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Navigation algorithm

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napabill

Active Member
Supporting Member
I was programming Tess's navigation to take my wife from Napa to the Sacramento airport. It routed her over the back hills through Winters for a trip of 62 miles. When I do the same using Google Earth on my computer it routes you up I-80 to Davis, then north to Woodland for a total of 69 miles. The latter route is what we have always used, as you are at freeway speed for the entire trip. The former trip is mostly windy 2 lane roads. I am deducing that the navigation system simply computes the shortest route in miles, with no regard to speed. Is this documented anywhere? Would be nice to have the option, as most GPS systems do, for shortest, or fastest.
 
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They also need stuff like "avoid water routes (ferries)". Hopefully the improved navigation that Elon promised "later this year" "via firmware" (that includes routing to Superchargers) will have some settings for such things.
 
In addition, the Nav always wants me to take Toll Roads, which I don't want to use. There should be an option to not use toll roads. Right now I ignore the toll road to head to the freeway, and yet it still wants me to make a u-turn to get to it or re-routes me to get to the next toll road entrance, instead of looking ahead to where the Freeway is. annoying. Also, i cannot hear anything from the Nav. I have it set at 11, and the radio at 7 and i still can't hear the Nav.
 
I've noticed the Tesla Nav will route me on what it thinks is the quickest based on posted speed limits, I assume. There are numerous ways to get to my Mom's house, with time of travel differing by only about 10 minutes regardless of route. Tesla nav will try to keep me on interstates and divided highways instead of 2 lane country roads, but at a cost of adding 20-30 miles to the route. Once it picked a 200 mile route, when the back road way is 160.

I would like to see some more flexibility in the algorithm. Maybe an option for fastest vs most efficient would be a good start. Adding waypoints would also be nice.
 
The current nav system is an infant who has barely learned to crawl.

Too bad I'm expecting it to be able to run a marathon, given what the tech package cost!

I have an ancient outdated auto GPS receiver and multiple outdated handheld GPS receivers that combined cost a fraction of the tech package. Individually, any of them provides better routing, whether through providing multiple alternatives, better off-course correction, better handling of routing preferences, etc.

Tesla really needs to get their act together in this arena, it is a very juvenile navigation implementation for such a vehicle, especially given the vast real estate of the touchscreen and the horsepower of the chipset behind the screen!
 
The current nav system is an infant who has barely learned to crawl.

Too bad I'm expecting it to be able to run a marathon, given what the tech package cost!

I have an ancient outdated auto GPS receiver and multiple outdated handheld GPS receivers that combined cost a fraction of the tech package. Individually, any of them provides better routing, whether through providing multiple alternatives, better off-course correction, better handling of routing preferences, etc.

Tesla really needs to get their act together in this arena, it is a very juvenile navigation implementation for such a vehicle, especially given the vast real estate of the touchscreen and the horsepower of the chipset behind the screen!

+1 Totally agree.
 
Nav is always shortest route. Hopefully can change the options in some future version. Nav will cope with bypassing its advice if you want to just take a different route.
This does not seem to be the case in every situation. On one occasion the NAV directed me to go a route that passed my destination by over half a mile and then U turn back instead of following the shortest route. Interestingly by entering a destination on the other side of the street the NAV took me the shortest route. There were no one way streets or prohibited turns involved. Basically a bug.