Fatal autopilot crash, NHTSA investigating...

[MP3Mike]

That's why in AP2.5 a driver-facing camera is added to bring us the telescreen from Oceania!

But AP2.5 doesn't have a driver-facing camera. (At least not on the Model S or X.)

 

[Tam]

...It is a very tiresome and stressful companion much of the time.

It was true for me for the first time using AP2 in March.

I didn't place my hands on the steering wheel and it kept giving out silent reminding message on the dashboard every 1 minute to place hands on wheel .

So, instead of looking at the road, I would look at the dashboard waiting for the reminding message instead.

And I got tired so I missed the silent message which became an audio alarm and I reached for the steering wheel.

But by then, it was too late so the system punished me and disabled Autosteer.

I had to find a place to stop to reactivate Autopilot again.

That sequence kept on repeating over and over again.

It drove me crazy and wore me down so quickly!

I then learned to place at least a hand on the steering wheel.

There have been no longer any silent or audio alarm to remind me to place hands back on wheels any more.

I then have not been wondering and searching for the silent warnings any more.

And because at least one hand is at the wheel, I could feel how it steer and whenever it misbehaves, I could correct it so effortlessly.

Thus, after the initial learning curve, AP2 has been very relaxing for me.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

@Tam Oh, I always keep my hands on the steering wheel - ready to grip it for stray moves - and my foot on the accelerator pedal - ready to counter ghost brakings...

That IS what makes it so stressful...

 

[WannabeOwner]

I always keep my hands on the steering wheel - ready to grip it for stray moves - and my foot on the accelerator pedal - ready to counter ghost brakings.

I do that too, but interested that it makes you stressful - but I have not driven AP2, so I have no comparison point.

About once every 500 miles I get ghost braking. I just press accelerator - the alarm probably makes me jump! but as my eyes are on road and I have been seeing no hazard my instinct (it seems to me) is to accelerate.

Overriding the steering wheel doesn't seem stressful to me. The only times I have to do that is if there is a hazard, e.g. vehicle stopped by roadside and sticking out into the carriageway somewhat, or perhaps I anticipate that someone is going to do something inconsiderate - pull out / merge etc. so I may not wait for signal-lane-change and just signal and steer into the next lane. I don't have instances where the vehicle's position in the carriageway causes me to want to override (well ... I might in really bad weather, but I won't be on AP if the car starts adopting poor lane placement) There are probably others too - e.g. when I know a bend is sharp and I take over steering, but they don't really occur on highway, and I rarely use AP1 in other situations such as undivided / twisty roads; in terms of AP1 reducing fatigue on a long journey that is predominantly highway driving for me.

This is all subjective of course, but I mention it in case there is a significant difference (currently) between AP1 and AP2

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I do that too, but interested that it makes you stressful - but I have not driven AP2, so I have no comparison point.

About once every 500 miles I get ghost braking. I just press accelerator - the alarm probably makes me jump! but as my eyes are on road and I have been seeing no hazard my instinct (it seems to me) is to accelerate.

Basically none of what you say applies to my point. I do appreciate your experience and the fact that AP1 is a good, solid product.

Sadly, AP2 is not.

First of all, ghost brakings happen more like every 10-50 miles than 500. Sometimes it happens several times over a commute. Luckily only one has been bad, but the concern is definitely there every time I see an overpass.

Second, I am not talking about the actual holding of the steering wheel being stressful. Nor avoiding a hazard on the road.

It is stressful because AP2 is known to not stick to the lane and has to be fought at times to not move to the other lane or crash into a barrier.

There are tons of stories on TMC and I've had two big steering incidents myself and several small.

These are divided motorway experiences.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Thanks. Disappointing to hear that AP2 hasn't caught up with AP1, as you describe. I haven't been reading the forums much of late, so not kept abreast of AP2 chatter, but I hope it won't be long until you have at least as good an experience as I do