37 minutes ago, mark_irl said:

...

Your wife should have deactivated it when it was malfunctioning rather than driving it and risking further damage or problems

...

Not sure what your question is around what would have happened if it was a high-speed collision? If it was a car then system would work as intended, if it was a pheasant then it's not built to detect them.

 

Are you aware of every electronic gimmick in your car and how to disable it? Do you have that knowledge readily available when you just had a jolting experience early in the morning when you're hurrying to get to work?

 

My question about a high-speed version of the same scenario is simple: something small and otherwise inoffensive knocks the sensor out of its mount. If the system reacts the same way with unexpected emergency braking I don't really want to know the outcome.

Think about it: the system is designed to take action in situations where you fail to do so in time but unless you're in fact asleep you're probably already trying to do the same thing when the brakes kick in. Trigger it without apparent reason, and you're very likely to lose control.

 

Now, about those radars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar#Reflection

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar#Clutter

 

In short, yes, if the FrontAssist sensor is radar-based it could very well detect birds and should definitely be able to detect humans.

 

 

I never claimed to be aware of every gimmick. Info on most things are available in the manual which most people keep in the glovebox. Anyway, all I meant is that'd be preferable to driving another 10km stuttering and risking something else happening.

 

I'll see if the dealer knows anything about what happens when an unexpected thing damages the radar mount when chatting to them on Friday

 

 

FYI.

 

■ If an automatic brake intervention is triggered by the system, the pressure in
the brake system increases and the brake pedal cannot be operated with the
normal pedal stroke.
■ The automatic braking interventions can be cancelled by pressing the accelerator
pedal or by steering intervention.

 

HTH

 

Don't forget the car has ESC as well.

 

Thanks AG Falco

Edited 20 September, 20187 yr by AGFalco
Added ESC

I'm sure they must have thought that out, or does the system indeed not kick in if you are already pressing the accelerator (as in not using cruise control)? From my wife's experience I conclude that it does, and apparently it wasn't really intuitive to her override the braking by pressing harder on the accelerator or something of the sort. I think that wouldn't be my reaction either; if anything I'd release the gas and might stamp down on the clutch (thinking my engine locked up).

OTOH, an unexpected all-out braking event would send you forward and could thus result in pressing down harder on the accelerator, no?

 

 

> Don't forget the car has ESC as well.

 

Really? But where is the keyboard O:-)

 

ESC is to prevent skidding when driving curve, I don't know how effective it'd be when you're braking at maximum power and at high speed.

But my main concern remains the reaction from the unexpecting driver when a system kicks in violently that gets triggered so rarely that you've all but forgotten it's there.

 

 

ESC explained for you. HTH.

 

 

Thanks AG Falco

Hello everyone

I feel the urge to bring this topic back to live.

Story goes like this: I have two Fabia MK 3 (one hatchback, one estate), both 1.0 TSI, 5 speed manual, both manufactured in 2018 (3 month apart though). Both of them are fitted with Front assist, but they act differently. When it senses an imminent collision danger, the system on the hatchback throws visual and audio warnings (flashing "door exploding car" on dashboard and emitting a loud sound). On the other hand, in the estate I get a 3D experience, the system activating the brakes too (besides the audio & video treatment). Now my question is: are there 2 different systems fitted to the MK3 Fabias, or the system on the hatchback holds a grudge against me for some unknown reason?

Thanks for your kind replies!

Quick thoughts -

computer programming isn't always the best, hence "glitches", " patches" and "updates",

sensors, wiring connectors can go wrong or can be put out of full alignment,

one program or system might be different to other

you load the two cars differently (particularly the luggage areas perhaps)

you drive differently in one than the other.

 

I take all these driver "aids" and "assists"  as being like a very nervous passenger that can also take over braking and steering, always remember computers are not "smart" "intelligent" or "Simply Clever" they are very dumb and just following the input instructions, an error, fault or omission in those and things might not go the way planned or expected.  Never rely on them fully.

 

On my 2021 estate and on my previous 2017 estate both of your observations occur. The difference is the first 'audio/visual warning occurs in the initial sensing of danger. The second '3D' experience also occurs if the danger is even more imminent! by that I mean the speed/distance to contact so the braking is applied.

Passing cars that are turning off the road and more than the car width plus plenty more will alarm the alarm and it stays on a while later as an incorrect scolding, no braking but an incorrect telling off.

 

Lane "assist" is even more fun, so many conditions where it won't operate correctly yet can it be startled by a bush 10 foot back from a verge.

 

Drivers that rely on these systems to drive the car for them (while doing something like rollin' a fag, messing with the Tw*tNav or infotainment, watching a video, taking a selfie) may cause themselves and others problems.

 

Edited 11 February, 20251 yr by nta16

On 11/02/2025 at 08:55, Marty_ro said:

Both of them are fitted with Front assist, but they act differently

Is one car set different from the other?

 

 

Thanks.  AG Falco

@Harnser, the hatchback offers me only 2D experiences, the estate offers me only 3D experiences.

@nta16, not that I rely on these systems, but I'd love them both to react the same, whether 2D or 3D.

@AGFalco, both are set the same, please check the attached pics. As you can see, the menu seems to be different. While the hatchback displays less options on the SWING radio, the estate displays more options on the BOLERO.

@Marty_ro my wife's 2015 (hatch) also has a Bolero but the Driver "assist" displays less than your phot, do you also have the follow-the-car-in-front traffic-train active cruise control?

 

I thought the 2D and 3D were joke references is there a difference , but then I have never understood why the "virtual cockpit" name. / term / description is used.

 

We lost our broadband and telephone service all this morning, good job we don't rely on these computer systems in our cars.  😄