How Does the Tesla Model Y’s Autosteer System Operate Post-Recall?

Tesla recently issued a recall designed to prevent misuse of its Autopilot driver-assist system and do more to keep the driver engaged when the Autosteer portion is operational. Despite what the name might lead you to believe, Autopilot is not a self-driving system, or even a hands-free driving system like GM’s Super Cruise or Ford’s BlueCruise. Autopilot with Autosteer engaged includes adaptive cruise control and lane-centering steering to help accelerate, brake and steer the vehicle, but the driver ultimately remains responsible for its operation.

The recall affects over 2 million Teslas, including Cars.com’s long-term 2021 Tesla Model Y. To compare how the system performed before and after the over-the-air recall, we took our Model Y on the same drive route of suburban streets and highways north of Chicago toward the Wisconsin border, noting the types of warnings and interventions when we had our hands near the steering wheel and ready to take over, but not holding onto it.

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We wanted to see how significantly the recall changed the system’s responses to drivers who might be tempted to sit back and let the car do the driving. While the recall significantly shortens the amount of time Autopilot lets you drive without applying force to the steering wheel and makes some of its warnings more prominent, its interventions are still relatively lenient for this type of driver-assist technology.

Pre-Recall Autosteer: Not So Stringent

Our Model Y was running software version 2023.27.7 before the over-the-air recall, and on Interstate 94 heading north to Wisconsin, it was easy to engage Autosteer with two taps down on the gear selector stalk, which brings up a rainbow-road visualization on the center screen.

With Autosteer engaged, it was possible to drive for about two minutes without applying force to the steering wheel before a small warning appeared on the Model Y’s center screen telling me to apply steering force to the wheel. Ignore it, and you get a warning chime soon after and a blue flashing bar near the top of the screen.

You could ignore both of these warnings, however, and the Model Y would still keep Autosteer engaged for another few minutes before the warnings popped up again on the screen. This time, however, Autosteer disengaged and a warning message said it would be unavailable for the rest of the trip. All told, I was able to drive around five minutes before the second round of warnings and Autosteer disengagement. When I came to a stop, another warning popped up that said if I ignored the warnings three more times, my access to Full Self Driving Beta would be revoked.

Five minutes of not interacting with the steering wheel might not sound like much, but if you’re traveling 60 mph, you’ll cover 5 miles in that time. It was also a bit startling to observe how quickly your brain can become complacent when you take your hands off the steering wheel; I had to remind myself to stay focused on the road and ready to take over. One part of my brain was willing to trust the system so I could relax a bit; another part was telling me to stay vigilant. It’s why driver prompts to stay engaged and attentive are so important.

I was able to use Autosteer again on the trip back toward Chicago after stopping for a break and turning the Model Y off and back on again.

Post-Recall Autosteer: Better, But Could Be Even More Stringent

Once our Model Y had the recall update (part of software version 2023.44.30.5.1 for us), I drove the same route again to see how Autosteer would perform now. First, though, there was a message on the screen asking whether I wanted to engage Autosteer with one tap down on the gear selector stalk rather than two. I accepted this change.

With updated Autosteer, you can still drive about two minutes without touching the steering wheel, and the system’s initial visual warning — while in a higher position on the center screen — is actually harder to see in your peripheral vision because it’s just black text overlaying the user interface. While the initial warning appeared low on the screen before, at least it was in a black oval that made it more prominent.

If you don’t heed the initial warning, you get the blue overlay graphic at the top of the screen like before, and its flashing rate increases if you don’t respond to it. There’s also a more insistent warning message with a steering-wheel icon and accompanying alert sounds. If you still disregard it, a large red steering-wheel icon appears on the screen and Autosteer is disabled for the remainder of your drive. The lockout happens in roughly half the time it did before, when you could drive up to about five minutes without applying force to the steering wheel.

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While the recall roughly halves the amount of time you can drive with Autosteer and not interact with the steering wheel, a lot can still happen — and you can cover a lot of ground — in two minutes. The time leading up to the Model Y’s warnings is also still longer than what you’re likely to experience in a competing EV like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which will issue a first warning after several seconds if the driver’s hand isn’t detected on the steering wheel, according to the Hyundai’s owner’s manual. While the changes to Autosteer may satisfy the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shortening the time even more before hands-off warnings appear would help ensure Tesla drivers stay engaged with the task of driving.

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