HW4 vs HW3 ... massive difference in FSD

I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not but, was it an Intel HW3 or AMD HW3?

hm, no idea. where does one find that info ?

That’s just the infotainment processor, so it doesn’t affect FSD.

Are there any specific ways FSD with HW3 was a "bad driver" that you can elaborate on? I have a MS with HW3, and only use FSD on highways, where it's generally solid except the inconsistent and sometimes overly aggressive passing, especially on inside lanes. Curious if this is better on HW4, or the improvements are mostly non-highway.

The accident - was it the other driver's fault or did FSD mess up? It generally doesn't. Post the dashcam video if you can 👉 And definitely send it to WhaamBamTeslacam YouTube channel

Yep. I have HW3, and it’s awful for FSD.

Sure thing. I found it to be way more hesitant to make the right move on the road. Brake checking and very slow driving on curvy roads. Over-reacting to some mis-coloration on the road (avoiding nothing actually there). It was fine on the highway with nothing else going on, and normal stop/go at traffic lights. But overall just felt more sluggish and less aware. Enough so that, I, as a nearly always-on FSD user, preferred to just drive myself most of the time.

It was the other person's fault. Came to a full stop at red light, started to make right turn on red, other car making a left turn at that light into our opposing lane cut the turn short and clipped us.

Picked up my 2023 Y, 2 months prior to HW4. Thanks for rubbing it in lol.

👍 Wham Bam Teslacam YouTube Won't have happened if the other car was also on FSD ! Go autonomous people, it's safer all around. Btw. That YouTube channel, if you haven't seen it, then please do. It shows you how things go wrong. Mostly it is other people's fault, but sometimes Tesla submitter agrees they made a mistake

Yeah, but it’s saving you $100 per month!

I work at Tesla. I drive a HW3 Model 3 and dont even use the FSD because its not even close comparison to HW4. FSD14 drives better than almost everyone. Safer by a large factor compared to a human driving.

Yep. Wife has HW3 and I have HW4. It’s night and day.

Thanks, that's helpful. I bought the MS with FSD used, and it didn't cost me much, but I can't imagine reading that having paid $8-15K and being stuck with HW3.

i am debating pulling the trigger for my 2018 Model 3 with EAP to upgrade it to FSD ($2k) before the 14th. You think its not worth that?

Also, we have a '25 Y with HW4 and ever since the "update" to FSD14 it has become horrible and dangerous. It got so bad we discontinued FSD because of it. It has become almost disconnected from NAV...making many wrong turns. Slamming on brakes at yellow lights...FSD 13 had its issues, but it was far more predictable and less dangerous than FSD 14 has been. I liked using FSD, but it has become unreliable. Hopefully, Tesla will fix the issues.

For $2k I think it’s worth it. If a retrofit becomes available as promised, it’s prob $2k in hardware alone.

Maybe safer than a human thats not paying attention. Still dont like how fsd/autopilot cant anticipate slippery/icy roads so it brakes too late/hard and if somebody comes up on the right on merging highway it sometimes brakes trying to let people merge but when someone decides to merge behind you that can be dangerous.

The fact they charge the same price for HW3 FSD and HW4 is mind boggling.

Unpopular opinion—HW3 FSD works fine. My wife has HW3 and I have HW4. Of course 4 is better but I feel like the negative comments about 3 are overblown.

I wonder if HW4 Lite will be just as good.

Haven’t experienced any of this as a HW3 driver

/cries in June 2023 HW3 Was my first Tesla so didnt really know much about HW versions, also it was very unclear at the time which one we'd actually get :(

Yeah, 100% agree. Having an older vehicle where we paid a TON to get the promise of FSD and now getting a shit experience has been kind of lame.

Way to rub salt into the wound. HW4 performance a lot better than HW3 is nothing new .

I would upgrade to FSD for $2k and then transfer it to a new Model 3 before the March 31st deadline. Presuming you can swing it financially.

Yes, HW3 FSD was like a teenager learning to drive when we last used it... too hesitant in some situations and too aggressive in others. Acceleration and braking could be smoother, but the worst part is that it did some things that could have gotten me a ticket or caused an accident.

This. HW3 FSD does less so should cost less.

I generally agree with you but my Juniper really has a hard time with speed limits changing from 55 to 65 and then dropping down from 65 to 55.  My car simply doesn’t recognize when the speed limit changes from 55 to 65 and then it will recognize when it drops from 65 to 55 but it still want to go 70 anyway. What the heck?

Ouch, that sucks. At time, HW4 Model Ys were already available.

It depended on which factory you got it from, here in Canada they were all coming from Giga Shanghai that was still shipping HW3 MY's.

Do you mean FSD V14 Lite (which is basically a lite version of FSD 14 paired down specifically for HW3)? It probably will be better than what FSD on HW3 currently is, but it most certainly won't be as good as a full HW4

That’s what i keep mentioning here. We have some folks here that never tried FSD on hw4 and keeps saying hw3 is good. It’s just they never used hw4 and doesn’t know the difference. Thanks for reiterating this.

Yeah we just bought a model Y last year and I am pissed because at the time I had thought they got rid of the transfer option and wasn’t until a week or two after picking it up I realized that it was still an option.

Nope. Even if you can transfer this like someone mentioned, i feel these EV especially Tesla should be leased and not purchased. Tech advance so quickly, like changing an iPhone every couple years.

Hmm I disagree here I don’t view these as iPhones and actually think they hold up long term very well. My 2018 Model 3 is perfectly fine we just bought the Y because we needed a 2nd car not because the tech felt dated. Obviously the FSD is a welcome upgrade but EAP was working just fine for me.

Funny because I had the opposite experience. Had to take my HW4 version in for a battery replacement and was given a HW3 version as a loaner. Everything pretty much seemed the same for the most part. The biggest difference was on the HW3 version I could actually select a speed on the freeway. Cant do that on the HW4 and and it makes it almost unusable without intervention on the freeway. The HW4 for whatever reason also has a real hard time choosing lanes. I was literally baffled how well the HW3 worked considering all the Tesla bros on reddit like to shit about it. Personally I think it has to do with which particular roads people commute on and how well the FSD can navigate those roads. I feel like my HW4 version would be great on California freeways because of how fast everyone drives. On my local freeways im either driving lower then the speed of traffic or im going way above which would guarantee a ticket.

Hate to point out that 90% of time, and most of the time, are not good enough for any self driving system: it gives driver false compliencency and leads dangerous accidents. It needs to get to at least not require driver monitoring, like Way more. Don't get me wrong, I use FSD whenever I can, but it is only helping, not replace me.

Yes, but it’s V12 vs V14. HW3 will be much closer once it gets on V14 lite.

Will there ever be a path for a HW3 car to be upgraded to HW4? I thought I saw a tweet about it, but maybe it was a myth.

I think this is a perfect example of why you *shouldn't* lease. New iphone comes out every few years, and while frequent updating made more sense in 2010, newer model smartphones have incredibly minimal differences between the two, and are more marketing gimmicks (AI integration) than anything else. There is very minimal need to update a phone every years, and even less for something as incredibly expensive as a car. Everyone's financial situation is different, but for the majority of people, its a pretty bad use of money to lease (if you plan on needing a car for the long term).

Did you reveal to the insurance company you were using FSD when you got any accident? I wonder, how does that plays into settlement?

I just bought a '23 MYP to replace my '20 Model 3 and when I tell you this Reddit was invaluable in making sure I got HW4 instead of HW3. It was to the point that I didn't look at listings if they didn't share the VIN.

Yeah it's been pretty unpredictable this past week for me since DC got slammed with snow and ice. The road conditions are still a mess and add the mountains to it—recipe for disaster.

I am in the same boat as OP, my 23MYP with HW4 is in shop and they gave me a 23MYP loaner with HW3. I let the HW3 drove a few blocks and I can’t take it. HW3 makes a tons of unnecessary stops with absolutely no cars/no pedestrians around, no stop sign, perfect weather condition. When turning into a street with a dead end, instead of making a left turn, it makes a right turn then trying to do a u-turn . But it came short and ended up with a 3 point turn. When passing cross walks it keeps tapping on the brakes with no one around. HW3 drives like a grandma who forgot their prescription glasses. I don’t understand how people can use this 90% of the time.

Aggree! HW3 FSD is amazing! Can't wait until we get our free upgrades though.

I have both a HW3 and Juniper and don’t see as much difference as some claim. It’s still very usable and reliable. It’s not as immediate with some decision making, but not to the point where I thinks it’s unusable. Also a bit more prone to being blinded by sunlight and narrow passes as it doesn’t have the additional camera in the front bumper like the Juniper. It’s been able to avoid some road debris, and even slowed down late one evening when it spotted a coyote hidden in the brush that I missed just before it jumped in front of the car. That was impressive!

Big reason I’m trading in! There is a highway interchange on my way home from work that HW3 in my current 2019 model 3 just can’t figure out, swerves back and forth between lanes. I did a test drive of a Juniper Model Y and the difference was night and day. I’m taking advantage of the free FSD transfer, can’t wait for delivery!!

Your accident, while on FSD HW4, sort of contradicts your praise for it.....

100% agree. I have a 2019 M3 on HW3 and a 2024 MY HW4. I noticed a huge difference even when I moved FSD from my M3 to my MY.

Exactly what I’m talking about! I hope it’s a lot better than HW3.

That’s what I’m saying! But I’ve been yelled at by people who, I dunno, I guess don’t believe me. I’m 20 min from Fremont, so you’d think it’d know the area well. Nope, like a drunk monkey.

HW3 owners should get a very big refund.

I agree, I have HW3 and it works fine

Was the accident fault of FSD?

nope. glad we were on fsd so that none of the fault was mine. and got it on dashcam. if the other driver was on fsd too, it would never have happened.

Main thing I've noticed is it doesn't break hard AF anymore.

I’ve been saying this for a while

Tesla should sell a HW4 upgrade package for HW3 owners. I’d subscribe to FSD if I had HW4, but I don’t. I’m not willing to buy an entire new car just to get that feature either.

Yea I have HW3 and my wife HW4. I actually sub on my car (and not her’s) because I commute and even with HW3 it’s life changing for my drive. But I am jealous.

I love FSD, and im on HW3. I'm not sure if it depends where you live, or maybe some people have camera calibration issues, but in my last 3 days of non stop driving in socal traffic and some complicated road ways I have had 0 issues. FSD has been super solid for me on HW3 so far

Yea I agree with this. I just got my model 3 about 4 days ago and every since I have been driving 5-7 hours each day mostly on FSD and it has been great with HW3!

I was thinking the same thing about FSD on HW3 mine does great. It must depend on location and the roads

Thats got to be it. I've got very specific roads I drive and the HW3 does it better. I bet there's other roads that the HW4 might do better on as well though

we have a 22 and 24. 24 has hwd4 and we transferred fsd over . I didnt notice anything. but that was a few updates ago,

Same man I got mines in March 2023 still hurts to this day

I don’t even think a full hardware retrofit is neededthey need to just swap the cameras out. Their new bit patent solves the memory/compute thimg

Mine likes to go 82 mph in a 70 mph zone and follow so closely that I feel like a complete asshole driver. I wish I could figure out how to adjust it.

Was just discussing this with my husband a few days ago. His car has HW3 (he got FSD when it was only + $6k) and compared to my HW4 MY, it’s night/day difference. Why should someone with HW3 pay the same price as those with HW4? It’s not the same product for both. I predict lawsuits.

did u order in 2022? I remember wait times were hella long back then

I have HW4 (Y 2025, just a few months before model refresh). Had FSD for first few months for free. Disabled it after a few near misses and never looked back. There really isn't anything I can do while FSD is engaged which I can't do when it is not (for example, typing this message on my phone).

Yes. lol

Did a 3k mile road trip in October of last year. Subbed to the $99 for the month. It drove 90% of the drive just fine. Had to take over in LA because...LA.

Same :-(

Agree. Not perfect but worth 100/mo. May trade for hw5 but hw4 would not be worth the upgrade

I’m not sure what yall are experiencing but I have HW3 in a 2022 model Y Performance and it works great . I rarely have issues so I’m not sure where the whole HW4 vs HW3 Is a “night and day difference” is coming from, I’m mean I’m sure HW4 is better but HW3 does a great job.

“Most of the time it performs amazingly.” Did you name yours Sex Panther?

My 2021 model Y has about 100k miles on it. Had to bring it the shop, because I scratched it up. They lent me a brand new Audi A5. Nice, but I could not wait to get my old Model Y back. They hold up really well

I don't know man - I hate both HW3 and HW4 FSD. The constant lane changes by both has definitely shaved few days off my life.

Check if you have a 980 rear motor you might benefit from having that at least

Agree. Fun fact: FSD is better than no self drive.

My 2021 Y was in the shop last October and they gave me a 2025 Model X loaner with FSD. It was so much better. Made me tempted to sell my Y and buy a new one

That is pretty fun!

I've heard others say older version better

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Confident is a word I expect if the car is driving for me. HW3 is like having a teenager drive me around.

New Tesla owner. FSD is the best thing I ever experienced in a car. Actually this Tesla is the best car I have ever driven in literally everything.

I still can’t believe they have not done any type of retrofit and to be honest I don’t see it happening any time soon for hw3

22MY HW3. I use FSD 95% of the time. Haven't tried HW4. Don't feel the need to.

I’m REALLY hoping they pull through for this update coming around April/may time…

I ordered on January 23, didn't pick it up till april 18th

Yeah, I feel the same about how my utilities charge me (I live in a 25 year old house) the same that “they” charge people who live in new construction. It’s almost as bad as having to pay the same for gasoline for my 1996 Chevy as my neighbors are paying for their new cars. /s