Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Dangerous Freeway Autopilot Slowdown

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
This video was taken today, shortly after the car slammed on the brakes when it decided that the speed limit was 20mph while on the highway, and normal traffic flowing at 70mph. It appears that the GPS suddenly decided that the car was somewhere completely different, about 1/2 mile away in a residential area. The only way I could keep the car from slamming on the brakes while on AP was to hold down the accelerator. And even then it was a challenge.

On top of all the bugs and failings of autopilot and FSD Beta, this new “bug” is dangerous beyond measure. Im seriously considering taking autopilot offline for a year or so and then reassessing. Thank god there was no one behind me when the car suddenly decided we were in a residential area and slammed on the brakes.

The GPS is still wrong now, moreover, despite resetting with the two scroll wheels, and powering off the car.

Has anyone encountered this before? Is there a fix? Thanks.

Edit: for clarity, the slamming down of the brakes happened BEFORE I started recording video. The video shows the car rapidly changing max AP speeds from 55/40/15mph while on the highway, and I’m holding down the accelerator to keep the car from doing it again.
 
Last edited:
This video was taken today, shortly after the car slammed on the brakes when it decided that the speed limit was 20mph while on the highway, and normal traffic flowing at 70mph. It appears that the GPS suddenly decided that the car was somewhere completely different, about 1/2 mile away in a residential area.

On top of all the bugs and failings of autopilot and FSD Beta, this new “bug” is dangerous beyond measure. Im seriously considering taking autopilot offline for a year or so and then reassessing. Thank god there was no one behind me when the car suddenly decided we were in a residential area and slammed on the brakes.

The GPS is still wrong now, moreover, despite resetting with the two scroll wheels, and powering off the car.

Has anyone encountered this before? Is there a fix? Thanks.
That doesn't look like an 'almost died' video to me. Just turn it off. Hope you get a lot of views.
 
Has anyone encountered this before?

Yes, others have encountered this before; there are many, many posts about this GPS issue, which I've never seen myself. This certainly could cause an accident if someone were following too closely. Others commenting that it's not a big deal clearly can't conceptualize how certain slowing can feel. This slowing would have been felt as quite abrupt, though nothing near emergency stop abrupt.

When using AP, you must be alert with both hands on the wheel, with a foot covering the accelerator or brake, as appropriate. I don't recommend using your phone to film, it's far too dangerous.
 
I could not care less about views, I legitimately thought people might have an answer to my question, whether they'd seen this before.

Here's the answer:

If you read the message on the instrument cluster, it says clearly that "Stopping for traffic control in 100 ft". It has a red steering wheel and red brake pedal icon as well as the yellow 3-way T-shape intersection icon. The program is doing what it is designed to do because it doesn't want to blow through a 3-way intersection at 70 MPH. It's not crazy!


1640726734620.png
 
So much cope guys.
Can we admit this is bad and in fact very much a serious problem.
If a car decelerates 30mph on a highway out of the clear blue, its a recipe to a pretty serious rear ending.

I've had it happen to me repeatedly on a bridge where it suddenly thinks I am underneath on the local road and slams the breaks. It's terrifying, bad and dangerous.
Clearly the car is not using any "memory" or "loopback" which would be helpful here.
1) GPS thinks I am now on a 25mph road when it thought I was on a 65mph road 1 second ago, did the path the car took in the last 1 second make it possible, or should we collect a few more datapoint here?
2) The speed limit seems to have dropped 30mph, should I slam the brakes or decelerate smoothly?
3) Might the car consider using its rear cameras and modulate its non-emergency deceleration speed appropriately to prevent rear ends?

This is pretty straightforward human driver stuff that the automation is still miles apart on.
 
Here's the answer:

If you read the message on the instrument cluster, it says clearly that "Stopping for traffic control in 100 ft". It has a red steering wheel and red brake pedal icon as well as the yellow 3-way T-shape intersection icon. The program is doing what it is designed to do because it doesn't want to blow through a 3-way intersection at 70 MPH. It's not crazy!


View attachment 749329

The idea that when the GPS & observed reality differ the car should slam the brakes is.. not good.
The car for a while seemed to have its GPS waypoint off but recognize the highway speed limit signs and continue on at highway speed.
Looks like the speed limit sign in UI changing to hard braking was a maximum of 2 seconds gap.
Should a driver on Autopilot be expected to have to stare at the screen to catch changes from second to second?
Should the car maybe flash a larger / higher & left red alert before engaging in such hard braking?
What is the purpose of so much white space?
 
Here's the answer:

If you read the message on the instrument cluster, it says clearly that "Stopping for traffic control in 100 ft". It has a red steering wheel and red brake pedal icon as well as the yellow 3-way T-shape intersection icon. The program is doing what it is designed to do because it doesn't want to blow through a 3-way intersection at 70 MPH. It's not crazy!


View attachment 749329
Yes except I was on the highway the entire time. If the autopilot gets its info from its GPS data instead of visual data, then it damn better make sure the GPS is absolutely fool-proof. My point here is that it is not, and I’m trying to figure out why the hell the GPS thought the car was nowhere near its actual location.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matias
Yes except I was on the highway the entire time. If the autopilot gets its info from its GPS data instead of visual data, then it damn better make sure the GPS is absolutely fool-proof. My point here is that it is not, and I’m trying to figure out why the hell the GPS thought the car was nowhere near its actual location.

If you could figure that out, maybe you would have already been in the Tesla Autopilot team.

...Im seriously considering taking autopilot offline...

This is an example that "beta" is not for everyone. I can deal with it fine after I cursed it but none of my passengers is pleased with it.

GPS is just basic stuff, so this is also a reminder that despite people glorifying how much better Pure Vision would be, the dream of driverless is still very far away until simple basic stuff is fixed.
 
This is an example that "beta" is not for everyone. I can deal with it fine after I cursed it but none of my passengers is pleased with it.
is it? This was NOA as this was, again, the highway.
GPS is just basic stuff, so this is also a reminder that despite people glorifying how much better Pure Vision would be, the dream of driverless is still very far away until simple basic stuff is fixed.
I seem to recall from the AI day Sometime ago that the auto pilot decisions had to be crosscheck against a litany of sensors that had to agree before a decision was made. So if one sensor did not agree with another, the decision would not be made. It seems to me that if the car‘s position via GPS suddenly jumps 1/2 mile away from the highway and onto a residential area, and the visual data does not match that sudden teleportation, the auto pilot computer should not be making the decision to suddenly slow down. It seems that the decision is being made on the basis of purely GPS data, and if that’s the case, then what was said on AI day is simply not correct, and GPS is buggy as hell. if you are correct and there is no fix, and my car is not the only one doing this kind of thing, then this seems like a very clear and obvious flaw in the autopilot design.
 
is it? This was NOA as this was, again, the highway.
Yes. I did experience what you experienced too. Yes, mine was on NOA too. I noticed this after switching from radar FSD version to Pure Vision FSD beta version.

I seem to recall from the AI day Sometime ago that the auto pilot decisions had to be crosscheck against a litany of sensors that had to agree before a decision was made...
It's theory. Practice might be very much different than theory.
...if you are correct and there is no fix, and my car is not the only one doing this kind of thing, then this seems like a very clear and obvious flaw in the autopilot design.
There is a fix. The issue is which problems will be fixed first according to the Tesla Team.

That's why it's a "beta" until it's fixed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gaspi101
re: "its a beta"
Isn't this just vanilla Autosteer & Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which is very much not beta?
We aren't complaining about the handling of lane changing, on/off ramps, local roads, stop signs, etc.. this is just.. drive in the lane on the highway.
 
re: "its a beta"
Yes. It's beta
Isn't this just vanilla Autosteer & Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which is very much not beta?
Yes, it is "vanilla Autosteer & Traffic-Aware Cruise Control" and it's still beta.
We aren't complaining about the handling of lane changing, on/off ramps, local roads, stop signs, etc.. this is just.. drive in the lane on the highway.

Phantom brakes or what the release notes called "false slowdowns" are still happening so that is why it is still beta.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gaspi101