# Autopilot not properly centering car around right hand curves



## YesSheKnowsItsAMultiPass (Jun 1, 2017)

After scouring the threads, I can't find one that talks about this so I'll post it here. Is anyone else experiencing the car hugging the left line when going around right hand curves in the right lane on the Interstate and major highways, but not in the left lane?

When in the left lane and going around a right hand curve, the car stays pretty center. However, when in the right lane it drifts immediately to the outside of the lane and hugs the line, making it really really uncomfortable when traffic is passing me. Left hand turns in the right lane and left lane are great. It's just the right hand turns in the right lane that seem really off.

I'm trying to decide if it's just current autopilot behavior fleet wide, or if I need to take it in for service for camera calibration. Any input from fellow autopilots is much appreciated!


----------



## JP White (Jul 4, 2016)

I started an autopilot trial today and noticed the car turning late on curves, a lack of anticipation as the curve comes into view ahead. It may have been on right hand curves, I didn't pay that close of attention. After correcting its position it ping ponged a little in the lane.

I really like TACC, not totally sold on EAP. WIsh you could buy TACC separately.


----------



## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

I've noticed that from day one back in May. I've always chalked it up to wanting to see around the corner better. I do this on my motorcycle when the inside of the corner has visual obstructions that impair my sight lines. The best solution would be to have cameras in the upper left and right sides of the windshield. I think the reason Tesla didn't go this route is that it's easier to keep the center top of the windshield free of rain/snow leaves due to the way wipers work.

Even considering this, I think they need to adjust the lines in right-hand corners about a foot to the right.


----------



## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

When I first got my car back in February, I found that the car would go pretty wide on curves. Within the first few updates and to this day I think it handles curves exceptionally well.


----------



## Alex K (Jul 8, 2018)

FosterTheCraig said:


> After scouring the threads, I can't find one that talks about this so I'll post it here. Is anyone else experiencing the car hugging the left line when going around right hand curves in the right lane on the Interstate and major highways, but not in the left lane?
> 
> When in the left lane and going around a right hand curve, the car stays pretty center. However, when in the right lane it drifts immediately to the outside of the lane and hugs the line, making it really really uncomfortable when traffic is passing me. Left hand turns in the right lane and left lane are great. It's just the right hand turns in the right lane that seem really off.
> 
> I'm trying to decide if it's just current autopilot behavior fleet wide, or if I need to take it in for service for camera calibration. Any input from fellow autopilots is much appreciated!


I have noticed similar behavior too. It seems to be worse when there is oncoming traffic. I take my car up to White Mountains here in AZ and there are plenty of twisty mountain roads. It has gotten pretty annoying. I've had to take over several times because the car was hugging the line too much with oncoming traffic. This is on a two lane mountain road; not on a freeway. I though it was possibly related to speed and that the car could not keep up in the turn, but I have let it slow down (by itself) around sweeping right turns and it still does this. It maybe happens about 60% of the time and mostly when I see oncoming traffic. That could be because I pay more attention in that case. I have also noticed in the display that the car is not centered in the lane, so it "knows" it's hugging the line.


----------



## Flashgj (Oct 11, 2018)

We have to remember that TACC is still in beta. You are probably pushing this feature to its current limits. The following two paragraphs are straight from the manual. 

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is primarily intended for driving on dry, straight roads, such as highways and freeways. 

Warning: Do not use Traffic-Aware Cruise Control on winding roads with sharp curves, on icy or slippery road surfaces, or when weather conditions (such as heavy rain, snow, fog, etc.) make it inappropriate to drive at a consistent speed


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Autopilot mostly keeps the car centered in the lane, but it isn't perfect. I'm used to keeping the car to the outside of any particular lane, away from the other lane of traffic, so it was very disconcerting at first. There were a few times when I could swear it was taking a curve too wide, but if I actually shifted my head to the center of the car, I could actually see that it was centered in the lane - my own driving style preferences were fooling me a bit.


----------



## ADK46 (Aug 4, 2018)

I harp on this theme every chance I get. Auto-steer goes around curves like someone with a buzz on, not looking ahead very far, always reacting a little late, as if surprised. This is compounded by aiming for the center (but missing wide), while the surrounding humans hug the inside line. The "real" lanes are defined by where the cars are, not the paint - nothing bad happens when you hit paint.

I knew someone in college who would deliberately react to curves a bit late, to make his passengers nervous. It was very effective.


----------



## smatthew (Jul 1, 2018)

ADK46 said:


> I harp on this theme every chance I get. Auto-steer goes around curves like someone with a buzz on, not looking ahead very far, always reacting a little late, as if surprised. This is compounded by aiming for the center (but missing wide), while the surrounding humans hug the inside line. The "real" lanes are defined by where the cars are, not the paint - nothing bad happens when you hit paint.
> 
> I knew someone in college who would deliberately react to curves a bit late, to make his passengers nervous. It was very effective.


Geez, how many times are you going to re-tell that story?


----------



## babula (Aug 26, 2018)

JP White said:


> I started an autopilot trial today and noticed the car turning late on curves, a lack of anticipation as the curve comes into view ahead. It may have been on right hand curves, I didn't pay that close of attention. After correcting its position it ping ponged a little in the lane.
> 
> I really like TACC, not totally sold on EAP. WIsh you could buy TACC separately.


In my opinion EAP is the single greatest feature in any car on the road and it's constantly improving. Well worth the money in my opinion, you have to give it a real shot.


----------



## eHaw (Aug 22, 2018)

I would love a control that allowed me to tweak the autopilot's positioning within the lane. I prefer to drive closer to the right hand side rather than the left.


----------



## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

eHaw said:


> I would love a control that allowed me to tweak the autopilot's positioning within the lane. I prefer to drive closer to the right hand side rather than the left.


I like to use the entire lane. Sometimes I like to use both lanes!  I suspect EAP is never going to accommodate my preferences!


----------



## ADK46 (Aug 4, 2018)

I wonder if this problem resides in a trained neural network, which would require good human drivers to change all the training cases, or if procedural code is involved, or could be involved, which would be easy if Tesla's coders were, you know, good drivers with experience on a wide range of roads and situations.

if [in right lane] then [keep to right within lane] // assume other drivers are texting
if [in left lane] then [keep to left within lane] // doh
if [passing big log truck spewing bark and other debris] then [keep far away] // be very afraid, and watch the boom


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

ADK46 said:


> I wonder if this problem resides in a trained neural network, which would require good human drivers to change all the training cases, or if procedural code is involved, or could be involved, which would be easy if Tesla's coders were, you know, good drivers with experience on a wide range of roads and situations.


I would think that the easiest thing to do from a procedural point of view would be to keep the car exactly centered in the lane. The fact that the car doesn't seem to do a good job of staying centered leads me to believe that the NN isn't yet doing a perfect job of determining where the center is. So best to have the procedural code just keep the car in the center to reduce the risk of driving over one of the lines.

Does that make sense?


----------



## ADK46 (Aug 4, 2018)

Makes sense. That would certainly be a good first step, staying centered on curves. 

Where I live, the second step - the one where log trucks are involved - is badly needed. Both on curves and on the straights.

Apparently, our cars don't actually hit other cars - there is something that avoids it. But I am a nervous passenger.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

ADK46 said:


> Where I live, the second step - the one where log trucks are involved - is badly needed.... I am a nervous passenger.


Me too. And to make things worse, I feel like the car prefers to stay a little closer to the dotted lines rather than the solid lines. I'd much rather it do the opposite.

The one little silver lining is that I've noticed other cars giving me a wide berth when passing me due to the car's erratic lane-keeping behavior.


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

garsh said:


> The one little silver lining is that I've noticed other cars giving me a wide berth when passing me due to the car's erratic lane-keeping behavior.


on my freeway, mine always seems to be pretty centered between the lines (meaning I avoid using EAP in the right hand lane where it will veer right to fill the gap at on-ramps without a dashed divider), but my neighboring drivers do not, making me nudge EAP a little to the right or left in my lane - some times it is enough, other times my nudging is more than EAP likes and disengages.


----------



## ADK46 (Aug 4, 2018)

MelindaV said:


> on my freeway, mine always seems to be pretty centered between the lines (meaning I avoid using EAP in the right hand lane where it will veer right to fill the gap at on-ramps without a dashed divider), but my neighboring drivers do not, making me nudge EAP a little to the right or left in my lane - some times it is enough, other times my nudging is more than EAP likes and disengages.


Interesting - I nudge, but only in hopes that the car might respond, a futile hope I thought. No?


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

ADK46 said:


> Interesting - I nudge, but only in hopes that the car might respond, a futile hope I thought. No?


no, it will move slightly, but there is certainly tension on the steering wheel and it wants to go back to where it wants to be  but as long as you get the feel for the amount of tension and what is too much (that will disengage it), you can guide it slightly to one side or the other. By slightly, i'd say maybe 6" or so if I were to guess at an amount.


----------



## RichEV (Sep 21, 2017)

garsh said:


> Me too. And to make things worse, I feel like the car prefers to stay a little closer to the dotted lines rather than the solid lines. I'd much rather it do the opposite.
> 
> The one little silver lining is that I've noticed other cars giving me a wide berth when passing me due to the car's erratic lane-keeping behavior.


oooh!, I wish there was a forum for non-Tesla drivers to relate their experiences with those crazy Teslas trying to drive automatically!


----------

