Scary AP Moment v9

[Incredulocious]

Yeah, I think it’s nuts to call a car that may suddenly veer into oncoming traffic the “world’s safest car”. And even if your kids aren’t in the car, what about the folks (and kids) in the other car?

I’ve been trying out autopilot here and there but it’s clearly not safe enough where there is oncoming traffic. And the several instances of phantom braking I’ve experienced now means I disable it on multi-lane divided highways if I have traffic behind me. Also, I’ve seen it get confused and panic brake when semi trucks are in the neighboring lane on a somewhat curvy divided highway (like I-80 up Donner Summit). No thanks!

While it is amazing to see what they’ve accomplished so far with autopilot, it’s still doesn’t follow the center of the lane very well and it’s far too abrupt at acceleration/deceleration for me to enjoy using in most stop-and-go freeway traffic. Bummer. Hoping for better in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, for long multi-hour highway driving, I really wish I could somehow turn on a dumb cruise control feature that I can trust will simply hold my current speed until I say otherwise and not have to worry about sudden unexpected braking from “enhanced autopilot”.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

This is precisely why I was so excited fo the Dash Cam capability.

So that we could get video to go along with these stories of things that have happened to drivers. That way we can learn from them.

In fact getting the dash cam thing working is the first thing I did.

Now I won't have any footage of undivided roads since I think it's absolutely insane to use AP on those roads. Those are the kind of roads where it will work fine for 100's of miles, and then in one instance you won't be paying attention that something will confuse it. That moment is going to be a hell of a lot scarier than that moment on a divided freeway.

There are a lot of great things with V9 AP, but they still haven't reduced phantom braking to an acceptable level. So even on a divided freeway there are still moments of "WTF?", and then you're trying to hit the gas within milliseconds of feeling the braking coming on.

You're basically going down the road thinking

"This is the most awesome thing"
"god I can't believe how good it is"
"Oh, crap"
"They shouldn't even be selling this crap"
"Hmm, it seems better. I'm sure they improved the neural net"
"This is the most awesome thing"
"God I can't believe how good it is"
"Oh, crap"

 

[tdmtrader]

Has anyone else found AP9 to be, in general, a lot more problematic than 8? I'm driving on freeways in CA, so nothing crazy, and I find that it both bounces within a lane a little more (whereas v8 was rock solid in the center), and also has a lot more trouble changing lanes. Twice (out of a handful of times I've tried it), it aborts the lane change on a perfectly clear road, jerking the car back into its lane of origin. I'm wondering if I've got a camera problem, or if this is just common with the new v9 as they are working out the bugs.

 

[Steve_T]

Yeah, I think it’s nuts to call a car that may suddenly veer into oncoming traffic the “world’s safest car”. And even if your kids aren’t in the car, what about the folks (and kids) in the other car?

I’ve been trying out autopilot here and there but it’s clearly not safe enough where there is oncoming traffic. And the several instances of phantom braking I’ve experienced now means I disable it on multi-lane divided highways if I have traffic behind me. Also, I’ve seen it get confused and panic brake when semi trucks are in the neighboring lane on a somewhat curvy divided highway (like I-80 up Donner Summit). No thanks!

While it is amazing to see what they’ve accomplished so far with autopilot, it’s still doesn’t follow the center of the lane very well and it’s far too abrupt at acceleration/deceleration for me to enjoy using in most stop-and-go freeway traffic. Bummer. Hoping for better in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, for long multi-hour highway driving, I really wish I could somehow turn on a dumb cruise control feature that I can trust will simply hold my current speed until I say otherwise and not have to worry about sudden unexpected braking from “enhanced autopilot”.

I've had this happen to me twice, phantom braking at 65-70mph for absolutely no reason. If someone was behind me I would have gotten hit, no doubt about it.

Edit - I'm still on v8 at this point.

 

[mswlogo]

Has anyone else found AP9 to be, in general, a lot more problematic than 8? I'm driving on freeways in CA, so nothing crazy, and I find that it both bounces within a lane a little more (whereas v8 was rock solid in the center), and also has a lot more trouble changing lanes. Twice (out of a handful of times I've tried it), it aborts the lane change on a perfectly clear road, jerking the car back into its lane of origin. I'm wondering if I've got a camera problem, or if this is just common with the new v9 as they are working out the bugs.

Overall I find V9 does do better but it still has a long ways to go.

It is the first version of all cameras going, blind spot etc. And may have some larger "refactored" code.
So hopefully the fundamentals are good and it will take some refinements.

I there a way to force AutoPilot recalibration?

 

[Az_Rael]

Has anyone else found AP9 to be, in general, a lot more problematic than 8? I'm driving on freeways in CA, so nothing crazy, and I find that it both bounces within a lane a little more (whereas v8 was rock solid in the center), and also has a lot more trouble changing lanes. Twice (out of a handful of times I've tried it), it aborts the lane change on a perfectly clear road, jerking the car back into its lane of origin. I'm wondering if I've got a camera problem, or if this is just common with the new v9 as they are working out the bugs.

I have noticed this as well. Had an aborted lane change yesterday for the first time in a while. Luckily no one around, but I no longer let AP make lane changes when I have an aggressive tailgater behind me just in case they try to pass before I have left the lane and AP aborts.

Folks in a different thread were noting that V9 updates were being pulled from their cars before they could update. Guessing we have another update coming soon.

 

[tspadz]

Any dash cam footage?

It's enabled now, but not at the time unfortunately.

 

[Galve2000]

how does one report bug in AP?

(I only have AP 1.0, so I doubt any bug reporting on my part will accomplish anything.. but this is good to know for when I get my next S or X.)

 

[Super_Popular]

AP2 has always had issues with veering. Not sure why but it's really scary. My X did for no reason and suddenly several times.

Tesla did not have a reason for it.

 

[Vitold]

@tspadz Can you make a brief video of the place it happened? Or at least give coordinates we can plugin to google maps?

 

[Raechris]

I had two left jerk and one right jerk AP incidents on V9 as others have reported

 

[Vitold]

Was it similar to situation @7:49 in this video when both lines disappear and AP gets confused:

 

[Brian's ReX]

I had two left jerk and one right jerk AP incidents on V9 as others have reported

... And both jerks were on their phones!

 

[Bill33525]

Check out this video where M3 crosses double orange line and drives in wrong lane. 4:05

 

[Altes]

I appreciate your caution, but I think preventing kids from riding along is a bit much. Just pay attention and enjoy the world safest car .

Worlds safest is an interesting claim, If you are talking about surviving and accident then yes:
Tesla Model S Achieves Best Safety Rating of Any Car Ever Tested

If you are talking about avoiding an accident then there is a debate:
AP FACT CHECK: Tesla safety claims aren't quite right

I think in the end its up to how you use autopilot. After two years I will only trust mine on the highway with sparse traffic, and when in a low speed (<10mph) traffic jam. I commute 3 hours a day and just have had too many odd AP behaviors to trust it at other times

 

[Vitold]

It appears current v9 gets confused as soon as line markings on both sides go away. Note ‘dancing’ lines on the display.

 

[Knightshade]

I'm still kind of shaking my head at these comments that essentially boil down to

"I found out it can be dangerous to use this feature in situations the feature explicitly states it should not be used in"

 

[owensd]

@Knightshade I had this happen to me on the freeway this morning. Freaked me out.

Also, phantom breaking a lot with overpasses casting shadows onto the highway.

 

[favo]

@Knightshade I had this happen to me on the freeway this morning. Freaked me out.

What exactly? Crossing into oncoming traffic? Crossing a lane line (partly or fully) when you didn't signal a lane change? Were you on a divided, limited access (on/off ramps only) highway with no cross traffic?

 

[Lloyd]

Y can. T peopl spel “brake” ?