The same-day trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back

[charlesoris]

I had not seen some of my classmates for nearly 48 years, and when an opportunity presented itself, I dashed over there for an afternoon full of tales coupled with food and drinks.

Stopped in four SuperCharger locations: Kettleman, San Jose (Capital Express), Gustime, and Bakersfield - no waiting or any other issues.
Total cost $87.79, 201 kWh, 790 miles

My number one complaint is Phantom Braking. There were sections of mostly rural roads, with large vehicles in both directions, where the car would suddenly slow down nearly causing the following drivers to rear-end me. Luckily, I kept my foot on the accelerator.

The other one is the lack of radar during heavy fog weather conditions. There was a thirty-minute patch of I-5 between Bakersfield and Kettleman where I encountered heavy fog and while the car did well on AP, driving with a radar would make it less stressful.

 

[GtiMart]

Rural roads are not the best for autopilot, and the manual says so. You should expect more phantom braking there than on a divided highway. Any vehicle approaching in the opposite direction that ever so slightly brushes the center line will make the car panic.

In bad weather, radar or not, you should slow down if visibility is reduced. Speed must depend on how far you see. If autopilot is going too fast for how you feel, slow it down or turn it off and drive manually (based on your vision). It's not even "level 2", you're supposed to still be in control and you don't see with radar.

 

[charlesoris]

I want to clarify some of the information I left out from the original post:

1. I don't speed
2. Rural roads mentioned were undivided highways with two lanes in each direction at 55 MPH.
3. I significantly lowered my speed when I encountered heavy fog conditions
4. I believe that only radar-based systems perform well during foggy, rainy, and snowy conditions - Ladar and Vision-based systems can't see what radar can. I am encouraged that Tesla is planning to bring back radar capabilities in the form of an HD Radar.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[GtiMart]

Thanks for the clarification. Yeah, undivided roads are indeed not the best "turf" for autopilot. One can hope that FSD beta eventually becomes good at that but it's not part of the goal of autopilot.

My point about radar was that however great the car's system might be, you are required to be in control at all times in a level 2 (or not even quite) system. Even if the car sees through fog, you don't so I don't see the advantage. You need to adjust your speed to your vision anyway.

 

[Prairie]

Any vehicle approaching in the opposite direction that ever so slightly brushes the center line will make the car panic.