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)

 

[Rice&Curry]

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.

As soon as I got home, I warned my wife about all the changes and terrible performance and recommended she not drive the vehicle anytime it's raining or at night until we know if this was just a particularly bad night or if it's just THAT bad now. She's certainly not taking our daughter in the thing anytime soon, at least not in the rain or 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.

R,
Bill

Thank you for the early warning, I live in California and our rainy season will start soon , so this is a helpful and timely warning.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

I recently drove my 2022 model y (2022.36.x) on Los Angeles freeway 134 next to Disney in heavy rain and fog using autopilot + autosteer (beta) as a test. It did fine. I turned it off after 5 minutes because I felt it more responsible for me to do the driving rather than a fancy cruise control when in heavy rain. Wipers worked well. Auto high beams turned off due to other cars being around (this feature works really well from my experiences).

 

[astrobill]

...rather than a fancy cruise control when in heavy rain. Wipers worked well. Auto high beams turned off due to other cars being around (this feature works really well from my experiences)...

I don't think the ability to use rudimentary cruise control when driving in rain -- instead of needing to have continual pressure on the accelerator -- is "fancy".

 

[ElectricAnt54]

You make a great point that the inability to use *cruise* control without also being FORCED to use lane-keeping assistance in Tesla vehicles is a real drawback with their "Autopilot" system. Almost every other vehicle, including other EVs and PHEVs, lets you use one or the other. Tesla forces you to use both. It's really nutty.

I didn’t try to make such a point. You can have traditional adaptive cruise control. Just turn off the auto-steer feature. Enjoy your car.

 

[bobbyjae]

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.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

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

My car has no issues with shadows. Just drove 150 miles (Los Angeles to Mojave dessert) and many sections of road had shadows from nearby semis and trucks.

 

[jcanoe]

Under some weather conditions (mist and rain) radar cruise control won't function properly. In response, some vehicles equipped with the radar cruise control can be set to use conventional fixed speed non-radar cruise for these situations. There may be times as when on a longer trip that engaging cruise control in the rain makes sense as there may be little traffic and many hours of driving to be completed.

 

[strider]

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.

 

[bobbyjae]

It's sufficient 90% of the time but those remaining "edge" cases are what will get you in trouble.

 

[Big Earl]

The ability to have rudimentary cruise control when driving in rain -- instead of needing to have continual pressure on the accelerator -- is "fancy" ? Really???

You make a great point that the inability to use *cruise* control without also being FORCED to use lane-keeping assistance in Tesla vehicles is a real drawback with their "Autopilot" system. Almost every other vehicle, including other EVs and PHEVs, lets you use one or the other. Tesla forces you to use both. It's really nutty.

Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer are separate features. You can use TACC without using Autosteer.

 

[jsmay311]

The ability to have rudimentary cruise control when driving in rain -- instead of needing to have continual pressure on the accelerator -- is "fancy" ? Really???

You make a great point that the inability to use *cruise* control without also being FORCED to use lane-keeping assistance in Tesla vehicles is a real drawback with their "Autopilot" system. Almost every other vehicle, including other EVs and PHEVs, lets you use one or the other. Tesla forces you to use both. It's really nutty.

One pull down on the right stalk = adaptive cruise control.

Two pull downs on the right stall = Autopilot

 

[astrobill]

One pull down on the right stalk = adaptive cruise control.

Two pull downs on the right stall = Autopilot

Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer are separate features. You can use TACC without using Autosteer.

Yes, I mis-spoke.

What I was trying to say is that the thing wouldn't cruise control properly and kept slowing down continuously, while limiting the set speed due to "Poor front camera visibility". When I used full Autopilot, it would do better at keeping up speed, but still wouldn't let me set any speed consistently.

Moreover, this is a clear indication that removing radar -- and not using it in vehicles that still have it -- is impacting features. I *never* got the "Autopilot speed limited due to poor camera visibilty" message in over two years of owning the vehicle...until accepting a firmware build that discards the radar data in most circumstances.

 

[astrobill]

It's sufficient 90% of the time but those remaining "edge" cases are what will get you in trouble.

I don't think driving at night in mild to moderate rain is an "edge case".

Also, I always think it's funny when defenders adopt Musk's language of "edge cases" and throw it at any situation where a Tesla performs unpredictably. It's a term he learned from one of his software engineers and tosses around continuously in situations where it doesn't really apply.

 

[jjrandorin]

There is an existing, very active thread on the topic of Tesla Vision already, in the subforum that exists for autopilot / FSD discussion here:

Tesla replacing ultrasonic sensors with Tesla Vision

Tesla announced today that they are transitioning away from ultrasonic sensors and replacing them Tesla Vision: Today, we are taking the next step in Tesla Vision by removing ultrasonic sensors (USS) from Model 3 and Model Y. We will continue this rollout with Model 3 and Model Y, globally...

teslamotorsclub.com

This feedback likely should be in that thread.

 

[bobbyjae]

I don't think driving at night in mild to moderate rain is an "edge case".

Also, I always think it's funny when defenders adopt Musk's language of "edge cases" and throw it at any situation where a Tesla performs unpredictably. It's a term he learned from one of his software engineers and tosses around continuously in situations where it doesn't really apply.

I have had my MY for over a year and have not even tried AP because I think it's garbage. I would not risk my life or my family's as a beta-tester.

With that said, I only talk of "edge cases" because that is the language used by Tesla and recent articles describing the situation. It shouldn't be an edge case but it appears to be categorized as one.

 

[jjrandorin]

FWIW, the term "Edge case" itself, when describing "things a person may experience when using a system" has been around since I started working in IT. I was 21 when I started working in IT and I am 55 now, so the term "edge case" is not new, and its HIGHLY unlikely that "elon learned it from Tesla engineers".

 

[Tonedog77]

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

 

[HSATD]

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

All of this. Ugh. I've given up on using any automation in the rain.

 

[strider]

Traffic Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer are separate features. You can use TACC without using Autosteer.

But TACC uses the Autosteer (AP) software. So it will do things like slow down for curves, slow down for vehicles merging into the lane next to you, phantom brake under overpasses, and all sorts of terrible and unsafe things that a TACC system should not do. AP/FSD (I have a friend w/ a MY with FSD and have ridden with him a number of times) is a worse driver than I am in literally every scenario. To think that the car has better judgement than I do is the absolute peak of hubris and is categorically wrong. I just want a car that I can drive with a cruise control that holds the speed I ask it to hold. This is literally 80-year old technology that Tesla decided they needed to improve. Of course they c**ked it up like they did with high beams (at least I can turn to auto part off) and windshield wipers (again, at least I can turn it off). I am all for trying to improve things but give people the option of the old and reliable way of doing it until such time that the new way is superior and reliable.