Front Assist - Odd behavior!

[ChrisB]

http://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/vw-tiguan-automatic-braking-problem-658847
The above link shows a VW Tiguan apply autonomous braking (front assist) during a routine drive around Cornwall. Has anyone experienced this on their California?

 

[CampervanTime]

Not on a California (haven't got mine yet) but would expect to have a few issues based on previous cars.

I had an Audi S3 2014 with radar adaptive cruise and front assist and that used to bring on the early warning braking when pushing on a bit and getting a bit of a bounce on - ie the sensor thought it saw tarmac in its face

I have just taken delivery of a BMW i3 with camera based adaptive cruise and front assist and in the first 2 weeks I've had the front assist come on once on a twisty road near my house - again, when pushing on a bit.

So in short - yes in other cars, not yet in a Cali but expect to do so.

 

[Loz]

The old codger should drive a bit faster and he won’t have a problem, only operates below 19mph!

 

[CampervanTime]

Not in the S3 and i3 i’ve Had/got. Both of those cut in at 30mph+!!

My wife has it on her fiesta and that is only 19mph and under, but some systems are higher speed

 

[Rob H]

And for drivers following these vehicles, say into a car park or multi storey or in slow moving traffic ...

 

[Richard]

I am an old codger with a T6 (Loz - you'll be an old codger one day, if your lucky.......!) and it has ACC, I have had two incidents when front assist has activated, much more actively than on the video of the Tiguan, one when approaching a cattle grid and another when a paper bag blew onto the radar sensor. In both cases a closely following vehicle would have probably rammed our T6.

 

[Stoneybroke]

There's a particular corner near me where the hedge seems to set the alert as you drive towards it - is quite a fast 75° corner, but you are driving straight at the hedge and I think the speed, angle of the hedge and closing speed fool it. It has not progresses to slamming on the brakes yet!

Cornish roads are narrow and lined with high wall l is and hedges, so it could well be a problem, that said I've driven through some similar roads and not had an issue.

There is an option to turn it off in the MFD but I haven't seen the adjustments mentioned.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Hmm,
The mind bogles.
I'm guessing its always the same spots and traffic conditions and not a case of did it today, didn't do it yesterday same spot, same speed same conditions.
Either way, needs addressing however rare.
Makes me wonder if there is a solid object obscured by the hedge (or whatever) that the car becomes aligned with for a moment as it negotiates the bend.

I wonder also if it could be replicated by an identical car? If the system is consistent you ought to be able to and if so that should prove whether its a fault of the individual car or the emergency braking system design.

 

[Loz]

I am an old codger with a T6 (Loz - you'll be an old codger one day, if your lucky.......!) and it has ACC, I have had two incidents when front assist has activated, much more actively than on the video of the Tiguan, one when approaching a cattle grid and another when a paper bag blew onto the radar sensor. In both cases a closely following vehicle would have probably rammed our T6.

The OP and report in question was discussing City Braking not ACC.

... The old Codger was said in jest and said in relation to city braking working below 19mph...

 

[Stoneybroke]

The OP and report in question was discussing City Braking not ACC.

... The old Codger was said in jest and said in relation to city braking working below 19mph...

Actually the Cornish article does refer to Front Assist, which in the T6, works at speeds above 19mph and is using the ACC radar, though the Front Assist/City Assist can be an option without ACC, I assume the same black box in the grill will be there.
I believe city assist works on the same technology, but seems to operate differently at the slower speeds. The manual is a bit light on how they differ, except the speed.

And 58 ain't that old!

 

[Ocean Spirit]

And 58 ain't that old!

Especially on this forum.

 

[Amarillo]

Driving at 62mph on the A3 approaching the A3(M) near Portsmouth, driving on adaptive cruise control, without obvious cause, three warning lights came on and a “no front assist” alert flashed up. The warning lights remained illuminated and I lost adaptive cruise control.

As we were close to our destination I continued at a reduced speed.

After ignition off then on the only warning light on is ABS.

I guess this is a visit to the nearest van centre for a reset, or should I call out VW assist?

 

[Jay20cali]

All this new technology is buxxshxt.
For this very reason I didn’t get acc .imagine in 5/6 years when the box is all crusty your acc will be useless and expensive to fix...
Unfortunately city braking is standard on my18 onwards otherwise I wouldn’t have that either.as helpful as it may be in the long run it will just be expensive

 

[VW Guru]

Driving at 62mph on the A3 approaching the A3(M) near Portsmouth, driving on adaptive cruise control, without obvious cause, three warning lights came on and a “no front assist” alert flashed up. The warning lights remained illuminated and I lost adaptive cruise control.

As we were close to our destination I continued at a reduced speed.

After ignition off then on the only warning light on is ABS.

I guess this is a visit to the nearest van centre for a reset, or should I call out VW assist?

I would give vw assist a call but look at your front sensor and check if it’s been damaged or hit by something also check it for security as I’ve seen the support bracket crack and cause the sensor to be loose causing an incorrect alignment angle

 

[Neuon2003]

For this very reason I didn’t get acc .

I also chose not to specify ACC as it is far from foolproof, just unnecessary and, crucially, cannot be configured as conventional cruise control. The user manual has three sides of information on the limitations and when not to use ACC.

[Hobby horse / on] I feel that ACC contributes to the increase of lane zombies, who move as part of multi-vehicle platoons/herds, which are not compatible with the 'keep left' driving code or the effective use of the roads.

 

[Erbster]

My ACC has already prevented a collision which I would not have reacted in time to avoid. If it malfunctions out of warranty, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. You pays your money...


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[Amarillo]

Generally I love ACC although front assist does throw up some strange actions.

I’m not sure what happened today, but has been the first malfunction since being Amarillo was struck by a van rolling backwards in Poland on 17 August 2017.

That time I had to drive from Poland to the UK in two drives, punctuated by four nights camping in Trier, without any sort of Cruise Control, and I really missed it.

What seems odd is that the ABS fault light isn’t resetting while the other fault lights have after ignition off.

 

[Loz]

I had that combination of lights, and lost acc. It was caused by the gear shift throwing a glitch.
Cleared it with carista, never came back.

 

[Amarillo]

I had that combination of lights, and lost acc. It was caused by the gear shift throwing a glitch.
Cleared it with carista, never came back.

Everything has cleared this morning, the abs after a drive around the block. I checked the tyres as a precaution and all was good or at least +/- 0.5 psi.

 

[Erbster]

Well, no sooner have I said how well my ACC works, then I have a problem. Driving north on the M6 in heavy spray through a 50 limit, with a metal “fence”. After some time on ACC, I suddenly got a “sensor error” and the ACC no longer works. I stopped and checked the sensor, which looked fine, but the ACC worked normally again after (we’d put the roadworks behind us by that point).

I think the proximity of the metal barrier had caused reflections which confused system. Not experienced that in the previous 35k mi in this vehicle though.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[Touaregowner]

I have a very Touareg that has problems with the assist features. The car brakes randomly without warning.. the vehicle has been off the road for 6 weeks after many months of problems. VW AT PRESENT DO NOT HAVE A FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM. They have now switched warning lights off without fixing the problem. MY INSURERS HAVE SAID THAT I WILL NOT BE COVERED IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT AS IM KNOWINGLY DRIVING THE VEHICLE WITH A FAULT. Therefore, my brand new top of the range car is sat on the car park of the local dealer costing me £650 per month!!!!

 

[Doorbundle]

When driving in rural areas just show common sense restraint, anticipate hazards. Save our sheep!

 

[Amarillo]

Well, no sooner have I said how well my ACC works, then I have a problem. Driving north on the M6 in heavy spray through a 50 limit, with a metal “fence”. After some time on ACC, I suddenly got a “sensor error” and the ACC no longer works. I stopped and checked the sensor, which looked fine, but the ACC worked normally again after (we’d put the roadworks behind us by that point).

I think the proximity of the metal barrier had caused reflections which confused system. Not experienced that in the previous 35k mi in this vehicle.

Similar happened to me once after crossing the South Downs in heavy rain. Radar stopped working and a series of warning lights came on knocking out ACC. After turning the engine off and on again everything worked perfectly again.

 

[Brian’s Dad]

I’ve had friends with vw’s and Audi’s moan about the front assist automatically kicking in inappropriately so much so that they’ve turned it off. Mine has never gone off, I’ve tried getting close to traffic and it doesn’t alert, under what parameters should it kick in?

 

[Amarillo]

I’ve had friends with vw’s and Audi’s moan about the front assist automatically kicking in inappropriately so much so that they’ve turned it off. Mine has never gone off, I’ve tried getting close to traffic and it doesn’t alert, under what parameters should it kick in?

In slow moving traffic, if you approach the rear of a slower moving vehicle too quickly it goes off. It can also go off if someone unexpectedly pulls out in front of you. Annoyingly it can also go off when someone in front of you is turning left, and you have already judged it safe to narrow the gap and keep moving.