Indicator question on Model 3

[Tigermad]

Had my car for 2 weeks now. One of the things I can’t seem to get right is the indicators. I know that you press them lightly in the same direction to turn them off. Seems to be quite random if they auto turn off or not.
Anyway I’m having trouble on roundabouts. I indicate right to go to a certain exit. When I plan to turn off I push the stalk down to indicate off the junction. But it cancels the indicator instead and i end up not indicating at all. I definitely press the indicator fully down for a full indication. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[M3noob]

I've experienced the same inconsistency. Seems to be involved with AP. I have FSD.

 

[Tigermad]

I've experienced the same inconsistency. Seems to be involved with AP. I have FSD.

Thanks. I’m not using AP at the time though.

 

[michelerusso88]

Mine does this all the time. Annoying Or you end up playing ping pong with the indicators

 

[Tigermad]

Mine does this all the time. Annoying Or you end up playing ping pong with the indicators

Glad it’s not just me. Thought I would be able to use it properly by now after 2 weeks doing the same route to work.

 

[Alistairuk]

I would say you get used to it - but it continues to appear to be random - I’ve started just doing the slight flick at roundabouts so it does the lane change thing of a few flashes, which usually finish flashing before I indicate off the roundabout. (Worth noting that if it’s in the process of doing the lane change thing and you try to indicate the other way it cancels the indicator - and you need to flick it again to get it to indicate the correct way)

 

[GtiMart]

If you half-push the stalk in one direction, the blinkers will flash three times and stop. Many cars have a similar feature. You don't need to turn the steering nor stop them, they will just blink 3 times. I use that to change lanes on the highway (no FSD).
If you full-push the stalk, they will blink until one of two things happen: you turn the steering enough (emphasis on enough) and then bring it back straight (like taking a street corner) or you stop them by a half-push of the stalk in the same direction. Again, this is the same on many other makes and models.
There's nothing random about them. You just need to get used to it

OH: you can also hold the stalk at half for as long as you like and they will blink until you release. Again, like many other cars I've owned.

 

[BushtrimmmerJr]

I had the same issue as the OP but I’ve come to find that if you hold the indicator down for a (half) second when planning to come off a roundabout it stays on. To start with though I just kept the indicator down as I moved off the roundabout.

 

[michelerusso88]

I also had an issue with my car deciding to indicate by itself without even using the stalk. Always the right indicator when on the motorway. I don’t have fsd but did have autopilot engaged

 

[Irata]

If you half-push the stalk in one direction, the blinkers will flash three times and stop. Many cars have a similar feature. You don't need to turn the steering nor stop them, they will just blink 3 times. I use that to change lanes on the highway (no FSD).
If you full-push the stalk, they will blink until one of two things happen: you turn the steering enough (emphasis on enough) and then bring it back straight (like taking a street corner) or you stop them by a half-push of the stalk in the same direction. Again, this is the same on many other makes and models.
There's nothing random about them. You just need to get used to it

OH: you can also hold the stalk at half for as long as you like and they will blink until you release. Again, like many other cars I've owned.

No, the issue is definitely more than this. The instructons are obvious as you say and the same in almost all cars now. So I believe people know what they are doing.

Even doing it correctly, i.e. full push down, I've occasionally seen it not indicate.

As someone else suggested, I think how quick the action is released may impact it. But I did wonder if the action of turning the wheel at the same time (like a roundabout) wrongly triggers an instant cancel.

There is some glitch here, many previous cars of mine were identify stalks and never once did it happen in them.

I have seen this rarely, but enough times I doubted myself but now others have said, I do wonder.

 

[nufan]

I too find the indicators inconsistent, especially ref cancelling....and regularly feel a right tool when noticing they’re still going on the motorway miles after the manoeuvre....

Speed of action, think you might be into something.

 

[Neilio]

Another experiencing this issue. Seems like another "in spec" feature from Tesla. I'm sure I look like an idiot when I ping pong the indicators trying to turn them off.

 

[Tigermad]

Thanks for the replies. Will try holding down for longer. Seems Elon tried to implement something different with the indicators to normal cars that was not needed.

 

[Tigermad]

Holding down longer didn’t work. :-( will have to try the press down twice method. This is just plain silly. I know everything is in beta but indicators not working properly, seriously.

 

[Adopado]

Holding down longer didn’t work. :-( will have to try the press down twice method. This is just plain silly. I know everything is in beta but indicators not working properly, seriously.

Yes, when going directly from indicating right to indicating left such as entering a roundabout with right indicator then indicate left to leave at the appropriate exit I think I need to do a double tap ... once just cancels the first indication to the right and the second actually activates the left indicator. On some (most?) cars you can just go directly from indicating right to indicating left in one movement.

 

[Alistairuk]

Yes, when going directly from indicating right to indicating left such as entering a roundabout with right indicator then indicate left to leave at the appropriate exit I think I need to do a double tap ... once just cancels the first indication to the right and the second actually activates the left indicator. On some (most?) cars you can just go directly from indicating right to indicating left in one movement.

I actually paid attention to what I was doing today (it’s became automatic for me) and yes, as you’ve said you need to hit it twice or it just cancels - unlike most cars where it would switch direction!

 

[GtiMart]

Old cars would just switch direction if you hit the other direction. Recent cars that I've driven have been behaving exactly like my Model 3.
It's possible that roundabouts cause problems because of their size and angles. Can't you just hold the blinker stalk half-way as you enter the roundabout, then let it go, wait just a little bit and then hold it half-way in the other direction as you exit? It seems like that should work.

 

[Jason71]

Old cars would just switch direction if you hit the other direction. Recent cars that I've driven have been behaving exactly like my Model 3.
It's possible that roundabouts cause problems because of their size and angles. Can't you just hold the blinker stalk half-way as you enter the roundabout, then let it go, wait just a little bit and then hold it half-way in the other direction as you exit? It seems like that should work.

US doesn't have any roundabouts of course. Is there any other scenario where you go from indicating one way straight to instantly indicating the other. I must be pretty rare. So probably not something they gave a lot of thought to.
Since many M3 owners have come from BMW's I guess its not an issue for them either since they generally don't signal at roundabouts anyway
(i'll get my coat)

 

[kelvin 660]

Tesla can't use the old fashion mechanical latch indicators becuase FSD wouldn't be able control them interdependently.

 

[GtiMart]

There are a few roundabouts here, it's slowly growing. I personally turn my street corner and then enter my driveway, in opposite direction, and surprisingly I signal. I haven't had issues doing that, but they are 90 degree angles, different from a roundabout.
I don't think mechanical vs logical is the issue. After all mechanical turn signals "click" at a specific steering angle, and I believe Tesla does the same albeit logically. Either it's the angle that Tesla chose that isn't quite right for your situation or it's a matter of timing. Would anyone care to try waiting a little second between signaling right and then signaling left (or vice versa depending on the country)? Maybe that solves it.
EDIT: Oh, and don't just fully engage them, hold at half as you enter, let it go for a full second during the transition, then hold at half in the other direction as you exit. I think the whole issue is that some people are fully engaging the signal, and never passing the minimum steering angle because the roundabout is too big, so the blinker never stops by itself. When you go to signal in the other direction, the first direction is still on so you just cancel... something like that.