Afraid To Use Driver+

[FrankieJ]

I have had my Rivian R1T since March 22. A few days later I tried out Driver+ for the first time on I-1O about 30 miles west of Houston. There was a bit of construction in the area but everything was going fine until the vehicle took a very sharp turn towards the concrete barrier. I had to quickly grab the wheel otherwise I might not have been around to start this thread. I noticed a few days later that the lane markers were screwed up and did in fact point towards the barrier. Driver+ and autopilot in general is more of a gimmick to me so the fact that I am paranoid to use it hasn’t been a big deal. Has anybody else experienced the same thing?

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[Zoidz]

I've had that happen I think just once, but not a "sharp" turn. It was annoying but not overly concerning.

You said you had to grab the wheel quickly - your hand was not on the wheel?

 

[DTown3011]

I personally love Driver+ ESPECIALLY in traffic and find it extremely useful. However I ALWAYS turn it off in construction zones or anytime the lanes get funky as you never know. But for daily commutes, long road trips, etc. I find it invaluable. I also am coming from Tesla and was used to Autopilot - my wife refused to use either.

 

[mikehmb]

I personally love Driver+ ESPECIALLY in traffic and find it extremely useful. However I ALWAYS turn it off in construction zones or anytime the lanes get funky as you never know. But for daily commutes, long road trips, etc. I find it invaluable. I also am coming from Tesla and was used to Autopilot - my wife refused to use either.

+1

I love it in moderate traffic on highways (divided).

I always disable in construction zones or on rural highways, even when mapped. I’ve had questionable success with D+ on rural roads - lots of ghost objects spooking the cruise control and behaves somewhat erratically at times. Specifically on 2-lane roads, no divider, where a car is oncoming and someone is parked along the roadway in my direction of travel.

Also - there is a section of highway 1 south of Santa Cru that my truck is convinced is an 85mph zone, which is most certainly is not.

 

[FrankieJ]

I've had that happen I think just once, but not a "sharp" turn. It was annoying but not overly concerning.

You said you had to grab the wheel quickly - your hand was not on the wheel?

It was. Bad wording on my part.

 

[SANZC02]

I find it very useful on long stretches of highway with minimal traffic, I use it a lot when road tripping. Like my Tesla, very seldom use it when lots of other cars are around, just easier to drive myself in those situations as it tends to leave too much distance even on the closest setting and peopl keep jumping in front of me.

 

[FrankieJ]

D+ had some behavioral issues early on, but nothing lately has really come across the forums.

Personally, I’m happy to use it whenever it’s low-ish traffic, no construction zones, and on well established / divided highways. But where I live and on most of my driving (locally) it

+1

I love it in moderate traffic on highways (divided).

I always disable in construction zones or on rural highways, even when mapped. I’ve had questionable success with D+ on rural roads - lots of ghost objects spooking the cruise control and behaves somewhat erratically at times. Specifically on 2-lane roads, no divider, where a car is oncoming and someone is parked along the roadway in my direction of travel.

Also - there is a section of highway 1 south of Santa Cru that my truck is convinced is an 85mph zone, which is most certainly is not.

Yeah it was a mistake to try to use in an area where there was some construction even though it was relatively minor. Houston is notorious for taking forever to complete construction and it is underway on most of the freeways in the city and surrounding areas.

 

[BeanEW]

I used it a lot... except for concrete barrier with minimal space on the left, very busy and fast traffic, construction with modified lanes, unclear lane markers, and very narrow lanes.

All the above situations had given my wife a heart-attack.

 

[COdogman]

I don't trust any of these systems, but I do see their value if one is driving in areas that it works well. Knowing it would not do well in construction areas or where the lane markings are funky would have me very stressed out. 90% of CO has construction and faded lines

 

[SoCal Rob]

I have had my Rivian R1T since March 22. A few days later I tried out Driver+ for the first time on I-1O about 30 miles west of Houston. There was a bit of construction in the area but everything was going fine until the vehicle took a very sharp turn towards the concrete barrier. I had to quickly grab the wheel otherwise I might not have been around to start this thread. I noticed a few days later that the lane markers were screwed up and did in fact point towards the barrier. Driver+ and autopilot in general is more of a gimmick to me so the fact that I am paranoid to use it hasn’t been a big deal. Has anybody else experienced the same thing?

Am I reading your post correctly that this happened in late March or about 8 months ago? If so, I think there have been several tweaks to D+ since then so I don’t know that what you experienced on that stretch of road then would still happen under the same circumstances today.

 

[FrankieJ]

Am I reading your post correctly that this happened in late March or about 8 months ago? If so, I think there have been several tweaks to D+ since then so I don’t know that what you experienced on that stretch of road then would still happen under the same circumstances today.

Good point. I actually took deliver in March of 2022. I was one of a small handful in Houston that received one that early. I will give it another shot but this time when there is no construction going on.

 

[emoore]

I don't trust any of these systems, but I do see their value if one is driving in areas that it works well. Knowing it would not do well in construction areas or where the lane markings are funky would have me very stressed out. 90% of CO has construction and faded lines

I don't trust it but have used it on most of the major highways in Colorado and it has worked well. I do turn it off (but keep ACC on) in construction zones.

 

[Cycliste]

I’ve had the same issue with road construction barriers where the truck would feel like it was steering towards the barrier. I take over the steering. The lines are not messed up in this area (I80 Eastbound just before the Redtop exit)
I don’t feel comfortable using Driver+ lane keeping in construction zones. At least, not in 2023. Years from now? We’ll see.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Good point. I actually took deliver in March of 2022. I was one of a small handful in Houston that received one that early. I will give it another shot but this time when there is no construction going on.

Thanks, I thought you meant March 22(nd of 2023) but I figured it was worth checking. Given the fact that it has been around 20 months since your last D+ experience, I think you’ll find a lot of positive changes with more to come in this next update so lane changes are easier.

 

[COdogman]

I don't trust it but have used it on most of the major highways in Colorado and it has worked well. I do turn it off (but keep ACC on) in construction zones.

They are finally wrapping up what seems like a never ending construction project on I-25 up in my neck of the woods (Loveland/ Longmont), so I have been thinking about giving it a try on my morning commute soon. I think my nervousness is just as much about the other drivers as distrust in the technology. Everyone is just terrible lately LOL.

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