I have noticed the ACC is not something rely on in my Scout MY16. It has happened more than once that it failed to slowdown and stop the car when approaching another car stopped at traffic lights. It is plain dangerous and scary. Sometimes I can see the car in the maxi-dot, sometimes not when this happens. At other times it just works fine. I noticed the same with front assist in the similar situation, i.e. a stopped car in the front but nothing happens. Very unreliable or perhaps broken.

17 minutes ago, CajoLajo said:

it failed to slowdown and stop the car when approaching another car stopped at traffic lights.

My understanding is that the ACC radar ignores all objects that have a relative speed the same as the speed of the car, i.e. all stationary objects.

 

If it didn't do this then roadside objects (fences, road signs, etc.) could cause the ACC to brake the car to a halt.

2 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

My understanding is that the ACC radar ignores all objects that have a relative speed the same as the speed of the car, i.e. all stationary objects.

 

If it didn't do this then roadside objects (fences, road signs, etc.) could cause the ACC to brake the car to a halt.

On reflection, I am not sure if my quoted sentence made any sense to anybody. I meant to say that I would have crashed into the stationary car (stopped at the traffic lights) if I did not apply the brakes in time.  This scenario happens with ACC and front assist very often. As I said, at other times it works just fine.

Don't worry too much.....

 

You're in good company....!

 

 

Really funny!

I guess that explains all those disclaimers in relation to this technology.

I may be wrong but my understanding is that the Skoda system was a fairly limited one compared to others. I think it might only work down to a certain speed which could mean it won't bring the car to a full stop anyway. I dont think it is capable of pulling to a stop and then pulling away again either. I don't have it though so I'm sure there will be people here who know more than I do. 

Funny I thought it had something to do with my gaze/attention.  I can't recall once it working when my eyes were on the road but several times I've had it work when glancing away at the radio or in the mirrors or at road signs.   Someone should test this ;-P no please don't!

I dont share the same exprience. My Octavia MY20 feels safe when using the ACC. It even brakes when I think it unnecessary, when passning a bike with good sideway-distance to it (not a motorbike), when a car turns in front of me and so on. Only had the car for 2 months, but it have never let me down yet.

 

Maybe its the placement of the radar that makes the difference, on your pre facelift and my faceliftet one? Or have Skoda improved/refined the software over the years? Or are yours faulty?

11 hours ago, CajoLajo said:

I have noticed the ACC is not something rely on in my Scout MY16. It has happened more than once that it failed to slowdown and stop the car when approaching another car stopped at traffic lights. It is plain dangerous and scary. Sometimes I can see the car in the maxi-dot, sometimes not when this happens. At other times it just works fine. I noticed the same with front assist in the similar situation, i.e. a stopped car in the front but nothing happens. Very unreliable or perhaps broken.

 

Sounds like the system in your car may not be working properly, but despite that I can't help worry about your attitude towards the system:   "it's plain dangerous"?

 

It would only be dangerous if you were reading a book or texting your friend or eating a sandwitch etc.  Remember it's you who drives the car not vice-versa.

 

Personally I think this is an example of what's wrong with such systems as folk seem to forget it's themselves who're in control.

2 hours ago, Scot5 said:

 

Sounds like the system in your car may not be working properly, but despite that I can't help worry about your attitude towards the system:   "it's plain dangerous"?

 

It would only be dangerous if you were reading a book or texting your friend or eating a sandwitch etc.  Remember it's you who drives the car not vice-versa.

 

Personally I think this is an example of what's wrong with such systems as folk seem to forget it's themselves who're in control.

 

You would agree that the specifications of the Forward Assist system below are in conflict with your statements and in line with my expectations. In my case, sometimes, there is no advanced warning let alone the expected braking action that should follow. So, something is confusing the system in some situations (buildings, trees etc). Completely agree with you that drivers need to be in control all the time (that's a common knowledge). There are several topics discussing FA here and all I see there is total confusion about the scenarios when it is supposed to kick in and when not. As for ACC, I was probably using it incorrectly, i.e. it should only be used when cruising on a highway. The reason I tried to use it on straight city roads with 60km+ speed limits is because I read somewhere here that it is more reliable than FA as it always maintains the distance selected by the driver. However, it failed to stop the car in the scenario described in my original post. The car has less than 40,000 km on the clock, it was serviced last month with no errors detected by the scan. Provided my car is in good shape, I am disappointed because I cannot always expect the system to assist me when I expect it to assist me. This is when the driver for whatever reason does not react in a timely manner (obviously one should not ever be eating a sandwich or texting while driving, but FA should kick in even then).

 

An outstanding, technological advancement, standard on the entire Octavia range is Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)* - an extension of the conventional cruise control system with
advanced capabilities based on a radar sensor located on the front grille. When ACC is activated, the vehicle automatically brakes and accelerates to a speed and distance set by the
driver. The dynamics of the ACC system can be individually varied by selecting one of the driving programs from the Driving Mode Selection. Utilising the same radar sensor, Front Assist* safety system monitors the area in front of the car and evaluates the distance, direction and speed of all nearby objects. Using
predefined algorithms, it decides whether these objects pose a potential risk of collision and alerts the driver if the distance to object is insufficient – initially with a tone and an alert
on the multi-function display; followed by a warning jolt of the brakes. If the driver doesn’t respond, the car will brake itself – all the way to a standstill if needed, helping to avoid a
collision or reduce the severity of the accident. It can be turned off by the driver via the touchscreen.

*Safety technologies are not a substitute for the driver's responsibility of the vehicle.

I have a 2015 vRS in Australia with ACC and never had problems like you've described. What PetrolDave says is correct from memory - it may not pick up stationary objects in front of you - and honestly, every part of your driving instinct should be telling you to slow down or stop if the car ahead of you is stationary anyway. I think subconsciously I probably deactivate it most of the time if say, im approaching lights and there is a car there that is stationary. I suspect when ACC is malfunctioning, it actually disables itself and forces you to drive the car.

 

For me, Front Assist only goes off when it should (probably a little more than I would like but that's more to do with the way I drive) - e.g. the car ahead of me stops suddenly, or slows down to turn and im getting a bit close for the system's comfort etc. 

 

If you think it is malfunctioning but not disabling itself, maybe you should get it checked out? 

 

 

Thank you TimmyQ, I will employ your technique when using ACC. It sounds very sensible and it will become a subconscious thing over time . As for FA, I reset it to factory settings this morning and went for a drive. Bingo, it worked better. It activated twice when a car in the front slowed down to turn left. Visual and sound alerts were triggered followed by a warning jolt of the brakes. I had never seen that before. It did not stop the car because I took over. It looks like a reset was all that I needed to do. Thank you all!