Sudden braking for no reason

[paddyr]

Hi, I love my Skoda karoq but it frightened the life outa me, the other day..when it practically came to a standstill and the most awful vibration through out the car. There was a red message flash on the dash, which I didn't catch...having read this forum on this "fault", I am switching off all gadgets associated with braking....

 

[KenONeill]

13 minutes ago, paddyr said:

Hi, I love my Skoda karoq but it frightened the life outa me, the other day..when it practically came to a standstill and the most awful vibration through out the car. There was a red message flash on the dash, which I didn't catch...having read this forum on this "fault", I am switching off all gadgets associated with braking....

 

I can't be definitive, but I suspect it's the function, benignly named "front assist" or similar that actually does "panic break if a crisp packet tries to run across the road in front of you", activating full emergency braking in the process. Did you notice the hazard lights triggering at this time? (asked for confirmation)

[smipx]

I would keep them on to be honest.  The occasional phantom inclident (if caused by a leaf/crisp packet) is worth it for the things it might well save you from if it is off. It stopped me forwarding into my garage door some time ago and also stopped me reversing into a low wall.  If it keeps happening then it is faulty and may need repairing. 

[kodiaqsportline]

Plenty of crips packets blow in front of my car and it's never emergency braked.

 

The sensor could be faulty, other than that nothing to worry about as the car's emergency braking is doing what it's designed to do.  ( At least you know it works! ) The awful vibration would have been the ABS kicking in, again doing what it's designed to do i.e. preventing the brakes from locking. The system kicks in when it thinks you're about to crash - i.e. getting to close to the car in front without your foot on the brake pedal.

 

How long have you had the car? Sounds like this is the first time you've experienced it so guess adjusting the sensitivity isn't going to make any difference in this case.

 

If it does it again without reason then it's a trip to the dealer who'll check the system out. Of course it could have been something as innocent as a bird flying past...  eating a packet of crisps

Edited 15 October, 2022 by kodiaqsportline
text

[Warrior193]

Hello Paddy, welcome to the forum. Check that the front radar sensor (or mounting bracket) has not been damaged in a minor parking shunt. 

[paddyr]

Hi to everyone and many thanks for answering..I've taken note of all the pointers regarding the crisp packet braking, but I'm a careful driver, so I think I'll disable the front assist...that's the third time it has happened, I thought I was doing something wrong in my driving...it happened before, going forward slowly on my drive, another time, reversing slowly off my drive, then lastly driving slowly in a 20mph zone. I don't think my heart or anus could cope with another jolt...Paddy.

 

[kenfowler3966]

It’s protecting your car. You will have been getting too close to a wall or some vegetation. Mine regularly does this going through a narrow spot on drive to get to garage. After it stops I just set off again.

Conversely it did it once when driving and stopped a collision with the car in front which stopped suddenly and for no apparent reason. It stopped the car in a much shorter distance than seemed possible manually including reaction time.

I will put up with occasional false alarms for this valuable safety feature.

You can apparently reduce the sensitivity in the menu so try that first.

[KenONeill]

5 minutes ago, kenfowler3966 said:

I will put up with occasional false alarms for this valuable safety feature

Your car doesn't have a similar "rear protect" function that will force panic braking on your tailgit.

[Karock]

53 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Your car doesn't have a similar "rear protect" function that will force panic braking on your tailgit.

 

Well mine does!

While reversing up a narrow unfamiliar lane it put the brakes on and displayed the red alarm thing. On inspection I was about to hit a rock jutting out low down.

It does occasionally display the red warning thing when nothing appears to be near but when regularly passing over a very narrow bridge with inches to spare each side it stays silent.

 

So summarising it is worth having but prone to phantom triggers.

[KenONeill]

34 minutes ago, Karock said:

Well mine does

No it doesn't. The function would cause the vehicle that is driving 30 feet behind you at 70mph to brake when you do, so you don't get a Suburban Useless Vehicle slamming into your back.

[paddyr]

Thanks again to everyone about crisp packet braking..on reflection about reversing and sudden braking, I was turning to come off my drive, so couldve picked up the low side fencing...but to sum it up, about having "automatic" braking...it is something, I have never had, I have always driven with plenty of stopping distance between myself and car in front...so, on balance, I will perhaps reduce sensitivity, give it one chance..if it happens again...it's off.

Cheers everyone

 

[kodiaqsportline]

1 hour ago, KenONeill said:

No it doesn't. The function would cause the vehicle that is driving 30 feet behind you at 70mph to brake when you do, so you don't get a Suburban Useless Vehicle slamming into your back.

 

Sounds to me like Karock is explaining rear cross traffic alert.  It works the same way as front assist ( tho I doubt there's any need to apply ABS ) but just using the parking sensors therefore the radar beam range isn't that far.  Besides I can't understand your theory - assist systems only affect your vehicle, not someone elses?

 

Karock - I had the system kick in on my other car for what I first thought no apparent reason, but there was a ruddy big rock lying underneath grass on the verge. I was trying to do a 3 point turn and couldn't understand at first why the car halted then was reluctant to move.

Edited 15 October, 2022 by kodiaqsportline

[Warrior193]

14 minutes ago, paddyr said:

Thanks again to everyone about crisp packet braking..on reflection about reversing and sudden braking, I was turning to come off my drive, so couldve picked up the low side fencing...but to sum it up, about having "automatic" braking...it is something, I have never had, I have always driven with plenty of stopping distance between myself and car in front...so, on balance, I will perhaps reduce sensitivity, give it one chance..if it happens again...it's off.

Cheers everyone

 

Just be aware that in the event of an accident, your insurance company could take the view that an accident was 'preventable' if the front assist had been active - they might consider apportioning some fault to you if the system was deactivated.   

[smipx]

3 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Your car doesn't have a similar "rear protect" function that will force panic braking on your tailgit.

Oh yes it does!  ..... and it has done so for me at least once. Scared me half to death but avoided a rear end with a hidden post in my blind spot.  When reversing it is automatic and in a narrow lane, as soon as you slow to a crawl the parking sensors turn on and it is active in scenarios like "Karock" mentioned. Agreed it is not the radar but it has the protection none-the-less. The OP did not mention whether it was his parking sensors that kicked in or the front radar. My guess is that it might have been the parking sensors "Automatic Emergency Braking" feature - well just as likely as the radar option which it could also have been (as well as some others if you paid for certain other features.

 

Page 222 and 223 in my manual:

 

Edited 15 October, 2022 by smipx

[vegit8]

Another vote for the reversing and full emergency braking application.

I had to do a 3 point turn in a narrow country lane.

There were no obstructions on the verge except some tall grasses.

As I went backwards there was what sounded like an almighty bang, the car stopped dead, almost as if I had hit a brick wall.

I got out to inspect, nothing there, except said tall grasses.

 

I think the emergency braking is different to the front facing proximity alarm (big red icon in dashboard).

I have had this come up a couple of times when closing the gap when following a car that is turning right and I am continuing forward.

The system cannot differentiate between this and closing on a car that is travelling in the same direction.

 

[gumdrop]

I had the bang and sudden stop when exiting a suprmarket car park to turn right onto the main road.

As I pulled forward a car pulled up to a postbox almost directly opposite and stopped, detected as a 

threat the brakes came on. There was no moving traffic, the road area was about four cars wide.

[paddyr]

Hi again, Karoqies. Can I add a little oddity, that I was told about. Perhaps folks on this forum can help. My karoq failed because of knackered battery. I called out the motor aid services. A top guy came out and sorted everything. He gave me a bit of advice by telling me to switch off the auto engine cut off, as it's a strain on engine, battery, crankshaft and the savings is miniscule...that's the second time, I've heard this tip..???

 

[SuperbTWM]

On 15/10/2022 at 16:24, KenONeill said:

No it doesn't. The function would cause the vehicle that is driving 30 feet behind you at 70mph to brake when you do, so you don't get a Suburban Useless Vehicle slamming into your back.

 

Mine also has this feature, basically uses the rear parking sensors to activate autonomous braking, doesn't half scare you if it picks up on a kerb.

 

Never had any false alarms on the front though other than just warnings

Edited 17 October, 2022 by SuperbTWM

[KenONeill]

2 hours ago, paddyr said:

He gave me a bit of advice by telling me to switch off the auto engine cut off, as it's a strain on engine, battery, crankshaft and the savings is miniscual

Well, there is some load on the battery; IME it will only last about 3 or 4 years, but the fuel saving is worthwhile (based on knowing some drivers for Hampden Cars (Later GlasGO Cars) in Glasgow). Load on the engine (the crankshaft is part of the engine) was not an issue in their experiencee.

[Kenny R]

31 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

 

Never had any false alarms on the front though other than just warnings

That’s the thing, you normally get a warning and if you don’t make any change in input to steering, accelerator, brakes then the car will apply the brakes. Are those that are saying car slammed the brakes on ignoring these warnings, or are their cars actually braking for no reason.

Edited 17 October, 2022 by Kenny R

[SuperbTWM]

18 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

That’s the thing, you normally get a warning and if you don’t make any change in input to steering, accelerator, brakes then the car will apply the brakes. Are those that are saying car slammed the brakes on ignoring these warnings, or are their cars actually braking for no reason.

 

It must be falsely detecting something that is very close hence it goes straight for braking intervention maybe?

[J.R.]

On 15/10/2022 at 14:12, smipx said:

It stopped me forwarding into my garage door some time ago and also stopped me reversing into a low wall.  If it keeps happening then it is faulty and may need repairing. 

If it keeps happening you should have a word with yourself about concentration on the task of looking at your intended trajectory before moving the vehicle.

[petrolbloke]

On 15/10/2022 at 17:28, Warrior193 said:

Just be aware that in the event of an accident, your insurance company could take the view that an accident was 'preventable' if the front assist had been active - they might consider apportioning some fault to you if the system was deactivated.   

I doubt it.

 

In some circumstances disabling it might actually be safer - if it glitches and slams on the brakes for no good reason then you might be more likely to get rear-ended.

 

Personally I'm not a fan of such 'safety' features - I like to be in full control (or fairly close to). I think it's important for people to be aware of what they are doing in order to avoid crashing into things rather than relying on computers to make driving decisions for them.

[J.R.]

Many accidents would have been preventable had the driver accepted their responsability for the safe pilotage of a 1.5 tonne battering ram and not abdicated the responsability to electronic gizmos.

 

How many of those would have been so that they could stare at their phone screens or the same images cast to the infotainment screen?

[Ootohere]

Lots of Skoda and other VW group cars here, and other brands, anyone been rear ended yet with their car Auto braking?