I got a very unfair third strike that I do not understand. Please help.

[PhysicsGuy]

On my last drive north on highway 101 from Santa Barbara to the SF Bay Area I got 3 strikes. The third one especially seemed completely unfair. By that point, I was very focused on not loosing the use of autopilot for the drive. I had two hands on the wheel and was staring straight ahead at the road except for glancing at the screen as a warning gradually escalated to a strike despite the fact that I was doing everything I could to prevent that. I am really experienced with use of autopilot. We have a Model 3 with FSD that I have been driving extensively since 2018 and a 2023 Model Y with basic autopilot, which is what I was driving north on 101 when I got the 3 strikes last week. I know all (or most) of the normal things to prevent strikes (torque the steering wheel a bit to one side, use the scroll wheel, and, recently, look ahead at the road.) I have been using autopilot extensively for the last five years to make my 250 mile drives easier and I hate being timed out for a week. Any advice is most welcome.

(More specifics about me. I do like to eat while I drive. My typical strike rate for the last 5 years has been about 1 strike per 300 miles. So I am not perfect, but I have always managed to work with the system in the past, and to balance my wish to do stuff like eating while I drive, with the car's wish for me to torque the steering wheel a bit to one side. I am trying to figure out how to work with the system now and a little spooked by getting the third strike that I did not understand even while I was fully concentrating on my driving.

 

[Todd Burch]

Really hard to know why you got the strike from your description, and you probably already know this, but I'll say it anyway:

Usually addressing the nag requires not just applying torque to the steering wheel, but applying that torque for about a second. So is it possible that you torqued the wheel, but just didn't hold the torque long enough?

From the description, it sounds like your "warning escalated to a strike" because whatever you were doing to address the nag wasn't dismissing it. Not holding the torque long enough actually caught me yesterday and I got a strike because I nudged the wheel but didn't apply the torque long enough.

 

[69KWH]

The fact that you torque the steering wheel a bit from side to side, use the scroll wheel and look ahead while driving and STILL get a strike proves that this update was designed to reduce Tesla's liability by making AP and FSD undesirable to use. This way, when the driver crashes, it can be blamed on the driver alone and not on Telsa's systems. If Tesla is gonna force us to put in more effort with "driver assist" features than actually driving the car ourselves, it doesn't make sense to use those features anymore or buy vehicles that incorporate these now nerfed features.

 

[KArnold]

I had two hands on the wheel and was staring straight ahead at the road except for glancing at the screen as a warning gradually escalated to a strike

As an experienced user I assume your hands were not canceling the torque applied by the other, essentially canceling each other. One hand's worth of weight at the 9 o'clock position should be plenty to satisfy the nag.

On my MS you can also satisfy the nag by pulling the lever to turn FSD on. Since the wheel torque thing is so inconsistent this is my preference.

Not the same issue as you but I've received 2 strikes with zero visual/audio warning too.

 

[Big Earl]

The new software wants you to hold the wheel basically all the time. If you’re used to acknowledging nags by periodically torquing the steering wheel or adjusting the volume scroll wheel, you’re going to need to revise your behavior. Those will still satisfy the nags, but expect to bet beeped at and accumulate strikes.

People say they can no longer look at the screen or glance out the window without getting nagged. If you’re holding the wheel, you can spend quite a bit of time looking at the screen or elsewhere.

 

[Todd Burch]

The fact that you torque the steering wheel a bit from side to side, use the scroll wheel and look ahead while driving and STILL get a strike proves that this update was designed to reduce Tesla's liability by making AP and FSD undesirable to use. This way, when the driver crashes, it can be blamed on the driver alone and not on Telsa's systems. If Tesla is gonna force us to put in more effort with "driver assist" features than actually driving the car ourselves, it doesn't make sense to use those features anymore or buy vehicles that incorporate these now nerfed features.

Nice conspiracy theory, but you do understand it was the government (NHTSA) that forced these changes and not Tesla, right?

Other than the immediate initial nag I haven’t noticed it to be significantly different than before.

 

[Todd Burch]

The new software wants you to hold the wheel basically all the time. If you’re used to acknowledging nags by periodically torquing the steering wheel or adjusting the volume scroll wheel, you’re going to need to revise your behavior. Those will still satisfy the nags, but expect to bet beeped at and accumulate strikes.

People say they can no longer look at the screen or glance out the window without getting nagged. If you’re holding the wheel, you can spend quite a bit of time looking at the screen or elsewhere.

It seems to depend on hardware. Just yesterday on my HW4 Model X I went about a minute without a nag.

 

[Dewg]

Nice conspiracy theory, but you do understand it was the government (NHTSA) that forced these changes and not Tesla, right?

Other than the immediate initial nag I haven’t noticed it to be significantly different than before.

There is no difference in my experience either.

 

[gsmith123]

One other trick for OP, if a nag won’t dismiss just turn off autopilot. You can avoid a strike that way at least.

It shouldn’t be hard to satisfy a nag though. I’ve literally never had a problem. It seems like something is different with your car if you’re as experience as you claim…

 

[narkotic]

I got a strike the other day after we got a "autopilot system failure" message out of nowhere. Neat.

 

[Big Earl]

It seems to depend on hardware. Just yesterday on my HW4 Model X I went about a minute without a nag.

While looking forward or elsewhere? On my HW3 Model 3, I can get away without holding the wheel for a bit as long as I’m looking forward at the road.

 

[Supcom]

One other trick for OP, if a nag won’t dismiss just turn off autopilot. You can avoid a strike that way at least.

It shouldn’t be hard to satisfy a nag though. I’ve literally never had a problem. It seems like something is different with your car if you’re as experience as you claim…

Yep. If the monitor system starts acting up, turn off AP for a while.

I was driving on an interstate last summer on FSD. At one point, I noticed that the wheel nag was no longer nagging. I went 20 miles without touching the wheel with no nags. Suddenly, the car threw up a warning about detecting a defeat device and to remove it.

Having never had such a device installed, I was rather amused, but quickly realized that there was obviously something wrong with the monitor system. So, I just disengaged AP and drove manually for a few miles before reengaging. Everything was back to normal and we were all one small happy family again.

But, for 20 miles I was in Elon mode. If only I knew how...

 

[dgatwood]

The hands on wheel detection massively regressed in recent builds, thanks to a hopelessly botched NHTSA recall. It now has a 50/50 chance of claiming that I don't have my hands on the wheel, with audible warning, with no prior visible warning, about a second after engaging autopilot. I literally never see the (always bogus) hands on wheel warnings now before it starts beeping.

We need another recall.

 

[tiraffxx]

Do the AP stikes reset after a set amount of time? I'm on my second.

 

[Watts_Up]

I know all (or most) of the normal things to prevent strikes

(torque the steering wheel a bit to one side,​

use the scroll wheel, and, recently,​

look ahead at the road.)​

I noticed that by keeping my feet on the accelerator while using FSD, I get nag quite often, like few minutes apart.

Maybe the car want to check that I'am still awake?

But this is annoying because it is easy to miss the flashing blue warning before been put in jail

 

[Todd Burch]

While looking forward or elsewhere? On my HW3 Model 3, I can get away without holding the wheel for a bit as long as I’m looking forward at the road.

Yes, looking forward.

 

[Todd Burch]

The hands on wheel detection massively regressed in recent builds, thanks to a hopelessly botched NHTSA recall. It now has a 50/50 chance of claiming that I don't have my hands on the wheel, with audible warning, with no prior visible warning, about a second after engaging autopilot. I literally never see the (always bogus) hands on wheel warnings now before it starts beeping.

We need another recall.

Huh? That’s intentional behavior. Immediately after engaging, the system now checks to see if your eyes are on the road. If not, you’ll get the warning. It’s basically a front-loaded warning. Of course there’s no warning before. It IS the warning.

 

[gforce2002]

In the case of this strike were you eating at the time? Eating with both hands off the wheel is not safe, even with AP. It’s exactly that type of thing that this update is to discourage.

 

[golferguy]

On my last drive north on highway 101 from Santa Barbara to the SF Bay Area I got 3 strikes. The third one especially seemed completely unfair.

(More specifics about me. I do like to eat while I drive. My typical strike rate for the last 5 years has been about 1 strike per 300 mile.

This pretty sums up why the new rules were put in place, and why you are getting strikes.

 

[KArnold]

Do the AP stikes reset after a set amount of time? I'm on my second.

No. They are accumulative and do not go away until you get the 1 week suspension. Some will choose to get their suspension if close before a long trip.

On two occasions (2023.44.30.x being one of them) when the strike rules change, the software install will reset them back to zero but that's the exception.