Frequently Asked Questions

Does your car not have Lane Keep Assist of any kind (LKAS/ACC)? Then definitely not. Comma won’t have any electric motors or interface to control your steering, gas, or brakes.

Does your car have some sort of Lane Keep Assist, but it’s not on the list?

Short answer: No, unless you know how to code and create the software and hardware interface for Comma to connect to your car.

Long answer: Technically, anyone can develop the software interface and create the harness for any car (that has lane keep assist and somewhat advanced cruise control). The problem is, it's fairly hard. You need to be able to create the wiring harness, then reverse engineer the signals in your car’s wiring harness, and then have Comma take over to control the electric steering, gas, and brake. Most people who ask, "My car is not on the list, how hard would it be to port my car over to Comma?" don't have the software development background to actually do that. If they did, they would be in the Discords discussing with other people who have done it. You would need a Panda, custom wiring harness, and other software tools for your laptop to read the signals for your car.

What is fingerprinting?

Imagine your car has a unique electronic ID. openpilot needs to read this ID to know what kind of car it's in and how to control it safely. This process is called fingerprinting.

Why is it necessary?

openpilot uses the fingerprint to understand your car's specific communication signals and control systems. This ensures it can steer, accelerate, and brake correctly. If your car isn't officially supported, it might have a compatible fingerprint with a supported model.

Note: You can get lucky if your car's model year is not on the list but your car model is on the list. For example, if the official list says a 2023 Sonata is supported but your 2024 isn't there, then you can download sunnypilot instead of openpilot and manually select the 2023 Sonata. That only works if the newer car doesn't have an updated CAN bus or ADAS system and the hardware is the same as the older car. For example, newer Toyotas with TSS 3.0 are not compatible yet, but earlier 2020s Toyotas are (with TSS 2.0).

How to fingerprint: Follow Comma’s guide here: https://github.com/commaai/openpilot/wiki/Fingerprinting

Short answer: The Comma teams haven't cracked the Toyota security key for the new Toyotas (that have the self-driving tech called TSS 3.0).

Vote | Tracker

Long answer: Comma only supports Toyotas with TSS 2.5+, 2.5, 2, and 1. Most of the newer Toyotas released will have Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) 3.0. Some 2024 cars still have TSS 2.5+ (like the 2024 RAV4). TSS 3.0 is vastly different from other TSS versions. It has eye tracking and advanced encryption that was not as easy to crack as earlier TSS versions. There is progress being made, but the best shot we have is for everyone to purchase the "Vote for Toyota Security" item in the Comma shop: https://comma.ai/shop (scroll to the bottom). If everyone buys that, Comma will give themselves 6 months to crack it. If they crack it within that timeframe, we win. If Comma can't crack it, buyers get refunded.

Answer: Yes. Comma devices, including the Comma 3X, are built with privacy as a priority. By default, Comma does not share or upload your data unless you opt in. Here's how privacy works:

• Drive Details and Outside Cameras: These are opt-in by default, meaning if you use the device without changing settings, drive data and road-facing camera footage may be shared to improve Comma’s neural network.
• Driver Monitoring (Interior Camera): Driver-facing camera data is not shared unless you explicitly opt in.

These uploads are not required for the device to function. You can use the Comma device completely offline with core features like adaptive cruise control and automated lane centering.

If you choose premium services like Comma Connect (which requires cellular data), you can still control and disable uploads. Comma’s open-source code on GitHub also allows you to verify how data is managed.

Yes, Comma does have sales, but it seems like they usually include the harness for free instead of discounting the device itself. So you pay full price for the Comma device, and the harness is included.

Sales typically happen on Fourth of July and Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Historically, dates include March 12, 2024, November 20, 2023 (called their "only sale of the year"), November 21, 2022, March 14, 2022, November 23, 2021, and September 7, 2020.

Black Friday in 2024 was Friday, November 29, 2024. Cyber Monday in 2024 was Monday, December 2, 2024.

In March 2024, Comma offered $200 off of the 3X with select vehicle harnesses. In November 2023, Comma offered $100 off of the 3X for Black Friday. In November 2022, Comma offered $250 off of the 3 for Black Friday.

So sales are somewhat random, but Fourth of July and Black Friday/Cyber Monday seem to be the most likely recurring windows.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Your Comma-compatible car already has electric steering motors. Whether Comma turns the wheel or you turn it, the same steering system is being used. People also worry about gas/brake usage. Comma and other driver-assist systems can sometimes be rough on throttle/brake, but cruise control is usually more consistent and can improve fuel use: https://www.motortrend.com/features/does-cruise-control-save-gas/

Bottom line: Comma does not cause extra wear and tear on your car, and consistency may help overall driving efficiency.

Short answer: 100% yes.

Long answer: Stock cruise control systems (including advanced ones from Tesla, Mercedes, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota TSS, and others) usually require periodic driver input, such as steering wheel torque checks or camera-based monitoring.

Comma performs better than most stock systems for lane centering and highway comfort. It does not require repeated steering wheel tugs the way many systems do, and it can handle long highway stretches with minimal driver input (while still requiring supervision).

Comma also outperforms many advanced lane keep systems on tighter curves by planning turns ahead of time and optimizing steering within each car’s torque limits.

I think it is worth it. It was worth it at higher pricing, and it became an even better deal at lower hardware pricing plus harness cost.

Compared with many stock systems, Comma/openpilot can feel much smoother on long road trips and highway commutes. For mixed city/highway driving, it can remove a lot of fatigue once you're on the highway.

Example long trip experience: Denver, CO to St. Louis, MO (about 12 hours and 851 miles) with much less fatigue than a fully manual drive.

Start with openpilot. Forks are customized for different preferences, so the best one depends on what you want.

You can try multiple forks and compare. You can also check community feedback and Discords. Check out our Forks Comparison Guide!

Technically, all major forks can set following distance.

Newer updates often use driving profiles:

• Aggressive: Closer following distance (good for slower traffic)
• Standard/Default/Normal: Balanced following distance
• Relaxed: Longer following distance

These profiles also affect acceleration behavior.

Short answer: Yes, but you still need to pay 100% attention to the road.

Long answer: Comma is still an advanced lane keep and adaptive cruise system, not a fully autonomous system.

Comma does well with several detection tasks and continues improving across model updates:

1. Curb detection
2. Motorcycle detection
3. Highway curve handling

You still must stay engaged. If there is construction, cones, or unusual road conditions, take control immediately.

Forks on this website comply with Comma safety requirements, so they should be comparable in safety to stock openpilot.

Keep in mind that some forks expose many tuning options. Safety depends on choosing reasonable settings for your vehicle and environment.

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: There are users around the world using Comma. For example, the DragonPilot community on Facebook is large and includes many users outside the U.S.

Comma can detect right-hand-drive vs left-hand-drive vehicles and has been trained on many types of signs and lane patterns from different regions.

Comma also ships to many countries.

Still use caution. Performance depends heavily on lane discipline, road markings, and local driving behavior. In environments with poor lane structure or chaotic traffic flow, performance may be limited.

The Comma 3/3X is a major upgrade from the Comma 2 in reliability and capability.

Many users have reported hardware failures on older Comma 2 units (for example USB ports, screens, or logic boards), while Comma 3/3X units tend to be much more stable over long-term use.

Newer driving models available for Comma 3/3X are also significantly better. You can also view more drive data through Comma Connect: https://comma.ai/connect

If budget allows, Comma 3/3X is generally the better long-term choice.

Comma Connect includes these features on the Lite plan ($10/month):

• 24/7 cellular connectivity to the Comma device (SSH from anywhere)
• Remote photo capture
• 1-year drive storage (dashcam footage)
• Simple SSH workflow for developers
• Turn-by-turn navigation

The most useful features for many users are 1-year video storage and navigation.

Navigation feeds experimental driving behavior and can help with exit/turn planning (within vehicle steering limits).

You can also get navigation-like workflows for free by installing forks and using offline map options. See: OpenPilot Branches/Forks

There is also a higher-tier plan (around $24/month) that adds data plan and hotspot functionality.

Some users also subscribe mainly to support Comma.

Aside from buying the Comma hardware (3X/3/2), openpilot and most forks are free to use.

Comma also offers a paid subscription service called Comma Connect that adds cellular/cloud features like live location and extended cloud footage storage. Learn more here: https://comma.ai/connect

Additionally, some forks (like SunnyPilot and FrogPilot) accept donations or paid feature sponsorships to support development.