Ever Think You're in Autopilot, but You're Not?

[PianoAl]

It hasn't quite happened to me that I expected the car to make a turn but then realized I wasn't in autopilot, but almost.

Has that happened to you?

 

[ElectricIAC]

It hasn't quite happened to me that I expected the car to make a turn but then realized I wasn't in autopilot, but almost.

Has that happened to you?

No. And that’s actually one of the strong suits of the system as it’s persistent nagging ensures that you’re aware AP is active. Kinda like the “everything’s ok alarm”

 

[PianoAl]

Well, I always have a hand on the wheel in such a way that I never get nags.

 

[WesB]

No. And that’s actually one of the strong suits of the system as it’s persistent nagging ensures that you’re aware AP is active. Kinda like the “everything’s ok alarm”

Yeah.. but the danger is not forgetting that AP is on. But if you think its on when it's not... It can take a while before you realize you should be getting nagged

 

[WarpedOne]

Yes, this happens to me from time to time.
Usually after I changed lane to pass a truck and then continue on the left lane for some time on the straight highway. When the turn came, panic set in ...

 

[WesB]

It hasn't quite happened to me that I expected the car to make a turn but then realized I wasn't in autopilot, but almost.

Has that happened to you?

I've heard people say it's happened to them, usually when the adaptive cruise control is on but not the autosteer

 

[Kevy Baby]

I've forced myself to be looking for the blue steering wheel in situations when I might be going in and out of Auto Steer

 

[OCR1]

Try using the auto pilot 60 day trial only to have Tesla end the program after 35 days with no warning. You just engage it one day thinking it’s on autopilot only to find out it’s really on non-traffic aware cruise control.

 

[afty]

It’s happened to me. I thought I had Autopilot on but it was only on TACC. Almost hit a curb before I realized.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

It’s another thing that reduces the value of AP for me. I have to get in and out so often to deal with other traffic that I have to add more brain cycles to check if I have it active thereby reducing the “relaxing nature” of AP and making driving myself easier.

 

[CharleyBC]

Yep. Last night, for example. I was on NoA on I-5 somewhere north of Sacramento, when the car handled another car merging in badly, and I took evasive action. All settled down quickly, and we resumed our trek on an arrow-straight stretch of freeway. After a few moments I realized the car had drifted ever so slightly to one side of the lane. Light bulb! Duh! Only TACC was still engaged.

Aside from my mistake here, this is a testament to how straight this car tracks.

 

[DaveRZ]

Yup! I don't have FSD, but I've had quite a few occasions where I didn't realize autosteer was off (or it turned off, or I forgot to turn it on, etc...) and the road has a slight curve and I expect it to be following it.

I think the most dangerous thing I do on occasion is when I drive my truck on the weekends and I expect it to "hold" when I let off the brake at a light. Nothing bad has happened (yet), but its a "wake-up and drive!" moment for sure.

 

[jdcollins5]

It has happened to me when taking over AP with the steering wheel. I had forgotten to re-engage AutoSteer when I drifted to a lane line and Lane Departure nudged me back in my lane!

 

[PianoAl]

After a few moments I realized the car had drifted ever so slightly to one side of the lane. Light bulb! Duh! Only TACC was still engaged.

I wonder whether it would be a good idea to have it not go to TACC when you take control by moving the steering wheel (that is, act the same way it does when you touch the brake). That way, you would have realized immediately that AP wasn't on.

I remember being surprised by this when I drove the car home when I picked it up.

 

[kkillebrew]

yep, scary

 

[KerryOH]

Yes the other day. I over torqued the wheel and turned autosteer off. No danger but it took me a few seconds to understand why I didn’t smoothly change lanes after signaling. I felt like an idiot.

 

[Chisale]

No. Not at all. Never. But reading some of these responses makes me wonder whether I should leave the house tomorrow.

 

[Kevy Baby]

No. Not at all. Never. But reading some of these responses makes me wonder whether I should leave the house tomorrow.

Eh, don't let these posts scare you off. This is all just a very low percentage of the driving experiences of a very low percentage of all Tesla drivers.

When I first got my Tesla, I said it was like having to learn how to drive all over again. There were so many new things available to me and relearning some of the basics. It's been a wonderful experience.

 

[CharleyBC]

I wonder whether it would be a good idea to have it not go to TACC when you take control by moving the steering wheel (that is, act the same way it does when you touch the brake). That way, you would have realized immediately that AP wasn't on.

I remember being surprised by this when I drove the car home when I picked it up.

Sort of related to that, I wish there was a smooth way to disengage just Autosteer, leaving TACC on. Wrestling the steering upsets passengers. Maybe one flip up to turn off Autosteer, and two flips for everything—the inverse of turning them on in the first place.

 

[Twiglett]

It happens once every so often, but as I'm always hold the wheel anyway its no big deal - definitely not scary or something to stop me using auto steer.
Its disconcerting because the car tracks so straight anyway with almost no input, its almost like auto steer is on.
The amazing thing is watching the other cars on the road weaving all over the place, seemingly able to drift out of their lane the instant their driver stops paying attention.
I drove a Subaru that needed constant attention to stay in any semblance of a straight line, so my Model 3 is wonderful