Auto Pilot also disengaged due to the bad thunderstorm a few miles later
I've had Autopilot suddenly disengage during light snow for a 2018 Model 3 while now with newer software, it happily drives in the same condition
I've had Autopilot suddenly disengage during light snow for a 2018 Model 3 while now with newer software, it happily drives in the same condition without a sudden large red "take over immediately" alert. This particular "fix" came from no longer aborting when the radar is covered by a thin layer of of snow and instead relying on Tesla Vision to determine lead vehicle position and speed. Conceptually 12.x will be another software update that could drive in conditions previous software would have failed, but perhaps being safe in heavy rain will be a more difficult problem to solve end-to-end than light snow.
Mardak, my 2023 Model S LR does not disengage FSD when in light rain. I may get a "Poor Weather Detected - FSD Maybe Degraded" message.
I am not a Tesla hater, my Model S(s) are the best cars I have ever owned:
- In June 2015 I purchased a S85D
- In December 2016, I purchased a 2016 S90D with FSD
- In August 2023, I purchased a 2023 S LR and transferred FSD
Your 2018 Model 3 has radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras. Tesla removed radar and ultrasonic sensors to save money on newer cars. In a bad thunderstorm or bad snow storm, cameras cannot see any better than the driver. Radar can see hundreds of feet ahead and because Tesla removed radar to save money, I believe that Full Self Driving is not as safe as it used to be in bad weather.
When I bought FSD on my December 2016 S90D, Elon said that it had all of the hardware needed to achieve level 5 autonomy without using Lidar. In January of 2017, Elon said that a Tesla would drive from Los Angeles to New York City by the end of 2017 using Full Self Driving without human input. Seven years later this never happened.
I tell people that if they use FSD that they need to be ready to take over immediately because it will try to kill you. Just 3 of the many times it tried to cause a crash are as follows:
With radar, ultrasonic sensors, and cameras on my 2016 Model S:
- While driving at night in the right lane of a 4 lane road, I was driving up a hill with no cars around me. FSD jerked the steering wheel to the right and tried to run me into a telephone pole.
- When driving through construction zones, when the car was following the lane lines, concrete barrier were forcing cars to change lanes to the right. FSD was seeing the lane lines go under the concrete barriers and instead of focusing on the concrete barriers. I had to take control to keep the car from crashing into the concrete barriers. I disengaged FSD from that time on when going through construction zones.
With only Tesla Vision on my 2023 Model S:
I used FSD to drive me to Home Depot during rush hour. I was on a 6 lane road with a turn lane in the middle. FSD did great and moved into the turn lane and stopped to make a left turn into the Home Depot parking lot. There was 3 lanes of cars driving 45 mph in the on coming lanes. Instead of waiting for the cars to pass by, FSD started turning left and accelerating into the on coming traffic. I had to disengage FSD to keep from having multiple cars hit me at 45 mph.
In bad weather with Tesla Vision only, I do not believe that Full Self Driving will ever reach level 5 autonomy. This also means that RoboTaxi will need additional hardware to become a driverless car.
V12 should be better than V11 in good weather. V12 with Tesla Vision only, I believe in bad weather that Tesla Vision will still limit FSDs capabilities.
