Getting too used to Autopilot

[lampcord]

It's not that. The one thing I hate about AP right now is that at every onramp it'll slide half out of the lane and then abruptly back in as the merge happens, it sees itself in one big lane and then the lane narrows.

Some states like Tennessee have dots on most of the onramps which stop it, but otherwise I have to choose between an uncomfortable joggle that looks drunk/distracted or breaking Autopilot for every onramp. (Or driving in another lane, when there's no proper reason to.)

That is the only issue I've had. Fortunately, I'm rarely in the right lane, usually just keeping up with the flow in the left and occasionally moving over for people less concerned about a speeding ticket than me in which case I just move over, let them by, and move back.

One feature that Tesla could add to solve this would be to give AP the option of Left Bias / Centered / Right Bias. That way if you chose Left Bias it would keep a constant distance from the left line when the lane widens. In the UK you could set it to Right Bias.

Just a thought. Probably other solutions as well.

 

[dbldwn02]

I love my AP but I really wish they would fix the speed limit issue on the 10 mile stretch of straight road for my commute! It's listed at 45mph but speed limit is 55 and has been for 4 years. Can't go over 50mph and that'll get you run off the road. Not sure who gives Tesla their road data but this is really making me .

 

[WVJohn]

It’s the 5% of the time when AP can’t handle it that led me to choose not to bother with it at all. I personally find it much easier to drive the car myself than to supervise AP driving for me.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[jontitel]

As a software developer I feel the constant need to use Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot (current version of FSD) all the time. Two things drive this need - a curiosity at how the software will handle the random environment around me and a desire to provide additional AP miles to Tesla for train the neural net. I believe that AP miles are different than non-AP miles to Tesla. Having trained two teenagers to drive, AP is a lot like that - expect AP is way better at lane keeping and it's much easier to take control. Having said all this I generally don't use AP when I'm driving with my wife in the car. She's not a great candidate for beta testing and doesn't like/understand the failures at the edge. This is just my personal choice and I respect anyone who drives their Tesla differently.

 

[Saghost]

As a software developer I feel the constant need to use Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot (current version of FSD) all the time. Two things drive this need - a curiosity at how the software will handle the random environment around me and a desire to provide additional AP miles to Tesla for train the neural net. I believe that AP miles are different than non-AP miles to Tesla. Having trained two teenagers to drive, AP is a lot like that - expect AP is way better at lane keeping and it's much easier to take control. Having said all this I generally don't use AP when I'm driving with my wife in the car. She's not a great candidate for beta testing and doesn't like/understand the failures at the edge. This is just my personal choice and I respect anyone who drives their Tesla differently.

I'm not sure about AP vs non-AP miles, but Tesla told us they analyze the disengagements, so you're certainly giving them data there.

 

[Chuckben]

I too have been confused between driving on AP and driving with it off. My solution was to get in the habit of driving with my hands on the wheel at 10 & 2 with AP off and at position 4 & 8 with AP on. Works for me. Can’t wait for FSU.

 

[Rogstar]

I agree. This monster that Tesla unleashed called AP, is so bloody damn good, sometimes you forget the fact that you are still in control.

Wait until you pull up outside your house, then you get out and as your Tesla drives away, it says
"I'll be back".......

 

[jim0266]

That's what I did. Future proofing my car for $2k was a bargain.

As for Autopilot, it infuriates me when I see people with no personal experience with Autopilot stating it's highly dangerous. It really does work well 95% of the time. I'm always hopeful I'm paying attention during that 5%.

AP is a better, safer driver than I am in that 95% of the time. You are correct in watching for that 5%.

 

[Barry555]

Chiming in on this subject. I have been training myself to keep looking down at the blue steering wheel of AP so I even know I am on AP.
It's unsettling to watch myself assume I am on AP when making long turns or leaving a highway. If I THINK I am on AP and am not, the result will be far to costly. Stay awake!

 

[Ctyler]

It's not that. The one thing I hate about AP right now is that at every onramp it'll slide half out of the lane and then abruptly back in as the merge happens, it sees itself in one big lane and then the lane narrows.

Some states like Tennessee have dots on most of the onramps which stop it, but otherwise I have to choose between an uncomfortable joggle that looks drunk/distracted or breaking Autopilot for every onramp. (Or driving in another lane, when there's no proper reason to.)

Agree — it was really bad — practically making the on-ramp it’s own lane — then it seemed to be fixed and now with the latest release 20.4.2 it’s doing it again (but not as bad as initially). It makes for a lot of passenger angst — what’s happening? why did it do that? Just drive the car yourself! Hope the next release fixes it again.

 

[Ctyler]

I love my AP but I really wish they would fix the speed limit issue on the 10 mile stretch of straight road for my commute! It's listed at 45mph but speed limit is 55 and has been for 4 years. Can't go over 50mph and that'll get you run off the road. Not sure who gives Tesla their road data but this is really making me .

Agree — when you have to take it out of AP and drive it because the actual speed limit is higher than what the car thinks. I use AP all the time when driving and there are several places where the speed limits don’t match what the car shows. I blame my state’s DOT because I love my Tesla!

 

[Sandollars]

That's what I did. Future proofing my car for $2k was a bargain.

As for Autopilot, it infuriates me when I see people with no personal experience with Autopilot stating it's highly dangerous. It really does work well 95% of the time. I'm always hopeful I'm paying attention during that 5%.

I don't work well 95% of the time so it's better than me! LOL!

 

[Ctyler]

As a software developer I feel the constant need to use Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot (current version of FSD) all the time. Two things drive this need - a curiosity at how the software will handle the random environment around me and a desire to provide additional AP miles to Tesla for train the neural net. I believe that AP miles are different than non-AP miles to Tesla. Having trained two teenagers to drive, AP is a lot like that - expect AP is way better at lane keeping and it's much easier to take control. Having said all this I generally don't use AP when I'm driving with my wife in the car. She's not a great candidate for beta testing and doesn't like/understand the failures at the edge. This is just my personal choice and I respect anyone who drives their Tesla differently.

I am not a software developer but I do exactly the same thing and for the same reasons. My husband is similar to your wife except that his “is that you or the car?” And “why don’t you just drive the car” comments don’t stop me from continuing to use it everywhere (with the exception of the 2 severe “S” curves near my house when he’s in the car. I reserve my “wonder if this works yet” tests on those for when he’s not in the car.

 

[John Beans]

It's an awkward time for AP/FSD, no doubt. Believed in, relied on, but not finished.

It's easy to forget—until you have to drive another car, like a rental on business—how good it already is.

But you def have to keep an eye on it, just like you always have to given the crazy stuff that other drivers do. Say what you want about AP, it has a much lower rate of suddenly realizing it's about to miss an exit and cranking across three lanes without looking. And it almost never stops paying attention to check a text message. At least that I know of.

An it's def not usual (at least for me) to spend thousands of dollars for something you might not receive for a couple/few years (it's already been that long for someone who's purchased FSD).

But here we are.

 

[wlbecker]

I'm a newby, but I really like the adaptive cruise control. I want to be behind somebody in traffic. Anywhere. It's very calming and lulls me. A blast to drive.

 

[jdcollins5]

Sometimes I have kinda the opposite AP aware problem. I'm driving along NOT on AP and suddenly realize I'm actually in control and must work the steering wheel.

I have that same problem. I use TACC just about all of the time but only use AutoSteer on certain roads. With just TACC I will be going in to a turn and expecting AS to make the turn for me. Suddenly LDA will kick in and I realize crap, I am driving!

 

[Nirmaljal]

Your life, your money, your choices.

For me, it's not even close. Except for moderate levels of traffic on three or more lane interstates, Autopilot is way, way easier to supervise.

(It's actually easy to supervise them, too - but that's where a little more intelligence and aggressiveness can net you a significant difference in drive time.)

You just have to be careful that you are still supervising for that 5%.

And I really wish they'd stop the aggressive centering on lane merges...

I totally agree, the lane merge is bit aggressive, a normal driver will hold on to one side of the lane and then slowly creep to the middle.

 

[Pegasits]

That's what I did. Future proofing my car for $2k was a bargain.

As for Autopilot, it infuriates me when I see people with no personal experience with Autopilot stating it's highly dangerous. It really does work well 95% of the time. I'm always hopeful I'm paying attention during that 5%.

Not to be nervous nelly to your Pollyanna, but it’s the 5% I’m wondering too if I’m worried sufficiently about. “Lucky” for me I’ve had several 5% experiences (reported to Elon) to keep me worried like I still had my motorcycle! But yes when the automation is on, 99% of the time it protects me rather than vice versa.

 

[lampcord]

I'm planning on my first Tesla road trip in about a month. 210 miles to my parent's house. Interstate the whole way and I plan on using AP the entire drive. Since I use it everyday in rush hour, I feel confident it can handle low use wide open highway.

 

[petecrayton]

So last night, at the end of a long rush hour commute. I was in dead stopped traffic right before a sweeping right turn, AP engaged.

I decide it would be a good time to dig up one of the new tracks I had spent last weekend ripping from my CD collection.

So I was digging through the song list and finally found what I was looking for. Probably took 5 seconds. I had felt the car start to move while doing this but never bothered to lookup.

When I finally looked up, I realized I had rounded the bend and was going 45mph. Absolutely nothing wrong with AP. Handled it perfectly. Me on the other hand? Caught completely off guard and unaware that I was moving that fast.

It was quite a shock to realize I had allowed myself to lose situational awareness to that degree. I guess it's very easy to get a little too comfortable with this technology!

Head in the cockpit has killed more than one aviator.