Software Update 2018.10.4

[tessellator]

Going back briefly to autopilot performance, i had some problems at night with slow (25mph) twisty roads by my house.
I tried using AP2.5 autopilot, but it was incapable of navigating sharp-ish turns even though the road had good lines on it. Hopefully tesla can improve that in a future update.
I’m kinda new to this, but is there a way to submit data to tesla for future updates?

 

[mblakele]

Going back briefly to autopilot performance, i had some problems at night with slow (25mph) twisty roads by my house.
I tried using AP2.5 autopilot, but it was incapable of navigating sharp-ish turns even though the road had good lines on it. Hopefully tesla can improve that in a future update.
I’m kinda new to this, but is there a way to submit data to tesla for future updates?

As far as I know there's no longer any channel for direct feedback on autopilot. Presumably Tesla pulls whatever data they think is useful from your vehicle, automatically.

If you have a problem with a specific route, I don't think the service folks can help much. However if you want to make sure Tesla knows about a problem, you could try roadside assistance. That'll work best if you have a specific timestamp, so whoever looks at the problem can match it to the log data.

 

[MP3Mike]

As far as I know there's no longer any channel for direct feedback on autopilot. Presumably Tesla pulls whatever data they think is useful from your vehicle, automatically.

I wonder if you should just follow the same instructions that are supposed to be in the release notes for the new navigation system:

We welcome feedback about the new Navigation Send email to [email protected], or press the voice commands button on the right side of the steering wheel and say "Note," followed by your comments.

Well maybe not the email address, but apparently someone is reviewing all of the "Notes" that are filed.

 

[rnortman]

Going back briefly to autopilot performance, i had some problems at night with slow (25mph) twisty roads by my house.
I tried using AP2.5 autopilot, but it was incapable of navigating sharp-ish turns even though the road had good lines on it. Hopefully tesla can improve that in a future update.
I’m kinda new to this, but is there a way to submit data to tesla for future updates?

Autosteer is designed for highway driving without tight curves. Handling very tight turns is part of what Tesla has promised as part of "Autosteer+". Autosteer+ has not yet arrived, not even in "beta".

 

[rnortman]

Well maybe not the email address, but apparently someone is reviewing all of the "Notes" that are filed.

hahahahahaha no.

I have used the "Note" feature frequently to help get a timestamp logged. Then later I call customer support about the problem and tell them I used the Note feature so they'd have a timestamp. Without fail, they cannot retrieve the note or the timestamp. The note feature is a black hole. I'm surprised they are actually actively soliciting people to use it to submit navigation feedback -- maybe they're trying to cut down on call volume by giving people another outlet for their frustrations...

Seriously, has anybody in recent times ever seen any response to the Note or Bug Report features or any sign that this isn't a black hole? I think it may have been real in the early days when there were not very many Teslas on the road and they really did want to hear about problems, but in the past couple of years, is there any evidence that they are doing anything with these reports?

 

[Sawyer8888]

I think that's a little extreme. I consider myself not a total moron and although I would generally not leave my key on purpose, I can easily see how somebody would conclude that this would be fine since the app has unlock buttons on it.

Agreed. While driving to the middle of nowhere without your key fob may seem foolish to those who know how the app features communicate with the car, many others may not think twice, going on the assumption that there must be some sort of Bluetooth or NFC communication - would make sense for at least a backup for a car as expensive and futuristic as a Tesla. Even the M3 has this I think.

I knew the risks, but wanted to try using my phone as my key for a while, or for good. Of course if I were going some place remote or unknown that may have weak reception, like a desert, I would bring my fob. The experiment was short-lived. I was locked out of my car - fortunately only a few miles from my home. So I had to call for backup (the wife). I take the fob everywhere now.

And yes, based on all the AP1 loaners I have had, I also still think that AP1 is slightly better than AP2 as a whole.

 

[mongo]

Agreed. While driving to the middle of nowhere without your key fob may seem foolish to those who know how the app features communicate with the car, many others may not think twice, going on the assumption that there must be some sort of Bluetooth or NFC communication - would make sense for at least a backup for a car as expensive and futuristic as a Tesla. Even the M3 has this I think.

I knew the risks, but wanted to try using my phone as my key for a while, or for good. Of course if I were going some place remote or unknown that may have weak reception, like a desert, I would bring my fob. The experiment was short-lived. I was locked out of my car - fortunately only a few miles from my home. So I had to call for backup (the wife). I take the fob everywhere now.

And yes, based on all the AP1 loaners I have had, I also still think that AP1 is slightly better than AP2 as a whole.

Perhaps NFC will work here:
Stuck on top of a mountain... radio frequency issue? Car won't see the key..

 

[MorrisonHiker]

hahahahahaha no.

I have used the "Note" feature frequently to help get a timestamp logged. Then later I call customer support about the problem and tell them I used the Note feature so they'd have a timestamp. Without fail, they cannot retrieve the note or the timestamp. The note feature is a black hole. I'm surprised they are actually actively soliciting people to use it to submit navigation feedback -- maybe they're trying to cut down on call volume by giving people another outlet for their frustrations...

Seriously, has anybody in recent times ever seen any response to the Note or Bug Report features or any sign that this isn't a black hole? I think it may have been real in the early days when there were not very many Teslas on the road and they really did want to hear about problems, but in the past couple of years, is there any evidence that they are doing anything with these reports?

I think Jack found a bunch of them a while back.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Autosteer is designed for highway driving without tight curves. Handling very tight turns is part of what Tesla has promised as part of "Autosteer+". Autosteer+ has not yet arrived, not even in "beta".

Strongly disagree. It handles all highway situations. It’s not perfect you have to watch it but it’s amazing. 1,800 miles on latest update so far. Tomorrow another Tesla death headline

 

[Lolly]

I had a loan late 2017 100D with AP2/2.5 whilst my late 2016 AP1 75D was in for 48k service, both running 10.4. Route is ~35 miles of motorway with similar traffic and weather conditions on all 4 runs (1 each way with each car). Bringing the AP2 car back it was noticeable that the car wandered more within the lane, UK lanes are narrower so perhaps this is easier for us to spot. Also the AP2 car was much more hesitant to autolane change when directed to do so. Both cars slowed down for no apparent reason near a particular junction so that must be location specific. My general impression was that the AP2 car wasn't a smooth or polished quite yet, but we all know it'll get there and beyond!

 

[croman]

Strongly disagree. It handles all highway situations. It’s not perfect you have to watch it but it’s amazing. 1,800 miles on latest update so far. Tomorrow another Tesla death headline

Strongly disagree. Will not handle highway turns still. They are restricting turning radius at speed still. Its not as horrible as it once was, but lets not get carried away.

 

[rnortman]

Strongly disagree. It handles all highway situations. It’s not perfect you have to watch it but it’s amazing. 1,800 miles on latest update so far. Tomorrow another Tesla death headline

First off all, I intended to say in my post that it it handles "highway roads, which generally don't have tight curves". I recognize my wording could be interpreted as "it handles highway situations so long as they do not have tight curves", which isn't exactly what I meant.

But while I'm at it, and since you called me out for this, the latter interpretation is also entirely correct. Come drive the divided highways in Pittsburgh, specifically Rte 28 just N of the 40th St bridge. 2018.10.4 is better than anything previous but it still cannot do it at a reasonable speed (reasonable defined as the prevailing speeds used by human drivers on that stretch). There are many places in the US, and even more globally, where the "highways" have very tight turns, and AP still simply will not take turns that tight.

Now, try taking it on local roads in Pittsburgh. Not only will Autosteer throw up its hands, but on many roads TACC is also useless because the turns are tight enough that the car you're following goes out of the range of the radar. And I have HW2.5 with the wider-field-of-view radar.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

First off all, I intended to say in my post that it it handles "highway roads, which generally don't have tight curves". I recognize my wording could be interpreted as "it handles highway situations so long as they do not have tight curves", which isn't exactly what I meant.

But while I'm at it, and since you called me out for this, the latter interpretation is also entirely correct. Come drive the divided highways in Pittsburgh, specifically Rte 28 just N of the 40th St bridge. 2018.10.4 is better than anything previous but it still cannot do it at a reasonable speed (reasonable defined as the prevailing speeds used by human drivers on that stretch). There are many places in the US, and even more globally, where the "highways" have very tight turns, and AP still simply will not take turns that tight.

Now, try taking it on local roads in Pittsburgh. Not only will Autosteer throw up its hands, but on many roads TACC is also useless because the turns are tight enough that the car you're following goes out of the range of the radar. And I have HW2.5 with the wider-field-of-view radar.

Ah I see. You’re right it won’t handle a really sharp curvy road. That was one of the first things I tried it on, since that’s part of my daily commute. I wasn’t surprised it couldn’t handle it, but surprised it tried. It will handle very curvy highways quite well though.

 

[xav-]

Anybody's thoughts on that model X crash? it seems it could well have happened on that new AP update...

 

[rnortman]

Anybody's thoughts on that model X crash? it seems it could well have happened on that new AP update...

Very long thread here: Model X Crash on US-101 (Mountain View, CA)

To the extent this is at all related to the firmware update which is the subject of this thread: This obviously could have happened on previous firmware, it can happen on this firmware, it can happen on the next firmware, and the firmware after that, and the firmware after that, etc.. When using AP, keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, period, end of story. Teslas do not drive themselves. Autopilot is a driver assistance technology, not a self-driving system.

 

[UrbanEater]

In general, overall AP performance has been improved with this update. After driving for a few weeks after the update, I noticed that AP doesn't handle tight turns as well as the previous software version. There's also a tendency for AP to center itself in a lane that grows wider. This is problematic for me on roads where the right most lane have cars merging from an on ramp and thus the road is wider at the merge point. The car drifts to the right to center itself and then drifts back to the left as the road narrows. The drivers behind must think I'm drunk. In the previous version, AP would lose sight of the right lane marking and just hug the left lane marking. This is a more preferred behavior for me.

 

[Max Headroom]

hahahahahaha no.

I have used the "Note" feature frequently to help get a timestamp logged. Then later I call customer support about the problem and tell them I used the Note feature so they'd have a timestamp. Without fail, they cannot retrieve the note or the timestamp. The note feature is a black hole. I'm surprised they are actually actively soliciting people to use it to submit navigation feedback -- maybe they're trying to cut down on call volume by giving people another outlet for their frustrations...

Seriously, has anybody in recent times ever seen any response to the Note or Bug Report features or any sign that this isn't a black hole? I think it may have been real in the early days when there were not very many Teslas on the road and they really did want to hear about problems, but in the past couple of years, is there any evidence that they are doing anything with these reports?

I agree, it's no longer a valuable feature as Customer Service has no access to it, apparently only Engineering does. We should all push for the feature to add a timestamp in the logs with Customer Service access. I'm not sure if Teslatap.com gets looked at anymore by the company, but I put a request in there for this the other day. Allow Service Centers to access the customers “notes/bug reports” | TeslaTap

 

[RobK]

Is 2018.10.4 update for HW1 also? I have not received any notification on our 2015 Tesla Model S.

 

[luckyj]

Is 2018.10.4 update for HW1 also? I have not received any notification on our 2015 Tesla Model S.

According to data on ev-fw, it seems at least some HW1 cars received it.

 

[Sawyer8888]

There's also a tendency for AP to center itself in a lane that grows wider. This is problematic for me on roads where the right most lane have cars merging from an on ramp and thus the road is wider at the merge point. The car drifts to the right to center itself and then drifts back to the left as the road narrows. The drivers behind must think I'm drunk. In the previous version, AP would lose sight of the right lane marking and just hug the left lane marking. This is a more preferred behavior for me.

This behavior of the car making it a priority to center itself in what it thinks is an extra-wide lane is annoying to say the least; dangerous as well.

The way in which the car quickly centers itself if any lane when AP is initially engaged is also uncomfortable. Although that has been the case as long as I can remember with AP2.

AP has always kind of had a tendency to move right near exit ramps, but this new behavior amplifies that movement in lanes that are merging.

Auto-centering in a merging area happened again to me this morning. Then, as soon as the right lane marker begins to reappear, AP figures out that it should not be straddling that line, so it quickly moves back to the left. Drunk-looking indeed.

Right now, driving in the right-most lane (what you're supposed to do if traffic around you is moving faster) requires you to disengage AP more frequently than if you were to camp out in the passing lanes <-- don't do that if vehicles are passing on your right. It contributes to traffic and accidents.