Want to use Tesla Autopilot, but you are a beginner and don’t know how to do so? Then, read this guide on how to use Tesla Autopilot and make your vehicle take the driving stress.
About Tesla Autopilot
Tesla’s car has an (ADAS) advanced driver assistance system called Autopilot. This feature has been available since 2014, and the hardware and software used to run Autopilot have been upgraded over the years.
Right now, Tesla offers three different tiers of Autopilot.
- Autopilot: It includes traffic-aware cruise control and an autosteer. You don’t have to buy this feature, as the price is included in the purchase price of your new Tesla.
- Enhanced Autopilot: This feature includes navigating on Autopilot, auto lane change, auto park, summon, and smart summon. It is available as an add-on purchase of almost $6,000.
- Full Self-Driving Technology: It includes everything in Autopilot and enhanced Autopilot with a traffic light, stop sign control, autosteer, and city streets. It is available on a $15000 add-on purchase.
Autopilot can handle the steering, turn, accelerator, and brake in different circumstances, but the system is not completely reliable and makes your car fully autonomous. The driver has to fully concentrate and be responsible for their vehicle all the time.
How to Use Tesla Autopilot?
Are you on the road and want to use the Autopilot? To use it first, you have to turn on this feature on your vehicle.
How to Turn on Tesla Autopilot
- Park your car because you can only turn on Autopilot when your vehicle is parked.
- On your Tesla display touchscreen, go to the settings option.
- Here, hit the car icon on the bottom left side of the screen.
- Then tap on the autopilot option from the pop-up menu list.
- A pop-up window for enabling auto steer will appear; hit yes to allow it to.
| Keep in mind that you have to agree to the Tesla’s warning displays on the touchscreen display reminds you that you have to “keep your hands on the steering wheel” at all times and be set to take over at any time. |
Once you have enabled the Tesla Autopilot feature, then read the next part on how to use the Tesla autopilot features.
Use Traffic-Aware Cruise Control
In Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, pull down the drive stalk placed at the right side of the steering wheel twice. On Model S and X, pull down the cruise control stalk placed at the left of the steering column twice.
Once you have done it, your vehicle will beep twice, and the grey steering wheel icon and lane markers will turn blue on the display screen. To adjust the maximum speed, turn the steering wheel right, scroll the wheel up and down, and left and right to change the stopping distance.
Navigate on Autopilot
- To use the navigate on Tesla autopilot feature, you have to turn on the Autosteer feature. To do that, tap on the controls > Autopilot > Autosteer.
- After that, go to the navigate on autopilot option and enter a destination to enable it.
If you have a Tesla Model Y or Model 3, move the gear lever twice downward to use this function. However, to use this function on the Tesla Model X or Model S, pull the cruise stalk toward you twice.
Use Auto Lane Change
- To use an automated lane change function, you have to first turn it on from the autopilot menu.
- When you are driving in autosteer mode, press the turn signal up or down to switch on the blinker.
- Now, your vehicle will automatically change the lane once the traffic is clear.
- However, this function is the same on all four Tesla models.
Auto Park with Autopilot
- Locate a suitable parking space and drive slowly (under 15 mph for parallel parking and under 10 mph for perpendicular parking).
- Once your vehicle detects a parking place, you will see a grey P icon on the instrument panel.
- Now press the brake, shift the gear selector into reverse and keep your foot on the brake.
- On the display screen, the start auto park will appear in blue; press it to start.
- Now release the brake and steering wheel then the auto park will control the vehicle.
Use Autopilot Summon
- Open the Tesla app to use the summon autopilot function.
- Press the summon button and then press the forward and reverse button. However, if you have the Tesla Model S or Model X, you can also use a summon to hold the center of the key fob for 3 seconds till the car’s hazards light blink. Then, press the frunk or trunk button on the fob to summon forward and backward.
- Escape from the way while your vehicle is coming out of its parking spot.
Use Smart Summon
- Open the Tesla app to summon your vehicle from its parking to your location remotely.
- Press the smart summon and then set the destination where you want to go.
- Then press and hold the go to the target tab.
A Beta of Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control
- Park your car and navigate to the controls > Autopilot > Traffic light and stop sign control (beta).
- Every time you with traffic traffic-aware cruise control or autosteer, your vehicle will stop at every light and sign.
Sum Up
The advanced technology makes the Tesla Autopilot one of the great driver assistance systems. When used properly, this technology reduces a driver’s overall workload. In this article, we have described how to use Tesla Autopilot properly. If you have any queries related to this guide, let us know in the comments box, and we will answer your queries as soon as possible.
