Germany Rules on Using Tesla Screen Wiper Controls

[avoigt]

Well, they did in May, 2018. Took less than a month, I believe.
Tesla Model 3 earns Consumer Reports recommendation with brake update

@avoigt , nice article! Though having auto wipers enabled ahead of time might have been a better option 3 in this case.

That's true but the driver did not do that and had to deal with the situation he was in.

Personally I always have automatic wipers turned on which gives me all options after.

Much better situation to be in.

 

[avoigt]

I wonder if the author has ever driven a Tesla on AP in a heavy downpour. If he has, he/she would know that it doesn't always work.

While I'm not happy with the current functionality of the wipers, I still think it's pilot error in this case. Anybody know how long he'd had the car?

I use AP always when it rains. The only issue I ever had was to turn it on when you have heavy rain but I believe that issue is gone now too. AP in heavy rain is much better than a driver.

 

[avoigt]

That guy at cleantechnica isn't serious, is he? In the middle of a heavy downpour the driver should have handed control over to a system that is - according to its manufacturer - only "beta" and needs to be supervised at all times? Most likely on a back road that would be challenging for the autopilot even in dry conditions?
If you need to go into elaborate descriptions for anything as basic as increasing wiper speed, instead of simply saying "flip the switch one step higher", then a poor design choice has been made.
Voice control is definitively no replacement for control switches. People may have an accent or they may not be native speakers and there isn't time to search for the right word in an emergency situation.

That guy is fully serious

I had many situations in heavy thunderstorms rain on a German Autobahn were to switch AP on if it wasn't already was the best and safest option to start with.

Works perfectly fine. Try it!

If you still don't feel well its time to recognize it is you and not the vehicle that does not feel well.

Voice control works very well here in Germany with the German language too and is an excellent alternative to manual controls.

 

[ShrapNoel]

I still think that my "context sensitive wiper control" idea fixes this.

If you turn this (future) setting on, it converts your left steering wheel scroll wheel into a wiper control for 3 seconds whenever the manual wiper button is pressed.

Clicking the scroll wheel will turn the wipers off/on, rolling the wheel up and down will change wiper speed.

Genius! Can you submit product improvement suggestions directly to Tesla?

 

[asummer]

at the very beginning i found myself pressing the wiper button at the end of the signal stalk when i couldn't see clearly due to rain, but after a few times, the wiper would switch on just before i reached the button. the automatic wiper seems to be self learning.

 

[Knightshade]

at the very beginning i found myself pressing the wiper button at the end of the signal stalk when i couldn't see clearly due to rain, but after a few times, the wiper would switch on just before i reached the button. the automatic wiper seems to be self learning.

it's not.

Nothing on the car self-learns- behavior changes only come with software updates (or manual setting changes obviously).

Individual cars self-learning anything would make diagnostics pretty nightmarish honestly- is there actually a problem when the car does something weird, or did it just learn wrong?

 

[ecospider5]

This is driver error and the courts acknowledged that and took away his license because he wasn’t driving safely.

when you get into a car it is your responsibility to know how to adjust the wipers turn on and off the defroster and turn on and off the headlights safely. The Tesla touchscreen is no more odd than a lot of new cars that have five stocks you have to choose from with different ways of controlling each stock. The Tesla touchscreen is no more odd than a lot of new cars that have five stocks you have to choose from with different ways of controlling each stock.

put a person who has never used a car into either setup and without practice and they will be dangerous. With practice they will adjust the wipers without issue.

 

[PelMama]

The wipers have been my most serious criticism since getting my M3 in December 2018. The interface just sucks. Yes, I like the single push on the control stick. Yes, the new voice command is an improvement. But, like others on this thread, incorporating the controls on the left stick and the left controls wheel makes a lot of sense, One can only hope...

I am totally with you on this. Please, Tesla, please....

 

[petecrayton]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". For the memorable past, wiper controls have pretty much been standard. I believe, imho, they have become pretty much a reflex action, the same as directional signals, and don't need to be refined or complicated.

 

[ecospider5]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". For the memorable past, wiper controls have pretty much been standard. I believe, imho, they have become pretty much a reflex action, the same as directional signals, and don't need to be refined or complicated.

This is totally not true. Some have the stock on the right some on the left. Some you lift up and down some you turn. And some cars have a knob on the dash. Their is standardized controls if you only buy one brand but between brands you need to learn to use the controls safely before you start driving.

This is true for headlights. Brights. And windshield defogger. Practice those before the car is put into drive.

 

[navguy12]

I use AP always when it rains. The only issue I ever had was to turn it on when you have heavy rain but I believe that issue is gone now too. AP in heavy rain is much better than a driver.

The AP system was better than a driver in heavy rain until about 12 months ago.

Since then, it has become a little too eager to disengage (with the screaming red steering wheel drama) under conditions that it used to just shrug off.

Case in point: this past Tuesday afternoon (04 Aug 2020) while on a round trip between Trenton ON and Kingston ON via the HWY 401, in both directions, when driving in heavy rain, the AP system disengaged with (typical) very little notice.

 

[Backpacker42]

None of the "solutions" mentioned have worked for me - Auto, voice command, stalk button. They work 90% of the time, but this is a safety issue. It needs to work 100% of the time. Auto has improved with updates, but still unreliable. Voice surprisingly seems to always interpret correctly - e.g. display shows exactly what I said - like "Wipers On", but occasionally claims it does not understand, or does not execute, or takes way to long, or sets to low speed when I need high. Button always works, but always at wrong speed so now I have to frantically punch the button to keep the wiper going at too slow a speed, or adjust wiper speed - sometimes when I'm in a critical situation (fast heavy traffic, windy road, car in front just side swiped barrier or another car because road is suddenly slick and people are slamming on brakes), and the only reliable way to increase speed is working a small display that I can't read at a glance. And that with 2/3 of the (well built, beautiful!) screen real estate worthless to me since I typically don't use Nav, and the car icon is totally useless clutter. Not acceptable.

 

[Saguarojoe]

I still think that my "context sensitive wiper control" idea fixes this.

If you turn this (future) setting on, it converts your left steering wheel scroll wheel into a wiper control for 3 seconds whenever the manual wiper button is pressed.

Clicking the scroll wheel will turn the wipers off/on, rolling the wheel up and down will change wiper speed.

The main issue I see with this is that it requires your attention to both sides of the driver. The screen and the scroll wheel.

 

[Vines]

The main issue I see with this is that it requires your attention to both sides of the driver. The screen and the scroll wheel.

No, you only press the wiper stalk button button then roll the left mouse wheel upwards. Not one second taken off the road.

 

[Vines]

Genius! Can you submit product improvement suggestions directly to Tesla?

I have submitted this in many ways, tweeted Elon Ect. Maybe someone with an ear at the company will pick this up.

 

[Zigzagmolly]

I still think that my "context sensitive wiper control" idea fixes this.

If you turn this (future) setting on, it converts your left steering wheel scroll wheel into a wiper control for 3 seconds whenever the manual wiper button is pressed.

Clicking the scroll wheel will turn the wipers off/on, rolling the wheel up and down will change wiper speed.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That scroll wheel is my FAVORITE thing in the entire car. It is to turn my music louder and stops the reminder to touch the steering wheel. I use it constantly EVEN when I don't have my music on full blast. I just roll up and then down. I live in Zigzag up on Mt. Hood and we get 120 inches of rain per year. Even though I don't think the auto speed of the wipers is appropriate, that scroll wheel needs to stay exactly as it is. Period!!!

 

[holmgang]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That scroll wheel is my FAVORITE thing in the entire car. It is to turn my music louder and stops the reminder to touch the steering wheel. I use it constantly EVEN when I don't have my music on full blast. I just roll up and then down. I live in Zigzag up on Mt. Hood and we get 120 inches of rain per year. Even though I don't think the auto speed of the wipers is appropriate, that scroll wheel needs to stay exactly as it is. Period!!!

Wiper controls are a bit more important than your music

 

[RedModel3]

That guy is fully serious

I had many situations in heavy thunderstorms rain on a German Autobahn were to switch AP on if it wasn't already was the best and safest option to start with.

Works perfectly fine. Try it!

If you still don't feel well its time to recognize it is you and not the vehicle that does not feel well.

Voice control works very well here in Germany with the German language too and is an excellent alternative to manual controls.

I guess that's your experience, but my experience has been that in a heavy downpour, AP just flat out gives up an I am SOL. Perhaps it has to do with the quality of lane markings on our interstate system vs. the Autobahn.

 

[Knightshade]

In ~2 years of use (and I use it a lot) I've only had AP turn off entirely due to heavy rain once, and it was REALLY REALLY heavy, like even a human should probably be pulling over heavy.

That said, I have NoA turn off (drop back to regular AP) moderately often in even medium level rain

 

[Kabillyhop]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That scroll wheel is my FAVORITE thing in the entire car. It is to turn my music louder and stops the reminder to touch the steering wheel. I use it constantly EVEN when I don't have my music on full blast. I just roll up and then down. I live in Zigzag up on Mt. Hood and we get 120 inches of rain per year. Even though I don't think the auto speed of the wipers is appropriate, that scroll wheel needs to stay exactly as it is. Period!!!

He's talking about changing the function for 3 seconds only. I think most of us can live without the volume control for that long.

I've had the car for a year now, so I'm good at controlling the wipers and everything else. But I did struggle the first few days. For example, I went in a car wash the first week and the auto wipers came on. In my rush to shut them off, I touched the trunk open button, and went through the wash with it open.

Vines suggestion is excellent and trivial to implement. Tesla should do it immediately!!