Consumer Reports Slams Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot Update, Calls System 'Far Less Competent' Than a Human Driver

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

In this writer’s opinion, one of the greatest things to happen to high-speed motoring is the blind spot monitoring system. Try as we might to religiously check our mirrors and peer over our shoulders before each lane change, there’ll always be that time we half-ass it, just as an unseen car creeps up in the shadow of our B- or C-pillar. BSM can be a savior.

However, handing over the entire lane-change process to a combination of software and sensors, at least in Tesla vehicles, is far, far worse than doing it yourself, Consumer Reports claims. After giving the latest update to Tesla’s “Navigate on Autopilot” feature a shakedown cruise on the highways of Connecticut, the consumer advocacy group handed the system a failing grade.

The automaker rolled out an update to its Navigate on Autopilot feature in early April, claiming the system, which debuted in October 2018 and allowed Tesla vehicles to change lanes after a turn-signal prompt from the driver, to dispense with the bag of flesh and bones behind the wheel entirely. Only buyers who paid extra for Enhanced Autopilot or the misleading Full Self-Driving Capability gain the feature.

With the update, drivers can set the system to automatically change lanes when a destination point has been entered into the car’s navigation system. It can also be set to turn on automatically whenever a driver inputs a destination, rather than ask for permission each time. Hitting the turn signal stalk will defeat the looming lane change.

While drivers can choose to be notified of an impending lane change via audio, visual signals, or a wheel shaker, this would, in the minds of many tech-hungry drivers, defeat the purpose of having such a system. If you’re already checking your blind spots to ensure the computer isn’t making a mistake, why not just signal and move the wheel while you’re at it?

Out on the highway, Consumer Reports’ Model 3 test car reportedly behaved like BMW 3 Series, cutting off cars and passing on the right.

“As a result, the driver often had to prevent the system from making poor decisions,” CR stated. Once again, if you have to babysit your advanced driver-assist feature, what good is it to the driver?

“The system’s role should be to help the driver, but the way this technology is deployed, it’s the other way around,” said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director of auto testing. “It’s incredibly nearsighted. It doesn’t appear to react to brake lights or turn signals, it can’t anticipate what other drivers will do, and as a result, you constantly have to be one step ahead of it.”

The update made the test car no less erratic than when it was tested with the original Navigate in November, CR said. Even then, “it lagged behind a human driver’s abilities in more complex driving scenarios despite Tesla’s claim that it would make driving ‘more relaxing, enjoyable and fun.'”

Recall, too, that Tesla claims it will have fully self-driving cars by the end of the year.

In rolling out the April update, the automaker said drivers have already traveled “more than 66 million miles using the feature, and more than 9 million suggested lane changes have been successfully executed with the feature in use.” It isn’t known in how many instances a vehicle approaching from the rear had to brake hard to avoid hitting the slower Tesla that just appeared in its lane.

Consumer Reports’ roast of the company’s latest tech update will surely lead to another round of the on-again, off-again Tesla-CR boxing match.

[Images: Tesla]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Sirwired Sirwired on May 23, 2019

    The tragic thing is, Level 2 automation, if *actaully* sold and operated like that, is a *wonderful* driving tool. I use the LKAS and ACC on my '17 CR-V every time I'm on the highway. The adaptive cruise and lane-keeping functions handle all the short-distance chores that are boring and fatiguing, while my senses can pay more attention to the things the computer is incapable of, like spotting a distant 18-wheeler on an entrance ramp, a crappy driver weaving out of their lane, or a traffic jam coming up in a few hundred yards.

    • Steve65 Steve65 on May 23, 2019

      What about crappy drivers randomly speeding up and slowing down in their own lane?

  • Stingray65 Stingray65 on May 23, 2019

    If Elon announced it you can count on the fact that: 1) it will take at least twice as long to reach the market as he says, 2) it will work half as well (or less) than he announces, 3) it will be 20 to 50% more expensive than he predicts, and 4) it will lose money.

    • Mcs Mcs on May 23, 2019

      If we're talking full level 5: "1) it will take at least twice as long to reach the market as he says" I think that's overly optimistic. I'd say 5 times longer. 2) it will work half as well (or less) than he announces Yeah, that's a safe bet. Maybe a bit optimistic. 3) it will be 20 to 50% more expensive than he predicts, Probably. That's a safe estimate. and 4) it will lose money. Probably.

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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