Where autopilot shines...

[LEKTRK]

I don't chime in much on these forums but felt I would on this topic. I have just drove my 2015 85D from Kamloops BC, Canada to Las Vegas Via Reno [ In Las Vegas Now ].
A distance of just over 3000KM... I would say that for approx 75% of the time I was on AP which made the somewhat boring roads much more pleasurable to drive.
My deal with "myself" is when other cars are around keep one hand on wheel and fully alert BUT when no one else around letting the car do its thing "hands off" on well marked roads resulted in no issues other than a little ping ponging at times.
I treat my car on AP like I treated my kids when they were teenagers and learning to drive. Always ready to "take over" but able to trust it "most" of the time...
Just my 2 bits...

 

[garygid]

At its present state of implementation, the AutoSteering (AS) is NOT ready for
hands-off driving, and Tesla tries to tell you that, and even remind you
occasionally when it thinks your hands are not on the steering wheel.

There are those who justify their hands off use by saying that the whole
point of AP is to be hands off. True, but THIS Beta AP is not there yet.

The Beta AS control can handle many situations fairly well, but there are
unexpected situations that can require immediate driver control of the car.
I have experienced 2 major wrong, abrupt, unanticipated steering events
since the first 7.0, the most severe event just recently. If you have never
experienced an AS "close call", you are probably just lucky.

When using AS, and the car abruptly heads out of lane, one needs to
be instantly ready to counteract the abrupt jerk of the steering wheel.
Some say that such an abrupt steering action is impossible, but
I have experienced two.

If Tesla is saying that you should keep your hands always on the
steering wheel, just maybe they have a good reason for saying that.
Just possibly, they know more than we do, right?

To stay safer, "Feel (hold) the Wheel" all the time, to sense a steering glitch,
and save your car and your loved ones.

 

[asudan]

My car tried to side-swipe a truck recently while on AP on a well-marked Interstate. I hope you're not so relaxed you're not "ready to take over at any moment". I used to agree with everything in your post, but no more. I'm more stressed using AP than just driving myself.

Looking back at the dashcam video, there were two black skid marks in the middle of my lane right before my car made its suicide dive for the truck in the lane next to me. I think AP saw those marks and decided it wasn't in the lane anymore. But whatever happened, I would definitely have been in an accident had I not grabbed the wheel.

Moral of the story, for me anyway, don't trust AP with your life because it is not safe.

I saw your video and I wonder if this is true. Wouldn't the side collision avoidance kicked in before hitting the truck?

 

[green1]

I don't chime in much on these forums but felt I would on this topic. I have just drove my 2015 85D from Kamloops BC, Canada to Las Vegas Via Reno [ In Las Vegas Now ].
A distance of just over 3000KM... I would say that for approx 75% of the time I was on AP which made the somewhat boring roads much more pleasurable to drive.
My deal with "myself" is when other cars are around keep one hand on wheel and fully alert BUT when no one else around letting the car do its thing "hands off" on well marked roads resulted in no issues other than a little ping ponging at times.
I treat my car on AP like I treated my kids when they were teenagers and learning to drive. Always ready to "take over" but able to trust it "most" of the time...
Just my 2 bits...

Out of curiosity, do you have the new Nav update? and if so, do they have any of the speed limits in your neck of the woods correct (specifically the coquihalla)

 

[LEKTRK]

Out of curiosity, do you have the new Nav update? and if so, do they have any of the speed limits in your neck of the woods correct (specifically the coquihalla)

I have the latest update 2.9.154 and yes "most' of the time speed limits come up correct although on the Coq there is a spot that comes up at 20km per hour, like the camera got something in its eye and missed the 1..

 

[green1]

I have the latest update 2.9.154 and yes "most' of the time speed limits come up correct although on the Coq there is a spot that comes up at 20km per hour, like the camera got something in its eye and missed the 1..

More specifically, can you confirm if it does ever read a 120 sign correctly? the old Nav never once did so.

 

[LEKTRK]

More specifically, can you confirm if it does ever read a 120 sign correctly? the old Nav never once did so.

I am in Las Vegas till end of Feb but I am pretty sure it reads the 120 correctly but will confirm on my trip back...

 

[beeeerock]

I am in Las Vegas till end of Feb but I am pretty sure it reads the 120 correctly but will confirm on my trip back...

I took a spin up as far as Inks Lake after the last update and had no joy with the 120. It read one sign on the return as I came up the on-ramp (sign was as close to the car as it could be and I was moving slower) as 20 km/h. The others were ignored and the GPS speeds appeared to be used instead. Signs are a bit dirty, but not to the point that I'd expect the camera to have difficulty reading them - everything else was fine.

I'll be interested to hear what you see on the way back!

 

[green1]

I took a spin up as far as Inks Lake after the last update and had no joy with the 120. It read one sign on the return as I came up the on-ramp (sign was as close to the car as it could be and I was moving slower) as 20 km/h. The others were ignored and the GPS speeds appeared to be used instead. Signs are a bit dirty, but not to the point that I'd expect the camera to have difficulty reading them - everything else was fine.

I'll be interested to hear what you see on the way back!

That sounds like nothing has changed then.

 

[LEKTRK]

Drove the Cog today and even after the recent map upgrade, Nav system still has issues with this Highway. It no longer displayed 20KM but it seemed to be locked on 100km for a good portion of the route. It was weird how it failed to read the 120KM sign more than once??
For most of my recent 8,000 KM trip through Wash, Oregon, Calif, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Arizona it was quite accurate though at reading the speed signs and although AP was not perfect it made the trip just that much better