sleepydoc
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I think you're right about accidents creating more urgency. The other issue is that there are actually 2 sets of problems - false AEB activations and the random 5-50 MPH slowdowns. Both of which are generally termed 'phantom braking' but they're quite different in terms of frequency, severity and the degree of danger they impart. Other companies have also had issues with false AEB activations and I suspect it's to some degree a result of trying to make more sensitive AEB systems; decreasing false negatives increases the false positives. The NHTSA has investigated false AEB activations with other companies and I suspect this is their focus with Tesla.Maybe it matters only from the perspective that, if there were documented accidents (or more of them?), Tesla would have urgent incentive to fix the issue.
One would think NHTSA would be all over this if there were many documented accidents, and apparently they are not. Tesla PB has been on NHTSA's radar now regarding this since February 16 of this year. 2022 TESLA MODEL Y 5-SEAT SUV RWD | NHTSA
It remains an open investigation. Why? Other issues, such as the heating/cooling system problem, were addressed within a few weeks.
Non-AEB PB events are much less severe and less dangerous but also orders of magnitude more common. I haven't had any accidents but I've had drivers get quite angry with me when TACC essentially brake checks them. I can't say as I blame them - I'd be mad, too. Things it traffic is light PB probably doesn't cause problems beyond being annoying, but if traffic is heavier it can easily cause a downstream accident. A Tesla randomly slows down when no one's expecting it, the car behind it brakes a bit late and hard because it wasn't expecting it and so on. The driver 4 cars back was following too close and looking down at the radio and ends up getting in a fender bender. That will never show up on any statistics but it's a very real possibility.