2019 Tesla Model 3 LANE DEPARTURE

I see in today's news that the NHTSA is investigating Tesla's FSD due to accidents in poor visibility, but the articles I've read are not discussing another visibility issue that may actually be more widespread. I already reported concerns with Telsa's FSD in incident 11618812, but I forgot to mention another issue I believe is crucial to the success or failure of Tesla's FSD, and I am surprised to find that nobody is talking about this serious flaw. Because Tesla's FSD relies on camera video only, the vehicle is blind in the dark. I live in a rural area, and on some roads without streetlights or other vehicles nearby illuminating the areas around the vehicle, Tesla's FSD falsely assumes that the side and rear facing cameras are obstructed because they cannot see in the dark. This was also an issue when my son and I drove home through the night from South Carolina. When we hit North Carolina on [XXX] in the middle of the night between cities and no streetlights, traffic was sparse so there was nobody behind or to the sides of the vehicle. Every few minutes, FSD falsely warned us that the cameras were obstructed, and alerted us that FSD's capabilities were limited. One point of view is that there was nobody there so my car was clear, and FSD could assume that everything is okay and suppress the warning, but what if the driver of the other vehicle at night failed to have their lights on? And how will FSD ever know that the camera is obstructed, or is in pitch dark? Take an average of the low light across multiple cameras? Is that risky? In my opinion, Tesla's FSD cannot rely on video alone and either needs to use LIDAR, night vision, or 3D radar to see more accurately around the vehicle in poor visibility conditions. The answer to low light, bright low sun, fog, or dust is probably the same solution. But we were all promised FSD, so will Musk upgrade the hardware in our cars at Tesla's expense, or expect all of us to pay for the upgrade to get what we were all promised? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2019 Tesla Model 3. The contact stated that while his partner was driving at approximately 60 MPH in inclement weather, the lane departure feature malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to hydroplane and crash into the median. No air bags were deployed. The contact's partner sustained a sore neck and back; however, medical attention was not received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

At night, both left and right side turn signal cameras (repeater cameras) become heavily obscured with glare when using turn signals. This interferes with lane keep assist, blind spot/collision warning, autopilot functions, and the ability for a driver to safely discern the presence of a vehicle in the vehicle’s blind spot. In November 2022 Tesla stated “It is a characteristic of the product… that has been design enhanced in newer vehicle production.” The issue is caused by 3 small holes located on the repeater camera’s printed circuit board (PCB) that allow internal light from the turn signal repeater to shine through the PCB to the camera sensor side, directly obscuring most of the camer sensor. The new “design enhanced” version covers these 3 holes with tape, eliminating the problem. Tesla does not view this as a concern and does not cover this safety issue under warranty. A very large number of owners have filed complaints with Tesla. Some owners had the parts replaced under “good will” while most have been charged for the replacement of the side repeaters as Tesla doesn’t classify this as a defect in “materials or workmanship”. Despite this, Tesla felt compelled to “enhance the design” by eliminating this problem. It’s absurd that Tesla knows about the issue and went as far as correcting it to prevent further problems, but won’t issue a TSB for vehicles effected by this “characteristic” that poses a major safety concern.

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. While FSD Beta was engaged, the road transitioned from being single lane and one-way only to two lanes and with traffic travelling in both directions. As we travelled over an intersection, the Tesla ignored this change in its surroundings and proceeded to travel in the wrong lane, towards oncoming traffic. Its failure to read road markings could have seriously endangered the driver and other road users. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733967979/01bc3c3795

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. While cruising at 30 mph the vehicle crossed a solid white line veering left into a bike lane. The vehicle then corrected itself, though this is an incredibly dangerous defect which could seriously endanger cyclists and other road users. This is a consistent error which is committed by Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta version 10.12.2 software. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733576651/b62fd06772

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Whilst preparing to make a right turn the vehicle moved lanes too quickly, at just under 20 mph, and came very close to parked vehicles before correcting and completing the manoeuvre. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733575296/1285b49f58

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. While travelling at 32 mph the vehicle moves to the right in preparation for an upcoming right turn. However, there is a parked truck in the lane the Tesla intended to enter, and the vehicle passes far too close to it before over-correcting and veering back into the original lane before once again moving back to the right-hand lane. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733567653/6d929fc7d6

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Whilst indicating to turn left the vehicle carried on straight. The driver had to disengage from FSD mode and complete the turning. The unexpected late deviation from its plotted course gave the driver very little time to respond, and presented a potential hazard for other road users. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733569655/e65e5888e5

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle, when FSD was engaged, made a left turn at an intersection when in the right turn lane. Its lane position was entirely incorrect, and is a consistent failure within this software. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/733571685/fb22a84a02

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Entering an area where there were roadworks, at more than 30 mph, in FSD mode the vehicle veered to the right into a lane that was closed off. The driver had to take back control of the vehicle and put it back into the correct position on the road to avoid colliding with the concrete barriers in the road works. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/732399072/8ae3aeaaee

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Cruising at 49mph on a road that was opening up from one lane, into two, the vehicle veered to the right where a cyclist was present in the cycle lane. The driver had to take action to ensure the vehicle did not come too close to the cyclist. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/732397659/c27b5b751d

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle completed a right turn at an intersection then veers to the left, encroaching into the next lane. The FSD display shows no vehicle present at the driver's side left, but the driver had to take back control of the vehicle in order to avoid a collision as there was a car in the lane the Tesla was attempting to enter. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/732403629/851c8377fc

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle was travelling at speeds between 12 to 18 mph. As two lanes merged into one the Tesla came dangerously close to the vehicle in front and the driver had to take action in order to avoid a collision. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731683998/17e89131be

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Cruising at 30 mph, on a very straight road, the vehicle twice veered across solid white road markings and into the cycle lane before correcting. This is a repeated problem with FSD Beta 10.12.2 and presents a very real danger to cyclists. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731686163/0ec7f7f428

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle was cruising at 35 mph whilst indicating right as per the Sat Navigation instruction. In FSD mode the vehicle ignored the junction and continued straight ahead, deviating from its plotted course on the navigation. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731688075/d3f31fd060

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. On approach to a right turn at an intersection, which was necessary to follow the route on the navigation, the vehicle positioned itself poorly several yards from the car in front and did not take the space in the right hand lane to make the turn. The driver had to take control of the vehicle in order to make progress and not inconvenience other road users. The vehicle was also permitted to turn right on red, and failed to do so. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731694412/aeedeeccfc

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Whilst cruising at 30 mph the vehicle leaves its lane crossing two solid white lines and veering into the adjacent cycle lane before correcting and returning to the original lane whilst maintaining speed. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731422280/c39fc14a23

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle was travelling at 29 mph, slowing to 15 mph, as it approached an intersection on a dual lane highway. As the vehicle slowed it veered to the right, crossing into the adjacent lane, even though there was another vehicle present. The driver had to intervene and take over control of the vehicle from FSD mode to prevent the risk of a collision. A link to the clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/731425264/4b09cb1e7a

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. Whilst travelling at 30 mph the vehicle leaves its lane and swerves across a solid white line into the clearly marked bicycle lane. The speed of the vehicle remained at 30mph. The vehicle then returns to the correct lane, though the incident could have been incredibly dangerous if there was a cyclist in that lane. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/730261900/e4357f500c

My friend was driving the vehicle (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The vehicle was negotiating a series of bends and sharp corners travelling at speeds between 11 mph and 34 mph. The vehicle failed to respond to changes in the speed advice signs telling the car to slow down for sharp corners, taking corners too fast, and crossing the median line into the oncoming lane. The driver had to take action to adjust the lane position of the vehicle to avoid a collision. A link to a clip of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/730270943/1bdcab7a7a

My friend was driving the car (a 2019 Tesla Model 3) while it was engaged in Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 mode. The Tesla attempted to cut across the freeway while merging from the on-ramp. The auto-steer function attempted to drive perpendicular to the on-ramp and cross the lanes on the freeway, forcing the driver to disengage Full Self-Driving mode to avoid a collision with high-speed traffic approaching from the rear. The extremely dangerous event was recorded by using a GoPro camera, and a link to a video of the incident can be found below: https://vimeo.com/729927123/a5cd8eeb15 The car was originally positioned in the wrong lane of the on-ramp, and then suddenly lurched to the left while making the right-hand turn to merge with the freeway. With traffic approaching at such a high speed, the sudden movement into the middle of the freeway was highly dangerous and the FSD Beta 10.12.2 did not give the driver much time to react.

My friend was driving my Tesla Model 3 while Full Self-Driving Beta 10.12.2 was engaged. The Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta software caused the car to stop at right turn onto highway on ramp and hesitated whilst it waited for traffic to pass, causing a queue of cars behind it and frustrated drivers honking their horns. The Tesla could have taken the turn into the right hand lane and merged ahead. Instead, it pulled out into the turn lane while traffic was passing and had to steer around the Tesla to avoid colliding with it. Please find a link to the clip of the incident below: https://vimeo.com/729932395/315ccb9ffb

While the vehicle’s “autopilot” is engaged with the screen showing the blue lane border lines on the screen, the lane keeping assistance will suddenly and sharply veer out of a straight and clearly painted lane without any warning creating a dangerous reaction from the driver to attempt to correct (and possibly over correct) the abrupt and unexpected departure from the lane.?

Automatically activated Blind Spot camera system view is filled over 50% with glare from blinker while driving at night. This renders the driver safety feature unusable during nighttime driving and creates additional driver distraction with the bright light flashing on the vehicle display every time the turn signal is activated at all driving speeds.

I was driving on I-80 eastbound at between Dixon, CA and Davis, CA with the Tesla Autopilot engaged (adaptive cruise control and lane assistance, NOT full navigation), hands on the wheel, in the rightmost lane. The autopilot suddenly started drifting to the left and the car partially entered the lane to the left of me before i disengaged autopilot and resumed control of the vehicle. At the same time, the center console display froze and "glitched" and became unresponsive. The car steering, acceleration and braking worked as normal, but turn signals did not work and i couldn't see my speed (the display had frozen). After a few seconds, the display turned off (still unresponsive). I pulled over to the shoulder and put the car into park and the display seemed to automatically reboot (the screen turned back on and displayed the tesla logo). After a minute, the car had completed rebooting and appeared to operate as normal again.