Tesla Autopilot recall fix is insufficient, Some owners were concerned that Tesla might regard Autosteer how Ford and General Motors treat their respective Blue Cruise and SuperCruise systems.
After preliminary testing, Consumers Reported that the Tesla Autopilot recall fix is insufficient. The recall of over 2 million vehicles has been deemed “insufficient
The nonprofit organization’s associate director of vehicle technology, Kelly Funkhouser, reports that she found a way to disable one of the two primary ways the car detects whether the driver is paying attention to the road: by covering the cabin camera while using Autopilot.
Tesla Autopilot recall fix is insufficient
Furthermore, Funkhouser claims that when she turned on or used Autosteer, the main feature of Autopilot, outside of the controlled-access highways where Tesla claims the software is intended to be used, she did not observe any differences.
Although the testing isn’t thorough, it does demonstrate that there are still unsolved concerns over Tesla’s driver monitoring system, the technology at the center of the recall.
The team, which has a track record of analyzing Tesla’s technology and cars critically, intends to conduct more thorough testing in the upcoming weeks. Funkhouser claims that while Consumer Reports has only received the over-the-air software upgrade for its Model S sedan, it has not yet examined other modifications, such as more conspicuous visual alerts on the Model 3 car and Model Y SUV.
Additionally, Tesla implemented a suspension policy that, according to Funkhouser, she did not experience on two trips of between 15 and 20 miles each. This policy deactivates Autopilot for a week if “improper usage” is identified.
Over 2 million cars in the United States and Canada are included in the recall, which was announced last week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently conducting a two-year investigation into the matter. It placed a lot of emphasis on the Autosteer function, which is meant to maintain a vehicle’s center of gravity in a lane on controlled-access highways—even when navigating curves.
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When utilizing Autosteer, Tesla instructs drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road. It does this by using an in-cabin camera in its newest models in addition to a torque sensor located in the steering wheel. However, the NHTSA stated in records made public last week that it believed those measures to be “insufficient to prevent misuse.”
However, Autosteer is not limited to controlled-access highways by Tesla. On other routes, however, drivers can use Autosteer as long as a few basic requirements are satisfied (such as having visible lane markers). Tesla will conduct “additional checks upon engaging Autosteer and while using the feature outside controlled access highways and when approaching traffic controls,” according to the NHTSA, as part of the recall.
Some owners were concerned that Tesla might regard Autosteer how Ford and General Motors treat their respective Blue Cruise and SuperCruise systems—that is, limit it to controlled-access highways. Some even posted in online forums throughout the weekend when the upgrade started to roll out suggestions on how to prevent it by unplugging Tesla’s Wi-Fi or cellular antennae.
However, Funkhouser’s findings seem to indicate that such extreme procedures are not required. The camera “can now determine driver inattentiveness and provide you with audible alerts, to remind you to keep your eyes on the road when Autopilot is engaged,” as noted in the most recent software update by Tesla. However, she notes that the company used the same language when it first enabled cabin camera driver monitoring in 2021.
Furthermore, although Tesla claims in the release notes to have “increased the strictness of driver attentiveness requirements when using Autosteer and approaching traffic lights and stops signs off-highway,” Funkhouser claimed that her preliminary testing revealed no discernible changes, in part because it is difficult to define Tesla’s intentions in the first place.
Because of all of this, it’s unknown whether or to what extent Tesla changed the camera’s capacity to track drivers’ attentiveness throughout the upgrade. The NHTSA opted not to comment and instead referred inquiries to Tesla. Years ago, Tesla dissolved its press department.)
“None of this is very prescriptive or explicit in terms of what it is they’re going to [change],” Funkhouser says.
