When the Enhanced Autopilot Honeymoon is Over?

[markn455]

I picked up my MS100D about 3 weeks ago. Once AP finished it's calibration and became active I used it at every opportunity. On day two we took an out of town trip to a Supercharger about 3-4 hours away. We had dinner while the new baby was super charging and then headed back. I used Autopilot at every opportunity. Driving to and from work was great even in stop and go traffic.

After a few days, I realized that AP might be causing a bit of more stress than just driving manually myself. Firstly, I ender and exit turns differently than Auto Pilot does it. This causes a bit of stress from time to time. Finally, when cars enter or exit from the lane in front of me, the care accelerates or decelerates somewhat erratically which causes more stress.

The car regularly tells me to put my hands on the wheel when they have been on the wheel all along. Finding that balance of steering input the cars wants to see is a bit challenging. Too much and it drops out of Auto Steer. Too little and the car gets unhappy wth you. Where it that balance.

So, Auto Pilot at this point is really cool for "show and tell". After the Honeymoon is over, I find myself just preferring to steer the car manually.

It might be interesting for others to post something about air findings here.

 

[Tam]

...
The car regularly tells me to put my hands on the wheel when they have been on the wheel all along...

I grab the wheel and let the weight of my arm pull it down passively. I don't actively create a torque. The weight of my arm does (the gravity does it.)

And because I grab the wheel, I can feel whether the steering is correct or not then I would actively over-ride it as needed.

I was stressful for me on my first day but once I figured its behavior, it has been very relaxing for over a year since I first bought it!

 

[SDRick]

I find AP1 impeccable and very relaxing in stop and go traffic, especially bumper-to-bumper.
It is also very relaxing for the long cross-country, wide open and relatively empty interstate trip.

The problem with AP is that the car (especially the P series) is just too much fun to drive "manually!"

 

[markn455]

The problem with AP is that the car (especially the P series) is just too much fun to drive "manually!"

You certainly have that right!

 

[kiwi]

I'm with OP on this one.
EAP would naturally be really useful in two situations:
- in stop and go traffic
- on long dull highways
where actually having to do the driving is pretty boring.

In stop and go - its quite erratic when anyone changes lanes in front of me (join or leave).
While 10.4 is beautifully smooth in the way it accelerates/decelerates - it does it at weird times
(accelerating into cars that are moving into your lane, slowing/stopping long after other cars have left your lane).

On long straight motorways it seems to work really well... but we have very few of those in NZ :-(
(I envy your American interstate system).

 

[evb2000]

Have only had my 100D a few weeks, but had the same issue with hands on the steering wheel ... hands were lightly on the wheel, but apparently not enough to register, thought I gave it enough of a tug, but it came back and told me it was exiting AP mode for the rest of the ride ... was a little disheartening, kind of like it put me in detention or something. Still getting the right feel of it ... and slowly developing a little more trust in it ... still makes me nervous in tight carpool lanes with barriers and no shoulder ... and when coming up on stopped traffic!

 

[BerTX]

Part of the problem is the message to put your HANDS on the wheel. By putting ONE hand on the wheel, you create a slight amount of torque on the system which it always recognizes.

As @Tam suggests above, just the weight of your arm, or really just your forearm, is plenty. Switch from arm to arm when you get fatigued or need to do something with the other hand. Or when there is a car in the next lane and it just seems wrong to be pulling the wheel in the direction of the other traffic.

 

[HeloCaptain]

I picked up my MS100D about 3 weeks ago. Once AP finished it's calibration and became active I used it at every opportunity. On day two we took an out of town trip to a Supercharger about 3-4 hours away. We had dinner while the new baby was super charging and then headed back. I used Autopilot at every opportunity. Driving to and from work was great even in stop and go traffic.

After a few days, I realized that AP might be causing a bit of more stress than just driving manually myself. Firstly, I ender and exit turns differently than Auto Pilot does it. This causes a bit of stress from time to time. Finally, when cars enter or exit from the lane in front of me, the care accelerates or decelerates somewhat erratically which causes more stress.

The car regularly tells me to put my hands on the wheel when they have been on the wheel all along. Finding that balance of steering input the cars wants to see is a bit challenging. Too much and it drops out of Auto Steer. Too little and the car gets unhappy wth you. Where it that balance.

So, Auto Pilot at this point is really cool for "show and tell". After the Honeymoon is over, I find myself just preferring to steer the car manually.

It might be interesting for others to post something about air findings here.

I drive with a couple of fingers placed comfortably at 7 o'clock or 5 o'clock and that seems to maintain the needed torque to avoid alerts to grab the wheels. The key to understanding this is that the car wants TORQUE on the wheel, not pinch pressure.

 

[HeloCaptain]

I drive with a couple of fingers placed comfortably at 7 o'clock or 5 o'clock and that seems to maintain the needed torque to avoid alerts to grab the wheel. The key to understanding this is that the car wants TORQUE on the wheel, not pinch pressure.

 

[Pentium2004]

I picked up my MS100D about 3 weeks ago. Once AP finished it's calibration and became active I used it at every opportunity. On day two we took an out of town trip to a Supercharger about 3-4 hours away. We had dinner while the new baby was super charging and then headed back. I used Autopilot at every opportunity. Driving to and from work was great even in stop and go traffic.

After a few days, I realized that AP might be causing a bit of more stress than just driving manually myself. Firstly, I ender and exit turns differently than Auto Pilot does it. This causes a bit of stress from time to time. Finally, when cars enter or exit from the lane in front of me, the care accelerates or decelerates somewhat erratically which causes more stress.

The car regularly tells me to put my hands on the wheel when they have been on the wheel all along. Finding that balance of steering input the cars wants to see is a bit challenging. Too much and it drops out of Auto Steer. Too little and the car gets unhappy wth you. Where it that balance.

So, Auto Pilot at this point is really cool for "show and tell". After the Honeymoon is over, I find myself just preferring to steer the car manually.

It might be interesting for others to post something about air findings here.

I can't relax at all while using Autopilot. It has tried to kill me on so many occasions that it is really hard to trust. Can't wait for the day that I no longer feel like that. It may or may not be a Tesla that gets me to that point. I do have to admit it is a good gimmick to get people to buy a Tesla. That was really the only reason I bought the car was so that it could do the driving instead of me and that hasn't happened too much.

 

[gavine]

I find that using "Chill Mode" while in autopilot is more relaxing. It doesn't mitigate all of your concerns, but it does make the acceleration less aggressive so Chill Mode is a smoother AP experience.

Also, I think an issue with AP is that it does not anticipate. Humans are good at anticipating. AP, on the other hand, is very "reactive". It thinks fast but it doesn't decide until the last second sometimes, presumably because it's not "looking ahead" far enough. Perfect example is when you see brake lights 100's of yards ahead, you would naturally start to slow down a little (at least I do). AP keeps going at set speed and then brakes too late for my taste once it finally realizes that traffic has slowed. I don't feel unsafe, but it doesn't think the same way I do so it's a little unnerving at times.

 

[TexLaw]

I quite enjoy AP for highway driving, but I've virtually not used it at all on regular road driving. Like others, I also quite enjoy driving my MS all by myself, and road driving is fun!

 

[The Duke]

I can't relax at all while using Autopilot. It has tried to kill me on so many occasions that it is really hard to trust. Can't wait for the day that I no longer feel like that. It may or may not be a Tesla that gets me to that point. I do have to admit it is a good gimmick to get people to buy a Tesla. That was really the only reason I bought the car was so that it could do the driving instead of me and that hasn't happened too much.

You must learn Force-Sense of AP young Padawan. Inner-Peace is achieved through training. There are times to channel the Driving-Force through yourself and times to channel the Driving-Force through AP. Knowing the difference Inner-Peace it will bring.