# Autopilot on suburban streets.



## SimonMatthews (Apr 20, 2018)

Testing the free EAP trial, I started on our suburban streets. Approaching a parked car that was partially in the lane, I was not at all sure it would avoid it. I dragged on the steering wheel to take control. Scary. 

Later, on another suburban street, it seemed to not be following a rightward bend -- again, I took control before it hit anything. 

Should it work on suburban streets?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

SimonMatthews said:


> Should it work on suburban streets?


NO!!!!

Autopilot is currently meant to be used only on limited-access, divided highways.


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## SimonMatthews (Apr 20, 2018)

garsh said:


> NO!!!!
> 
> Autopilot is currently meant to be used only on limited-access, divided highways.


So why does it turn on? The car knows what street it is on.


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## Sealander (Apr 24, 2018)

Right out of the Model 3 owners manual.

"Warning: Autosteer is intended for use only on highways and limited-access roads with a fully attentive driver. When using Autosteer, hold the steering wheel and be mindful of road conditions and surrounding traffic. Do not use Autosteer on city streets, in construction zones, or in areas where bicyclists or pedestrians may be present. Never depend on Autosteer to determine an appropriate driving path. Always be prepared to take immediate action. Failure to follow these instructions could cause damage, serious injury or death."

"Warning: Autosteer is not designed to, and will not, steer Model 3 around objects partially or completely in the driving lane. Always watch the road in front of you and stay prepared to take appropriate action. It is the driver's responsibility to be in control of Model 3 at all times."


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## SimonMatthews (Apr 20, 2018)

Sealander said:


> Right out of the Model 3 owners manual.
> 
> "Warning: Autosteer is intended for use only on highways and limited-access roads with a fully attentive driver. When using Autosteer, hold the steering wheel and be mindful of road conditions and surrounding traffic. Do not use Autosteer on city streets, in construction zones, or in areas where bicyclists or pedestrians may be present. Never depend on Autosteer to determine an appropriate driving path. Always be prepared to take immediate action. Failure to follow these instructions could cause damage, serious injury or death."
> 
> "Warning: Autosteer is not designed to, and will not, steer Model 3 around objects partially or completely in the driving lane. Always watch the road in front of you and stay prepared to take appropriate action. It is the driver's responsibility to be in control of Model 3 at all times."


Manual? Who reads the manual?

It's just as well that I didn't trust it and I was watching carefully


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

SimonMatthews said:


> Manual? Who reads the manual?


I think you're kidding and I hope you're kidding 

Autopilot is a great feature, but if not used properly can be quite dangerous.


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## Sealander (Apr 24, 2018)

I read the entire manual before my car was delivered, but I realize I am not normal.  I would hope that they post those warning messages on the screen before autopilot could be activated. Imagine what may happen when Teslas with autopilot are rented through Turo or even a regular rental agency. 

On our last car, a Cadillac STS, the navigation feature prevented most user input while driving and I was required to acknowledge warnings every time I got in the car (even after owning it for 10 years) that it was dangerous to drive while using the touch screen before navigation could even be turned on.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

SimonMatthews said:


> So why does it turn on?


Because you told the car to turn it on.


> The car knows what street it is on.




You're attributing a LOT more intelligence and knowledge to your car than it has any hope of meeting.

Autopilot is just fancy cruise control. It's speed-adaptive cruise control with steering added. Don't treat it as anything more than that.


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## NancyManzoPants (Aug 25, 2018)

I have used the auto steer when changing lanes (starting with being on highway and engaging turn signal) but once turn signal is off the car doesn’t seem to correct and stay in lane. Still getting the hang of it


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## babula (Aug 26, 2018)

In my experience, it works decently on suburban streets (depending on the quality of the lines), however you should be very alert. Where it really shines is on highways and in traffic. I drove home from a friend's house at night today (short trip, around 45 miles) and it was incredible. I had to take over for a few seconds at one point but besides that it drove the entire time and took the off ramp smoothly when exiting the highway.


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## Timgullion (Jan 15, 2018)

This is why when people get into accidents using technology it’s splashed all over the internet about how “autopilot” was engaged at the time and it’s all people can focus on. It’s completly ignored that the driver was attempting to use the product in a manner that it is clearly not intended to be used. Frankly I think they need to rename it because people clearly think it is more capable then it actually is and it get them into trouble.


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## Mistersandman (Sep 23, 2017)

I use it quite often off the freeway but only when I’m in bumper to bumper traffic, the lane markings are clear on both sides of me and I’m not crossing any intersection. It can be used responsibly under these conditions as long as you know it’s limitations.


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## Ksb466 (Oct 22, 2018)

If you fully understand the feature and its limitations , and apply the proper continuous monitoring , it’s quite functional on surface streets. Tesla lawyers probably need to say it’s purely for highways because it has no capability with stop signs or street lights, but the same technology can be applied to many surface streets situations and experienced users are probably helping to build their data and confidence in more formally launching it for that purpose in the future . Personally , I’m glad they allow it, But it is good to get used to it first from the highway setting.


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## smatthew (Jul 1, 2018)

garsh said:


> Because you told the car to turn it on.
> 
> 
> You're attributing a LOT more intelligence and knowledge to your car than it has any hope of meeting.
> ...


I feel like we've had this conversation before. Autopilot knows exactly where it is, as evidenced by V8's refusal to do lane changes in non-freeway situations. In V9, Nav on Autopilot doesn't disengage when encountering city streets, it switches to Autopilot. If Autopilot was truly "freeway only", then it would only work on freeways. Chrysler hasn't had any problems with their super cruise activating accidentally.

I think we can agree that the Manual is covering Tesla's ass. But Elon still wants people using Autopilot because "it's better than a human." 2X better at last count.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

smatthew said:


> I feel like we've had this conversation before. Autopilot knows exactly where it is, as evidenced by V8's refusal to do lane changes in non-freeway situations.


That's not why it refuses to change lanes. It refuses to change lanes when it can't determine that there's another line demarking the lane beside you.

I drove in this morning in the dark, in the rain, on interstates. I had autopilot refuse to change lanes twice on me (where it normally succeeds) just due to the poor visibility.


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## smatthew (Jul 1, 2018)

garsh said:


> That's not why it refuses to change lanes. It refuses to change lanes when it can't determine that there's another line demarking the lane beside you.
> 
> I drove in this morning in the dark, in the rain, on interstates. I had autopilot refuse to change lanes twice on me (where it normally succeeds) just due to the poor visibility.


Garsh - I'm talking at V8, you're talking about V9. In V8, Tesla proved they could easily tell the difference between controlled access highways where Auto Lane Changes were enabled, and other streets where Auto Lane Change wasn't even an option.

In V9 that restriction didn't go away because Tesla no longer could tell what kind of road it was on...... it went away because Tesla wants us to use it on regular roads. Tesla still knows what a freeway is. Does Navigate on Autopilot give you the blue path line on surface streets? No, only controlled access highways.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

smatthew said:


> Garsh - I'm talking at V8, you're talking about V9. In V8, Tesla proved they could easily tell the difference between controlled access highways where Auto Lane Changes were enabled, and other streets where Auto Lane Change wasn't even an option.


Even when I had V8, if I used Autopilot on a regular highway (four lanes, but with lights and intersections), it was allowing me to signal to switch lanes. There was never a restriction as you describe.


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## smatthew (Jul 1, 2018)

garsh said:


> Even when I had V8, if I used Autopilot on a regular highway (four lanes, but with lights and intersections), it was allowing me to signal to switch lanes. There was never a restriction as you describe.


So under V8 you could change lanes on ANY road? Under V8 I could only change lanes on restricted access freeways, but my driving does not include 4 lane unrestricted access highways as you describe.


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## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

For me on V8, lane change worked only on restricted access(not on unrestricted 4-lanes). On v9, everywhere.


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## SalisburySam (Jun 6, 2018)

SimonMatthews said:


> So why does it turn on? The car knows what street it is on.


I think we're all missing the real reason that AutoPilot functions are available at times and places not recommended in the manual: the car itself doesn't RTFM either. So...


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