It's Official: Lane Assist is Annoying.

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

What tech designers of new cars really need to develop is a fierce warning (maybe electric shock in the seat) to tell many folks that there is a reason 12 cars are piled up behind them in the fast lane and the car in front of them is disappearing over the horizon.

Geez, if you are not actively passing the car in the right lane by a delta of at least 5 mph, get the hell out of the way!

My rule of thumb for driving speed is: "Do not be the speed limit"

As to the lane assist nany: What happens when do do a slalom run with it?

fanfoy said:

Rented a Fusion a couple of years ago for a December trip from Montreal to Toronto. It started to snow as I was approaching the Ontario border and the lane system was getting really confused and almost sent me in the ditch in the weirdest of ways. I really thought something terrible had broken on the car. Thankfully the system disengaged not long after.

I hate all those systems because I've never experienced one that is well calibrated for winter driving. They are easily confused, their sensors are easily rendered inoperable and they seem to react weirdly to cold temperatures (-15f and under). Heck, most traction control systems (which is pretty old tech at this point) are not well calibrated for winter driving. They all tend to be too slow to react and then over-reacting...useless.

I've driven my Fusion through three Michigan winters and have never noticed a problem. If the sensors get iced up, I will get a message saying that the driver assist functions are unavailable and I continue on my merry way. In fact, even in heavy rain the adaptive cruise shuts off because it can't see.

Now, I have my lane assist set so that it doesn't actually do any steering, it just vibrates the wheel a bit if I cross the line. If I'm doing more enthusiastic driving, I just ignore the vibration. If I was really going for it on a track (which I haven't done with this car), I'd turn it off.

Honestly, I don't get the big deal. The system works pretty well and is unobtrusive. It's not something I'd seek out in a new car (though adaptive cruise is), but it doesn't bother me, either.

RevRico said:

How do all these systems work on salt or slush covered roads? Sounds like construction zones are problems, will Northern winters just turn the highways into bumper cars?

They'll generally bring up a warning that either 1) can't see lane lines or 2) sensors are covered/need cleaning and the system is disabled. More idiot-proof than you may think.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

Now, I have my lane assist set so that it doesn't actually do any steering, it just vibrates the wheel a bit if I cross the line. If I'm doing more enthusiastic driving, I just ignore the vibration. If I was really going for it on a track (which I haven't done with this car), I'd turn it off.

I already joke about the numb steering feel in the Mini as "tuned by Logitech." The last thing I want to add to the numbness is haptic feedback unrelated to what the car is physically experiencing. That's feels like stepping up the removal of the tactile joy of driving.

I remember people not liking ABS very much when it came out...sometimes early ABS wasn't very good, but sometimes it took some adapting and trusting. I don't know if Lane Assist is in this category or not. It has taking some adapting for me, I don't trust it completely, but I do like it on my Si as previously mentioned.  I think I'd really like it on my next truck, especially with my 24' enclosed trailer.

In reply to Carl Heideman :

I don't like it mainly becuase if the car wanders slightly bit I won't correct the car if it's going to come back to the center of the lane. The lane assist makes unnecessary inputs simply becuase of slight deviations in the road.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I've had a couple of rental cars with Lane Assist and my Si, so not much experience. My Si is very smooth and I don't sense the unnecessary inputs you're describing. Given the newness of the technology, I'm guessing that each vendor's approach and algorithms are going to give varying experiences and maybe the Camry's isn't as smooth. 

I'm pretty happy with all the nannies on my Si but do think they all could use a little refinement--they're maybe 90% there, but the last 10% is gonna make them truly shine.  As an example, one thing I'd like changed on my Si is that I fairly frequently get the "Steering Required" warning even when my hands have been on the wheel and I have to give a little artificial jerk to convince it that my hands are on the wheel. Seems like a little more sensitivity in whatever sensor would better know my hands were on the wheel.

I had to eliminate some of the nannies on my new Maverick order.  Can't tell you how disappointed I was.  Not.  

Carl Heideman said:

I remember people not liking ABS very much when it came out...sometimes early ABS wasn't very good, but sometimes it took some adapting and trusting. I don't know if Lane Assist is in this category or not. It has taking some adapting for me, I don't trust it completely, but I do like it on my Si as previously mentioned.  I think I'd really like it on my next truck, especially with my 24' enclosed trailer.

Interesting analogy.  On the one hand ABS is very much an effective driver aid in most conditions and I can see how a well designed Lane Assist could be considered the same thing.  On the other hand ABS provides a capability that didn't exist at all before it came along, in the form of threshold braking at different rates on all four wheels and, threshold braking is really an advanced skill even under ideal conditions whereas cars have had the ability to stay in the designated lane for quite some time and the skill needed to do that is pretty basic.

In reply to Carl Heideman :

And that last 10% is what I find annoying when it comes to technology. Companies feel the need to rush things to market and so we get things that haven't been fully optimized.