First Autopilot commute test for my 2023 Tesla Model Y RWD (HW3)

[@RyanCowan]

You have excellent knowledge !! Thank you for sharing. Love the way you talked us through everything. Keep making great content !

[@notinthemanual]

Cheers mate. Means a lot coming from you. Thanks for sitting through one of my long videos👍

[@57wadey]

Another great video Matt. Well done!🙂

[@dorsetandy3873]

Here in the UK ultrasonic sensors were deleted last year - so you’re doing well in Oz to have retained them on your RHD Shanghai built cars. I’m considering replacing my M3 RWD 2022 with a MY but not until the software/hardware has caught up with the sensor deletion. The quality of your camera work is fine imo. Really enjoy your commuting and road trip videos, especially when you complain 13c is chilly! Thanks for taking the time to entertain and educate us.

[@notinthemanual]

Right now part of me feels like we are the dumping ground for the old components like HW3 and Ultrasonics while the US has moved on from both for a long time. It would be nice if the changes happened globally but I am glad the USS are still being fitted. Hoping they keep the ultrasonics active and not switch them off like radar on my M3. Like you I’d rather have them until the vision only is perfected. I plan on testing if the ultrasonics are still active over time. My videos aren’t worth it without people like yourself to watch them. I really enjoy sharing my experiences and what I have learnt with as many people as I can, even if some think they are boring, it’s the format I like to watch too. I hate it when information is left out for the sake of keeping a video short. It was 17degC today and I was freezing my butt off 😂

[@jimdonaldson64]

Thanks, good stuff. 👍

[@notinthemanual]

Thanks Jim 😊

[@user--PM]

re filter on the camera, i would say focus more on the inside of the cabin vs the sky, as long as the road lines and cars around you are clear enough, the focus is on what is going on with the fsd more so than how well the sky looks. thanks for sharing your experience.

[@notinthemanual]

Thanks PM. Appreciate your feedback. That’s the conclusion I’ve come too as well. You can only do so much with a tiny sensor. I’ve got the 1” sensor in the Insta 360 camera that I used for the straight in footage. It seems to handle better but it can’t focus on the interior very well.

[@boraoku]

Brilliant video. Hope you will have v12 FSD one day and do the same commute. This footage will provide an excellent baseline for that.

[@notinthemanual]

Thanks Bora. I feel we are still a long way from that point but we were given a pretty good preview recently if it’s capability.

[@austkdang]

Great Video as usual. Re filter, perhaps you can try to find the graduated ND where about a third of the filter has darken for the sky and gradually lighter to ward the bottom half. I got hairy situation with the Autopilot yesterday. I stopped at a trafic light with one car in front but I was on top of a bridge. I presume that the car could not see the line. When the car in front started moving, my car radically steered to the left ( there was other car to the left as well). I had to intervene and cancelled the Autopilot.

[@notinthemanual]

Thanks Ken. I’m using a GoPro so not a lot of filter options plus they have small sensors which doesn’t help. I’ll see if there is one available though. Yeah autopilot amazes me with some complex things it is capable of then it goes and messes up a pretty basic thing like that. It’s supposed to use a combination of road markings and the surrounding cars to decide a path. This isn’t FSD beta but it makes a lot of the same mistakes I see watching those videos. With complex systems like AP a small software tweak can have unintended consequences. Definitely feel like a test guinea pig sometimes.

[@austkdang]

@@notinthemanual re filter, if you can’t find any filter, there are also adaptor to use normal round/threaded filters from camera.

[@notinthemanual]

@@austkdang I’ll have a look. Thanks for the advice. I have used Freewell filters mainly I’ll see what they have first.

[@greghudson9717]

@@notinthemanual You might like to try a basic polarising filter - it will cut the outside glare immensely. Regards, Greg.

[@notinthemanual]

@@greghudson9717 Yes I have a CP filter but haven’t tried it for this purpose. It gave me issues with the display in the car.

[@tyronemcgillick]

from my experience phantom breaking happens early morning late afternoons with long shadows. It has never happened to me at night.

[@notinthemanual]

The times I have had true phantom braking were at those times of day especially when there are lots of trees by the edge of the road casting shadows. The only issues I get at night are the with pillar & repeater cameras not being able to see on roads with no street lighting.

[@greghudson9717]

@@notinthemanual I've had many PB's happen to me, the worst being a bridge with a shadow. Damned near stopped ! Not good on a freeway...

[@notinthemanual]

@@greghudson9717 Yes I had that happen once a while back but nothing since. I’ve always got my foot hovering over the throttle for those bridges just in case.

[@ozsimflyer]

Another great video. I’ve learned a lot by watching your videos. My driving our MYRWD with 20” wheels was pretty tentative to start but I have certainly given the basic autopilot a bit more of a workout here in Perth since watching your videos. I agree with your comments re FSD. I encounter quite a few instances where the car gets quite confused and wonder how much better FSD will handle it. Just wondering if you think Tesla will make affordable battery upgrades for longer range in the future.

[@notinthemanual]

Hi Chris. Glad my videos helped you. That’s my aim is to show the strengths and weaknesses of autopilot. I’ve spent a lot of time driving around Perth over the years. It would be a great place to use autopilot. Next time I’m over there for work I’ll be hiring one. About battery upgrades…..I have no idea on this. I think it is definitely possible to do but it would be complicated for Tesla to manage. It would also mean battery management software would need to be altered to recognise a different battery. It will be interesting what aftermarket products are offered for Teslas long term. I’m not sure how long you have had your Model Y or your circumstances. I personally don’t travel anywhere that range is an issue. All you need is enough to leapfrog fast chargers. (I know this may be challenging in WA). Anything extra is wasted unless you want to go very remote. In that case I doubt a slight range increase would make much difference anyway. There would have to be a major breakthrough in battery energy density. When you consider we haven’t progressed beyond older Li-ion battery chemistry yet I feel that a huge improvement for mass produced cars isn’t just around the corner. The recent rapid battery tech improvements have mostly been manufacturing improvements for production, cost, safety and build quality. I actually hope I am proven wrong……

[@ozsimflyer]

@@notinthemanual cheers and thanks for your detailed reply. I’ve had the car for around 2 months now so still pretty new to EV’s. Regarding batteries, having just retired I don’t envision that I will be in a position to buy another car like the MY hence the question about upgrading the batteries in the future. I’m thinking that 4 - 5 years down the road there may be an aftermarket battery replacement industry in place for the generation one EV that I consider our MY’s are. Anyway thanks again and looking forward to your next video. Cheers

[@greghudson9717]

Gday. Did you have to pay extra for navigate on autopilot ? And, did you consider waiting a little longer for the MY Juniper update ? Regards, Greg.

[@notinthemanual]

Hi Greg. I have a free 3 month trial as part of my loyalty bonus being my second Tesla. I will purchase EAP at the end of the trial as I had it on my model 3. Navigate on Autopilot feature is not that great. Auto lane change, summon and auto park are the most useable features with EAP package. $5k here in Australia is still a lot of money for what you get. If I didn’t have the KZbin channel I doubt I would have kept it. Auto lane change is the only feature I honestly use everyday. Yes I did consider waiting but the trouble with Tesla is you never know if it’s a week or a year away. I’d rather have a better car now for my family to use. The highland update for the Model 3 was a big improvement for older model 3s but ‘mostly’ cosmetic for newer ones. My 2021 Model 3 had a pretty good ride quality, sound proofing and plenty of range for me. I don’t need additional range that won’t get used. The only things I would like to have are the front camera and the ventilated seats. Neither is worth waiting another year for with Juniper. There is always something to wait for with Tesla but in the meantime you miss out on an already amazing car. This Model Y is a huge improvement over my Model 3 in ride quality, sound proofing, driving position and practicality for a large family. If I didn’t have 3 teenage kids I would have waited.

[@greghudson9717]

@@notinthemanual OK, thanks for the very detailed reply. I've watched lots of your vids and always wondered how you auto lane changed without you having FSD. Maybe I'll upgrade to EAP once my Model 2/Q arrives one day ;-) As for the better ride quality in your Model Y 23, it is supposedly heaps better than my MY22 which is extremely harsh. I look forward to future vids. Regards, Greg.

[@notinthemanual]

@@greghudson9717 Yes FSD package in Australia is not worth it at this stage. I haven’t driven an older Model Y to compare but it definitely feels balanced to me. I’m surprised how well it handles. I guess it still has a low centre of gravity which helps too. The bigger bumps are definitely not bone jarring.

[@georgebarc]

What is your experience with following distance? How do you set it?

[@notinthemanual]

I used to set it to 2 for non-motorway and 4 for motorways. I now run 4 pretty much all the time, even in heavy traffic as I worked out it varies follow distance depending on conditions. I found 2 caused erratic braking behaviour. I feel it is more of a sensitivity setting than an exact follow distance.

[@notinthemanual]

Well that is how it feels to me.

[@georgebarc]

@@notinthemanual agreed, 4-5 is much more smooth. A little annoying though that it doesn't accelerate as fast as I'd like pulling away from traffic lights.

[@notinthemanual]

@@georgebarc I’m not sure the follow distance setting affects that too much. I’ve had very inconsistent results. I don’t get whiplashed back into the seat as much these days. Much smoother. You do need to give it the occasional helping hand at take of 😉

[@georgebarc]

Do you think you'll ve getting EAP on this new car?

[@notinthemanual]

Definitely. I’m too used to auto lane change to give it up. Auto lane change, auto park and summon are the only useful features of EAP. I don’t use auto park a lot but it works well for parallel parking. It’s actually improved a little since I reviewed it. Navigate on Autopilot has not improved much. It is dangerous to use on entry and exit to motorways and does not work as described. I will do some more EAP feature testing as I get time. Another bonus is it’s a midway point to FSD. Whatever you spend on EAP comes of the FSD package when that is eventually worth buying.

[@tonymcflattie2450]

This wouldn’t work for me at all, as it drives on the other side of road

[@notinthemanual]

I’d say that’s a huge issue 😂

[@tonymcflattie2450]

I give it a c++

[@notinthemanual]

That’s a bit generous 😜

[@notinthemanual]

Thanks for bringing some humour 😉 I need help with that.

[@ksmith660]

No roundabouts on your commute? You will be OK with a stalkless Tesla... Unlike people here in the UK where there would have been at least 20 roundabouts on a commute like yours...

[@notinthemanual]

Oh we have our share of roundabouts 😂. Just not on this part of my commute. From my house to where I started filming I go through about 5 and same amount after I stop filming. I think all the colonies inherited roundabouts from the UK 😜

[@maxflight777]

please make viewers aware that autopilot is not Tesla FSD.

[@notinthemanual]

Yes. I did during the video. I always mention that. People expect too much from basic autopilot.

[@ozsimflyer]

@@notinthemanual so basic autopilot then? Not EAP?

[@notinthemanual]

@@ozsimflyer I am currently using my 3 month free trial of EAP I got with my Tesla loyalty bonus. I plan on purchasing it as I had it on my Model 3.