On two occasions now the front (so called) assist has kicked on in a completely safe situation and scared the life out of me. The first time there wasn't even a car in front of me and I drove over those temporary rubber tubes that I think measure speed on the road and the dash bleeped and the ABS kicked in for half a second while I drove over them, then just released.

 

The second time I was on a country road that was banking to the left but there was a filter lane on the corner to turn right which some cars were waiting in. The assist must have seen the cars directly ahead of me stationary, ignored the road markings that were banking left and did the same. Braked sharply for less than a second and then released again.

 

Is this normal? If so I can see why they give you the option to turn the thing off! I don't think the first autonomous car I will have will be a skoda.

I've only had it warn me once...dash light and no interferrence. There was another car stationary some 20 metres ahead, and I was doing about 15mph...fair call I thought despite the fact I was already braking.

I guess you are talking about the ACC not the slow speed front assist? One or two of us have commented elsewhere that it surprises sometimes especially if 'undertaking' (e.g. your right hand turn lane). Mine doesn't seem to be consistent in that specific regard. Sometimes it would slow me down, others I would get a quick flash of the system spotting the stationary or slow moving vehicle to my right and in others no recognition at all.

The traffic queue element however, is not only very useful but great fun. You do need to set to the closest distance to avoid the horn blowing, finger pointing egits who just have to move forward 6 feet as soon as the gap appears but otherwise you just sit and steer whilst nonchalantly ignoring the mayhem and stress building all around you.

 

So I guess any system has limitations and the true autonomous car is still in the future. However as part of my checks into how it works I did actually read the manual (yes I know we are supposed to sit down and read all 284 pages but life is too short at my age).

 

I found the following warning notes on page 164 so I now only use it on dual carriageways or motorways.

For safety reasons, do not use the ACC under the following conditions.
■ When driving in turning lanes, motorway exits or construction sites, to
avoid an unwanted acceleration to the stored speed.
■ When visibility is poor, (e.g. fog, heavy rain, thick snowfall).
■ When road conditions are poor (e.g. ice, slippery road, gravel, dirt road).
■ When driving around “sharp” bends.
■ When riding on a steep gradient / high slope.
■ When driving through places where metal objects (such as metal buildings,
railway tracks, etc.) can be found.
■ When driving through very divided and enclosed spaces (such as large-capacity
garages, car ferries, tunnels and the like.).
Note
■ The ACC is designed primarily for use on motorways.

Thanks but this was not ACC. I wouldn't use that on anything other than motorways. It's a useful feature but it isn't good enough because of the valid points you make.

This was the collision detection from the front assist.

Edited 9 December, 201510 yr by Guest