Poll: TACC vs. Normal Cruise Control

[Knuppe]

TACC and Autopilot will probably never come out of Beta because of legal issues.
That being said, they still need some work, so Beta is probably the best way to describe it.

What's your opinion?

 

[Stach]

I'm glad that I purchased my SR+ before AP was a forced feature. I was given a 10 day test of AP and FSD and neither was ready for primetime back in May of 2019. From what I've read, the same phantom breaking issues, inability to use TACC in rain or snowy weather continue to plague drivers, so I'll happily continue to use Normal Cruise Control whenever and wherever I'd like.

I do think Tesla should get people with AP the option to choose NCC and I'm baffled as to why that hasn't happened yet, with the shortcomings of TACC.

My 2 cents.

 

[Knuppe]

In some, more crowded countries, TACC will never work. Well it will, but the Tesla will brake heavily every time someone throws his car in front of yours. That's not a comfortable ride.

This weekend I drove the car in pouring rain on bad tarmac (standing water), experienced heavy braking. I think it was due to aquaplaning. Scary as hell.

 

[Knuppe]

I'm glad that I purchased my SR+ before AP was a forced feature. I was given a 10 day test of AP and FSD and neither was ready for primetime back in May of 2019. From what I've read, the same phantom breaking issues, inability to use TACC in rain or snowy weather continue to plague drivers, so I'll happily continue to use Normal Cruise Control whenever and wherever I'd like.

I do think Tesla should get people with AP the option to choose NCC and I'm baffled as to why that hasn't happened yet, with the shortcomings of TACC.

My 2 cents.

This surprises me also. A ‘Beta’ feature should always be extra / optional in use, not something you are forced to rely on.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

This surprises me also. A ‘Beta’ feature should always be extra / optional in use, not something you are forced to rely on.

Tesla is not forcing you to use these driver's aid, but they are forcing you to buy them as part of the new pricing model, which is what the OP is talking about.

I would take a refund in a heartbeat from Tesla if they offered to take off my AP. It's absolutely useless to me.

 

[Knuppe]

Tesla is not forcing you to use these driver's aid, but they are forcing you to buy them as part of the new pricing model, which is what the OP is talking about.

I would take a refund in a heartbeat from Tesla if they offered to take off my AP. It's absolutely useless to me.

Well they are forcing me to use it actually. It’s either TACC, or my right foot (whilst constantly checking the speedometer). Gets annoying when your driving long distances. If TACC is not usable in my country because roads are too crowded, it leaves me with nothing.

My 12 year old BMW has NCC. My Tesla needs my right foot. Come on Elon, this cannot be. We support you and understand there is a learning process and are more than willing to help you. But we can do both. Give us NCC.

 

[OCR1]

I have the non-traffic aware cruise control because I purchased my car before autopilot was standard. I've only used it once on a long road trip and it worked fine.

I could upgrade to autopilot for $3K but I just prefer to drive the car myself. If I went on long trips in areas with little traffic I could see AP being useful. But in Southern California with heavy traffic and crazy drivers I just prefer to drive the car myself. The Model 3 is the most fun car I've even driven. I've never understood why so many people want to relinquish control of the driving experience to a computer. It's even more baffling for those people who purchased the Performance version but still want to let AP control the car.

 

[arghx7]

We should have an option to run standard cruise control on AP cars. Or they need to fix the hard braking (not even phantom braking, just unnecessary violent deceleration force).

 

[Knuppe]

I like driving to much to have Autopilot take over. But that’s just the steering, I can do without keeping the car at a steady pace. I can’t understand why Tesla would have some cars with NCC and some without. Great to have TACC as an addition, but why strip an option that’s already there? Even if it’s a new hardware version or price-model.

 

[XLR82XS]

Owning both an ICE car with ACC and Tesla M3 I'll provide my feedback:

Both systems work well for me with the vehicle slowing down/stopping for traffic and accelerating back up to a set speed. Tesla wins in ability department due to the collision warning and abruptly slowing down for pedestrians and/or other obstacles that come into the driving path. (ICE car is a Porsche)

 

[DaveRZ]

For me, TACC is an absolute must-have on my commute. My drive is 120 miles round-trip on the freeway, and nearly 50% of that is in "slow-and-go", and some "stop-and-go" traffic. Having the car speed up and slow down as needed is worth every penny. I also use auto-steer (don't have FSD) as much as possible, but end up turning it off on my last 10 miles or so due to needing to leave room for lane-splitting motorcycles.

Even in areas where there's no heavy traffic, the drivers around me can never decide on a speed and stick to it. I'm constantly having to adjust "normal" cruise control in previous cars up or down to keep from running into someone, or having someone upset that I'm not going fast enough.

I've had the car 5.5 months and 10K miles. I've only had 1 "phantom brake" incident of concern (where I felt it was dangerous), and it was within my first month of ownership. I've experienced it 2-3 other times, but they were minor (equivalent to me abruptly getting off the gas to "cover" the brake when I'm thinking some idiot is about to do something stupid) It FEELS like hard deceleration, but its not that bad - as a driver you usually have your foot on the brake and are "braced" for deceleration. When AP does it, you're a passenger and it feels like stronger braking when its really not that bad.

 

[camalaio]

Without getting into the huge TACC rant I have previously... yes, I'd love for good ol' "dumb" cruise control to be possible alongside TACC. Probably 50% of the time I drive, dumb cruise would be good enough (I don't drive during normal rush hours generally). Instead I have to use TACC which I'm not supposed to use on local highways according to people on this forum (thus my phantom braking experiences) because it has curves (oh no!) and left turns (oh no!) that people have been using "dumb" cruise around successfully for decades safely.

Even if TACC has improved, I'm still hovering my foot over the throttle in nervous anticipation of the next time it slows down unexpectedly and I might get rear-ended. Or even simpler, just looking like an idiot slowing down for no reason on a highway. That doesn't feel good no matter how many people tell me I shouldn't care about what others think (I will).

 

[raptor5244]

I am not sure why Tesla doesn't enable the option under autopilot where you slide it to the left and you get traditional cruise control, slide it to the right and you get AP. Done, make it an option, everyone is happy.

 

[cypho]

I am not sure why Tesla doesn't enable the option under autopilot where you slide it to the left and you get traditional cruise control, slide it to the right and you get AP. Done, make it an option, everyone is happy.

Yep. TACC works great for me, but there should be an option to turn it off.

On the other hand, if they did include a setting, it is inevitable that people would turn it off, get in a wreck, and blame autopilot because they forgot that they turned it off

 

[holmgang]

TACC is useful for traffic jams. NCC is comparatively more useful, at the moment, for higher speed cruising.

One compromise they could make is to allow a TACC resume, to regain previous set speed

 

[DaminGJ]

Hi all. M3 on its way in UK. The question of TACC vs NCC. Can I add a third option my wife’s car is a Toyota H-CR Hybrid. On this car we have 3 options, Radar controlled CC (TACC), Normal CC (NCC) and the most used option is a speed limiter function. Set it 30 mph in a 30 zone and you can’t go any faster (you can by flooring the throttle pedal/gas, but is a hard push)you can set the limit to any speed you wish. Stops having use CC in urban/local roads and saves your license due to speeding fines. So my vote goes for all 3 please. 0-30 times and with the number is speed camera in the uk, it’s going to be fun.

 

[Knuppe]

TACC is useful for traffic jams. NCC is comparatively more useful, at the moment, for higher speed cruising.

One compromise they could make is to allow a TACC resume, to regain previous set speed

I'm with you on that one. When high speed cruising (in a hurry to get somewhere), the gap that TACC leaves (even with the setting on 1 car lenght), is too much. The response you'll get is 'hey thanks for leaving a gap, i'll take it'. Moreover, the car in front won't move to the right because you're not closing in. Normally I would let go of the throttle and slowly close the gap whilst hovering over the brake pedal. Now I'm accelerating to overrule TACC.

 

[Kevy Baby]

...and the most used option is a speed limiter function. Set it 30 mph in a 30 zone and you can’t go any faster (you can by flooring the throttle pedal/gas, but is a hard push)you can set the limit to any speed you wish.

That's essentially how TACC works: the speed you set (which you can adjust after setting) and it the maximum your car will go. While it is not as "hard" of a limit as you reference, it takes a deliberate act by the driver to exceed it.

On my morning commute, I get into the HOV lane, set AP with the maximum speed I am willing to go (though I rarely get there with traffic) and then enjoy a far less stressful commute.

 

[Kevy Baby]

Interesting comparing the comments in this thread and contrast to the voting (at least as of the time of this post). The posts would seem to indicate that it is a rarely used feature, but 60%+ of the votes are for "TACC is fine, I use it often. NCC not needed."

Right now, AP is (IMO) about 98% on the highway. It took a little bit of dip in reliability with 2019.50.40.X (I might get phantom braking every couple of days whereas before it was rare if ever). Hopefully that get's reversed on future iterations.

And as a reminder, from the Owner's Manual (page 78):

Note: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is a BETA feature.

and (emphasis mine)

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is primarily intended for driving on dry, straight roads, such as highways and freeways. It should not be used on city streets.

So don't complain that it doesn't work perfectly on surface streets - it is not intended to.

 

[Knuppe]

And as a reminder, from the Owner's Manual (page 78):

Note: Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is a BETA feature.​

[...]

Yeah, but that's just it. Take away the Beta features and your left with nothing (besides max speed somewhere deep in the menu's). No form of speed control. Usually companies will leave you with a choice whether you want to try Beta. With Tesla you really don't have a choice.