How hard should I have to torque the steering wheel to keep autopilot engaged?

[Ctein]

Dear Folks,

I own a late 2019 Model X LR+.

I've put about 4,000 miles on it, mostly freeway driving with Autopilot and I STILL don't have the hang of getting the torque on the steering wheel right. I read the thread, " AutoSteer Techniques? " and it didn't help.

I can't go 50 miles without being nagged (usually more than once) that I'm not turning the wheel — it feels like I have to push quite hard against the servos to get the Tesla to register my action. It's so close to the amount of torque required to disengage Autopilot that as often as not on such a trip I'll accidentally disengage it.

I've read about how resting my arm on the door or center rest and letting my hand hang on the wheel provides sufficient torque for a lot of drivers. It has never worked for me. The car doesn't know I'm there. Maybe I'm too much of a featherweight [wry smile].

I asked Tesla service if there was any kind of factory adjustment for the amount of torque required; they said no. So, either I'm just not getting the hang of it or there's a problem with my car. I don't how to figure out which.

Can anyone here give me some more tricks or pointers to getting the wheel-jiggling right? Or something I might do that would help me to figure out if it's the car with the problem or just me? (For that matter, has anyone even heard of there being a mechanical problem with a model X that would cause this? If not, then I guess that it has to be me.)

Any and all advice and suggestions will be gratefully accepted and tried out. I've got a thousand mile road trip coming up in a month, I'd really like to not be driving myself crazy... so to speak [grin].

Thanks for your help.


- pax \ Ctein
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[mswlogo]

I don’t even have to think about. But admit occasionally I’m holding it poorly and it warns me. A minor Nag every 50 miles doesn’t sound bad but it should not require much thought or effort. I think they do vary car to car and I don’t know if Tesla can make an adjustment.

 

[drtimhill]

To be honest I think that's partly by design. If there was a point where you could torque the wheel just right without having to think (a little) about it, then it would defeat the purpose of the torque in the first place.

I find the the wheel for me has three torque points, the first is the gentle "give" you get with most steering wheels, the second is the "Am I pushing it so hard it will disengage?" and the third is the "oh heck" when you DO grab it to take over. You need the middle one to keep AP happy, and that actually is a more forgiving range than most people realize I think.

 

[Phil Seastrand]

I grab the wheel at about 6:30-7:00 and apply a light twist with my wrist (see below only I use my left hand). This has worked for me for many, many miles.

 

[Ctein]

I don’t even have to think about. But admit occasionally I’m holding it poorly and it warns me. A minor Nag every 50 miles doesn’t sound bad but it should not require much thought or effort. I think they do vary car to car and I don’t know if Tesla can make an adjustment.

Dear M,

If that's all that happened, I would be happy. But I'm likely to receive multiple nags on a 50-mile trip and too often get kicked out of Autopilot entirely for the duration (or until I pull over and put it in park).

pax / Ctein

 

[Ctein]

I grab the wheel at about 6:30-7:00 and apply a light twist with my wrist (see below only I use my left hand). This has worked for me for many, many miles.

Dear Phil,

OK, haven't tried that! But I will. It looks pretty comfortable.

Let me make sure I understand correctly-- you're saying what you really do is grab it in the 5:30 position, as illustrated, but with your left hand, right? So it's something of a crosswise grip, which is what puts a bit of torque on the wheel. And, I'd presume, one could switch off and use the right hand to grab the wheel at the 6:30 position, right?

Thanks!

pax / Ctein

 

[immolated]

There's definitely something wrong with your sensor. It takes me one finger of force resting above the 9 o'clock scroll wheel

 

[Phil Seastrand]

Let me make sure I understand correctly-- you're saying what you really do is grab it in the 5:30 position, as illustrated, but with your left hand, right?

no, I found that picture on the internet. What I do is a mirror on that image - my left hand on the left side. But it could be either one, just whichever works best for you.

 

[forkee]

i just scroll down or up on one of the scroll wheels (usually the volume) and the prompt goes away

 

[Ctein]

To be honest I think that's partly by design. If there was a point where you could torque the wheel just right without having to think (a little) about it, then it would defeat the purpose of the torque in the first place.

I find the the wheel for me has three torque points, the first is the gentle "give" you get with most steering wheels, the second is the "Am I pushing it so hard it will disengage?" and the third is the "oh heck" when you DO grab it to take over. You need the middle one to keep AP happy, and that actually is a more forgiving range than most people realize I think.

Dear drtime,

That sounds a lot like my experience. You're the first person to describe what I'm feeling (except that I don't find the range forgiving). It makes me wonder if there just might be a whole lot of normal variation from car to car.

Still can't decide if it's me or the car that has a real problem. I'm scheduled for an in-shop warranty servicing in 15 days (the frunk latch sensor claims the frunk is open when the front of the car gets hot from sitting in the sun), so I'm pushing on them to give the steering sensors a check while they've got it.

pax / Ctein

 

[Ctein]

i just scroll down or up on one of the scroll wheels (usually the volume) and the prompt goes away

Dear Forkee,

I keep forgetting about that! I dunno why.

If I can develop a nervous twitch in my thumb, I wouldn't even have to think about it. [g].

pax / Ctein

 

[Ctein]

no, I found that picture on the internet. What I do is a mirror on that image - my left hand on the left side. But it could be either one, just whichever works best for you.

Dear Phil,

Got it -- Hand at lower position on the same side of bottom, not a cross grip.

Thanks!

pax / Ctein

 

[jbcarioca]

The scroll technique was enabled a couple fo years ago, I found it on my new Model 3 by accident when I was changing volume just as the nag happened. I've never worried about torque since. Just remember that either scroll wheel one click in either direction does the job.

 

[Ctein]

Dear Phil,

Got it -- Hand at lower position on the same side of bottom, not a cross grip.

Thanks!

pax / Ctein

And... Just got to try this out. It was only a 10 km drive, and the highway is windy, so the car was doing a lot of it's own wheel-turning, but your method worked fine! I didn't get a single warning. Maybe it won't work so well on a long straightaway, but it's a big improvement over the results I as getting.

(And I will practice thumbing the scroll wheel.)

 

[mjptech]

For the past 20 years, I've always driven with my hands at rest (lap) so I drive using the bottom of the steering wheel - never understood holding the wheel any higher than the 6 o'clock (since small movements become magnified, e.g. oversteering is easier in the typical high-hand positions... from the bottom, I can make turns without having to remove my hands since I can do a complete turn, and I don't look like I'm playing a video game and leaning)...

Usually just one hand and the thumb and index finger wrapped around the bottom of the wheel - and a quick flick will register for AP.

However, most of the time when Autopilot is engaged, though, I'll just rest my arm on my leg and rotate the vehicle distance selector as that counts as a steering wheel present register. No need to lift my arm up - and I can still grab the wheel from my normal driving position.

 

[Ctein]

...

Usually just one hand and the thumb and index finger wrapped around the bottom of the wheel - and a quick flick will register for AP.

However, most of the time when Autopilot is engaged, though, I'll just rest my arm on my leg and rotate the vehicle distance selector as that counts as a steering wheel present register. No need to lift my arm up - and I can still grab the wheel from my normal driving position.

Dear m,

I've tried the six-o-clock steering wheel grip in the past and it's not worked well for me -- the car doesn't see my grip unless I torque *hard*. Go figger.

Twiddling the distance selector is a new one to me! I knew about the scroll wheels, but not that. Gonna have to give it a try, just for the heck of it.

I like having many ways to do this because it's hard on the arms on long drives to have to keep doing the same thing from the same position.

Thanks!

pax / Ctein

 

[mjptech]

Dear m,

I've tried the six-o-clock steering wheel grip in the past and it's not worked well for me -- the car doesn't see my grip unless I torque *hard*. Go figger.

Twiddling the distance selector is a new one to me! I knew about the scroll wheels, but not that. Gonna have to give it a try, just for the heck of it.

I like having many ways to do this because it's hard on the arms on long drives to have to keep doing the same thing from the same position.

Thanks!

pax / Ctein

You may also just want to make an appointment with the SC (or Ranger), or try and do a test drive and see how a different vehicle reacts. The amount of force needed is enough to get some resistance in the wheel, which can sometimes feel like it might disengage AP.. It's also VERY subjective, as you've seen in some of the replies. And yes, I have disengaged AP on some occasions where I've used the wheel, rather than the distance selector. The nice thing about the distance selector is that it doesn't really affect anything otherwise, such as using the volume control - I usually travel with "1" for my distance - so, I'll click to 2, and then back to 1.. or, leave it at 2 if there's no traffic, and then flick to 1 on the next round..

It's just a repetitive/trained thing now...One other Tesla driver wondered what I was doing every 10-15 seconds or so as they didn't understand the distance selector could skip it (they have a 3, and I don't really know where their selector is or how they manage if they use AP)... I just found it easy for me (and, with my long arms, I can keep them rested), but, definitely anything in your arsenal should work

I have seen other tricks, like stuffing an orange or water bottle in the steering wheel... And, of course, the little weight lock that you can put on the steering wheel... But, those increase the likelihood of not paying attention to the road, and makes it worse for others...

 

[drtimhill]

For the past 20 years, I've always driven with my hands at rest (lap) so I drive using the bottom of the steering wheel - never understood holding the wheel any higher than the 6 o'clock (since small movements become magnified, e.g. oversteering is easier in the typical high-hand positions... from the bottom, I can make turns without having to remove my hands since I can do a complete turn, and I don't look like I'm playing a video game and leaning)...

Hope you've never had to do any emergency steering then, as holding the wheel like that makes it nearly impossible to steer/control in an emergency.

 

[arnolddeleon]

I'll add my two bits of information. I don't drive an X. We currently have 3 and Y. I don't notice any difference in the amount of torque between the cars. So sample size 2, no difference. I don't feel like I have to apply a lot of torque. I use the "standard" setting for the wheel (versus sport or comfort). I tend to rest my left hand at the 9 o'clock position. I will occasionally switch to my right hand or lap position when I need to give my left hand a break. It is surprisingly hard to explain. My wife, with the same cars, has trouble finding the right amount of torque. She uses the scroll wheels to demonstrate hands on wheel for the nags.

 

[mjptech]

Hope you've never had to do any emergency steering then, as holding the wheel like that makes it nearly impossible to steer/control in an emergency.

Have never had an issue in emergency situations I've encountered in the past... Get much more control from bottom steering than top.

And I can always pull down ont he wheel (put my hand up) if I need to.. Not exactly stuck or limited to driving from the bottom