SO time has come... my car detailer finally gave me my Tesla model 3 fully wrapped, inside out, wheels included, with all 36 accessories and everything you can do to hide some 15 scratches car came with at door, mirror, wheel arch, dashboard trim everywhere. luckily my $9000 package to detail the car and wrap in PPF + ceramic covered all the dodgy delivery Tesla did. except cheap feeling fake leather steering wheel - a wheel I will be holding till death or sale of car do us apart... could have asked for more money to give me nice feeling steering with extra easy to use clear functions - I like to focus on drive instead of going to central screen and navigate every tiny things what I should be able to do from steering already with clear buttons.
I did a fresh start, all faults forgiven... added FSD upgrade for $11500, started up car to go catch-up with a friend at a beach (level 3 at Auckland) and show off my shiny new car with fancy Summon mode and coveted self driving capabilities.
My first mistake spotted: Mud flaps from Tesla.... worst piece of accessory ever designed - full stop. mud guard almost touches the ground and every time you hit a break, get on slopped drive way or approach the turns on speed higher than 30, you are having earth shattering (remember it's brand new car, so any sound that doesn't belong there is bad) sound.... it's like sweeping Auckland roads clean before mud can ever build up.
My second mistake spotted: using first part of auto pilot without steering control.... or correctly called adaptive cruise control for every other car and something I was using since 2005 with no issues in my old cars. one thing I know very well with 16 years of Adaptive Cruise control using since it was only working between 30-200 Kms in 2005 till it was working 0-220 Kms since 2012.. is that it almost never fails. it breaks smoothly, maintains the distance, works effortlessly that collision detection is rarely needed, and in most recent versions it's using cameras in front bumper apart from LIDAR/SONAR to adopt the speed with turns, bumps, breakers, objects.
My Tesla did most thing for few kilometres, impressed as I should be, nothing magical here but comfort knowing I can depend on it.... until it almost kills a pedestrian by not detecting a moving person approaching the crossing... I was on alert as it's Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and took over the driving - no harm done, first mistake forgiven.
Then comes a parked car on side of the road with no clear line of sight and more than enough space, 70 zone so plenty cars following... my Tesla decided to just turn off the ACC and give warning after - that's not how controls work.... what a shame... with regenerative break car almost came to stand still - lucky me that I wasn't trusting car yet and took over - looking at scared people starting to maintain long distance between Tesla and their car behind Tesla....... VERY BAD.
My Third Mistake spotted: using auto pilot with steering control... Kia calls it active assist, Audi calls it active assist, every other car calls it active assist, where steering is slightly corrected to maintain the current lane... tesla calls it auto pilot, not sure why. anyhow back to what happened.... After little boo boo with Adaptive Cruise Control feature... I got the car on more empty and mostly straight road of Auckland motorway to try out the full auto drive capability as per Tesla... everything turns blue as it should and stupidly asks me to hold the steering at all the times (Like I was going to let it go after earlier deactivation of ACC before warning)... so hand on steering least touching and not fully handling and I am on auto drive.... 5-6 kilometres and there comes near death experience as car decides to lean more and more left instead of maintaining the nicely marked lane... there is a car in front towards left lane... in backup cameras I can see that there is a car fast approaching right behind on left lane and behind me, as I am at 100 and most people drive over speed at Auckland motorway.... but my Tesla still decides to go to extreme left of the lane before - turning off all ACC and steering controls and giving me warning right after (HOW DUMB to WARN AFTER)...
Long story short, it's only my driving skills allowed me to take over rapidly deaccelerating car (regenerative break) at 100 KMs zone with car following me and on sides so nowhere to pull over.... with hazards switch at odd location - trying to break some norms in car industry, not realising that that Ugly BIG hazards button glaring at same place in every car in history... for a valid reason to be used at first and last time you use that car... it's there for purpose instead of decoration - specially when car is unreliable.
SO first day of my car, and near death experience in my shiny fancy so called self driving car.....
Post is open for Tesla lovers to go on and defend everything with any random logic... I will welcome them all to get in my car's driving seat and go thru what I went thru... and speak for themselves.
I did a fresh start, all faults forgiven... added FSD upgrade for $11500, started up car to go catch-up with a friend at a beach (level 3 at Auckland) and show off my shiny new car with fancy Summon mode and coveted self driving capabilities.
My first mistake spotted: Mud flaps from Tesla.... worst piece of accessory ever designed - full stop. mud guard almost touches the ground and every time you hit a break, get on slopped drive way or approach the turns on speed higher than 30, you are having earth shattering (remember it's brand new car, so any sound that doesn't belong there is bad) sound.... it's like sweeping Auckland roads clean before mud can ever build up.
My second mistake spotted: using first part of auto pilot without steering control.... or correctly called adaptive cruise control for every other car and something I was using since 2005 with no issues in my old cars. one thing I know very well with 16 years of Adaptive Cruise control using since it was only working between 30-200 Kms in 2005 till it was working 0-220 Kms since 2012.. is that it almost never fails. it breaks smoothly, maintains the distance, works effortlessly that collision detection is rarely needed, and in most recent versions it's using cameras in front bumper apart from LIDAR/SONAR to adopt the speed with turns, bumps, breakers, objects.
My Tesla did most thing for few kilometres, impressed as I should be, nothing magical here but comfort knowing I can depend on it.... until it almost kills a pedestrian by not detecting a moving person approaching the crossing... I was on alert as it's Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and took over the driving - no harm done, first mistake forgiven.
Then comes a parked car on side of the road with no clear line of sight and more than enough space, 70 zone so plenty cars following... my Tesla decided to just turn off the ACC and give warning after - that's not how controls work.... what a shame... with regenerative break car almost came to stand still - lucky me that I wasn't trusting car yet and took over - looking at scared people starting to maintain long distance between Tesla and their car behind Tesla....... VERY BAD.
My Third Mistake spotted: using auto pilot with steering control... Kia calls it active assist, Audi calls it active assist, every other car calls it active assist, where steering is slightly corrected to maintain the current lane... tesla calls it auto pilot, not sure why. anyhow back to what happened.... After little boo boo with Adaptive Cruise Control feature... I got the car on more empty and mostly straight road of Auckland motorway to try out the full auto drive capability as per Tesla... everything turns blue as it should and stupidly asks me to hold the steering at all the times (Like I was going to let it go after earlier deactivation of ACC before warning)... so hand on steering least touching and not fully handling and I am on auto drive.... 5-6 kilometres and there comes near death experience as car decides to lean more and more left instead of maintaining the nicely marked lane... there is a car in front towards left lane... in backup cameras I can see that there is a car fast approaching right behind on left lane and behind me, as I am at 100 and most people drive over speed at Auckland motorway.... but my Tesla still decides to go to extreme left of the lane before - turning off all ACC and steering controls and giving me warning right after (HOW DUMB to WARN AFTER)...
Long story short, it's only my driving skills allowed me to take over rapidly deaccelerating car (regenerative break) at 100 KMs zone with car following me and on sides so nowhere to pull over.... with hazards switch at odd location - trying to break some norms in car industry, not realising that that Ugly BIG hazards button glaring at same place in every car in history... for a valid reason to be used at first and last time you use that car... it's there for purpose instead of decoration - specially when car is unreliable.
SO first day of my car, and near death experience in my shiny fancy so called self driving car.....
Post is open for Tesla lovers to go on and defend everything with any random logic... I will welcome them all to get in my car's driving seat and go thru what I went thru... and speak for themselves.
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