Featured Consumer Reports "New Cars" Dec 2023

and many other things as well

 

Meh.

First of all, you paid like $10,000 to get the full self-driving package, which I would never do if I bought a Tesla.

Second, what you experienced was not BSM but some self-driving feature. If you had BSM, it would warn you about the car in your blind spot, and this situation wouldn't have occurred to begin with.

In any case, I am glad that the situation worked out for you.

 

What would they be?

 

Tesla calls their BSM Lane Assist.

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-ADA05DFF-963D-477D-9A51-FA8C8F6429F1.html

The industry should use standardized terms, but it isn't a requirement.

 

This is what Consumer Reports says about it. They know about it, and they clearly explain why it is not good enough to be considered a blind-spot monitor.

Blind spot warning -- The Model Y does not have a traditional blind spot warning system with icons that are visible in the side mirrors. Instead, it displays an image of the car in the center screen and shows images of surrounding vehicles. Red lines are displayed when a vehicle or object is in close proximity. An audible warning can be activated through the settings menu. In our experience, this is an inadequate warning system as drivers naturally check the mirror for a blind spot warning, not a center screen.

I fully agree. I don't look at the center display when I change lanes—I look at the side mirror and through he side window. Humans cannot look at two different angles at the same time.

This is one of the many Tesla oddities.

 

But the car never warned you against steering it toward the car next to you. It did alert you after you steered it, but there was no warning beforehand. So, there is no blind-spot monitor.

And they and I explained the shortcomings of not having an orange blind-spot-monitor LED indicator in the side mirror. Center screen cannot be viewed while looking to the side, and constant audible warnings are annoying.

 

I've seen cases where the closing speed of the car behind and in the next lane makes the BSM not work or maybe it was clear and I'm in the interval checking back to make sure I have enough clearance in front of me to not get caught with all my attention on the rear view mirror or what is next to me. What if the car in front of me slows or stops. I start to ease over and that is when the alarm in my Toyota product goes off and the wheel is jerked to take me away from that flying Steantis product (it always is)

No constantly dings, just prevent the accident. Has several times.

This in a several year old Toyota product.

Did it take me a while to get used to it ...sure. And that is the problem with CR's tests. They don't have enough time (or subscribers) to acclimate. There are many ways to do the same thing and mine is not always right.

 

That doesn't sound like blind-spot monitor. It sounds like lane-keep assist when changing lanes without signaling. Or perhaps it is lane-change assist. What is your car?

 

'19 Rav4 with all options. I get the BSM lights on the outside mirror but I also get audio danger alert and jerk away from danger.

 

OK, you have TSS 2.0 as well as BSM and RCTA like I do.

The latter is not BSM. The "audio danger alert and jerk away from danger" is lane-keep assist, which only monitors the lane markings and will put the car back in the lane if you attempt a lane change without signaling. It will not audio-alert or steer back if you signal and attempt to steer toward a car in your blind spot. It sounds like you didn't signal when you swerved toward the car in your blind spot.

 

Yes, and that is a good thing, but it is still not BSM, and you were not warned. It is also unclear if it would have worked if you steered suddenly and hard.

 

Not at all. If there is anything I always do, it is signal and I did that in both cases where I was alerted and jerked away. Lane markings had nothing to do with it.

 

There is no blind-spot steering assist in TSS 2.0. Perhaps there is something in TSS 3.0 like lane-change assist if you have front corner radars as well, as in Gen 5 Prius Prime.

 

You may be right. It could have been an instinctive reaction on my part to the alarm which felt like the wheel jerked. Somehow it isn't something I'm going to go out tonight and try to demonstrate.