Firmware 8.1 - Autopilot HW2

[OBX John]

Not much posting the last couple days about the performance of the new software release. Not sure whether this is a case of "no news is good news" or not. Anyone care to comment on the current state of the AP release versus prior releases?

RT

I wish I could comment - my wife took my MS 60 and doesn't want to give it back. At least she's agreed to buy a 100D...

She does say the full speed autosteer is working, first day it's been on a divided highway, and came on right away. Still has trouble with curves - I was on the phone with her walking her through using it a couple hours ago on her way up to Virginia.

I'm about to go on a spring break road trip with the family in it, should be interesting to see how the autosteer does on the various interstates.

 

[Tangible]

@brkaus Thanks for the LATCH info.

I've been telling people my new granddaughter may never have the thrill of getting her driver's license, because in ~16 years human-driven cars may be a hobbyist thing, allowed only on local streets. I sure hope (for everyone's sake) that I'm not driving anymore!

Not sure whether this is a case of "no news is good news" or not.

I think it's a case of no news is no news. People have pretty well documented that the HW2 car finally does a decent job of lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control (to use the standard terminology for these now very common features) on highways.

As for the rest of what we were promised when ticking the EAP box...:

"Your Tesla will match speed to traffic conditions, keep within a lane, automatically change lanes without requiring driver input, transition from one freeway to another, exit the freeway when your destination is near, self-park when near a parking spot and be summoned to your garage."

....that's a mix of poorly implemented features and capabilities that no one even talks about anymore.

 

[disagree]

Not much posting the last couple days about the performance of the new software release. Not sure whether this is a case of "no news is good news" or not. Anyone care to comment on the current state of the AP release versus prior releases?

RT

Since returning from my road trip, I've gone back to driving mostly on local roads.

Here's the report: as bad as ever.

 

[NerdUno]

I actually filed a couple bug reports about the curve failures on our local interstate. Tesla contacted me and said they'd investigate. Called back today and said interstate within city limits was a Class 2 highway and speed was still limited to 35 mph. They seemed surprised to learn we'd been using AP2 on this stretch of road at over 35 mph for months. Go figure.

 

[mitchellh3]

I actually filed a couple bug reports about the curve failures on our local interstate. Tesla contacted me and said they'd investigate. Called back today and said interstate within city limits was a Class 2 highway and speed was still limited to 35 mph. They seemed surprised to learn we'd been using AP2 on this stretch of road at over 35 mph for months. Go figure.

Dumb question: how do you report bugs like that?

 

[ABC2D]

You can use voice command and say one of the following:

• Note
• Report
• Bug Report

The system will also record and send to Tesla the current state of controls.

From the X manual page 41 (dont know where it is in the S manual):
"Note: You can also use voice commands to provide feedback to Tesla. Say "Note","Report", "Bug note", or "Bug report" followed by your brief comments. Model X takes a snapshot of its systems, including screencaptures of the touchscreen and instrument panel. Tesla periodically reviews these notes and uses them to continue improving Model X"

 

[disagree]

I actually filed a couple bug reports about the curve failures on our local interstate. Tesla contacted me and said they'd investigate. Called back today and said interstate within city limits was a Class 2 highway and speed was still limited to 35 mph. They seemed surprised to learn we'd been using AP2 on this stretch of road at over 35 mph for months. Go figure.

I must be misunderstanding what is going on in this exchange. I90/94 is in the city limits of Chicago and speed is not limited.

 

[NerdUno]

The same is probably true for most interstates in the U.S. but it got the ticket closed.

As for how to file a bug report, you also can email [email protected]. Not that it will do much good.

 

[Doubletap67]

Is highway AS still restricted to 55mph in certain highways? I have 17.11.3, only been able to use in BQE and LIE, and AS is only available up to 55mph. All other features are working. 55mph is fine for these specific roads, but I am wondering if I am still calibrating in some form...

If you're above 55 mph and attempt to engage autosteer (presumably you don't have the wheel icon), do you get a message related to calibration? I see "Contact Tesla Service for Manual Calibration". There's at least one other owner on TMC with the same issue.

 

[J1mbo]

The restrictions do seem a bit strange - I can use AP in my local town where there are single lane streets, crossings, cycle lanes, etc... basically the last place you would want to use autosteer unless the car was FSD. But take it onto a nearby A-road which has an official limit of 70mph and 3 lanes each direction, with central divider and ... it is still restricted. It is only when you get onto an offical motorway when the restrictions are lifted.

 

[Ulmo]

Did you experience any problems with 17.11.10 update?

I installed few hours ago and now I have big issues:

- No summon
- No Autopilot
- No speed limit signals
- No TACC !!!!!!
- No Navigator

...

OMG! :-( 17.11.3 works nicely in my X but this is a mess.

FYI: Two more threads: This applies to both 17.11.3 and 17.11.10:

AP2 / 8.1 : "Cruise Not Available" ? and an answer from Tesla: AP2 / 8.1 : "Cruise Not Available" ?
TACC/AP2 gone? What else can I try?

Always watch your Auto Pilot. What if the firmware stopped working while it was driving? Just be ready.

 

[mr10012]

I've been using auto-steer at over 70mph on both LIE and Northern Parkway with no problem. Your car probably just need more calibration.

Thanks! Do you remember if when first installing 8.1 auto steer was not available above 55mph, without any messages about calibration?

If you're above 55 mph and attempt to engage autosteer (presumably you don't have the wheel icon), do you get a message related to calibration? I see "Contact Tesla Service for Manual Calibration". There's at least one other owner on TMC with the same issue.

I only tried this once while above 55mph (because the grey wheel didn't show, I assumed I wouldn't be able to engage AS) and I just got the "Auto Steer Not Available" message, or something similar.

 

[sdorn]

I've been telling people my new granddaughter may never have the thrill of getting her driver's license, because in ~16 years human-driven cars may be a hobbyist thing, allowed only on local streets. I sure hope (for everyone's sake) that I'm not driving anymore!

I think we are moving in that direction as well, and have said the same thing about my own kids. I don't think that we will be in a situation where self-driven cars are that restricted for a good while however. There are large swaths of rural areas in the country where that isn't feasible given the quality of certain roads, etc. Plus there are a lot of people that use vehicles for construction, farming, etc. that are driven on the roads as well. Getting to a point where all those sorts of vehicles and uses have been automated is way down the road. I would guess 50 years or so.

 

[wesley888]

Thanks! Do you remember if when first installing 8.1 auto steer was not available above 55mph, without any messages about calibration?

I drove a mile to get to Northern Parkway and I was able to engage Auto-Steer at over 55 mph. Some other people reported the same thing that they don't need add'l calibration. But there are also people who needed many more miles of driving for add'l calibration. I guess you are one of the unlucky one that needed it.

 

[George Jetson]

I've been training the AP on my freeway route to and from work for over a week now. There aren't a ton of Teslas in Houston, so it is going to take some time to refine the AS, given the deplorable condition of the roadways here. Same issues as others have reported, lane drift on curves, "searching" behavior, etc. It hasn't tried to drive off at exits or get confused by losing the right line at entrance ramps.

I will consider it a complete success when AS is able to take my dead man's curve entrance ramp at speed. For locals, it is the entrance ramp to I-610 West off of 59 North, an elevated ramp with a hairpin turn. I started training the TACC months ago through human intervention and now the AS gets the same treatment. There's usually no traffic at the ungodly hour I drive to work, so I let AS do its thing on that curve the first few times. After it made a bee-line for the retaining wall, I decided that it needed a little more tutoring.

I have played around a little bit with "summon", but it seems more like an interesting parlor trick than something I'd use on a regular basis. I'm so paranoid about my new car, I rarely park it next to any other car; so tight spots are not an issue for me. The whole dysfunctional Homelink saga at my townhome renders the one interesting feature of summon of no practical value to me.

I haven't enabled the auto lane change feature yet. That's the next step for me to play around with. Since AS still seems to be learning my oft-traveled roads, I have low expectations about how successfully it will navigate those maneuvers. Just a little more testing of features and I'll finally be able to demo the car for my colleagues, who have been clamoring for an up close and personal since December.

 

[Tangible]

I've been training the AP on my freeway route

Why do you believe that AP responds to training? I've seen only vague aspirational references to such a capability.

Correct me if I'm wrong; I would love to be.

 

[George Jetson]

Why do you believe that AP responds to training? I've seen only vague aspirational references to such a capability. Correct me if I'm wrong; I would love to be.

Like about 95% of the content here, it's alternative facts as distributed by several different forum members, so everything taken with shaker of salt. Could be an extension of the concept described by Tesla corporate as the "neural net" incorporating the driving habits of the installed base of Tesla owners I suppose. I agree, it's great if true, but even if it isn't I think the more hours with these features engaged, the better they'll become. I suppose I should be more careful with my colloquialisms, substitute "disengaging feature" for "learning".

 

[BruceR61]

For my update on AP2 with 8.1, I used it for about 35 miles continuously yesterday, each way, to work, I took over steering twice in the morning where I thought it was a little close to the lines but once I gently forced it to the right without cancelling auto steer and it really did not seem to do that again. The lane change feature worked each time I used it and I was not stupid or brave enough to engage it when I knew I had a car in my blindspot. I think EAP currently works well - certainly the TACC portion is great - so those who say otherwise or that AP1 is better, I can only expect great things when AP2 is further upgraded.

I would note that I have not had much luck using the auto parallel park. The times that I wanted to use it the "P" did not appear but when I played around trolling parked cars, it did show up.

I did have one incident that the TACC and Autosteer were unavailable for a 10 mile stretch the very day after they all worked (day two with 8.1). Without even experimenting, I did a restart of the middle screen and then left the car for dinner. When I continued my route, it worked fine and has never not worked.

I also noted someone else's quirk that if I kept auto steer on as I exited the freeway and was able to transition to a city street without stopping, it remained on even though we were above 35 mph on a city street. Once I caused it to switch off (I used the brake) on a city street I transitioned to, it would not work above 35.

 

[Tangible]

I do believe in machine learning, though. After many years my blender is finally making pina coladas autonomously.

 

[NerdUno]

I do believe in machine learning, though. After many years my blender is finally making pina coladas autonomously.

And AP2 with 8.1 works just about as well as your blender...

Not exactly hairpin curves (bottom two arrows shown in videos above). In first video, note also the location of the vehicle in the driver side's blind spot immediately before the car disengages while heading into the other car's left lane. Time available to avoid collision: about 1/10 of a second. AP2 fails on all four of the marked curves at 62 MPH after driving this same route every weekday since the first of the year. Pretty scary!