green1
Active Member
Error message must be mistaken, I've tried it. I have a feeling it's not quite classes as "driver assistance" and is more classed as a "convenience" feature, like the rain sensing wipers.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Cruise Control unavailable, with a twist (loss of all driver assistance features too)
- Thread starter Andyw2100
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model S User Interface
Yes, either the error message is wrong, or something changed. But auto high beam is definitely considered a driver assistance feature, as per the manual:
--
Driver Assistance Features These safety features are available on all Model S vehicles equipped with Driver Assistance components:• Lane Assist (see Lane Assist on page 77).• Collision Avoidance Assist (see Collision Avoidance Assist on page 79).• Speed Assist (see Speed Assist on page 82).These convenience features, designed to reduce driver workload, are available only if Model S is equipped with the optional Autopilot Tech Package:• Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (see Traffic Aware Cruise Control on page 66).• Autosteer (see Autosteer on page 71).• Auto Lane Change (see Auto Lane Change on page 73).• Autopark (see Autopark on page 75).• Auto High Beam (see High Beam Headlights on page 50).
Last edited:
Dakkor
Member
I wish we could use normal cruise control when Autopilot features are disable. We got a big snowstorm yesterday and cruise control wasn't working because of snow accumulation in the front of the car.
green1
Active Member
I sure hope you would never use cruise control in that situation, no car ever made advises the use of cruise control on snow covered roads.
Spoke to Tesla technical support and they said basic cc can be used even if TACC or auto pilot is not functioning
I believe they are mistaken. There is no "basic cruise control" any longer on cars that have TACC. It's all or nothing.
What if you turned off all the driver support functionality in the settings menu then tried to enable cruise control using the stalk?
I'm not with the car right now, but I'm not sure what you mean about turning off all driver support functionality. All the different options have their own settings. I don't believe there are any TACC settings that would accomplish what you are trying to accomplish and what the technical support rep told you. Just to be clear, I am in no way questioning that you were told what you say you were told. I just believe the customer support rep was probably misinformed.
Dakkor
Member
I saw Andy's picture in the other thread, and decided to post here. Had the same thing happen to me last night, and we only got about 1" of snow... sigh...
Got tons of messages about TACC not being available, autosteer not available, "Park Assist Unavailable" etc. Came out (people here don't know how to drive in snow, so we were parking behind someone stuck on a gentle slope), cleared out the ice from the radar unit, came back in and TACC was back to being operational.
Got tons of messages about TACC not being available, autosteer not available, "Park Assist Unavailable" etc. Came out (people here don't know how to drive in snow, so we were parking behind someone stuck on a gentle slope), cleared out the ice from the radar unit, came back in and TACC was back to being operational.
First of all, thanks for posting in this thread and not the other one. The original goal was to keep the other one 100% for pictures only, but that did not work out.
I still think it would be great if we could start adding a slew of pictures (only) to that thread. If every time someone winds up with the sensor blocked they take a picture, and post it to that thread, with the date and location, once we have a bunch of new pictures I'll send another message highlighting the problem to Tesla. It shouldn't be that hard for us to get a bunch of different pictures, all showing the same problem. You're going to have to clear the snow and ice from the sensor anyway, so why not snap a quick picture first?
I wasn't in any way criticizing the fact that you didn't take a picture, Max. (The picture thread is old, so taking a picture is understandably not the first thing on everyone's mind when this happens!) I was just advocating for people to do it in the future!
Thanks!
I've posted another couple of pictures in the picture thread since the last time there has been any discussion in this thread.
Tonight's trip made me realize just how much I miss not being able to simply set a cruise speed when I've lost driver assistance functionality.
My radar unit must have been snow covered by the time I got on the highway. It really was not snowing hard at all, and traffic on the highway was moving at the normal speed of 65-75. I would have liked to have been able to set TACC, but failing that, I really would have liked to have been able to set a cruising speed as opposed to having to attempt to maintain a set speed for the entire time I was on the highway.
I understand that the general consensus is that Tesla thinks we will get confused between TACC and "Simple speed-only cruise", and therefore is not providing the latter, but I really think this is silly. The interface and options available have become pretty complicated already. If some people can't remember that when they've been warned that they have no Driver Assistance features if they set a cruising speed the car isn't going to slow down on its own, well, that's on them. Don't penalize the rest of us! And of course I have to think that our ability, as humans, to maintain a set speed is not nearly as efficient as the cars' would be, so that's another reason Tesla really should give us the ability to set a "Simple speed-only cruise" when TACC is not available.
I expect for many of us that live in the Northeast and other cold, snowy areas our radar units are going to be blocked often. Many of those times it would be useful to still be able to set a cruising speed. We shouldn't have to give up such basic functionality because Tesla thinks some people won't be able to distinguish between a simple, speed-only cruise control and TACC. That's just silly.
I'll be writing [email protected] to let Tesla know my feelings on this subject.
Tonight's trip made me realize just how much I miss not being able to simply set a cruise speed when I've lost driver assistance functionality.
My radar unit must have been snow covered by the time I got on the highway. It really was not snowing hard at all, and traffic on the highway was moving at the normal speed of 65-75. I would have liked to have been able to set TACC, but failing that, I really would have liked to have been able to set a cruising speed as opposed to having to attempt to maintain a set speed for the entire time I was on the highway.
I understand that the general consensus is that Tesla thinks we will get confused between TACC and "Simple speed-only cruise", and therefore is not providing the latter, but I really think this is silly. The interface and options available have become pretty complicated already. If some people can't remember that when they've been warned that they have no Driver Assistance features if they set a cruising speed the car isn't going to slow down on its own, well, that's on them. Don't penalize the rest of us! And of course I have to think that our ability, as humans, to maintain a set speed is not nearly as efficient as the cars' would be, so that's another reason Tesla really should give us the ability to set a "Simple speed-only cruise" when TACC is not available.
I expect for many of us that live in the Northeast and other cold, snowy areas our radar units are going to be blocked often. Many of those times it would be useful to still be able to set a cruising speed. We shouldn't have to give up such basic functionality because Tesla thinks some people won't be able to distinguish between a simple, speed-only cruise control and TACC. That's just silly.
I'll be writing [email protected] to let Tesla know my feelings on this subject.
green1
Active Member
Maybe they don't enable it because it would be exceedingly rare to have so much snow and ice that the radar is blocked, and yet still have perfectly bare and dry roads, which is the only time one should ever use any form of cruise control...
That's an interesting thought, but one I would take issue with.
It takes very little snow for the radar unit to become obstructed. Take a look at the picture I posted this evening in the sister thread to this one--the thread that was to be for pictures only. That was the result of about 20 minutes of driving through very light snow--really no more than flurries. At the point that I reached the highway the highway was completely clear, it wasn't snowing, and traffic was moving at 65-75 MPH. This was in no way an aberrational example. It takes extraordinarily little to obstruct the radar unit.
Also even when conditions dictate a slower rate of travel, we may want to set a constant speed. There's nothing inherently dangerous in setting a cruising speed on a wet or even on a snowy road. In fact I could argue that it might be safer than using the accelerator pedal, as I can make certain not to exceed whatever speed I determine is appropriate if I am able to set that cruising speed, whereas if I am using the pedal I may find that I am inadvertently travelling faster than I had intended.
There really is no good reason for Tesla to not provide functionality that exists in just about every other car on the road, and certainly exists in any other luxury sedan.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I really don't think it's a good idea to use cruise control on wet or snowy roads. Also, cruise control without the radar is pretty much useless. I have had cruise control on my cars for years and never used it until Tesla TACC.
This isn't just about being able to use cruise control on wet or snowy roads. There are plenty of times when the radar unit may be obstructed and the roads are fine. There are also lots of reports on TMC of people receiving the "Driver Assistance Features Unavailable" message when the radar unit is not obstructed at all. We should have the ability to use a basic, speed-only cruise control at these times.
No one would force you to use the speed-only cruise control if you don't want to use it. Just as no one forced you to use the cruise control on your other cars. But you must realize that you are in the minority, since car manufacturers have been including basic cruise control for a very long time. Tesla was providing basic cruise control before they introduced TACC, and in fact still is providing basic cruise control on cars that are not TACC enabled. Cruise control is an extremely popular, desired feature. We shouldn't lose it completely when the sophisticated version of it is not working.
green1
Active Member
Actually, there is something extremely dangerous about doing exactly that. This is why every single car with cruise control tells you not to do it, that's why every driver's ed program tells you not to do it, that's why many jurisdictions have it in their driver's handbooks for new drivers. It can very quickly be DEADLY, if you lose traction, cruise control will generally compensate by flooring it, the absolute worst possible outcome.
Similar threads
