AP doesn't use right front sensor?

I have noticed this as well. I was going to ask the SC next time I was in. I have had a couple of close calls with semi's wandering over the line and the front sensor doesnt catch it until you get a collision alarm. The back sensor already reads farther out. I wonder if this is a design or a bug

Slight correction to your theory: AP doesn't display the car that it likely sees from the right front center on the blind sport warning system.

I agree with [my] above statement. It's rare that I get the semi-circle in front, but I get it in the rear very often. The reason I believe it does this is that the front area is not a blind spot, you see what's there. The rear area is a blind spot, so they show those more.

I think it's fully able to detect it, I just don't think they're showing it all the time.

mspohr said:

I'm sure the sensor is working since it displays semi-circles when I'm parking but I wonder why the AP doesn't use this information to move away from cars traveling too close in the next lane.

Click to expand...

Because it's still beta?

Serious answer: I think it does this to some extent, I'm not sure what conditions are required to trigger it.

When I was in a tunnel the other day, AP sensed the wall on my left side, and pushed me closer to the lane divider (instead of keeping me centered in my lane) until I got out of the tunnel. I sort of wish it did NOT do this.

Max* said:

Because it's still beta?

Serious answer: I think it does this to some extent, I'm not sure what conditions are required to trigger it.

When I was in a tunnel the other day, AP sensed the wall on my left side, and pushed me closer to the lane divider (instead of keeping me centered in my lane) until I got out of the tunnel. I sort of wish it did NOT do this.

Click to expand...

I've been meaning to start this thread and have been trying to get a decent video to demonstrate!

I think the right front sensor (& maybe the left front too, I'm not sure) may be pointed downward to pick up the curb for parking. The result is the very uneasy sensation you get when the car you are passing to the right of you gets up real close! I'll post my very amateurish videos shortly...

DPDsModelS said:

I've been meaning to start this thread and have been trying to get a decent video to demonstrate!

I think the right front sensor (& maybe the left front too, I'm not sure) may be pointed downward to pick up the curb for parking. The result is the very uneasy sensation you get when the car you are passing to the right of you gets up real close! I'll post my very amateurish videos shortly...

Click to expand...

I do agree that the phenomena exists, but I don't think this is the reason (I've been wrong many times). I think it's a software issue, not a hardware problem for two reasons:

1. Why only angle the front sensors, but not the rear?

2. The sonar sensors can detect objects 16 feet away, correct?
Typical lane width is 12feet. (some are 10 feet, but let's use 12 feet to your advantage)
The average car is about 6 feet wide.
Consider a case where the Model S is dead center, and the car in the adjacent lane is encroaching on the lane divider.
That would leave 3 feet of space between you and him in an average lane. For the sonar sensors to not detect 3 feet of space, they would need to be pointed down at an angle greater than 79 degrees from horizontal. That would mean it would pretty much have to be pointing near perfectly down at the ground for them to miss the car [almost vertically]. I find that HIGHLY unlikely.

I have noticed this as well with my 85D

When I back into my garage, the front left sensor shows a tree to the side as I pass it about 6 feet away, but doesn't show the edge of the garage door about 1 foot away which would be a lot more useful.

It definitely happens. But I think it's because we are so used to subconsciously drifting slightly away from people as we pass them that we are conditioned to that. The car doesn't mimic that behavior so it seems (and is) closer than a human driver.

Max* said:

I think it's a software issue,

Click to expand...

I hope you are correct so it can be addressed in future software updates. This issue makes it impossible to use auto-pilot when my wife is in the passenger seat because it leads to bleeding ear drums on my right side.

DPDsModelS said:

I hope you are correct so it can be addressed in future software updates. This issue makes it impossible to use auto-pilot when my wife is in the passenger seat because it leads to bleeding ear drums on my right side.

Click to expand...

I'm in NYC today, and as I'm driving down these much narrower side streets, the front sensor keeps going off on every parked car.

I still think it's a software issue, mainly that the front sensor isn't a "blind spot"; but maybe for whatever reason the front sensor can't keep up at speed?

So I've been watching the front sensors carefully after this thread. I've noticed two things
1. Going above about 35mph the front sensors don't light up. Below roughly that speed, they easily detect cars on both front and rear
2. Unless you're next to an 18 wheeler, then you could be going 70mph and they'll see it.

I'm still leaning towards software"feature"to not distract you, since the front isn't a blind spot.