Consumer Reports recommends Tesla disable Autosteer and make changes to AutoPilot

[wcalvin]

People seem to think that the Tesla “autopilot,” better called Driver Assistance, gives a driver freedom to ignore their surroundings. In my experience, it allows the driver to keep looking around at the traffic in the way pilots are trained to do, scanning for approaching hazards such as kamikaze lane-changers.

A Tesla is not autonomous in the manner of Google’s off-road test vehicles; it does not allow the driver to watch movies. Its large display can show a web page but its video content will not play. If you don’t occasionally move the steering wheel manually to resist the autosteering, warning beeps and chimes will remind you to pay attention; ignore them long enough and the car will gradually slow to a stop. So naps and movies are prevented but the driver can now safely look at a passenger for a few seconds in many situations.

Driver Assistance also adjusts your speed to that of the vehicle ahead, freeing you to look at other lanes without the fear of rear-ending a slowing car up front. The autosteering keeps you centered even as the road curves; best of all, there is no more drifting into another lane when twisting in the driver’s seat to check clearances or the back seat passengers. This is progress.

Should a mishap occur, the car sends Tesla the data; the accumulation helps indicate what is relatively safe and what is chancy. Consumer Reports’ call for Tesla to remotely disable everyone’s Autosteer until it can be reprogrammed to their editors’ arbitrary specification (no data offered) needs to be balanced against the loss of such safety advantages for existing Tesla owners. First, do no harm.

 

[Pruitt]

What portion of that training is specific to a particular brand or model of vehicle? None. Are you suggesting that Tesla-style AP will
(or should) be put in enough vehicles that the generic driver's training you refer to will cover it? If you want to have an "interesting"
experience, try taking a driver's exam in your Tesla and using AP.


I thought we were talking about scalable solutions that would fit in with Tesla's vision of becoming a mass-market automotive company.
Was I mistaken?


Wait, what? We're talking about driver/operators here -- where do first responders come into the picture? Or are we talking about
obfuscation again?


Such training is usually not targeted at average-to-above-average users, which I assume includes you. Most of the people who will need
more training to use AP safely don't even own Teslas yet. The current owners are something of a self-selecting group.

Glad you were able to use and enjoy it. I, too, recently took a 1500-mile trip and made good use of both AP and, most impressively
(to us, at least), the SpC network. I think trips like this really convert people into die-hard Tesla fans.

Well Roger,

I think we've reached the end of our useful dialog on these points (and perhaps a couple of posts ago).

At least we appear to be in agreement on the long-distance viability of Tesla automobiles and the usefulness of properly used Autopilot.

 

[GoTslaGo]

My 2 cents.

What irks me about CR's take on AutoPilot is that they have a database of Tesla drivers/subscribers as evident by how many are saying they are cancelling their subscription.

Instead of coming out with blanket statements built up from the generalities and rumors in the press shouldn't they have, as a "Research" institution, contacted Tesla owners? Shouldn't they have done some research and asked Tesla owners what their experience is, and how we use AP?

Sad to say, I've been using CR less and less these days. Most of the data I need about products are better found with a Google search. When I have turned to CR about products I wanted, they had no information: Specifically driver assisted features which I was researching in 2014 to 2015. Not Tesla at that time, but MB, Audi, Volvo, etc... Nada. I had to turn to YouTube and German websites (I don't speak or read German, but useful nonetheless).

So suddenly they're very interested in it now, and are such an expert in it, but never bothered to mine their own database. IMHO, the best and simplest research they could do is ask good relevant question about products and technology, instead of their old tired boilerplate list of questions that "fit" their established metrics.

 

[Tam]

Now that Consumer Reports has posted its comments, my favorite is from a pilot:

Tesla Autopilot kills driver? No, it didn’t.

The article cites limitations of airplane Autopilot:

"But there are several things that all of these tools cant’t do. They won’t keep you from hitting a mountain, flying off the end of the runway, hitting another airplane in mid-flight or flying through a thunderstorm. All of those things require somethings that computers, at least today, can’t do, Make complex decisions that require human intervention."

Bottom line, as of today, human is in control whether there's an Autopilot or not.

 

[David29]

I'm not familiar with all the other systems. Some have commented that other systems are more aggressive at ensuring hands are on the wheel. Would you still use the system if it required hand on the wheel at all times?

Good question but I am not sure. Would have to try it and see. Might still reduce stress if you can keep one hand on the wheel but trust the car to keep the car moving safely while you momentarily looked at the center screen to adjust the audio or navigation, etc.

 

[ecarfan]

Consumer Reports calls for Tesla to disable Autopilot, Tesla says no

Right on, Tesla.

Decades ago I had a fair degree of confidence in CR. I am no longer as impressed with them as I used to be.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I don't care what a magazine thinks.

 

[mrElbe]

I will not be renewing my subscription which runs out in November. When they resort to non researched sensationalism it is no longer an objective source of information for me.

 

[Tam]

Consumer Report has published its finding on V8 and concluded:

Tesla’s New Autopilot: Better But Still Needs Improvement

No kidding Sherlock Holmes!

 

[3Victoria]

a) Yes the trucker cut across into incoming traffic.
b) Autosteering enabled the driver to not pay attention to the road, and this resulted in the accident.
c) Without autosteering the driver would have seen the truck and could have reacted, potentially avoiding the accident.

I haven't seen a final report on this accident, but you seem to know ... can you the link?

 

[EV-lutioin]

Consumer Report has published its finding on V8 and concluded:

Tesla’s New Autopilot: Better But Still Needs Improvement

No kidding Sherlock Holmes!

"As I sit in my arm chair smoking my pipe thinking of the good ol' days, I think this new wet-behind-the-ears upstart Tesla, needs slow down with all this innovation stuff." Sincerely, CR

 

[msnow]

I haven't seen a final report on this accident, but you seem to know ... can you the link?

They are still investigating. No final report just speculation.

 

[3Victoria]

They are still investigating. No final report just speculation

Exactly!

 

[Chopr147]

Gee thanks CR, but you are already way behind the tech age. Go back to best washing machines

 

[msnow]

Gee thanks CR, but you are already way behind the tech age. Go back to best washing machines

What I find funny is that we LOVED them 3 years ago and 2 years ago when they said "best car ever tested" and in 2015 "off the chart" performance. Now, after the article on warranty and complaints all of a sudden we hate them. Sort of inconsistent response from us right?

 

[3Victoria]

Perhaps inconsistent from them? They seem to be over reacting to criticism regarding their very positive early reviews ... perhaps also pressure from some advertisers?

 

[msnow]

Perhaps inconsistent from them? They seem to be over reacting to criticism regarding their very positive early reviews ... perhaps also pressure from some advertisers?

Or maybe it's the truth all three times. Who knows, but they've removed it from their recommended list and that's not good.

 

[3Victoria]

Perhaps the other shoe will drop at some point.

 

[msnow]

Or maybe it's the truth all three times. Who knows, but they've removed it from their recommended list and that's not good.

Also, CR doesn't have advertisers in order to retain independence.

 

[mspohr]

I am thinking that CR should recommend that all cars with cruise control (especially the old style with no front radar) make it mandatory that people keep their foot on the brake pedal at all times. After all, cruise control could just automatically run into something and we need to have the driver ready at any time to stop the car.