Short Perspective on FSD

[kkillebrew]

I am a relatively new Tesla owner and driver, I took delivery June 6, 2019. Over that time I have been fortunate and always received regular software updates, and the majority of the 15k miles I have driven have been on autopilot and often NOA.

The most descriptive comment I have heard regarding the self drive features was from my son who said it was like riding in a roller coaster. I had to agree, and some found it scary but that was back in July.

Last night my son was riding with me and asked if I was driving or was it the car? It was the car with 2019.40.1 and HW3. There has been a lot of improvement in the overall experience, for me that was proof.

 

[diplomat33]

I am a relatively new Tesla owner and driver, I took delivery June 6, 2019. Over that time I have been fortunate and always received regular software updates, and the majority of the 15k miles I have driven have been on autopilot and often NOA.

The most descriptive comment I have heard regarding the self drive features was from my son who said it was like riding in a roller coaster. I had to agree, and some found it scary but that was back in July.

Last night my son was riding with me and asked if I was driving or was it the car? It was the car with 2019.40.1 and HW3. There has been a lot of improvement in the overall experience, for me that was proof.

Completely agree with that assessment. Granted my car is AP2.5 and I don't have 2019.40 yet but I have seen a lot of progress as well.

When I first got my Model 3 back in July of last year (2018), AP was ok but definitely flawed. The roller coaster analogy is pretty fair. AP would be fine for miles and then suddenly, phantom brake out of the blue for no apparent reason. Or AP would be lane keeping just fine and the right lane line would temporarily disappear because of a side road and the car would ping pong. I would get the "reds hands on wheel" warning when the car could not handle an intersection.

Now, AP is very smooth. I get no phantom braking on the roads that I drive daily. Lane keeping is reliable enough now that I feel confident that I could go hands free if I wanted to on the roads I drive daily. Braking and accelerating is also very smooth. The car brakes smoothly when cars in front of me brake for a red light. And the car is not lethargic anymore when accelerating from a full stop but accelerates quickly when the car in front accelerates on a green light. I don't get the "red hands on whee" alerts going through intersections anymore. Auto lane changes used to be slow and unreliable. Now they are very reliable and very confident also. I am not saying AP is perfect, it still has some quirks, but it is definitely drives much more naturally now, a lot more like a human would.

If AP can avoid regressions and add reliable traffic light and stop sign response and reliable turning at intersections, then we will have something really special indeed.

 

[Mo City]

Regarding AP improvement over the last 15 months, same experience for me but I still don't trust it. Phantom braking from bridges almost never happens now but AP still brakes far too severely when cars cross into my lane. In addition to bringing "feature complete" FSD, I'm hoping HW3 takes highway driving to another level. If not, I will be severely disappointed.

Considering the progress on the highway, it will take quite some time for FSD to become serviceable in navigating streets. My expectations are very low.

AP in stop and go highway traffic is a lifesaver for this Houstonian. It's made my 100 mile RT commute quite bearable. Very grateful for that.

 

[kkillebrew]

Regarding AP improvement over the last 15 months, same experience for me but I still don't trust it. Phantom braking from bridges almost never happens now but AP still brakes far too severely when cars cross into my lane. In addition to bringing "feature complete" FSD, I'm hoping HW3 takes highway driving to another level. If not, I will be severely disappointed.

Considering the progress on the highway, it will take quite some time for FSD to become serviceable in navigating streets. My expectations are very low.

AP in stop and go highway traffic is a lifesaver for this Houstonian. It's made my 100 mile RT commute quite bearable. Very grateful for that.

Agreed, stop and go in Austin is insane too. My biggest complaint is the overly aware braking when someone crosses the lane in front - it is still disturbing and will spill your coffee if you are not careful.

 

[diplomat33]

but AP still brakes far too severely when cars cross into my lane.

I have noticed some improvements there as well. There have been several instances where I saw a car was going to cross in front of me and I braced for the braking but my car did not brake and kept going normally. So it is getting better. I suspect this will be totally fixed on AP3 at some point.

In addition to bringing "feature complete" FSD, I'm hoping HW3 takes highway driving to another level. If not, I will be severely disappointed.

I think Tesla needs to do 3 things to "take highway driving to another level":
1) More natural and logical auto lane change decisions. The car does not need to auto lane change every single time it thinks the car in front is going a bit too slow. Also, look at traffic in the passing lane. If traffic in the passing lane is also going the same speed, there is no need to auto lane change into the passing lane, just to auto lane change back into the right lane again because you think the right lane might be a bit faster now.
2) Handle exits better! Some exits are perfectly fine. But NOA takes some exits too aggressively or outright misses an exit in more complicated exits, like cloverleaf type exits for example. NOA is not reliable enough with navigating exits in congested traffic.
3) Handle the unexpected! Right now, NOA does not seem to be able to handle constructions zones, or concrete barriers that insert themselves into the lane, debris on the road etc... These are things that NOA should be able to handle reliably if we want it to be true full autonomy.

If Tesla did these 3 things, NOA Highway would definitely be a lot better, dare I say, a lot closer to full autonomy.

 

[kkillebrew]

I have noticed some improvements there as well. There have been several instances where I saw a car was going to cross in front of me and I braced for the braking but my car did not brake and kept going normally. So it is getting better. I suspect this will be totally fixed on AP3 at some point.

Yes it seems better but only in terms of the distance before the feature engages. Once it does it is still too abrupt in my estimation.

 

[diplomat33]

Yes it seems better but only in terms of the distance before the feature engages. Once it does it is still too abrupt in my estimation.

Agree.

 

[BasementDoc]

Just picked up my 2020 Model S Long Range this week.
Question: Anyone else notice odd defects & performance issues on the 2019/2020 Raven FSD? FSD tried to side-swipe car/truck two times over 3 days - once on on-ramp, the other when two cars changing lanes. Center sales rep this is normal behavior as it 'learns' how to drive. But using FSD, I need to be MORE vigilant (AP is fine, just like our 2016 Model X). Turning off now and deciding to return car to get different one without crazy FSD.
My recommendation is DONT pay the $7K for FSD until it's really worked out. We bought the Model X on prospect of it being fully autonomous - my understanding now is it won't ever be (won't update to ver 10). I question whether current hardware v3 will ever be also...

 

[boonedocks]

Just picked up my 2020 Model S Long Range this week.
Question: Anyone else notice odd defects & performance issues on the 2019/2020 Raven FSD? FSD tried to side-swipe car/truck two times over 3 days - once on on-ramp, the other when two cars changing lanes. Center sales rep this is normal behavior as it 'learns' how to drive. But using FSD, I need to be MORE vigilant (AP is fine, just like our 2016 Model X). Turning off now and deciding to return car to get different one without crazy FSD.
My recommendation is DONT pay the $7K for FSD until it's really worked out. We bought the Model X on prospect of it being fully autonomous - my understanding now is it won't ever be (won't update to ver 10). I question whether current hardware v3 will ever be also...

None whatsoever. Best iteration of FSD / AP / TACC for us yet....and we have / have had them all.

 

[Saghost]

I think Tesla needs to do 3 things to "take highway driving to another level":
1) More natural and logical auto lane change decisions. The car does not need to auto lane change every single time it thinks the car in front is going a bit too slow. Also, look at traffic in the passing lane. If traffic in the passing lane is also going the same speed, there is no need to auto lane change into the passing lane, just to auto lane change back into the right lane again because you think the right lane might be a bit faster now.

This one you have a fair amount of control over, by way of the settings in the center screen.

What you're describing sounds like "Mad Max" lane change priorities; with it set to be more tolerant of slower cars and change lanes less it is... ...more tolerant of slower cars. Usually. More or less.