Front Assist - not?

[DRSSkoda]

Hi my 65 plate Fabia 1.2 110 DSG SE L ran into the back of a stationery car on a roundabout and I questioned Skoda UK why the front assist did not brake for me (I was looking right as the roundabout was extremely busy and the driver in front stopped dead for no apparent reason) and they told me that the front assist doesn't stop you having a collision its there to lesson the severity of the crash??? FFS the technology is there to stop the car but it is set up not too?

 

Anyone think this is wrong?

 

see pic of my sad Fabia

 

[pauldazzle]

Was front assist actually turned on?

Edited 1 July, 2016 by pauldazzle

[DRSSkoda]

Yes, always have it on, it actually broke the Radar sensor off in the impact

Edited 1 July, 2016 by DRSSkoda

[vc-10]

It's not fail safe. The clue's in the name- it's Front Assist. No computerised system that's this simple is going to be failsafe. It looks like the impact was mostly on the passenger side of the car- I don't know if the radar would have got an adequate return from just the half of the car in front that was visible to it. 

[CFB]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the system has quite a few limitations, to the point of only being able to react on straight roads with vehicle directly in front.

As said above, it's only a simple system

[Ootohere]

Surely the driver in charge of the vehicle drove into the back of a stationery car at a roundabout!

 

Where they busy at the time doing something else, because the car was stationary obviously so was there any reason for the driver not stopping as well?

[CoolC]

If you were steering the car, which is likely on the entry of a roundabout, or braking, the system takes the view of "right you've seen the hazard and sorting this out yourself, no need for me to get involved"

 

At least that's how the Volvo system was explained to me (where there was that video doing the rounds of the car hitting the employee during a demonstration of the system) at a recent seminar. 

[Auric Goldfinger]

Maybe Skoda use the same system as the Telsa

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/30/tesla-autopilot-death-self-driving-car-elon-musk

Edited 1 July, 2016 by Auric Goldfinger

[anst11]

I swear mine brakes for me, I was going a bit too fast once approaching a roundabout and it bleeped and the brakes shuddered and I slammed the brakes on.

[vc-10]

If it thinks you're likely to crash if you don't brake, it gives you a warning jolt if you don't respond to the beep quickly enough. If you still don't respond, it'll try and stop for you completely. The only time it's done that for me was in a torrential rainstorm, when I was only going about 15 mph anyway as I couldn't see far enough to go any faster! I had to turn the system off for a bit...

[Jcb05]

Mine panic's at london buses! i got to overtake and it see's the traffic on the other side of the road as a threat.. slams the breaks on... not helpful. 

 

Just gotta learn to live with it or turn it off. But even so, it is an assisted system, it is not there to stop you having the crash its there to assist in the accident and try to stop you being crippled. 

[vc-10]

That's weird, mine's fine with the double deckers here! Although maybe it shouldn't be... they tend to be driven worse than London buses in Manchester!

[ptae2000e]

And, did it lessen the severity of the crash, or it didn't brake at all?

[DRSSkoda]

And, did it lessen the severity of the crash, or it didn't brake at all?

 

 as far as i could see it did nothing no braking no warning but i did expect a warning as the book say under certain speeds there is no audio

[Jeffchiz]

Mine certainly works, found out this morning 

[bluecar1]

is it like the citisafe  on the citigo?

 

it has a max / min speed for operation

 

also the citisafe don't react if it senses you already braking or if the steering angle is above a threshold

[chieflordy]

I have had mine cut in a couple of times recently both in the same circumstances, when the car in front of me is turning left off a main road. I try to leave a safe distance between me and other road users, in this circumstance that means I can usually allow my car to slow down naturally rather than press the brakes to avoid running in to the back of the turning car. But Front Assist doesn't seem to trust my judgement - in that regards it is a bit like my wife

[vc-10]

is it like the citisafe  on the citigo?

 

it has a max / min speed for operation

 

also the citisafe don't react if it senses you already braking or if the steering angle is above a threshold

 

Nope, it's operating over a greater speed range than the CitiSafe, which is a laser based system, while the Fabia system (and Octavia, Superb, Rapid etc) is a radar-based system.

[Kablam]

 as far as i could see it did nothing no braking no warning but i did expect a warning as the book say under certain speeds there is no audio

 

There are 3 stages IIRC

 

white warning

Red warning Beep

Braking

 

These can all happen quite quickly.

 

Unfortunately as Skoda said it's an assistant system, not a fail safe. I remember a story of someone complaining that their ABS system hadn't stopped them from crashing into the back of another car. They didn't understand that ABS is designed to enable you to steer whilst under heavy braking, not close a following distance.

 

I'm not saying you were driving unsafe, one of my friends did the very same into the back of (fortunately) another friends car at a roundabout, but what I am saying is it's not the cars fault you crashed.

[Skodbuster]

The problem I have found with front assist is that it cannot differentiate between a plastic bag floating in front of the central sensor and another car and I have had 2 very violent brake applications with harmless rubbish blowing in the wind. It feels as though you have gone over a concrete bollard which has wedged under the car. The second one nearly caused the driver behind to hit me at 30mph and heavens knows what would occur on a motorway at 70mph while being tailgated.

I only twigged on the second occasion what was happening.

The eco system is also scary as it switches off the engine if holding at a junction on the footbrake with the auto so when you set off it relies on the engine starting which adds to the excitement. I am sure my Citigo only switched off on handbrake which was much better but I curse when I forget to disable the system on the Fabia which I try to do as a routine now

These are in my view extremely unintelligent economy and safety systems.

Love the car though and at least you can switch off the front assist as it scares me more having it on than off. The thought of the car stalling halfway out on a junction or roundabout coupled with the cost of the starter motor wearing out to save a gram of fuel if that every month is still an irritant though. I believe you need the engine off at least for 30 seconds to actually gain an advantage

Edited 21 August, 2016 by Skodbuster

[MasterJediAlejandro]

The problem I have found with front assist is that it cannot differentiate between a plastic bag floating in front of the central sensor and another car and I have had 2 very violent brake applications with harmless rubbish blowing in the wind. It feels as though you have gone over a concrete bollard which has wedged under the car. The second one nearly caused the driver behind to hit me at 30mph and heavens knows what would occur on a motorway at 70mph while being tailgated.

I only twigged on the second occasion what was happening.

The eco system is also scary as it switches off the engine if holding at a junction on the footbrake with the auto so when you set off it relies on the engine starting which adds to the excitement. I am sure my Citigo only switched off on handbrake which was much better but I curse when I forget to disable the system on the Fabia which I try to do as a routine now

These are in my view extremely unintelligent economy and safety systems.

Love the car though and at least you can switch off the front assist as it scares me more having it on than off. The thought of the car stalling halfway out on a junction or roundabout coupled with the cost of the starter motor wearing out to save a gram of fuel if that every month is still an irritant though. I believe you need the engine off at least for 30 seconds to actually gain an advantage

I can't help you with the majority of this, but can say the start motors are specially designed in these cars to handle the increase of shut downs and start ups and also mean it doesn't require as much fuel to get started again. So the 30 seconds won't apply, as far as I'm aware.

[Octy09]

Interesting about the sensor being over sensitive. The likes of Peugeot and Citroen mount their systems in the windscreen; wonder if this has been done to prevent these issues...

[Skodbuster]

@Octy09

This high level positioning would solve the problem and also help anticipation. it is rubbish blowing just above ground level that has given these spurious and very scary panic stops which seem like you have grounded on an obstacle under the car so you are not sure if you have really rolled over a bag of rubbish rolling on the ground. In both cases I have stopped and looked under the car and there was nothing there though I saw the bags rolling in. The last one was a large empty crisp bag which made me realise what had happened. The first occasion was a large probably empty bin bag.

It is a useful system when working on could cause an accident also. Ho hum. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

@Masterjedi

Probably there is no damage from the use of the eco system but the engine now starts if you put the handbrake on at traffic lights but stops if you hold on the footbrake which does not seem good practice. I think the Citigo was the opposite and I used it all the time but I imagine some bright spark in Elf and Safety thinks this new way is the best way of doing it. I find driving off at a junction with the engine needing to start first rather alarming. In its current form I find it more trouble than it is worth. Pity it cannot be disabled by default.

The economy is pretty amazing anyhow and I had a recorded 60mpg average on a drive from Cornwall to Essex which was staggering for a 1.2 Turbo estate at 70mph on the motorways.

Edited 22 August, 2016 by Skodbuster

[Octy09]

@Octy09

This high level positioning would solve the problem and also help anticipation. it is rubbish blowing just above ground level that has given these spurious and very scary panic stops which seem like you have grounded on an obstacle under the car so you are not sure if you have really rolled over a bag of rubbish rolling on the ground. In both cases I have stopped and looked under the car and there was nothing there though I saw the bags rolling in. The last one was a large empty crisp bag which made me realise what had happened. The first occasion was a large probably empty bin bag.

It is a useful system when working on could cause an accident also. Ho hum. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

@Masterjedi

Probably there is no damage from the use of the eco system but the engine now starts if you put the handbrake on at traffic lights but stops if you hold on the footbrake which does not seem good practice. I think the Citigo was the opposite and I used it all the time but I imagine some bright spark in Elf and Safety thinks this new way is the best way of doing it. I find driving off at a junction with the engine needing to start first rather alarming. In its current form I find it more trouble than it is worth. Pity it cannot be disabled by default.

The economy is pretty amazing anyhow and I had a recorded 60mpg average on a drive from Cornwall to Essex which was staggering for a 1.2 Turbo estate at 70mph on the motorways.

Interesting. I may test mine out when I get it, in our quiet cul-de-sac. Get someone to chuck a plastic bag in front.

If a few people are experiencing this then I think it's a cause for Watchdog!

[thamestrader]

 

The eco system is also scary as it switches off the engine if holding at a junction on the footbrake with the auto so when you set off it relies on the engine starting which adds to the excitement. I am sure my Citigo only switched off on handbrake which was much better but I curse when I forget to disable the system on the Fabia which I try to do as a routine now

 

 

On our Fabia DSG the stop/start  reacts to brake pedal pressure, maintain full pressure while stationary and the engine cuts out, reduce the pressure but not enough to allow movement  and the engine restarts, I find I can use the brake pedal to restart a few seconds before I need to pull away. I've found other VAG vehicles with stop/start work the same way.