Just Drove My Model Y in Light Rain at Night for 1st Time with "Tesla Vision" (2022.36.6): Autopilot was **Unusable**

All:

I just drove my Model Y for the first night time drive in light to moderate rain for the 1st time since accepting an update to one of the supposed "Tesla Vision" builds. Ooooh boy...it's not looking good for Tesla.

Note: I recently jumped from software version 2022.20 to 2022.36.6. The vehicle has radar, but this build supposedly uses the radar for almost nothing at this point. Greentheonly (who is also on this site) isn't convinced it's *never* used but we can argue that in one of the open threads.

Anyway, I was on a portion of a major highway with good lane markings -- I66 eastbound in Northern Virginia -- driving in light to moderate rain. Definitely not a torrential downpour.

I'm not exaggerating when I say the vehicle was nearly **un-driveable** with Autopilot engaged under these circumstances. I'm completely stunned by how bad it was and how I had to nurse the vehicle constantly to get any Autopilot features to even work or agree to engage.

Summary:

- Far more frequent occurrences of the "XXX Camera is blocked" notification than ever before. This was rare for me previously. On this drive, it was consistently on for the entire 30 minute drive despite no cameras being physically blocked, just typical light to moderate rain.

- Near constant "Autopilot speed limited by limited front camera visibility" messages. It wouldn't let me set the Autopilot cruise control speed more than 60 or 65 MPH, but inconsistently.

- Wouldn't honor whatever speed it reluctantly agreed to. People were passing me left and right well >65 MPH, but my Model Y was slowing down below *40 mph* and slowing. I had to continually step in and put my foot on the accelerator to get it to honor whatever speed it had agreed to. There wasn't anyone in front of me that would've forced the slow down. I kept wondering WTF was going on.

- The "Regen braking limited" notification stayed on the entire drive due to lowish temperatures, but it wasn't *that* cold. Note that I drove our Volvo XC40 later last night on a grocery run and had full regenerative braking at even colder temperatures.

- Forcing us accept "auto high beams" and "auto wipers" when Autopilot is engaged is **clearly** a disaster and neither worked reliably. The high beams were constantly coming on and off the entire drive inconsistently, often flashing people when I drove under overpasses. The wipers were *continually* set poorly. I had to manually fight both of these the entire drive, a non-ideal distraction when driving in the rain at night.

I'm utterly *p*ssed* about the continually degrading interface and performance of the vehicle. I could sell it for at least $10K *profit* at this point, and am strongly considering it.

I mean...wow. Holy &^%$# it's bad. Tesla needs to try and salvage this instead of wasting time on nonsense like "light shows" and fart apps. It's awful.

- B

"E-Cars parked at Tesla Supercharging Stations in Germany, under cloudy sky" by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
(Image added by admin for purpose of TMC Blog)

 

[tivoboy]

Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be raining, but only have to have RECENTLY rained.. not sure what it’s seeing that makes it so cautions as to not engage.. the windscreen isn’t wet any longer from driving and its only the road that could be wet. Won’t engage. I often wonder if there is just something wrong with my 2018 cameras that they haven’t told us about.

 

[Dr Jay]

Sorry to hear about experience. I too live in Northern Virginia and have used autopilot in 66 during conditions that you describe. My 2022 model 3 has never experienced problems similar to what you describe. It is puzzling.

 

[Dewg]

I'm utterly *p*ssed* about the continually degrading interface and performance of the vehicle. I could sell it for at least $10K *profit* at this point, and am strongly considering it.

I highly encourage you to do so before the used car market starts a significant downturn, which it already seems like it is due to rapidly rising interest rates.

 

[brancky3]

i used AP for a 3 hour drive in downpours and went for 107 miles on the highway street without any issues or even having to manually disengage

Yea I’ve had this too, but then driving from the CLT airport home last month it was light / moderate misty rain and AP performed like OP is describing. To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable NOT driving the car on my own in those conditions anyway, too much can go wrong with other drivers not handling the conditions.

 

[honoraryorange]

Definitely odd experience. I've used AP on the highway in rain so bad I felt like I could barely see and it seemed to do better than I could have on my own.

 

[Undecided_2]

Where I live in Scotland there are large areas with no road lights.

Driving at night the auto wipers do not work. I suppose as the multiple cameras are obscured is constantly on as well as overlaid with emergency braking disabled message. Tesla vision doesn’t work at night on my car.

The auto lights are useless all of the time whether there are road lights or not. I’ve also noticed that the graphics showing the car is near something is near constantly on even though I’m a considerable distance from anything. Probably as the cameras have no visibility at night when there is no light source.

I have no faith that aging tech like the cameras can be improved unless they upgrade them.

I doubt I could sell mine for a profit as second hand car values have fallen due to the recession warnings. But I’m placing an order for the Polestar 3. I’m done with promises that things will keep getting better with software.

 

[derotam]

I'll just say that combing the terms "good lane markings" + "I66" + "Northern Virginia is suspect at best right now in my opinion. There is so much construction going on and lane shifts because of the new express lanes the car is just as confused as the horrible drivers around here.

Not saying you aren't having issues. I can't equate my vehicle to yours right now because I am not on 2022.36.6. I also thought they switched over to vision before 36.6.

 

[anapon]

what happens to the cars with Radar.?. Will they bypass to the tesla vision going forward with the update... It sucks.. I got the car couple of months back...

 

[Tripod]

AP/FSD suck and will continue to suck for at least 10 years. Teslas are fun to drive. Just drive them

Cruise Control sucks too as it uses AP code - I get a ton of phantom braking on cruise control. I wish it had an option to make it a "dumb" cruise control.

Yes, I wish there was an option to disable the adaptive cruise and just let me be the one who decides. It starts slowing down so gently sometimes and what I would normally do is just change lanes and continue passing the slower car. This is of course on a two-lane-per-direction highway.

 

[strider]

Yes, I wish there was an option to disable the adaptive cruise and just let me be the one who decides. It starts slowing down so gently sometimes and what I would normally do is just change lanes and continue passing the slower car. This is of course on a two-lane-per-direction highway.

Yep, but if there is a single inch of your car still in the original lane the car will slow to match the speed of the car you are trying to overtake until you are fully in the passing lane. Then it will accelerate up to your set speed. This is incredibly dangerous and not how you are supposed to overtake. The owner's manual says that if you hold the turn signal button (I have an MX without stalks) down then the car will accelerate/hold speed to pass however this simply does not work at all.

 

[tesdpr]

All:

I just drove my Model Y for the first night time drive in light to moderate rain for the 1st time since accepting an update to one of the supposed "Tesla Vision" builds. Ooooh boy...it's not looking good for Tesla.

Note: I recently jumped from software version 2022.20 to 2022.36.6. The vehicle has radar, but this build supposedly uses the radar for almost nothing at this point. Greentheonly (who is also on this site) isn't convinced it's *never* used but we can argue that in one of the open threads.

Anyway, I was on a portion of a major highway with good lane markings -- I66 eastbound in Northern Virginia -- driving in light to moderate rain. Definitely not a torrential downpour.

I'm not exaggerating when I say the vehicle was nearly **un-driveable** with Autopilot engaged under these circumstances. I'm completely stunned by how bad it was and how I had to nurse the vehicle constantly to get any Autopilot features to even work or agree to engage.

Summary:

- Far more frequent occurrences of the "XXX Camera is blocked" notification than ever before. This was rare for me previously. On this drive, it was consistently on for the entire 30 minute drive despite no cameras being physically blocked, just typical light to moderate rain.

- Near constant "Autopilot speed limited by limited front camera visibility" messages. It wouldn't let me set the Autopilot cruise control speed more than 60 or 65 MPH, but inconsistently.

- Wouldn't honor whatever speed it reluctantly agreed to. People were passing me left and right well >65 MPH, but my Model Y was slowing down below *40 mph* and slowing. I had to continually step in and put my foot on the accelerator to get it to honor whatever speed it had agreed to. There wasn't anyone in front of me that would've forced the slow down. I kept wondering WTF was going on.

- The "Regen braking limited" notification stayed on the entire drive due to lowish temperatures, but it wasn't *that* cold. Note that I drove our Volvo XC40 later last night on a grocery run and had full regenerative braking at even colder temperatures.

- Forcing us accept "auto high beams" and "auto wipers" when Autopilot is engaged is **clearly** a disaster and neither worked reliably. The high beams were constantly coming on and off the entire drive inconsistently, often flashing people when I drove under overpasses. The wipers were *continually* set poorly. I had to manually fight both of these the entire drive, a non-ideal distraction when driving in the rain at night.

I'm utterly *p*ssed* about the continually degrading interface and performance of the vehicle. I could sell it for at least $10K *profit* at this point, and am strongly considering it.

I mean...wow. Holy &^%$# it's bad. Tesla needs to try and salvage this instead of wasting time on nonsense like "light shows" and fart apps. It's awful.

- B

View attachment 876691
"E-Cars parked at Tesla Supercharging Stations in Germany, under cloudy sky" by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
(Image added by admin for purpose of TMC Blog)

Agreed on all points. Tesla is clearly at an inflection point and I suspect but don't know that in 3 years we will have cars that are worth 1/2 the value they should be OR everyone will be as happy as they were 2 years ago wheh I think Tesla was at its height if CSAT. For instance - most EVs let you adjust regen braking. They do this because not everyone wants one peddle driving. My spouse refuses to drive the Tesla due to this. I purchased the car thinking that reg low or high would be there but Tesla unilaterally took it away i a software update. They took radar and ultrasonic away wothoit feedback. Every other OEM is trying to make data fushion based vision from ultrasonics, radar, and cameras together. Makes sense. Every other EV allows regenerate braking adjust.

SC tells me when I ask that "regen braking can still be adjusted by creep roll or hold" - that's not same as old settings. That is only talking about if I come to a stop how regen works and a service advisor should know that.

 

[Master Chief]

I don't think Tesla AP/FSD is made for rain, snow, etc. It has a hard enough time discerning shadows from real obstacles in ideal conditions.

Remember that several years ago, Elon discussed wanting to have cars without steering wheels? With my experience with FSD in my 2020 MX, that is the last thing I would wish for. I am totally NOT impressed with FSD. Disappointed actually.

 

[Undecided_2]

Just driven the car at night time since updating to a “massive” update that will significantly improve auto wipers and auto lights - according to SC.

The update hasn’t made a difference. The auto wipers do not work at night time for me - no street lights on the roads. I’ve logged another SC call. But they typically cancel them and tell me it’s a Beta feature and will improve over time.

 

[MagicalseT]

All:

I just drove my Model Y for the first night time drive in light to moderate rain for the 1st time since accepting an update to one of the supposed "Tesla Vision" builds. Ooooh boy...it's not looking good for Tesla.

Note: I recently jumped from software version 2022.20 to 2022.36.6. The vehicle has radar, but this build supposedly uses the radar for almost nothing at this point. Greentheonly (who is also on this site) isn't convinced it's *never* used but we can argue that in one of the open threads.

Anyway, I was on a portion of a major highway with good lane markings -- I66 eastbound in Northern Virginia -- driving in light to moderate rain. Definitely not a torrential downpour.

I'm not exaggerating when I say the vehicle was nearly **un-driveable** with Autopilot engaged under these circumstances. I'm completely stunned by how bad it was and how I had to nurse the vehicle constantly to get any Autopilot features to even work or agree to engage.

Summary:

- Far more frequent occurrences of the "XXX Camera is blocked" notification than ever before. This was rare for me previously. On this drive, it was consistently on for the entire 30 minute drive despite no cameras being physically blocked, just typical light to moderate rain.

- Near constant "Autopilot speed limited by limited front camera visibility" messages. It wouldn't let me set the Autopilot cruise control speed more than 60 or 65 MPH, but inconsistently.

- Wouldn't honor whatever speed it reluctantly agreed to. People were passing me left and right well >65 MPH, but my Model Y was slowing down below *40 mph* and slowing. I had to continually step in and put my foot on the accelerator to get it to honor whatever speed it had agreed to. There wasn't anyone in front of me that would've forced the slow down. I kept wondering WTF was going on.

- The "Regen braking limited" notification stayed on the entire drive due to lowish temperatures, but it wasn't *that* cold. Note that I drove our Volvo XC40 later last night on a grocery run and had full regenerative braking at even colder temperatures.

- Forcing us accept "auto high beams" and "auto wipers" when Autopilot is engaged is **clearly** a disaster and neither worked reliably. The high beams were constantly coming on and off the entire drive inconsistently, often flashing people when I drove under overpasses. The wipers were *continually* set poorly. I had to manually fight both of these the entire drive, a non-ideal distraction when driving in the rain at night.

I'm utterly *p*ssed* about the continually degrading interface and performance of the vehicle. I could sell it for at least $10K *profit* at this point, and am strongly considering it.

I mean...wow. Holy &^%$# it's bad. Tesla needs to try and salvage this instead of wasting time on nonsense like "light shows" and fart apps. It's awful.

- B

View attachment 876691
"E-Cars parked at Tesla Supercharging Stations in Germany, under cloudy sky" by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
(Image added by admin for purpose of TMC Blog)

Basic point here. Many road safety organisations strongly advise not to use any form of “auto” or “cruise” control in any type of rain or while roads could still be wet. The choice is yours.

 

[NanaimoMY]

Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be raining, but only have to have RECENTLY rained.. not sure what it’s seeing that makes it so cautions as to not engage.. the windscreen isn’t wet any longer from driving and its only the road that could be wet. Won’t engage. I often wonder if there is just something wrong with my 2018 cameras that they haven’t told us about.

high humidity in the car (some camera blocked)? This morning I was not able to use FSD beta (2022.36.20) on my way home, though the 1st trip out was fine. It showed "cruise control unavailable". When parked at home, I opened four doors, frunk and trunk for about 2 minutes.

Yes! FSD is back.

Next time I would open the windows on highway if it happened again.

MYLR 2022, June.

 

[KidsEyeDr]

Just to give the alternate experience to the OP, FSD beta 2022.36.6 is stellar in my experience. Not perfect but continuing to improve. Some suboptimal lane planning for turns up ahead*, and a few other things, but generally quite excellent even in not so good weather.

*Example: just the other day, I’m cruising in the left lane of a four lane divided road and FSD beta was obsessing about the fact that the person in front of me was going like 5 mph below the speed limit. Ok FSD I got you on that BUT we are coming up to our left turn in like 1/10 mile… and FSD just switched to the right lane .

So I had to take over because I don’t have all day for re routing and at this point FSD is GOING to miss the turn given the speed limit etc. And no I’m not on Mad Max setting.

 

[derotam]

*Example: just the other day, I’m cruising in the left lane of a four lane divided road and FSD beta was obsessing about the fact that the person in front of me was going like 5 mph below the speed limit. Ok FSD I got you on that BUT we are coming up to our left turn in like 1/10 mile… and FSD just switched to the right lane .

Yeah, FSD, NoA even, prioritizes the driving functions over pending navigation requirements. There should be some kind of a distance lockout for those speed based lane changes.

 

[SourJellybeans]

Basic point here. Many road safety organisations strongly advise not to use any form of “auto” or “cruise” control in any type of rain or while roads could still be wet. The choice is yours.

Thank you for pointing this out, I had recalled reading this somewhere but couldn't remember where. Turns out, it was from my Oregon driver's license test 20 years ago (I'm sure others, do too):

Oregon Driver Manual - Section 7: Safe and Responsible Driving, subsection Hazardous Conditions:
Rain:
"Do not use cruise control in wet conditions."
Snow and Ice:
"Keep windows clear of snow, ice and fog, and do not use cruise control."

If Tesla disagrees with those organizations and believes TACC/AP/FSD can operate in those conditions, they still have a lot of work to do.

 

[FastEddieB]

Definitely odd experience. I've used AP on the highway in rain so bad I felt like I could barely see and it seemed to do better than I could have on my own.

Ditto. Drove from N IN to our home in E TN yesterday, and both ACC and AutoSteer worked well in light rain.

A couple notes:

1) We turn off ACC if the rain becomes even moderate. Puddling can lead to hydroplaning where any cruise control can get you in trouble in a heartbeat. DAMHIK.

2) The auto wipers are annoying. They were on intermittently, even in a very light misting that Rain-X could handle perfectly. I understand the need to keep the forward camera clear, but it’s annoying nonetheless. Our Honda Clarity seemed to do fine in the rain without taking control of the wipers.

 

[derotam]

Thank you for pointing this out, I had recalled reading this somewhere but couldn't remember where. Turns out, it was from my Oregon driver's license test 20 years ago (I'm sure others, do too):

Oregon Driver Manual - Section 7: Safe and Responsible Driving, subsection Hazardous Conditions:
Rain:
"Do not use cruise control in wet conditions."
Snow and Ice:
"Keep windows clear of snow, ice and fog, and do not use cruise control."

If Tesla disagrees with those organizations and believes TACC/AP/FSD can operate in those conditions, they still have a lot of work to do.

Umm, shouldn't that just read that if you are in Portland, don't use cruise control ever because it is always raining?