Photo: @DirtyTesLa, @tesla_raj via X
Tesla automatic wipers have always been a pain for owners, wiping at full speed on a sunny day or failing to clean the windshield in the rain. This year's Holiday Update brought an essential change to how Autowipers work, and Tesla owners couldn't be more excited.
Tesla's original mission was to advance electromobility for everyone and, later down the line, considered the idea of making all those electric vehicles drive autonomously. These are all noble objectives that could benefit humanity in the long term. First, because pollution generated by the transportation sector would be significantly reduced, and second, because car crashes would become a thing of the past when human mistakes are out of the picture.
However, at some point, Elon Musk got the idea that humans don't need anything besides their two eyes to drive their vehicles. Thus, self-driving cars should be able to do the same, but better, with only cameras. Seeing how advanced Tesla Full Self-Driving software has become in such a short time, I figure this has a chance to work. However, Tesla went further and gave up every other sensor that wasn't a camera on its vehicles.
Radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, you name it, got on the chopping block in the name of making Tesla vehicles leaner and meaner. That's when some unwanted side effects started to appear. Phantom braking is probably the most dangerous because it can (and has) cause multi-vehicle crashes when they happen on a busy highway. If you are unfamiliar, these are sudden and abrupt braking instances while driving at speed because a shadow cast on the front-facing cameras was perceived as a stationary car or other obstacle by the car's driver assist systems.
People ruining their cars' paintwork while maneuvering in a tight space blame these costly mistakes on the missing ultrasonic sensors. Equally annoying was the wiper inconsistency, making the wipers start at full speed on a sunny day or failing to clean the windshield in the rain. This happens because, you guessed it, Tesla removed a $2 rain sensor to use the cameras instead. Even after the Tesla Autopilot computer polled the front and side cameras simultaneously to see whether it was raining or not, people still reported issues with the automatic wipers.
Of course, many ended up switching the wipers on and off manually to get around this issue. However, you cannot do this in all situations. When Autopilot (or FSD Beta) is engaged, the wipers are automatically controlled, and there's no override. While you can live with the wipers going off on a sunny day, driving in the rain without wipers is not funny. This is why many began to avoid engaging driver assist systems in the rain, which defeats their purpose.
After years of complaints and broken promises, it appears that Tesla finally addressed this issue with the latest software update. Although not mentioned in the release notes, the 2023 Holiday Update now allows owners to turn off Autowipers when Autopilot and FSD are engaged. This minor update got Tesla owners more excited than the rest of the Holiday Update features combined. That includes the very popular High Fidelity Park Assist feature that vastly improves the parking experience.
The on-off switch is not the only Autowipers improvement, as confirmed by Elon Musk. Tesla also updated the neural network that runs the windshield wipers. Many owners reported a more consistent Autowiper behavior after the update, but others weren't so lucky. For instance, one Tesla owner showed the wipers going at full speed on a dry windshield, even when the Autowipers were set to Off.
However, at some point, Elon Musk got the idea that humans don't need anything besides their two eyes to drive their vehicles. Thus, self-driving cars should be able to do the same, but better, with only cameras. Seeing how advanced Tesla Full Self-Driving software has become in such a short time, I figure this has a chance to work. However, Tesla went further and gave up every other sensor that wasn't a camera on its vehicles.
Radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, you name it, got on the chopping block in the name of making Tesla vehicles leaner and meaner. That's when some unwanted side effects started to appear. Phantom braking is probably the most dangerous because it can (and has) cause multi-vehicle crashes when they happen on a busy highway. If you are unfamiliar, these are sudden and abrupt braking instances while driving at speed because a shadow cast on the front-facing cameras was perceived as a stationary car or other obstacle by the car's driver assist systems.
People ruining their cars' paintwork while maneuvering in a tight space blame these costly mistakes on the missing ultrasonic sensors. Equally annoying was the wiper inconsistency, making the wipers start at full speed on a sunny day or failing to clean the windshield in the rain. This happens because, you guessed it, Tesla removed a $2 rain sensor to use the cameras instead. Even after the Tesla Autopilot computer polled the front and side cameras simultaneously to see whether it was raining or not, people still reported issues with the automatic wipers.
Of course, many ended up switching the wipers on and off manually to get around this issue. However, you cannot do this in all situations. When Autopilot (or FSD Beta) is engaged, the wipers are automatically controlled, and there's no override. While you can live with the wipers going off on a sunny day, driving in the rain without wipers is not funny. This is why many began to avoid engaging driver assist systems in the rain, which defeats their purpose.
After years of complaints and broken promises, it appears that Tesla finally addressed this issue with the latest software update. Although not mentioned in the release notes, the 2023 Holiday Update now allows owners to turn off Autowipers when Autopilot and FSD are engaged. This minor update got Tesla owners more excited than the rest of the Holiday Update features combined. That includes the very popular High Fidelity Park Assist feature that vastly improves the parking experience.
The on-off switch is not the only Autowipers improvement, as confirmed by Elon Musk. Tesla also updated the neural network that runs the windshield wipers. Many owners reported a more consistent Autowiper behavior after the update, but others weren't so lucky. For instance, one Tesla owner showed the wipers going at full speed on a dry windshield, even when the Autowipers were set to Off.
Auto wipers acting up? How about full speed wiping on a dry windshield? I think I got you all beat with this one. @Project_RCC @TeslaLisa pic.twitter.com/64DJ3FvNHB
— Tim (@RuffBuffet) December 20, 2023
True
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2023
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