Autopilot Experiences in Australia

[Staggers]

AP got confused on the Tullamarine Fwy when I was driving through that elevated sound barrier/tube/tunnel thing at Kensington in Melbourne. The structure was casting line-width shadows on the road that ran parallel to the lane markings, were spaced about a lane-width apart and were offset from the real lanes by almost half a lane width. Basically it had to make a choice between white lines and dark lines... its chose the dark lines... quite urgently (and with the "TAKE CONTROL NOW!!!" warning bleeping at me).

I'm annoyed because I was having a really good nap, otherwise I've been more than happy with the way it gently wakes you up in such circumstances

 

[Astroboy747]

AP got confused on the Tullamarine Fwy when I was driving through that elevated sound barrier/tube/tunnel thing at Kensington in Melbourne. The structure was casting line-width shadows on the road that ran parallel to the lane markings, were spaced about a lane-width apart and were offset from the real lanes by almost half a lane width. Basically it had to make a choice between white lines and dark lines... its chose the dark lines... quite urgently (and with the "TAKE CONTROL NOW!!!" warning bleeping at me).

I'm annoyed because I was having a really good nap, otherwise I've been more than happy with the way it gently wakes you up in such circumstances

With the 7.1 update, they said they have improved AP in regards to not taking the highway exit as well as a better response to faded lines. So hopefully it will improve that.

Also, this thread is for AP experiences with parking as well as autosteer and cruise. So feel free to share those. Really interested in hearing about perpendicular parking when that rolls out over here.

 

[paulp]

With the 7.1 update, they said they have improved AP in regards to not taking the highway exit as well as a better response to faded lines. So hopefully it will improve that.

Also, this thread is for AP experiences with parking as well as autosteer and cruise. So feel free to share those. Really interested in hearing about perpendicular parking when that rolls out over here.

Havnt recieved it yet, but to my understanding for perpendicular parking to work you have to drive past it first. In SA the person behind you would park there if you did that, so can't see it being usefull, not that driving into a park is difficult. Maybe its more intended for reverse perpendicular parking?

 

[TesAus]

Havnt recieved it yet, but to my understanding for perpendicular parking to work you have to drive past it first. In SA the person behind you would park there if you did that, so can't see it being usefull, not that driving into a park is difficult. Maybe its more intended for reverse perpendicular parking?

I am pretty sure that it only does reverse perpendicular parking from release notes that were posted in the main model S threads?

Reverse parallel parking is generally seen as being safer for all cars to do - many construction and mining sites require it in the staff car parks - "First move forward". I think the logic is that for the initial reversing movement you start with good visibility of other vehicles and then when leaving the spot afterwards you are looking forward and have better view available.

 

[paulp]

I am pretty sure that it only does reverse perpendicular parking from release notes that were posted in the main model S threads?

Reverse parallel parking is generally seen as being safer for all cars to do - many construction and mining sites require it in the staff car parks - "First move forward". I think the logic is that for the initial reversing movement you start with good visibility of other vehicles and then when leaving the spot afterwards you are looking forward and have better view available.

Unfortunately thats not the convention in SA. If you reverse into a shopping centre space, someone else will reverse in behind you, and neither can load groceries in. Tesla solved that with the frunk I guess, but it's not that easy to use. Frunk needs to be electric!

 

[TesAus]

Unfortunately thats not the convention in SA. If you reverse into a shopping centre space, someone else will reverse in behind you, and neither can load groceries in. Tesla solved that with the frunk I guess, but it's not that easy to use. Frunk needs to be electric!

I'd have to agree with you that for shopping and access to the boot it isn't ideal.

 

[BenT]

Well I finally got my update today. No notification from tesla but when I got in the car to drive to work the long awaited message was there. I waited until I got to work then set up the update over 3G while I was at work.

i like the new autopilot with the "vision" of cars in other lanes. I am not seeing AP picking up cars parked on the side of the road though. When I am driving on AP in the left lane I don't know if the car can "see" these and it often feel like we are very close so I take over. Where there is a clear parking lane with white line separating from the traffic lane this is fine but where there are cars parked straddling the left hand white line I get nervous. Has anyone had any bad experience with side swiping a parked car or collecting a side mirror using AP in this situation?

 

[TesAus]

Well I finally got my update today. No notification from tesla but when I got in the car to drive to work the long awaited message was there. I waited until I got to work then set up the update over 3G while I was at work.

i like the new autopilot with the "vision" of cars in other lanes. I am not seeing AP picking up cars parked on the side of the road though. When I am driving on AP in the left lane I don't know if the car can "see" these and it often feel like we are very close so I take over. Where there is a clear parking lane with white line separating from the traffic lane this is fine but where there are cars parked straddling the left hand white line I get nervous. Has anyone had any bad experience with side swiping a parked car or collecting a side mirror using AP in this situation?

Not that I have experienced or heard of, I would expect the side proximity sensors would kick in and encourage autopilot not to be so close? According to the release notes the AP has been programmed to give a wider berth to moving objects (eg vehicles in adjacent lane) than fixed objects eg barriers and kerbs. I suspect that a parked car would be considered a fixed object in that condition so the car will tend to be closer to a parked car than a moving one on your right hand side.

 

[360C]

I have been using 7.1 all week. The car definitely hunts around the lane a lot more than it used to. At times in an extra wide lane it feels very unnerving indeed. I also find that the car gets closer to surrounding cars in traffic. Not ideal !

 

[Dborn]

I have been using 7.1 all week. The car definitely hunts around the lane a lot more than it used to. At times in an extra wide lane it feels very unnerving indeed. I also find that the car gets closer to surrounding cars in traffic. Not ideal !

Agree!! Not happy. Feels very Beta, whereas with 7.0 it was quite poised. The car still does not detect stopped (or parked) vehicles if it was not tracking them before they stopped. Not good!

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

The car still does not detect stopped (or parked) vehicles if it was not tracking them before they stopped.

My experiences with this are different, and this is despite all of the posts I have read here indicating that a stopped vehicle won't be picked up.

Specific scenario:

With TACC and/or AutoSteer enabled, coming up to a set of traffic lights
Tracking a slowing car just in front
The slowing car changes lane at the last moment, exposing an already stationary car at the lights.

There are many posts here indicating that this exact scenario is a rear end collision waiting to happen. I have thus been super-aware of this scenario.
Each and every time (now dozens of times) this scenario has played out, the car has picked up the stationary vehicle and continued smoothly slowing down after a very brief acceleration between losing the diverging car and picking up the stationary car.

Note: I still *do not* trust this situation and am always immediately ready to push the brake pedal if required.

(still on 7.0)

 

[paulp]

My experiences with this are different, and this is despite all of the posts I have read here indicating that a stopped vehicle won't be picked up.

Specific scenario:

With TACC and/or AutoSteer enabled, coming up to a set of traffic lights
Tracking a slowing car just in front
The slowing car changes lane at the last moment, exposing an already stationary car at the lights.

There are many posts here indicating that this exact scenario is a rear end collision waiting to happen. I have thus been super-aware of this scenario.
Each and every time (now dozens of times) this scenario has played out, the car has picked up the stationary vehicle and continued smoothly slowing down after a very brief acceleration between losing the diverging car and picking up the stationary car.

Note: I still *do not* trust this situation and am always immediately ready to push the brake pedal if required.

(still on 7.0)

I agree it will pick up a stopped car at the lights, however it won't pick up a stopped car on the side of the road and either stop or swerve around it. Driving on the inside lane has become tiresome under AP when there is no clearway.

 

[PJF000]

Drives perfectly on well marked laned roads, can think for a second or two before deciding which lane to take when faced with one lane splitting into two (picks first line it senses (right or left) and uses that as the lane indicator, you have to indicate right when entering a freeway otherwise it tends to take you off road as the ramp peters out, when both lines fade it tends to keep a straight course before aborting, on roundabouts it can get you around with indicators going to keep a defined lane marking in view (very nerve racking to trust in this manoeuvre) , fabulous in bumper to bumper traffic, can drift to the wrong side of the road at speed before it turns enough on a tight bend and then thinks it is in another lane going in the same direction, aborts when it has no idea what it is doing and tells you to hold the wheel when it gets nervous.

 

[BenT]

I was saved today by autopilot and the side sensors. I was driving on a dual lane major road on AP in the right lane. AP moved sharply to the right as the car in the lane to my left had moved across into my lane. I must have been in their blind spot. I was able to brake and take manual control of the car and avoid an accident.

With regards stationary or parked cars on the left side of the road, today they were registering on my AP display. I still don't trust AP to avoid them and for this reason I prefer to drive in the right lane.

 

[meloccom]

Autopilot seems improved in 7.1, on the Hume Highway i put it in the middle lane and was able to sit back and let it do its thing for a considerable period without any assistance. It also gets through gaps in the lane markings better, and is less likely to give up and ask you to take over.
When there are no barriers to one side it seems to calm down and track well, in tunnels it seems unnerved by the walls.
It also seems easier to initiate a lane change, only once refusing and asking to hold the wheel. I also noticed that it sometimes picks up that a vehicle ahead or in the next lane is a truck and shows a new truck shaped icon, it's gets it wrong a lot though, showing a B-double as a car and a small ute as a truck.