In the context of FSD I totally see the blind spot detection as an issue but at that point it doesn't really need to have an indicator for the driver. Today however you should be using it as a backup. There's no excuse to give up good driving practices today, and should always be signaling checking your mirrors and/or shoulder checking, the driver is still part of the redundant system and these systems shouldn't be 100% relied upon on any modern car no matter how good you think they are yet. Blind spot detection is supposted to help you be alerted to when you miss something or the situation changes quickly not to obviate the need to be an alert attentive driver and shoulder/mirror checking. It terrifies me that I'm sharing the road with drivers who seemingly think blind spot detection obviates anything. Also I don't feel like glancing at the screen is any worse than checking the rear-view mirror which is directly above it meaning the transition from one to the other doesn't take your eyes off the road. Also you should be signalling prior to changing lanes not right when you're starting to change lanes so the red lane on the screen should give you plenty of notice. Blinker->swing head past the screen looking for red -> rear view check -> side mirror check -> blind spot check -> eyes back to the side mirror so you have traffic behind and in front in view ->start moving over if clear. seems pretty straightforward
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Shocked! Model 3 has no blind spot detection [Update: yes, it does]
- Thread starter moorej999
- Start date
I liked the most the system which Mazda uses (probably others too):
A bright light comes on in the mirror always when there's a car close to and in the blindspot area and if I put the turn signal on while the light is on, it would beep at me (configurable, beep, vibration, off). Worked flawlessly for years, not once a false alarm or a car there and no alarm.
I think Tesla chose to not use a tried and proven good system because they (Elon) really wanted to believe FSD would be here already and there would be no need for these driver aids... didn't quite work out. The screen red line warning is just a bodge workaround fix they implemented only when they started to realize FSD is still very far away...
A bright light comes on in the mirror always when there's a car close to and in the blindspot area and if I put the turn signal on while the light is on, it would beep at me (configurable, beep, vibration, off). Worked flawlessly for years, not once a false alarm or a car there and no alarm.
I think Tesla chose to not use a tried and proven good system because they (Elon) really wanted to believe FSD would be here already and there would be no need for these driver aids... didn't quite work out. The screen red line warning is just a bodge workaround fix they implemented only when they started to realize FSD is still very far away...
I too was surprised there is no blind spot warning on the side mirrors or close to it. My natural inclination is to look at the left mirror and turn the shoulder left before moving to a left lane and would not think of looking at center screen while doing that. My Acura has a little yellow light in the front left pillar close to the mirror that comes on when a vehicle is detected in the blind spot even I do not indicate a signal. If I indicate, and there is a vehicle in the blind spot, I also get an audible warning in addition to the light.
For moving to the right lane base Honda has done a better job with the center GPS screen splinting in the middle and the camera showing vehicles in the right lane once the right turn signal is switched. That is useful since one does look right and turn Right shoulder for the right lane change and the display is in the field of vision while doing it.
Rear back up cross lane warning has been a saver for me on quite a few occasions, even with a back up camera in my Acura.
For moving to the right lane base Honda has done a better job with the center GPS screen splinting in the middle and the camera showing vehicles in the right lane once the right turn signal is switched. That is useful since one does look right and turn Right shoulder for the right lane change and the display is in the field of vision while doing it.
Rear back up cross lane warning has been a saver for me on quite a few occasions, even with a back up camera in my Acura.
Right, good point, that's a whole other can of worms with Tesla. They couldn't even be bothered to implement rear cross traffic alerts. I can't understand how they could decide that skipping some of the "usual" safety features was a good idea...
jtpassat
Member
The blind spot detection is less than ideal. I wish it would at least make an audible noise when you hit the turn signal and there is someone in your blind spot. Looking at the screen or initiating the lane change is not good.
Is there an after picture coming?I feel like I could write too much on this topic, so I will try to be concise...
Personally, I added a frameless mirror to my driver's side mirror and LOVE it. I have actually decided to move my mirror positions away from the recommended standard because of the addition. Let me explain (let me first put on my flame proof suit). The driver's side mirror isn't convex (no "wide" angle). Most are not because they make the cars look farther. So when you position the drivers side mirror properly so that it points to the "blindspot", the very small and aerodynamic mirror only points to a very small and narrow spot. This is really what drove me to add another small mirror. I wanted to see more than this little spot. I wanted to see next to me AND even the lane next to that. While a properly positioned mirror will tell you if someone is in your blindspot, it will NOT tell you if someone is moving from 2 lanes over into your blindspot. It also won't tell you if someone traveling very fast is about to be in your blindspot unless you caught them in your rear view mirror. So now that I've added the wide angle frameless mirror, I am moving my side mirror to no longer point completely at the small blindspot, but rather I'm pulling it in slightly to allow me to see further back and closer to my car (I am leaving a tad of my vehicle side in the frame). But with the addition of the convex mirror I still can identify my blindspot AND cars 2 lanes over. It's perfect and now I feel more confident that I can see the 3 things that scare me :
- Tesla's implementation of blind spot detection while an admirable effort, has a lot to be desired. The biggest deficiency is the requirement to look to the forward center of the car for blindspot information
- IMO the BSD feature is a result of the engineering team having a low priority for this because, per Elon, you won't need it with FSD. I'm pretty sure this is evidenced by how long ago the model 3 was actually designed and the FSD forecast back then
- Without FSD to solve all of problems we are now nitpicking these shortcomings
- I find the screen information very good and helpful for lane changes, it's just not where I want to be looking when I'm changing lanes. I think if you try to turn into a car it will both give you audible warnings AND try to stop you, correct?
- There are reasonable work arounds if waiting for something better or different isn't satisfactory
Here's a picture of the frameless mirror BEFORE I repositioned it
- Blindspot
- Fast approaching cars
- Cars coming over from 2 lanes away
If you set your mirror properly, the warning indictator is in the mirror. It looks like a vehicle. (Yes, the Tesla mirrors can be set so that there is no blind spot.)
If you don't look at the mirror, a light there wouldn't help.
The Tesla system gives an audible as well as steering wheel warning if you get really close... But it's also designed to always make it easy for the human to override the system, especially if you used a turn signal, which tells the car, "I intend to do this." (With no turn signal, the Stay In Lane feature will try to bounce you back.)
The ultrasonic sensors can work for slow moving objects or stationary objects but 26 feet of range doesn't work for vehicles driving down a road. Even a relatively slow speed of 25 mph is over 36 feet per second.
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
Cool. Do you have a link where you got those or just do a search on amazon? Yours look like they go on flush is that correct?
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
The Model 3 does see cars in the blind spot when the indicator is used. Perhaps a better option is that any object in the blind spot is automatically indicated (red line and/or red car), irrespective of the indicator. Not the most elegant solution but I would rather have that than nothing. Hopefully this is a "simple" software fix.
LOL, relax. Stop and go. We were constantly leap frogging each other at barely moving speeds, so had lots of opportunities to pass through his blind spot. Thanks for your concern though
Had you mentioned that in your original post, I would not have commented. Wink. ROTFLMAO.LOL, relax. Stop and go. We were constantly leap frogging each other at barely moving speeds, so had lots of opportunities to pass through his blind spot. Thanks for your concern though
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Out of all of the extra accessories and the list is big, just added the 4 High luminous Interior and trunk LED’s and a Echo Input to add to the list are the Suma Performance side mirrors, there are no blind spots any more. Best purchase ever for the model 3.
Blue Blind Spot Mirrors (convex wide angle and anti-glare)
Fred
Not that it’s a valid excuse, but I think they cut quite a few items that would be there if they weren’t constrained by Musk’s original assertion that he could make a fully electric vehicle with 200+ mile range for $35,000.
The best work-around I’ve read is to allow the driver to have the blinker make a little different sound if there’s a car in your blind spot. For instance, the pitch or blink pattern could be different and this could be an option in settings.
This will give you an advanced audio warning without being annoying. The audio right now only is for an imminent crash. If the audio alert is done this way, you’ll know what’s going on before you even try to turn the wheel. The loud alert can be saved for the imminent crash.
This will give you an advanced audio warning without being annoying. The audio right now only is for an imminent crash. If the audio alert is done this way, you’ll know what’s going on before you even try to turn the wheel. The loud alert can be saved for the imminent crash.
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