Model 3 AutoPilot lane change "shimmy" - anyone else get this?

[MrBoylan]

Hey, folks,

I'm having an issue with AutoPilot on my Model 3, have brought it into the shop, and the technician there says that this is "normal behavior" so I wanted to check in with a few other owners before making this into something bigger. The behavior in question is that when I'm in AP, and hit the right turn signal to change lanes, about a quarter to a third of the time, the car begins the lane change then aborts it part way into the desired lane. Sometimes it does a "shimmy" where it begins the lane change, aborts the lane change coming back into the original lane then completes the lane change normally.

You can see it occur in these clips from the front-facing webcam:

Video 1 - https://youtu.be/zLuTyAQOi9I - failed lane change at 38 second mark
Video 2 - https://youtu.be/FEZYMUrTUcE - failed lane change at 35 second mark (I then completed the lane change myself)

This has happened on well-marked, well paved highways with very light traffic and no obstructions. The initial service description they sent a few days after I brought the car in said they were unable to reproduce the problem, and the car seemed to be behaving normally. So they suggested I pick up the car and let them know/bring it back in if it happened again. But that's super inconvenient to me due to the location of the service center. I suggested they try to reproduce it again, and they suggested they would start charging me storage fees if I didn't pick up the car immediately.

So I picked up the car this evening, did a test drive with the technician where we exactly reproduced the problem on the second lane change. The technician told me that they did find an error in the log from the first incident in the video and that the car said "bad lane change health." He said he sees this thing from time to time and it's perfectly normal.

But I owned a Model 3 RWD for 6 months and this never happened. Upgraded to a Model 3 Performance in November and it has happened at least 20 times since I got the car. Also, it never happens when changing lanes to the left, only when changing lanes to the right. So I suspected a hardware problem with the sensors.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Any suggestions as to escalation (other than writing a scathing expose about Tesla's low quality of service)? That's always an option, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt first.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Percentage wise I can't say how often I've experienced aborted lane changes to the right, but it's not small.

It's at least 10% or more.

I can't say if there is the "shimmy" you describe because I take over as soon as I feel it aborting. Where I quickly make sure there isn't a reason for the abort, and then I manually finish the lane change.

You can't compare it to anything you experienced before V9 of the firmware because that's when the 360 degree visualization was added. I have a feeling like some of the lane change aborts are because of a false detection of the 360 degree visualization.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with my car because the automatic lane changes were a lot more successful before V9.

 

[Dana1]

Hey, folks,

I'm having an issue with AutoPilot on my Model 3, have brought it into the shop, and the technician there says that this is "normal behavior" so I wanted to check in with a few other owners before making this into something bigger. The behavior in question is that when I'm in AP, and hit the right turn signal to change lanes, about a quarter to a third of the time, the car begins the lane change then aborts it part way into the desired lane. Sometimes it does a "shimmy" where it begins the lane change, aborts the lane change coming back into the original lane then completes the lane change normally.

You can see it occur in these clips from the front-facing webcam:

Video 1 - https://youtu.be/zLuTyAQOi9I - failed lane change at 38 second mark
Video 2 - https://youtu.be/FEZYMUrTUcE - failed lane change at 35 second mark (I then completed the lane change myself)

This has happened on well-marked, well paved highways with very light traffic and no obstructions. The initial service description they sent a few days after I brought the car in said they were unable to reproduce the problem, and the car seemed to be behaving normally. So they suggested I pick up the car and let them know/bring it back in if it happened again. But that's super inconvenient to me due to the location of the service center. I suggested they try to reproduce it again, and they suggested they would start charging me storage fees if I didn't pick up the car immediately.

So I picked up the car this evening, did a test drive with the technician where we exactly reproduced the problem on the second lane change. The technician told me that they did find an error in the log from the first incident in the video and that the car said "bad lane change health." He said he sees this thing from time to time and it's perfectly normal.

But I owned a Model 3 RWD for 6 months and this never happened. Upgraded to a Model 3 Performance in November and it has happened at least 20 times since I got the car. Also, it never happens when changing lanes to the left, only when changing lanes to the right. So I suspected a hardware problem with the sensors.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Any suggestions as to escalation (other than writing a scathing expose about Tesla's low quality of service)? That's always an option, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt first.

You’re probably not holding the stalk long enough. If you release too soon the car thinks it’s drifted out of lane and returns.

 

[thewishmaster]

I’ve definitely seen an increase in similarly failed lane changes recently. Not sure of a reason yet, I’m assuming something software related. The one annoying thing I noticed is that forcing another lane change by using the stalk too soon after doesn’t always work - the blinker remains turned on but the car does not go for another lane change.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Happens to me too. More so on Navigate on Autopilot.

 

[IROAR]

Happened to me with a lane change left where it will go back and forth partially in and out of the left lane. Only way to stop it is by grabbing the wheel.

 

[jschu7]

I have also seen this issue, but not very often.

 

[MrBoylan]

You’re probably not holding the stalk long enough. If you release too soon the car thinks it’s drifted out of lane and returns.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I've been using AutoPilot since April and am pretty sure I'm holding the stalk long enough. Sounds like others are experiencing the same issue but not as often as I am. The support people suggested I do a "bug report" when it happens next, which apparently flags the issue for investigation by someone back at the mothership. The problem there is that I don't actually drive the car on the highway that often. Mostly around the city. But when I get back in town, I will be sending that bug report every time it happens.

But if anyone else is having this as a persistent problem, please let me know. The fact that there aren't a lot of people saying, "Me Too!" also suggests to me that there is something wrong with my car, not with the system.

 

[MrBoylan]

Percentage wise I can't say how often I've experienced aborted lane changes to the right, but it's not small.

It's at least 10% or more.

Sounds like you're getting it almost as often as I am. It's maddening as it just feels broken and makes me less likely to rely on it. It also makes me look like a bonehead to the other drivers on the road (OK, more of a bonehead than usual).

I can't say if there is the "shimmy" you describe because I take over as soon as I feel it aborting. Where I quickly make sure there isn't a reason for the abort, and then I manually finish the lane change.

Yeah, that's what I do most of the time as well, not just to get into the lane I want to be in, but also so as not to confuse the other drivers (or look like an idiot). But I was on a long distance late night trip with very few other cars on the road, and I let it do its thing a few times. In most cases, it begins the lane change, aborts the lane change, then resumes and completes the lane change. And it never fails when changing lanes to the left, only to the right.

You can't compare it to anything you experienced before V9 of the firmware because that's when the 360 degree visualization was added. I have a feeling like some of the lane change aborts are because of a false detection of the 360 degree visualization.

That makes sense, and the tech mentioned something about that.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with my car because the automatic lane changes were a lot more successful before V9.

You're a more forgiving man than I. I hope it is just a temporary thing and will get better over time.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[usofrob]

I have the performance model 3 as well, and I don't see this issue. I use autopilot plenty, with and without Nav On Autopilot. And, I don't think I've ever had it try, fail, then try again without me telling it again. But then as I think about it, if it fails while it's changing lanes, I always take over the control again. So, I have had it fail a few times, but it's very infrequent, and it's possible if I let it continue, it might look like your 'shimmy'.

 

[MrBoylan]

I have the performance model 3 as well, and I don't see this issue. I use autopilot plenty, with and without Nav On Autopilot. And, I don't think I've ever had it try, fail, then try again without me telling it again. But then as I think about it, if it fails while it's changing lanes, I always take over the control again. So, I have had it fail a few times, but it's very infrequent, and it's possible if I let it continue, it might look like your 'shimmy'.

Thanks for sharing. I guess it's more of a stutter than a shimmy. But it does seem to happen much more on my car than on others. There is another software update pending on my car which I'll do when I get back in town. Will try to get some highway time on it and will report back if there's anything else to add.

 

[Venomized]

It happened to me the other night. It wasn’t raining and there were no other cars around but there were puddles of water and the highway lines were well painted. I activated the right turn signal and it started to change lanes and then went back into my original lane and then started all over again. I took over the wheel because it felt the car was getting a little wobbly. Not sure if the cameras and sensors backed out because of water puddles and reflections. First oh crap moment with autopilot with 3k miles. So far not too bad!

 

[brandonee916]

It happens to me frequently on Navigate on Autopilot mode... normal Autopilot lane changes work almost every time... I don't know why there is a difference.

 

[vikefan]

It’s happened to me several times as well. I’d probably guess something around once every 20 attempts or so.

However, because auto lane change functionality SUCKS right now, I don’t use it at all anymore anyway, so no big deal. There’s no point to using it in its current state. It’s just a gimmick right now.

 

[Shygar]

I get it too. I find if my side cameras are dirty, like after a rain, it does it more.

You can actually tell on the screen when it's having trouble. When you put on your turn signal, the lane you're turning into should turn from a solid line to a dotted line. If you see it switch suddenly back to solid, that's when it's canceling the lane change.

It happens often enough for me that I just take it out of AP before I change lanes.

 

[PremiumPackage]

I have been very disappointed with auto lane change. It basically doesn't work if there's any traffic. It'll be too tentative, try to slow way down, and end up disrupting traffic all around. Today was a new low - I signaled for a lane change. There was a car behind on the right, which was picked up on the screen. There was enough room to get over, although I understand the system needs some buffer. However the car SLOWS DOWN, making the situation worse. Perhaps it can't accelerate as it's already at my designated speed, but it needs some better logic - there was nothing ahead on my right.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I had this happen today twice. Cars were either not there or so far back my grandmother could had made the pass. I saved both clips on the dash cam. Going to submit to Tesla and see what they say.

 

[Tamah]

Happens to me as well. I see it both sides but mostly on the left, while on Navigate on Autopilot. I drive several hours a day (mostly highway with well marked lanes), early morning (low traffic) and evening (heavier traffic). It will do it with or without other cars around. I have let it go back and forth several times just to see what it would do (once it swerved 3 times). Most of the time it will eventually finish the lane change. Sometimes it cancels the lane change and I suspect these are when it finally decides it has a 'reason' to cancel the change. And sometimes I just take over. I will report it as a bug as well.

 

[papagroove]

It happens to me going right as well. Find it only happens when someone is behind me. Figured AP was determining the car was trying to pass on the right so it reverted it's lane change.

Seemed to happen frequent enough based on the boards that Tesla should be acking it .

 

[JCM4]

Have the Model 3 Long Range. Driven 6,000 out of 7,000 miles on Auto-Pilot. Problems started about 3 weeks ago. Only happens when moving right - moving left remains normal. Multiple issues. When signaling to go right and no cars anywhere nearby, the car just weaves back and forth towards the right lane before giving up. After trying twice, the right hand signal no longer works. So I have to take the car out of Auto Pilot and then re-initiate the right hand turn signal for it work and for AP to try again.

A related problem is that when passing a large truck on the right, and the truck is leaning left towards me, auto-pilot just slows the car down and refuses to let me pass. So can only pass if I take out of Auto-Pilot. Everything with AP remains normal on the left.

I took the car in for service. They replaced the SCCM and gave me back the vehicle. However, after I received the car back, the same problems were there and I returned the car. They claim that there are no issues with any sensors or cameras on the right hand side. They were able to recreate all my stated problems, capture videos, and now acknowledge there is a problem and that others have the same problem. However, they said they cannot resolve it and have handed this over to central Engineering for a future fix. They told me to pickup the car tomorrow since there is nothing they can do to fix the problem.