Adaptive cruise control

supton

supton

Joined
Nov 9, 2008
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Location
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Usually I hate on it, but last week I had to drive down towards Boston and found myself almost liking it. I don't know about stop and go but it did work down to 30mph, maybe even 25mph. Although it would pour on the beans when the lane opened up (as much as a Corolla can belt out). It was kinda nice, although I did have to pay attention--a Tesla elected to wander into my lane, and use both for a ways, and I had to tap the brakes as the car wasn't able to "see" that (how I'm not sure, a Tesla is pretty wide in the rear IMO).

Maybe I should try the lane assist again, last time I had it on, it seemed to just ping-pong between the lines.
 
supton said:
Usually I hate on it, but last week I had to drive down towards Boston and found myself almost liking it. I don't know about stop and go but it did work down to 30mph, maybe even 25mph. Although it would pour on the beans when the lane opened up (as much as a Corolla can belt out). It was kinda nice, although I did have to pay attention--a Tesla elected to wander into my lane, and use both for a ways, and I had to tap the brakes as the car wasn't able to "see" that (how I'm not sure, a Tesla is pretty wide in the rear IMO).

Maybe I should try the lane assist again, last time I had it on, it seemed to just ping-pong between the lines.
Click to expand...
Adaptive cruise is OK. I end up following someone at 20 below the speed limit for a while before I realize it so I don't use it. :ROFLMAO:

Lane asisst doesn't work well. There are natural tracks in worn pavement and its always fighting them - seems to make the car jittery?
 
I find myself riding the white line on the highway so as to get out of the ruts, as the road noise is just that bad in my car.

Wife has indicated that some of this assist stuff won't turn off fully in her car, she has it off but at times it randomly intervenes for no good reason. She has no love for it.

But yes, I don't care for adaptive on open roads, I too have noticed that I'm doing 20 slower than desired. Between that and not wanting to be in center of lane, I think my regular travels I'd want the lot off. It was only in MA traffic that I started to think it was kinda nice. Not that I can't modulate speed on my own, just that it gets old, quick, with the mess that rush hour is.
 
Honda's system is pretty good, but also incredibly frustrating if you dont use turn signals while changing lanes :ROFLMAO:
 
I love my ACC but Ford's system was way smoother than Mazda's system; probably because the ford had regen braking and a cvt.

I leave the lane assist on but it's absolutely not to do much other than wake me up if I fall asleep at the wheel (happened once but I'm sure hitting the construction cones was also a factor.) It will alert me and start vibrating if my hands are not on the wheel.

I don't think I can get a car without it now.
 
I find it depends on the car and the type of driving. In my CX-30 Turbo it’s great because it has oodles of power to get back up to speed around a slow vehicle. In my Tacoma it’s terrible because once I lose momentum it’s a sordid affair to get it back.

Two lane country roads? You bet. Interstates at 80mph with trucks passing each other? Maybe not.
 
Heh, mentioned this to my wife, and she admitted that while she does not like this stuff, she can think of a good time that lane centering would be great to have: when driving while it's snowing. Then it'd be nice of the car "knew" where the lines were.
 
goingplacesanddoingstuff said:
Most systems give up if the lines aren’t clear.
Click to expand...
Not very useful now is it! :cool: Gives up right when it's most needed.

Would be great if it worked on our road, next to our house. Never had lines painted on it, and the trucks & SUV's like to take over the center of the road.
 
These systems come in so many variants it’s frustrating to determine what exactly a car has.

Adaptive cruise control is obvious enough. My Prologue had that and it worked well. What it didn’t have is lane centering. It had lane keep assist, but all that would do is (sometimes), yank you back in to your lane if you left it.

Even my buddy’s crappy Vinfast VF8 has actual lane centering. It’s pretty much like Tesla Autopilot on the highway. Similar to GM SuperCruise.

Then you have stuff like Tesla Self-Driving which can do pretty much everything.

I think there needs to be a clearer distinction between all these features and their functionality. I know we have the “Levels” but people don’t really understand that, and there is debate on which systems fall in which levels.
 
My Toyota adaptive cruise will follow a car to a stop light, stop, then restart when it turns green. Seems abusive of the tech (and dangerous) so I don't do it.

The human ear is used to pitch, and the pitch of an engine and locked up torque converter are good for indicating you're staying the speed you want. A Prius or similar CVT doesn't give that feedback so you can indeed lose speed, like if you come up behind a semi in the right lane. Worse, if you have a car on your 7 o'clock and yours starts slowing, now they're passing you and you've created a trap you get stuck in.

Bottom line, you still have to pay attention. It's good for some interstates where there's a slight hill that slows trucks slightly and you don't want to fiddle with passing them when they're otherwise going your pace.
 
On my 2017 Mazda 3 GT and with lane assist on it "seems" to deaden or dull the steering inputs slightly.
Might be in my head. I leave it off,but the yellow light is always on telling me its off. It always stays in the off position
unless you hit the button on the dash. So, at least you don't have to deactivate it every time you cycle the car.
I would only use it when driving home early in the morning with hardly any sleep....just in case.
 
I wouldn't be too trusting of the systems on an older vehicle or one where the system was calibrated post-repair. There's some new testing that shows the accuracy and effectiveness of these systems will diminish significantly from normal wear and "outside influence."

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/2025/07/17/new-research-why-proper-post-collision-adas-calibrations-and-regular-maintenance-of-systems-are-essential-for-safety/#:~:text=In January, a 2024 Nissan,early alerts and consistent avoidance.

ADAS systems require very precise calibration environments. I'm skeptical that they're always being followed; I'm also surprised that they do not throw any performance related faults in situations like this:
https://www.collisionrepairmag.com/technology/adas/article/15755819/mindful
 
I drove a Nissan Altima rental car and that ACC was awesome. Every other rental that had majorly sucked especially 2 Toyota Corollas and Chvy Cruze. Even Chrysler Pacifica and Tahoe were not good. I think Nissan did well with their design.
 
Had a rental Corolla two years ago and I thought it was very good.

Our 16 and 19 Hondas have it, but not as good. My Accord goes down to 0 mph, but too jerky to make it good in traffic jams. Corolla was good in traffic jams, and the lane keeping was way better. I believe it would even slow down for corners.

I like all this kind of tech because it makes driving easier, IMO safer too.
 
I find that I'm constantly covering the brake when traffic gets a bit congested on the interstate. I've learned to adjust the radar range in order to adjust for traffic conditions.

It is an odd feeling to let the vehicle control the braking and throttle in stop-an-go traffic.
 
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