Lane Keep Assist/ Forward Collision Avoidance/ Smart Cruise Control Reviews?

[Truffleshuffle]

I commute 120 miles (straight shot highway) a day and as more and more auto manufacturers move towards semi/full autonomy in vehicles I'm really interested in the Lane Keep Assist, Forward collision avoidance, and smart cruise control features and how well they work. Obviously we've all see the videos out of Korea where people are driving basically hands free for long periods of time and any reference to highway driving assist has been removed from US press releases. I'm wondering if this is simply a legal box check and there is no difference in hardware/software within the vehicles.

Has anyone seen any discussion in the barrage of media coming out, or can any Canadian owners chime in with hands on experience?

Thanks

 

[PD705]

I commute 120 miles (straight shot highway) a day and as more and more auto manufacturers move towards semi/full autonomy in vehicles I'm really interested in the Lane Keep Assist, Forward collision avoidance, and smart cruise control features and how well they work. Obviously we've all see the videos out of Korea where people are driving basically hands free for long periods of time and any reference to highway driving assist has been removed from US press releases. I'm wondering if this is simply a legal box check and there is no difference in hardware/software within the vehicles.

Has anyone seen any discussion in the barrage of media coming out, or can any Canadian owners chime in with hands on experience?

Thanks

The Korean system (HDA) is more comprehensive and uses map data to supplement functionality. The systems in North America are not the same. LKA is very good, as are ACC and FCA, but the car is not designed to drive itself. These are driver assistance features, not autonomous functions.

 

[Truffleshuffle]

The Korean system (HDA) is more comprehensive and uses map data to supplement functionality. The systems in North America are not the same. LKA is very good, as are ACC and FCA, but the car is not designed to drive itself. These are driver assistance features, not autonomous functions.

Has that been confirmed? Not seeing how map data would make a huge difference in regards to autonomy

 

[Afehr]

My daily commute is about 25 miles round trip in a mix of freeway and downtown city driving (average 25+ MPG, btw), and I use the adaptive cruise and lane keep almost every day.

The ACC is pretty much on par with what you would expect to find in today's vehicles; it can be a bit abrupt at times but generally works quite well. It will take you all the way down to a full stop and will resume once traffic gets moving.

The LKA is great - though it's not autonomous by any stretch, I've been able to keep my hands off the wheel for a couple of minutes before getting a warning. It's perfect for picking up a dropped toy in the back seat and other quick tasks that might divert your attention momentarily. As long as your speed is reasonable and there aren't any tight corners it does a wonderful job of keeping you more or less centered in your lane (On wider roads it tends to pick one side or the other).

As far as FCA goes, luckily I haven't had much experience with it. The one time the brakes did engage on their own I was a bit surprised (I was making a quick maneuver to get around a large, slow-moving truck) as I really wasn't all that close to the vehicle in front of me.

 

[PD705]

Has that been confirmed? Not seeing how map data would make a huge difference in regards to autonomy

Yes, confirmed.

 

[EdP]

I commute 120 miles (straight shot highway) a day and as more and more auto manufacturers move towards semi/full autonomy in vehicles I'm really interested in the Lane Keep Assist, Forward collision avoidance, and smart cruise control features and how well they work.

Unless the Canadian version is different. the LKAS is pretty useless. The AEB has worked for a few people and seems reliable.

The SCC can make driving much easier. I've been behind a car doing a good speed and even follow it to the off ramp, around the curve and onto an intersecting highway and never touch a pedal. On secondary roads with some traffic it follows well. I think it is a great feature and is on my list of "must haves"

Going down a hill it will brake to maintain speed so I may hit the cancel button to take advantage of gravity even if it exceeds the speed limit a bit.

 

[Starflyer]

The LKA is great - though it's not autonomous by any stretch, I've been able to keep my hands off the wheel for a couple of minutes before getting a warning. It's perfect for picking up a dropped toy in the back seat and other quick tasks that might divert your attention momentarily. As long as your speed is reasonable and there aren't any tight corners it does a wonderful job of keeping you more or less centered in your lane (On wider roads it tends to pick one side or the other).

I also think LKA is great, but it has to be monitered to prevent wandering into an adjoining lane, especially at higher speeds (for me that means 65+ MPH. Even at 60-65, it especially needs monitering or a bit of help going through curves. Still, it's wonderful for long highway trips. Much more relaxing and you get to see more of the counrty rather than the concrete ahead. DON'T leave home without it!

 

[EdP]

Not seeing how map data would make a huge difference in regards to autonomy

Map data has speed limits as well as other information about the road, number of lanes, ramps, and intersections. Cadillac uses a system like that.

 

[KDX]

Map data has speed limits as well as other information about the road, number of lanes, ramps, and intersections. Cadillac uses a system like that.

They call it Super Cruise (or something like that) and the roads that it works on have been mapped by LIDAR, if I remember right.

 

[dengen]

How does LKA work in low speed bumper to bumper traffic situations. That was where I thought it would be most useful as you could semi-check out.

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[Edmguy]

Here is a write up I did on the active steering and radar cruise shortly after I got the car in the early owner feedback thread (it is important to remember there is a huge difference between the "lane keeping assist" which is the default setting and "active steering", LKA will only move the wheel if you pretty hit the line, where active steering attempts to lane center):

So this is something I have been playing with quite a bit this week as I have had the car for almost two weeks and starting to get comfortable with it (~1400km).

In the map below, I drive the length of the Whitemud Freeway from the one red dot to the other twice a day. With the exception of the area between the two red lines, I can go the entire distance with the car steering and me just touching the steering wheel every 30 seconds or so.
View attachment 13640

Now some things to note:

- The car is surprisingly good at holding the center of the lane, although sometimes it seems to favor one side or the other a bit and always the side I don't want it to favor.
- It seems to vary between 20 seconds and several minutes that you can go without touching the wheel, haven't figured out how it determines that though
- When the car tells you to hold the steering wheel, you have a couple seconds to do it before it temporarily disables the active steering
- While you have plenty of time I have noticed that a light touch to the rim of the wheel doesn't register, you need to kind of 'wiggle' the steering wheel a tiny bit, and I have even just pushed on one of the spokes slightly and that seems to work. So it doesn't take much but you have to move the wheel ever so slightly
- In turns it seems like it can only hold up to a certain amount of g's. For example, between the red lines in my map above, when heading west if I have my cruise set below 90km/h it can steer through that turn. Above 90 it can't do it. Heading east, the turn is tighter and it seems to cut out steering half way through even down to 80km/h. Not interested in trying slower.
- When cutting active steering mid corner, it doesn't just immediately recenter the wheel, it will hold the current angle for a bit so you have time to react without the car swerving out of your lane
- One thing I have noticed is it doesn't like many freeway on/off ramps even if they are relatively straight and have good lane markings. I think the problem is some of them (the ones I have been on anyway) are wider than normal lanes so it can't always see both lines as they are too far apart.

Overall the active steering is better than I expected and a nice bonus. I didn't expect to use it but I do quite a bit of freeway driving and find it to be really nice and relaxing although I still pay full attention to the green steering wheel in the HUD.

 

[Edmguy]

How does LKA work in low speed bumper to bumper traffic situations. That was where I thought it would be most useful as you could semi-check out.

It only works above ~35mph or ~57kmh. Would be nice if it worked at lower speeds as well.

 

[dengen]

It only works above ~35mph or ~57kmh. Would be nice if it worked at lower speeds as well.

Christ, our Toyota does the same thing. Why on earth do they configure it this way?

 

[Edmguy]

Not sure, but there are some cars that only operate below certain speeds so I guess this is better than that.

 

[devellis]

I think it's best to think of these systems as emergency interventions and not tools that allow you to tune out. Lots of data have accrued on various types of driving aids and the problem that's most often noted is that they encourage people to pay less attention and the systems can't yet do as well as an attentive driver -- not even close. But, they're great in some situations when you're distracted. My brother was driving behind me once and didn't realize the light had changed. He would have rear-ended me were it not for his automatic braking system. But he had an out-of-town visitor in the car, was focusing on them, and wasn't paying attention the way he should have been. It's for those lapses that these systems work. Don't count on it taking over for you, even briefly, if you're not paying attention to what's going on.

Best recipe is: (a) Turn the system on (or leave it on). (b) Forget you have it and drive as if you didn't. Ceding responsibility to these systems much beyond that is a formula for trouble. Of course, most people won't actually have trouble, just as most people who drive while intoxicated make it to their destination safely. But both increase risks unnecessarily.

 

[EdP]

How does LKA work in low speed bumper to bumper traffic situations. That was where I thought it would be most useful as you could semi-check out.

Does not engage at all at low speed. You have to be doing at least 40 MPH for it to be active.
From the manual:
LKAS helps prevent the driver
from moving out of the lane
unintentionally by assisting
the driver's steering. However,
the system is just a convenience
function and the steering
wheel is not always controlled.
While driving, the driver
should pay attention to the
steering wheel.

Only function I find for it is if you fall asleep it may get you around a gentle curve. Pretty useless otherwise.

 

[dengen]

Not sure, but there are some cars that only operate below certain speeds so I guess this is better than that.

Yeah I could have sworn reading an article about the new Audi A8 which was designed to work ONLY below 36 mph or something

 

[dengen]

What are the manufacturers/models who have systems that work in traffic at lower speeds?

 

[Mcc]

Only function I find for it is if you fall asleep it may get you around a gentle curve. Pretty useless otherwise.

Actually I find it a stress reliever in much the same way SCC does for me. I keep my hands on the wheel but don’t have to do much. I always have it on.

 

[EdP]

Actually I find it a stress reliever in much the same way SCC does for me. I keep my hands on the wheel but don’t have to do much. I always have it on.

I always have it on, but it does not do much. If you keep too light a touch on the wheel it alarms. if you keep a heavier touch you are doing the steering. If I keep too light a touch, sometimes it will drift out of the lane on a slight curve. You probably recall that others complained it made the car weave a bit but I never feel that.

I wonder if some are more active than others.