Looking for recommendations - Improve Autopilot/Navigate-on-autopilot driving characteristics

[rraj2k81]

I have been using both AP and NOAP (Navigate on Autopilot) since I picked up my Model S. I Find that there are only two modes it seems to drive in, aggressive driver or giddy teenager driving on highway for the first time.
It says a lot about the developers who are working on this algorithm, though not surprising for a brand that thinks 'MAD Max' is an acceptable form of driving.

I am a very relaxed driver and prefer cruising on highways instead of jumping around lanes, and looking into changing somethings that annoy the crap out of me when on AP or NOAP and hoping for some recommendations on what options I can enable/disable,

Autopilot
1. When doing stop and go the car does not know how to coast. Instead, it does the whole accelerate and brake driving, which is very annoying and unnerving. I was able to reduce this by reducing the following distance to 2 so it tends to coast/regen longer before stopping, but then when it starts to move it just wants to accelerate hard and brake/regen hard.
I tried putting it on 'Chill' mode, but that does not help.

2. Is there a way to get AP to slow down on its own when it approaches a bend, without me having to reduce the maximum speed? Right now any time I approach a hard bend, I find that I have to reduce the max speed to about 110km/hr., which seems to be the sweet spot, if not I find AP can be a hit or miss, where it can be unnerving or worse as it has done twice to me, completely disengages AP in the middle of a bend and tried to put me into a barrier or into the next lane into other cars.

Enhanced Autopilot
2. NOAP does not like to stick to a lane and cruise on a lane, instead wants to jump lanes like an agitated driver no matter how I set it up. I have tried all the different options under 'Navigate on Autopilot' and regardless of what I choose, it does not like to stick to a lane I want to be in.
And what is more annoying is if I were to cancel a lane change recommendation, instead of going away it would just pop up immediately, and in worst cases, it decides to slow down/brake to force you to take the lane change and at this point I have to change to Autopilot. This is really annoying.

3. NOAP also wants to move into an exit lane, almost 3 exits ahead, sometimes much earlier. So, it's making me go into a congested/slower lane and making me stay on it longer. What is annoying is that if I do as it recommends and once it's on that exit lane, then it will make me move into the left lanes. As if it cannot analyse traffic/congestion patterns on a hwy.

I am hoping anyone who has figured out a way to tame AP and EAP based on my irritations can provide some suggestions.

Honestly if Tesla is trying to convince people to buy into FSD based on EAP then they have failed miserably, because EAP is as example of how horrible their traffic/autonomous algorithm is. I find myself turning off 'Navigate on Autopilot' more than I would like to.

 

[Dewg]

For NoA, disable speed based lane changes. It should only change lanes when needed for route. When it suggests a lane change, check the description under the visualizations - it will tell you why it's changing lanes. If it says "to follow route", then there's nothing you can do about it. The navigation data is telling NoA that it needs to change lanes.

A few of your issues are subjective, and not really an engineering problem. You think Mad Max is an unacceptable way to drive, but others find it just fine. You think it's annoying to have the car get into a slower lane because an exit is coming up, but other people think that's the proper way, and avoids issues of "lane cutting" just before an exit.

Try to think of FSD/AP/NoA as someone else driving - an Uber driver, for example. Are you a backseat driver that will yell at the Uber driver if he gets into a lane you wouldn't have?

As for your first point - this is common for the last several updates. It used to be very light on the acceleration when starting from a stop, and so many people complained because on a freeway, when traffic starts moving, you don't want the car to accelerate slowly. Tesla made it more aggressive, which is great when traffic is stopped and then goes. But it does suck when it's stop and go repeatedly. It's something Tesla will tweak as they refine things.

 

[KLam]

After two years of using AP and NOA, For a relaxed drive, I only use them on Interstate Freeways. I disable speed based lane changes (auto or confirmed). I use the turn signals to do the lane changes myself. I disengage and drive manually at Freeway interchanges. I stay away from the right lane when a merge in is coming up. I don't use NOA on local routes with lots of sharp/slow curves.

Thats really not much left! My usual long distance route from LA to San Francisco is I-405 to I-5 to CA-152 to US-101 to CA-85 to I-280. NOA have problem with the interchange from I-5N to CA-152W, (short merge to exit lane with right side merge in traffic just before the exit and exit curve 270 degrees). CA-152 has a very curvy section and NOA will not slow down to take the curves safely in my book. The 2 lane section of CA-152 was on lane keeping mode before FSD Beta, hardly useful. I tried FSD Beta on this section early this month, seems to be usable. I hope that I can use FSD Beta on the curvy 4 lanes divided section. Maybe after the code merge.

 

[Shocker]

Thing I learned quickly in stop and go freeway traffic is set the max speed to what you think is the actual pace of traffic. For example, the freeway may be marked 65 mph but the actual flow is more like 20. Set the max to say 25 and the TACC won't jerk you back and forth and set itself up for getting rear ended.

 

[KLam]

Thing I learned quickly in stop and go freeway traffic is set the max speed to what you think is the actual pace of traffic. For example, the freeway may be marked 65 mph but the actual flow is more like 20. Set the max to say 25 and the TACC won't jerk you back and forth and set itself up for getting rear ended.

Yes, that's what I usually do when in stop and go traffic at the 405 too. Very relaxing.

 

[rraj2k81]

Apologies for not responding to this thread, was away so let me respond to some of the recommendations and comments.

For NoA, disable speed based lane changes. It should only change lanes when needed for route. When it suggests a lane change, check the description under the visualizations - it will tell you why it's changing lanes. If it says "to follow route", then there's nothing you can do about it. The navigation data is telling NoA that it needs to change lanes.

Try to think of FSD/AP/NoA as someone else driving - an Uber driver, for example. Are you a backseat driver that will yell at the Uber driver if he gets into a lane you wouldn't have?

As for your first point - this is common for the last several updates. It used to be very light on the acceleration when starting from a stop, and so many people complained because on a freeway, when traffic starts moving, you don't want the car to accelerate slowly. Tesla made it more aggressive, which is great when traffic is stopped and then goes. But it does suck when it's stop and go repeatedly. It's something Tesla will tweak as they refine things.

I did have the speed-based lane changes disabled, but until recently that setting did not change the lane change behavior. No matter which setting I had (Disabled, mild, average) it would always be very aggressive with lane changes. But now it does not make lane change recommendations based on speed with the options set to disabled.

I agree, NoA is like someone else is driving, but I am still the driver, and it should adapt/evolve or enable my driving patterns.

There are two things that annoy me, and I wish there was an option to change or would change with updates,
1. If I cancel a Lane Change recommendation - Then don't make that recommendation again until I am closer to an exit ramp. Or give an option in the NoA setting to choose when to start making lane merge recommendations.

Right now, if I were to cancel a lane change recommendation it would just pop back up again immediately after. I am not bothered with the Upcoming Lane change notices, but I am with how it annoys me with the lane change recommendation behavior.

2. Don't force me into taking a lane change by slowing the car down - This is the most annoying and aggressive part of NoA - When NoA thinks I have to absolutely take a lane change it actually slows the car down, to a point I have had cars behind had to break aggressively. I am lucky someone had not rear ended me by now.

I have pretty much stopped using NoA on heavy traffic now and just use AP, because the system stresses me more than the traffic itself

After two years of using AP and NOA, For a relaxed drive, I only use them on Interstate Freeways. I disable speed based lane changes (auto or confirmed). I use the turn signals to do the lane changes myself. I disengage and drive manually at Freeway interchanges. I stay away from the right lane when a merge in is coming up. I don't use NOA on local routes with lots of sharp/slow curves.

This pretty has become my approach as well. Unless I am on free moving HWY (freeway) traffic, I rarely use NoA now. AP with the Auto-lane changes is a lot more calming than driving with NoA.

Thing I learned quickly in stop and go freeway traffic is set the max speed to what you think is the actual pace of traffic. For example, the freeway may be marked 65 mph but the actual flow is more like 20. Set the max to say 25 and the TACC won't jerk you back and forth and set itself up for getting rear ended.

Thanks for this recommendation. This actually helps with the jerky start stop behavior in stop and go traffic.