No more radar in Model Y/3

[vitosans]

Okay so I have had a few days with the car now and I thought I would stop by and update this post. For any of you nervous about the radar removal. Don't be! I am really glad we decided to push and take ownership. My AP is configured now, and it works just like the demo unit with a few exceptions but they are not major enough for me to not want the car and I have faith Tesla will at some point bring it on par with Radar. The first day we drove over to RPM Tesla (they are local) to pick up a few goodies and we used AP all the way there. Then we took a trip to the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in LA - lots of twisty mountain roads and we used AP for that drive to test it out.

In the end, it's a personal choice, I just wanted to share our experience as I know how most of you are feeling.

 

[Anthonyp]

Okay so I have had a few days with the car now and I thought I would stop by and update this post. For any of you nervous about the radar removal. Don't be! I am really glad we decided to push and take ownership. My AP is configured now, and it works just like the demo unit with a few exceptions but they are not major enough for me to not want the car and I have faith Tesla will at some point bring it on par with Radar. The first day we drove over to RPM Tesla (they are local) to pick up a few goodies and we used AP all the way there. Then we took a trip to the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in LA - lots of twisty mountain roads and we used AP for that drive to test it out.

In the end, it's a personal choice, I just wanted to share our experience as I know how most of you are feeling.

Thanks for the update! did your sales associate have any information for you before you picked up the car? Did you get it from the Burbank location?

 

[Borgeje]

Does this mean the car won't tell me how many feet/inches I am from the object in front of me now?

I just got a Tesla Y without Radar.. I’m new to Tesla , not sure what would I expect . But, when parking I do see distances from objects. Didn’t see anything in highway. Do cars that have Radar see distance in a highway setting for example?

 

[globalmax]

I put my reservation on hold for the following reasons:
(1) Potential 10k ev credit
(2) Giga Austin and the 4680 battery
(3) Removal of radar

I also don't "need" a car right now, so it's worth waiting

I am in a similar situation. While I am not too sure when Giga Austin battery will be available.

Folks who put the delivery on hold primarily waiting for EV Tax credit, how did you put on hold? for how long? Thanks

 

[NOVAkms7z]

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - Newer Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles will no longer be labeled as having some advanced safety features after the automaker said it was removing radar sensors to transition to a camera-based Autopilot system, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Wednesday.
The U.S. agency confirmed it updated its website to show that Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles produced on or after April 27 "do not have NHTSA’s check mark for recommended safety technologies: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-tesla-loses-u-designation-014715090.html

We just got our ViN yesterday for our 7 seater Y, along with the notice that there is no radar… the lack of these basic safety features is what’s reAlly giving us pause. This was going to be a much needed 2nd car for our family with 4 kids, including an infant… we don’t trust that these features will come back soon. We really liked the car and have been waiting since early April and don’t know what to do at this point. Sigh…

 

[Platini]

If it's only a $400 part that can easily be a retrofitted, should Tesla not be able to make it work with camera only.

 

[Fourdoor]

If it's only a $400 part that can easily be a retrofitted, should Tesla not be able to make it work with camera only.

Sure... and when was the last time Tesla admitted that they couldn't get something to work after they said they could? They have been promising autonomous driving (under various names) pretty much since Auto Pilot was introduced without actually providing it... but still taking customer money for it. People talk about the software updates being the greatest thing ever, but you have to remember, Elon giveth, but Elon also taketh away... if I get a configuration I like that actually works I will do my best to block any further updates that will screw it up. If someplace like Electrified Garage is able to retrofit Radar and "lock in" a software suite that works, I would be fine if the car software remained constant throughout my entire ownership of the car. I doubt Electrified Garage will offer that service, so looks like with camera only AP I will be suffering through endless updates before it is actually functional at a level close to what the radar equipped cars have in poor weather / poor lighting conditions.

Keith

 

[MYMY21]

I took delivery 5/31 of a MY with no radar. I have driven close to 600 miles. Mostly highway, some city. I do not notice anything missing. It behaves like the cars I test drove in the past (with radar). It sees the car in front of the car ahead of me. This is my first Tesla so there may be others that observe a change if they have owned these cars for years. But that is not my experience.

 

[Fourdoor]

I took delivery 5/31 of a MY with no radar. I have driven close to 600 miles. Mostly highway, some city. I do not notice anything missing. It behaves like the cars I test drove in the past (with radar). It sees the car in front of the car ahead of me. This is my first Tesla so there may be others that observe a change if they have owned these cars for years. But that is not my experience.

I hope my experience mirrors yours. Have you done any driving in bad weather or at night to corroborate or refute the reports of horrible results in those conditions?

Keith

 

[RDoc]

The question though is what happens in less than Southern California bad weather and at night? We've driven our S for years, very often using AP1 and have had it cut out for bad weather only a handful of times, mostly when the radar was iced over. Other than that, the weather, either rain or snow, has been so bad we've had to significantly slow down or took over ourselves because it was pretty scary.
Our AP1 works fine at night and the flashing high beams at night "feature" sounds completely unacceptable. With the lousy cameras the car has, I don't see how they can fix that easily, or at all.
Also, keep in mind "the coming weeks" is potentially a very long time.

 

[asurisd22]

My April 2021 Model Y still has it

 

[MYMY21]

I hope my experience mirrors yours. Have you done any driving in bad weather or at night to corroborate or refute the reports of horrible results in those conditions?

Keith

I have not driven in bad weather yet. I did not notice a problem with night driving. I did discover that auto high beams is required for autopilot. It was distracting for me at first but I know I will get used to it. I hope it is not a distraction to other drivers.

 

[NYCer]

I put my reservation on hold for the following reasons:
(1) Potential 10k ev credit
(2) Giga Austin and the 4680 battery
(3) Removal of radar

I also don't "need" a car right now, so it's worth waiting

I agree with you for holding.

I was taking delivery tomorrow at Mt Kisco. I ordered before Covid and held off buying so I wasn’t an “early-adopter” of the earlier production issues. I pushed the button in April anticipating the car then being delivered.

I released my VIN today put the order on hold. again, trying to avoid being an early-adopter of version 1 of camera-only TV.

I’m too am not in a rush. this would be a 2nd car to my 2001 Acura (with low miles). So I would love to get a BEV usable for 10+ years.

(Elon: Camera-only is not more human like. That’s why we have 5 senses. I feel wind or light mist before seeing them. Radar picks up things you don’t have line-of-sight on. I don’t want to be road-rage-bait with flashing high beams if I want to drive with safety-functions engaged).

 

[scubastevo80]

I have not driven in bad weather yet. I did not notice a problem with night driving. I did discover that auto high beams is required for autopilot. It was distracting for me at first but I know I will get used to it. I hope it is not a distraction to other drivers.

I've been using the auto high beams for 2yrs now - no issues. Yes, they occasionally flicker off and on when traffic is coming or going, but I much prefer it to using the regular lights on dark roads with no other lighting.

 

[Fourdoor]

I've been using the auto high beams for 2yrs now - no issues. Yes, they occasionally flicker off and on when traffic is coming or going, but I much prefer it to using the regular lights on dark roads with no other lighting.

Thanks for that info, I use auto high beams in my Bolt most of the time, sometimes they work great, but other times they stay on as I approach a slower moving car from behind and I have to manually turn them off, or they stay on as a car in the opposing lane comes towards me and I have to once again manually turn them off to avoid being a dick. They are prone t flickering in highway driving. If the MY headlights are not WORSE than the Bolt auto high beams then I can live with them.

Keith

 

[jboy210]

I took delivery 5/31 of a MY with no radar. I have driven close to 600 miles. Mostly highway, some city. I do not notice anything missing. It behaves like the cars I test drove in the past (with radar). It sees the car in front of the car ahead of me. This is my first Tesla so there may be others that observe a change if they have owned these cars for years. But that is not my experience.

The question is does your car phantom break when you drive under an underpass. Supposedly that was caused by radar since the model cannot tell the difference between a truck's radar return or a wall's.

 

[frankvb]

The question is does your car phantom break when you drive under an underpass. Supposedly that was caused by radar since the model cannot tell the difference between a truck's radar return or a wall's.

I find that hard to believe since no other vehicle I've ever owned with radar-based adaptive cruise control suffers from phantom braking. Though of course it could be a software issue for Tesla.

BTW: the radar can tell the difference between a stationary object and one that is moving very well, which also suggests that it's the camera responsible for phantom braking.

 

[MYMY21]

The question is does your car phantom break when you drive under an underpass. Supposedly that was caused by radar since the model cannot tell the difference between a truck's radar return or a wall's.

No, not that I have noticed. I have experienced phantom breaking, but not in those conditions. I need more time behind the wheel to spot trends. My observation, through very limited test drives and a new car I've had less than a week, is that the radar doesn't make a difference for better or worse.

 

[Jeff’sEV]

I am supposed to pick up my Model Y in 5 hours. I have emailed order support and my SA about this, and it's been silent. I am a bit afraid of beta testing pure vision. I feel like this is google photos all over again. Allowing free unlimited photo storage, so they can perform machine learning and create a dataset of your photos. They said they are doing this to 3's and Y's - Their high volume cars. Sounds like guinea pigs?

I am 100% sure this has to do with the chip shortages, and while pure vision will someday work on par or better today it's not even on the same level as radar. I ordered in early April, so there is hope that I still have radar-equipped - If I get there and it's not equipped I am not sure what I am going to do.

1. it's no longer the car I test drove and can't do the things I tested in the same way.
2. I am not getting any kind of discount for a lesser product.
3. am I willing to risk the safety of my family and myself?

 

[Jeff’sEV]

Hi Folks, I'm new to the forum. I ordered a MY LR on 4/24 and picked it up on 5/28. So far i love the car. But I'm not sure if I have radar or not. I read that orders placed before May would be notified if their vehicle didn't have radar. I don't think I was notified, I've searched through emails and my tesla account and dont see anything. But my car says it was made 5/21. Also, my AP is limited to 75mph. Is there a physical way to tell if a car has radar? I think I'm going to reach out to my local tesla shop today. But otherwise, the car looks and drives great. No cosmetic issues detected yet. I drove it to an out of town soccer tournament and the AP functioned flawlessly at 75mph. Any guidance on determining if mine has radar would be appreciated. Thanks!