no blind spot if you have normal peripheral vision.
It takes some getting used it, but try it for 3 days and then decide which way you like it.

.

 

[snort]

..... Honestly, rear & side visibility is probably the largest (safety) concern I have with my MS... The fixed and very high rear seat headrests, combined with the very sloped rear hatch and therefore small rear window driver-visible-area, and the large B-pillar IMHO are just flat out problematic with the current design -- as much as I adore the overall exterior appearance.

Hear Hear. the blind spot is really big and scary. almost every night I use a left-side onramp to get onto a freeway (520 westbound to I-5 southbound in Seattle) I find it really hard to tell if the lights I'm seeing are in the lane I'm about to merge into or the next one over, they're still out of range of the blind spot sensor when I have to make my merge decision. about 2/3rds of drivers don't understand they're seeing a left-side onramp, so I have to be careful.


I found that the 7.0 upgrade significantly improved false alarms from rain in the blind spot sensor.

-Snortybartfast

 

[Petra]

You really don't have to have somebody drive up either side. When you are in the mall parking lot, identify the car behind you that is at the left edge of the rear view mirror. It is probably cut off by the mirror edge. ID the same car in the left outside mirror and adjust the left outside mirror so that the rest of the car is visible starting at the inside edge of the outside mirror and starting with the same cut-off point. Do the analogous maneuver on the right side for the car at the right edge of the rear view mirror.

Oh, I know it's totally overkill, but it does allow for reasonably good characterization of how cars track and transition through different areas of visibility. What you suggested is basically what I do to establish a starting point for adjustments.

 

[Caligula]

Step 1: Properly adjust your mirrors to eliminate blindspots.

How To: Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots - Feature - Car and Driver

Handy PDF -> https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.cartalk.com/sites/default/files/features/mirrors/CarTalkMirrors.pdf&q=how%20to%20adjust%20side%20mirrors&ved=0ahUKEwi47_3Kyc3JAhVP72MKHUCLARQQFggqMAQ&usg=AFQjCNGqNVIcKomkCXuCoq7Sd1dwR_fOJg&sig2=hoYBkPu-a5r-4oPq3tZYTA

Step 2: Have the rear camera app open and running on the top half of your center screen.

Step 3: Enjoy never having a blindspot again by using steps 1 and 2 in conjunction while driving.

/thread

 

[disillusioned]

So I just picked mine up this week, but I was hoping that blind spot monitoring would be more... intuitive. There's a compromise here between mirror display and barely useful sometimes hardly visible dash display. I think that when you activate the turn signal, if it detects ANYTHING to your side or blind spot, the dash should menacingly flash red almost in its entirety. This would be easily visible from your peripheral vision, and I find that I have to honestly take a split second to grok the current interface and determine if there's a threat or not. It's nearly useful and I don't want to get close enough to see it change in intensity. I'd rather it warn me brightly when I begin the lane change process that it's not free.

Likewise, on autopilot when the car doesn't think it's safe to change lanes, there's just no indication at all. Why? It should flash red or render other vehicles on the screen so you have some idea of what it's thinking (though my understanding is 7.1 may do this a bit?)

Just my two cents, but this is a feature that can be improved entirely through the UI/UX.

 

[ecarfan]

Leave the rear view camera image on the upper part of the center display. It clearly shows the traditional "blind spots" that other cars have, but the Model S does not.
The rear view wide angle lens is so wide that it covers everything up to the point where you can see cars to the side of you in your peripheral vision without even turning your head.
NOTE: the new AP auto lane change feature cannot safely change lanes unless the driver does a visual check first. Tesla makes no claims that auto lane change can be done safely just based on the vehicle sensors without driver participation. The driver must first verify that a lane change can be made safely before initiating auto lane change!