Shocked! Model 3 has no blind spot detection [Update: yes, it does]

[groovidad]

It's funny you say that--I thought it was just me! I back out of a particular parking spot where you have to drive in and then back out, and you're coming out blind with cars coming quickly down the road. My old car would warn me long before I could see cars coming down the road (I guess bouncing some kind of a signal underneath the surrounding cars?). NOTHING on the Tesla. With all the technology on this car, it didn't dawn on me that the lack of a rear cross traffic alert would be a design "feature". I just assumed it wasn't as effective as the one on my last car. That's the biggest safety feature I miss (apart from the corner lights that would come on when I was turning--the blind spot feature was nice, but I never really used it).

Tesla gets a lot of things right, on the 3. Yet, Tesla missed the mark on other issues. We keep “complaining”, not sure how much is realized (?). I am very happy....giddy with my purchase. I can be patient for refinement. After all, there has been no car company that voluntarily makes tweaks to your car after purchase!

 

[ElectricLee]

Self driving future is having the passenger watching netflix and letting the car do all the work. This will be only needed for the computer to handle it.

 

[9-Volt]

Self driving future is having the passenger watching netflix and letting the car do all the work. This will be only needed for the computer to handle it.

Interesting perspective, and that's gotta be right. Opposite tack than, say, Porsche trying to make a "driver's" car.

 

[jkdman123]

In my opinion, the lack of rear cross traffic alert has minimal impact given how wide the field of view is for the cam and how large the image is. I’ve never seen a backup cam with the image clarity and size of M3. Most backup screens are cheap junk because they’re used so infrequently and small to save real estate on the dash.

However, I would have liked to see blind spot alert on the side mirrors. But A) I’m sure they wanted to keep the cost down on the M3 as much as humanly possible and B) I heard Musk didn’t even want mirrors but couldn’t get the car certified without them.

Also, I replaced the stock mirrors with Suma Performance mirrors and I can now see the blind spots AND down the body straight behind me.

 

[GoSharks]

The only time I’ve had the blind spot warning come up is when I know I’m not going to hit anybody. (going faster than the other car). It’s not useful.

 

[ElectricLee]

Self Driving is the whole point, the next generation of drivers will NOT care, this is the future now.

Who waits at home for 8 pm on ABC for a show, just stream/download it anywhere you want like Disney+.

Kids don't want a flip phones or a 35mm film cameras. They will ask why does this have buttons??

Remember the days when cars had chrome bumpers and no plastic wrapped? There were a group of people who will not buy a Plastic Bumper car in 1985. Now they are all plastic.

 

[Octo]

Self Driving is the whole point, the next generation of drivers will NOT care, this is the future now.

Who waits at home for 8 pm on ABC for a show, just stream/download it anywhere you want like Disney+.

Kids don't want a flip phones or a 35mm film cameras. They will ask why does this have buttons??

Remember the days when cars had chrome bumpers and no plastic wrapped? There were a group of people who will not buy a Plastic Bumper car in 1985. Now they are all plastic.

Yeah, but we are talking about the Model 3.

 

[KenC]

Yes, I hav't driven a car with blind spots in YEARS. It is amazing that almost no one knows this. I never meet anyone that has their mirrors adjust correctly and when I tell them they think I'm wrong because they can't see their fenders and can't get used to it.

I figure 90% don't know. I remember learning in driver's ed class, but if they don't teach it to you then, when do people learn?

Having said that, my Model 3 is the first car I can't quite get the left mirror wide enough, to show my blind spot. The right mirror just barely covers it. I had to buy those frameless stick on mirrors for the first time. Never had to do that before.

 

[JoshV]

In my opinion, the lack of rear cross traffic alert has minimal impact given how wide the field of view is for the cam and how large the image is. I’ve never seen a backup cam with the image clarity and size of M3. Most backup screens are cheap junk because they’re used so infrequently and small to save real estate on the dash.

However, I would have liked to see blind spot alert on the side mirrors. But A) I’m sure they wanted to keep the cost down on the M3 as much as humanly possible and B) I heard Musk didn’t even want mirrors but couldn’t get the car certified without them.

Also, I replaced the stock mirrors with Suma Performance mirrors and I can now see the blind spots AND down the body straight behind me.

I disagree. Rear cross traffic alert is a life saver. My wife’s van has it while my model X does not. The wide angle camera is not enough given how fast cars can approach before showing up on camera.

Also it’s a disappointment not having true blind spot warning indicators. The screen does not always present someone in the blind spots.

 

[groovidad]

You know, we talk of the future of driving but, have you thought of the sacrifice? Reaction! THAT’S what makes driving exciting! Total control. You and machine moving through life, as quickly and effortlessly but, in TOTAL control.

Ok. Have at me! I feel sharks circling!

Never forget “where” we came from.

 

[jboles]

I almost hit someone today! This seems basic! I thought this was the safest car on the road!

I can't tell if your trolling or if you're serious...

 

[Mr X]

I almost hit someone today! This seems basic! I thought this was the safest car on the road!

 

[moorej999]

I do love this car and bought it to keep me safe as I drive 40K a year. I have three kids at home and they need me around. Tesla claims its the safest car on the road, yet from a safety perspective, my wifes Subaru Legacy does a much better job at blind spot detection and also does the.rear cross checking with warnings. Based on the claim by Tesla that it is the safest car on the road, I expected the the best safety features. I still love the car, but I am very disappointed with this issue. Wish Tesla would fix this in the speed Dog Mode was fixed recently. I know they have the hardware and can fix it. Just do it.

 

[ChrisH]

It's funny you say that--I thought it was just me! I back out of a particular parking spot where you have to drive in and then back out, and you're coming out blind with cars coming quickly down the road. My old car would warn me long before I could see cars coming down the road (I guess bouncing some kind of a signal underneath the surrounding cars?). NOTHING on the Tesla. With all the technology on this car, it didn't dawn on me that the lack of a rear cross traffic alert would be a design "feature". I just assumed it wasn't as effective as the one on my last car. That's the biggest safety feature I miss (apart from the corner lights that would come on when I was turning--the blind spot feature was nice, but I never really used it).

I agree it would be better with the beeping but the wide angle of the backup camera gives you enough view to see any cross traffic in most parking lots.

 

[N.Y.R.]

The amount of pure unabashed fanboying in this thread is disgraceful. There is no way the Model 3 is remotely close to full self driving YET and is missing a gigantic safety feature that even the lowest end Kia would have. It’s inexcusable, the blind spot assist system in the car sucks. Period. This shouldn’t even be up for debate.

 

[notAnExpert]

I disagree. Rear cross traffic alert is a life saver. My wife’s van has it while my model X does not. The wide angle camera is not enough given how fast cars can approach before showing up on camera.

I completely agree with you. My other car (a recent Volvo) is great at rear cross traffic alert even with pedestrians. It has helped me a lot in shopping center parking lots.

In addition to good blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, one thing I miss with our Tesla is the lack of simulated 360° Birdseye view while parking.

 

[Eugr]

I disagree. Rear cross traffic alert is a life saver. My wife’s van has it while my model X does not. The wide angle camera is not enough given how fast cars can approach before showing up on camera.

Also it’s a disappointment not having true blind spot warning indicators. The screen does not always present someone in the blind spots.

It’s not even that wide angle, compared to other modern cars that provide true 180 view.

Here is the view from the same spot from my Model 3 and Mazda CX-9. Please note, that the road curves around the house, otherwise you would be able to see even further with Mazda. Now, the image quality is pretty shitty compared to Tesla, but enough to see approaching cars. Plus it has cross-traffic alert. If you get something like Audi, the image quality will be much better while providing true 180 angle.

 

[cybergates]

the auto-lane change is very good at blind spot detection and even waits for the aggressive driver in the destination lane to pass before lane changing. I use auto-lane change when I can as it's more peace of mind as it does a better job than I could


But also Agree blind spot warning even when ON (make sure you have that option Blind spot collision chime ON) is still not alerting as much as it should when manual lane changing. They definitely need to work on that more. Agree when backing up additional warnings for pedestrian etc will be nice to have. I bought tiny 1" stick on blind spot mirrors as I do for my other cars for extra protection.

 

[Cyberax]

Good driving habits is to correctly adjust your mirrors and you never need to turn you head. Have almost never turned my head in YEARS nor missed knowing a car on the side.

Don't do this!

While properly set up mirrors (SAE recommendation) give you visibility into the next lane, they also create a blind spot right next to your car. This is not an issue on freeways but it's really dangerous in cities on right turns, as you can easily miss a bicyclist. ALWAYS turn your head and check!

Seriously, train yourself to always glance in the direction of the turn. It costs no time but can prevent a deadly accident.

 

[SlimJim]

The thing is with a normal car where the BSM is on the mirror, you glance at it even before you signal.
With tesla you have to turn on the signal to see if it will beep or not. This is a step backwards.
I have gotten used to not having BSM on the mirror but I still miss it.