Hyper-sensitive auto steer?

[PelMama]

I recently purchased "autopilot" for my 2018 M3, which means now I have traffic aware cruise control and auto steer. When driving with auto steer, I get an alert that I need to apply slight tension on the wheel while its turning, but if I do that, it jumps out of auto steer. It's one thing to keep my hands on the wheel, it's another to try and apply just the perfect amount of ever-so-slight tension so that the steering doesn't go back into manual. It's much easier to just steer the thing myself. Am I missing something? Or do I just need to contact Tesla to do some adjustment?

I should add that the last time I didn't satisfy it with the perfect amount of tension I place on the wheel while turning, it locked me out of auto steer for the rest of the trip. I really am holding the wheel with the same amount of grip that I would if I were steering manually.

 

[totoro722]

I had trouble with that at first too. I would take my hand off of the wheel to initiate the turn signal, and the car was checking to be sure I had my hands on the wheel before making the lane change, so I would get the message and not a lane change until it was satisfied. Now I change to using my right hand to keep on the wheel while using the turn signal, and no problem. I am also now better at just keeping a steady slight pressure on the steering wheel, so I can let go for a few seconds to initiate a turn and not have that problem. Just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

[Massive Attack]

I don't think you have a problem, you just need to find the sweet spot, as it is a bit of a learning curve. If you are pulling the car off auto steer, you're overdoing it. Assuming you have experience with the car, just resting my hand on the bottom of the wheel, near 4 or 5 o'clock, seems to do the trick. I usually grip it gently enough that the car can feel resistance when on curved roads. I would suggest you find some curved roads to practice on for a few miles.

When using this feature, the car gets upset at a lack of perceived steering wheel resistance at different times. I have noticed that if you are following another vehicle or in traffic, it nags less. When I'm the only car around, it nags much more frequently.

 

[PelMama]

I don't think you have a problem, you just need to find the sweet spot, as it is a bit of a learning curve. If you are pulling the car off auto steer, you're overdoing it. Assuming you have experience with the car, just resting my hand on the bottom of the wheel, near 4 or 5 o'clock, seems to do the trick. I usually grip it gently enough that the car can feel resistance when on curved roads. I would suggest you find some curved roads to practice on for a few miles.

When using this feature, the car gets upset at a lack of perceived steering wheel resistance at different times. I have noticed that if you are following another vehicle or in traffic, it nags less. When I'm the only car around, it nags much more frequently.

Thanks for this and to the previous reply. I'll trust that soon I'll get the knack of it and won't find it to be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Kevy Baby]

I agree that it is just developing the muscle memory for how much rotational pressure it takes. I found that it REALLY helps if you start light and slowly(ish) increase the pressure until it clears the alarm. This helps learn that sweet spot.

ALSO, you can turn either of the thumbwheels one click to stop the warning: I use the volume control so I am not changing the speed. I've had my car 11 months and I just learned about this last week from someone here.

 

[LACALawyer]

I recently purchased "autopilot" for my 2018 M3, which means now I have traffic aware cruise control and auto steer. When driving with auto steer, I get an alert that I need to apply slight tension on the wheel while its turning, but if I do that, it jumps out of auto steer. It's one thing to keep my hands on the wheel, it's another to try and apply just the perfect amount of ever-so-slight tension so that the steering doesn't go back into manual. It's much easier to just steer the thing myself. Am I missing something? Or do I just need to contact Tesla to do some adjustment?

I should add that the last time I didn't satisfy it with the perfect amount of tension I place on the wheel while turning, it locked me out of auto steer for the rest of the trip. I really am holding the wheel with the same amount of grip that I would if I were steering manually.

You'll get the hang of it. It's not that hard. If you can't, use the scroll buttons instead.