Correct way to disengage autopilot

[JPUConn]

Coming from the Model S I became quite used to the autopilot stalk and the ability to smoothly transition from AP to my control with the stalk and not touching the brakes.

Is there a proper method to disengage AP without touching the brakes?

I pressed the park button briefly and AP did deactivate but the parking brake also engaged (not meaningfully)

 

[Az_Rael]

Pull up on the drive stalk to disengage AP in a 3. Just don’t do a long pull, or I think the car will go into Neutral.


Just be aware that if you build this habit in the 3, you will often put a Model S in Neutral when trying to disengage AP if you drive an S again. Luckily the S will beep at you when you do that. If only Tesla had maintained some AP stalk consistency between their cars, sigh.

 

[nvx1977]

Pull up on the drive stalk to disengage AP in a 3. Just don’t do a long pull, or I think the car will go into Neutral.


Just be aware that if you build this habit in the 3, you will often put a Model S in Neutral when trying to disengage AP if you drive an S again. Luckily the S will beep at you when you do that. If only Tesla had maintained some AP stalk consistency between their cars, sigh.

My guess is that the refreshed S/X will work exactly like the 3, so... consistency for future owners.

 

[GSP]

My guess is that the refreshed S/X will work exactly like the 3, so... consistency for future owners.

I hope not.

My S allows me to set the cruise control at the current vehicle speed. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this in my 3. Cruise always zooms up to my speed limit warning speed, 5 mph over what the car thinks the speed limit is. It is not always appropriate to drive five over the limit, and the car is sometimes very wrong about what the speed limit really is.

GSP

 

[nvx1977]

I hope not.

My S allows me to set the cruise control at the current vehicle speed. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this in my 3. Cruise always zooms up to my speed limit warning speed, 5 mph over what the car thinks the speed limit is. It is not always appropriate to drive five over the limit, and the car is sometimes very wrong about what the speed limit really is.

GSP

I'm not suggesting that Tesla freeze fixing usability issues. kind of a non sequitur. but def agree this is annoying. I frequently am dialing back speed the instant i engage EAP.

 

[jamnmon66]

Slowly increase your pressure (torque) on the steering wheel until it disengages. Turn in the safest direction until you get used to it. I can generally disengage without moving the car very much within my lane. The key is to put just enough pressure without jerking the wheel. This will leave the cruise control alone while disengaging the auto-steer.

 

[Abstrakt1]

I tap the break or accelerator if i want cruise and auto pilot to stop. I slightly move the steering wheel if I just want auto pilot to disengage and keep cruise on.

 

[Krash]

Slowly increase your pressure (torque) on the steering wheel until it disengages...This will leave the cruise control alone while disengaging the auto-steer.

Keep in mind that if you do this on the S and the car in front of you slows to turn, your car will slow so when the car in front of you is out of your path, your car will then accelerate very quickly on cruise control. I found that a hard adjustment, especially while turning.

 

[BOBEDIGITL]

Hit the stalk up and it automatically shuts off auto pilot. Weird to hear the car speeds up when some are engaging autopilot. When I engage, it starts at my current speed. I almost always have to move the speed up, not down like some of you. Wonder if it's a firmware issue.

 

[follow.johnny]

As other model 3 owners have posted - Push up on the drive stalk to disengage AP.

Other ways to disengage AP
• Press Brake
• Take control of steering wheel (disables auto-steer but TACC is still enabled)

Hope you can get used to the driver stalk to enable/disable AP as oppose to a dedicated stalk for AP from a S.

 

[brianmeow]

been wondering the same thing, how to disengage AP without breaking

 

[WileyTheMan]

FYI you can fully pull up on the stalk (reverse mode) and it will not disengage the gear when turning off autopilot. As a matter of fact I believe if you pull up on the stalk short of Reverse, it keeps TACC on.

 

[daniel]

Coming from the Model S I became quite used to the autopilot stalk and the ability to smoothly transition from AP to my control with the stalk and not touching the brakes.

Is there a proper method to disengage AP without touching the brakes?

I pressed the park button briefly and AP did deactivate but the parking brake also engaged (not meaningfully)

The "proper method of disengaging autopilot depends on exactly what you want to accomplish and why.

The basic way to disengage AP and TACC together is to pull up briefly on the shifter/AP stalk. This completely disengages the system.

If you want to disengage AP and slow down, you press on the brake.

Stepping on the go pedal will cause the car to speed up but will not disengage either AP or TACC.

And finally, if you need to override autosteer and change the direction the car is going, turn the steering wheel. This does not disengage TACC.

Slowly increase your pressure (torque) on the steering wheel until it disengages. Turn in the safest direction until you get used to it. I can generally disengage without moving the car very much within my lane. The key is to put just enough pressure without jerking the wheel. This will leave the cruise control alone while disengaging the auto-steer.

This should ONLY be used when you want to change the direction the car is going. It should not be your go-to method of disengaging AP, for example when you're merely coming to a stop sign, as it will cause the car to jerk to the side. It's useful, for example, when coming to a passing lane on a narrow road, and the lane lines would direct you into the lane you don't want. Use the steering wheel to steer into the lane you do want, without disengaging TACC, and then you can re-engage AP in your new lane. Or if you need to swerve to avoid hitting something.

The steering wheel is for steering the car and should be used to disengage AP when you need to override the steering. If you don't need to alter the course of the car, then the stalk or the brake pedal is the "proper" way.

 

[JPUConn]

Thanks for the replies. I had asked the DS when I received my car but she was uncertain.

Seems to validate my thought that the shift stalk is only a gear selector when stationary or at a very low speed and becomes the AP stalk once in motion (with the exception of the parking selector that is an emergency brake activator).

 

[gravastar]

I hope not.

My S allows me to set the cruise control at the current vehicle speed. As far as I can tell, there is no way to do this in my 3. Cruise always zooms up to my speed limit warning speed, 5 mph over what the car thinks the speed limit is. It is not always appropriate to drive five over the limit, and the car is sometimes very wrong about what the speed limit really is.

GSP

I agree.

I'm the only one I know who does this but I like to set my cruise control to 20 mph in a school zone. That lets me look exclusively at my surroundings without having to keep glancing over to ensure I haven't exceeded 20 mph.

The first time I tried to set 20 mph in my M3 in a school zone, I learned pretty quickly I wouldn't be doing that again.

 

[xav-]

How to stop AP without braking? Easy.. gently tap the brakes.. you will see that AP will be disengaged and no braking will actually happen..

It’s a lot safer and simpler than risking shifting the car into neutral or reverse.

Problem solved.

 

[skitown]

I agree.

I'm the only one I know who does this but I like to set my cruise control to 20 mph in a school zone. That lets me look exclusively at my surroundings without having to keep glancing over to ensure I haven't exceeded 20 mph.

The first time I tried to set 20 mph in my M3 in a school zone, I learned pretty quickly I wouldn't be doing that again.

Hmm. I do this all the time in my S so I don’t inadvertently speed too. I don’t have our Model 3 yet but am curious about a work around to still be able to do this.

 

[JPUConn]

After more AP miles in my 3, I am now more comfortable that disengaging AP without having to press on the brake pedal is as simple as tapping the stalk slightly upward.

I’m also understanding more that ones personal AP setting to be relative or absolute to the speed limit dictates the initial AP set speed vs the S or X that would engage at the current speed. This of course is subject to the 5mph over the posted non speed for non divided/marked highways same as S/X. This makes sense and will take getting used to.

 

[Aellinsar]

I wish I could disable the chime when AP disengages. I understand they don't wan't you thinking APis on when it isn't, so I coudl see leaving it on for streering wheel disengagement. But I'd like it not to play if I press up on the stalk. I manually turned it off, I don't need the car telling me that and it's distracting/annoying to passengers.

 

[SageBrush]

I spent a lot of years teaching my right foot to reflexively go to the fuel pedal when I want to speed up and to the brake pedal to when I want to slow down.

I don't want AP to muck with that learning. Most importantly, I don't want to hesitate between using my foot or my hand to slow down when time is short and my focus should be on the road.

Tesla programmed it right, and Daniel is spot on.