Posted this earlier here on the main forum but since it happened in Hong Kong I thought I should share my experience here too (with more local details).
Earlier I used the auto park function in Hong Kong to parallel park my car. I had used the function maybe 4-5 times before and had no trouble.
Here is happened.
Location: Small public parking near Happy valley race course
1. I drove past the parking spot 1 (i wanted to park in) slowly it did not register as available on the system
2. I thought maybe the radar just didn’t detect it
3. ! continued driving forward as i saw another spot up ahead (spot 2 - see diagram below)
car1-car2-spot1-car3-spot2-car4-car5
——>
4. when i got to the position of car4. the parking indicator came up and I shifted to reverse and initiated auto park.
5. the car then proceeded to reverse at 15km/h, much faster than I expected in a parking lot (passing spot2) and so I immediately stepped on the brakes.
6. After the car stopped I realized maybe the car probably wants to park in spot1 and so i released the brakes for it to continue.
7. the tesla then continued reverse (at a fast 15km/h) and scraping car3 until i rammed the brakes again to stop it. See picture attached to see damaged. (I paid the owner of car3 HK$6000 to settle)
I contacted Tesla in the next day and told them about the incident. They requested to check up on the car. However after 3 days of getting the car they called and said understand it was a malfunction but there was nothing they could do and if i wanted to get the damage on my car fixed it would be around HK$52000 (multiple panels damaged).
I am a huge fan of Tesla and overall very pleased with my S. However the way Tesla has handled this incident has really disappointed me. I have not used the auto park function anymore as I have lost faith in the function and can’t afford another malfunction. There was nothing I could have done to prevent the accident as the car was moving way too fast in a such close quarters for me to react. I am glad the tesla hit a car and not a person. Although auto-park is a new technology my expectation was that it may not always work (unable to complete the parking) but I should not have to worry about it malfunctioning and hitting an object. Just like I would expect the brakes to stop the car everytime and not only sometimes. This is an auto park fail in my mind
Although I still love driving my Tesla I am weary of using any of their "auto" functions (after this accident
I wouldn't dare use the auto-pilot, which is a shame). I hope everyone else has a better experience than me. Please let me know if anyone else has had anything similar happen.
Earlier I used the auto park function in Hong Kong to parallel park my car. I had used the function maybe 4-5 times before and had no trouble.
Here is happened.
Location: Small public parking near Happy valley race course
1. I drove past the parking spot 1 (i wanted to park in) slowly it did not register as available on the system
2. I thought maybe the radar just didn’t detect it
3. ! continued driving forward as i saw another spot up ahead (spot 2 - see diagram below)
car1-car2-spot1-car3-spot2-car4-car5
——>
4. when i got to the position of car4. the parking indicator came up and I shifted to reverse and initiated auto park.
5. the car then proceeded to reverse at 15km/h, much faster than I expected in a parking lot (passing spot2) and so I immediately stepped on the brakes.
6. After the car stopped I realized maybe the car probably wants to park in spot1 and so i released the brakes for it to continue.
7. the tesla then continued reverse (at a fast 15km/h) and scraping car3 until i rammed the brakes again to stop it. See picture attached to see damaged. (I paid the owner of car3 HK$6000 to settle)
I contacted Tesla in the next day and told them about the incident. They requested to check up on the car. However after 3 days of getting the car they called and said understand it was a malfunction but there was nothing they could do and if i wanted to get the damage on my car fixed it would be around HK$52000 (multiple panels damaged).
I am a huge fan of Tesla and overall very pleased with my S. However the way Tesla has handled this incident has really disappointed me. I have not used the auto park function anymore as I have lost faith in the function and can’t afford another malfunction. There was nothing I could have done to prevent the accident as the car was moving way too fast in a such close quarters for me to react. I am glad the tesla hit a car and not a person. Although auto-park is a new technology my expectation was that it may not always work (unable to complete the parking) but I should not have to worry about it malfunctioning and hitting an object. Just like I would expect the brakes to stop the car everytime and not only sometimes. This is an auto park fail in my mind
Although I still love driving my Tesla I am weary of using any of their "auto" functions (after this accident