Hi Everybody...

Slowly learning the features of Honda Sensing and I am very impressed. Having the BananaFit steering itself with the Lane Keeping Assist System was shocking at first. For a few moments, the car drove itself within the curving lanes of the freeway, at speed, by itself... The Adaptive Cruise Control did adjust the vehicle speed depending on the actions of the vehicle in front as advertised...

Does anybody know why Honda chose to restrict lane keeping to above 45-mph and adaptive cruise control above 25 mph?

The hardware would appear capable of doing slow speed follow-along and lane keeping for that matter... why included on other Honda models but not the 2018/19 Fit?

Thoughts and factual knowledge would be appreciated...

Best,

Carl

 

For Lane Keep Assist, my guess is that there isn't enough range in the steering for it to be effective below 45mph. In other words the system can't actuate the steering far enough to have a significant effect at slow speeds.

Most cruise controls in modern vehicles don't work below 25mph. The internet seems to think this is a safety feature; if you're going below 25mph you're probably in a residential area, or in a city, where you need to be paying attention.

 

Sounds legit....have never had a car where cruise control works below XX mph, and, like ya said on the other points. If ya want a self driving/driverless input car, you're gonna have to wait. I have no desire to be driven until I can't drive. Dammit

 

My 2016 EX does not have the Sensing suite, but our other car (2017 Acura) is equipped with what I believe to be the same system.
Since my wife's the primary driver of the car, all those safety features were an important factor in choosing the car... and its all mostly great and reliable.
Having said that I hate it when the car fights back when trying to quickly change lanes with turn signal off.
Which in case of a typical evasive manouver seems to be counterproductive bordering on dangerous...

 

Yup. That's it. Cruise control is not compatible with stop and go traffic and at really low speeds you are probably in a stop and go traffic situation. Adaptive cruise control does not have the responsiveness needed for city driving since there are new factors - such as pedestrians and cyclists that ACC was probably not designed to handle.

 

dang if my $15k car had adaptive cruise and steering assist, i would NOT be complaining at all! lol

 

Yes but if a market-wide software download would enable slow speed follow along for a system that is capable of doing so that would be really appreciated...

Perhaps Honda is concerned with someone hacking the software that would enable the slow speed follow along and that is why the owners manual has that sentence about only using the Honda software.

The new world order in cars - concern over hacking...

 

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow on the 2018 Honda Accord:

 

Question for you newer-model owners -- how long will the Fit drive down the highway keeping itself in the lane without assistance? My brother's new Honda Clarity will beep every 20 seconds asking for human input on the steering wheel. Is it the same on the new Fits?

Thanks,
Steve

 

So you're saying the car won't allow you to take evasive action to avoid a pothole, or steer around a cyclist? This sounds like a very dangerous system to me.

 

Woof is correct that the Accord acts differently. I have a 2018 Accord and as long as my foot isn't on the brake and at any speed under 25 mph all I have to do is hit the Set button and it'll set the ACC at 25mph and perform slow speed follow complete with auto braking to a complete stop and will resume speed when the minimum distance is detected. I have no idea why it isn't the exact same on the Fit. I use it all the time to prevent that once in a lifetime distraction. Maybe Honda will soon update the sensing on the Fit.

 

It doesn't prevent any evasive action, it simply warns you that you might be heading off where you shouldn't.

 

As long as the lane keep assist and road departure waning are enabled the steering provides physical feedback if you attempt to change lines without having a signal on (on top of visual and audible warnings)
The system assumes that this is unintentional and you have to actually put significant effort into steering the car out of your lane while the car attempts to "correct" it by bouncing back/vibrating the steering back into straight. It literally fights back.
So no,ultimately it will not prevent you from veering off your path, but it is a very weird surprising feeling each and every time. Like the machine is physically taking over. I do not like this feeling. And I do not like the fact that this creates a delay between your input and the car changing direction.
Having said that, it is entirely possible that front collision avoidance system would possibly kick in in case of an impending impact, but I do not really feel like confirming that.

 

it does auto brake, right? i mean the car has adaptive cruise so that means it brakes automatically if going off a cliff or into a tree or something.

 

It's about 20 seconds before it flashes on the display "steering required." And then, as far as I can tell, it just shuts off the LKAS without warning, and no longer steers you. I haven't really tested it beyond that.

You can always turn the LKAS or LMS off if you don't like them. I have never had a problem overriding it when I've needed to make an evasive maneuver, I am usually putting a good deal of force into the steering wheel when doing that, so I almost don't even notice the feedback when I am making an emergency swerve.

 

Vinyl... I wouldn't call the steering input required as significant at all. Trust me, for the Accord, if you feel the wheel's sensory warning and are turning the wheel, even a 90 year old grandmother of 20 would be able to execute an evasive move without delay. Is it a strange feeling? Yes indeed. But it in no way hampers the wheel's movement or the car's reaction to a change in direction. As for auto braking... it is supposed to intervene at some point without the ACC engaged, but I'm not testing that one for you. But I do know that with the ACC engaged, the car will practically drive itself in stop and go traffic, using slow speed following with speed resumption AND complete auto braking. That feature I test every time I drive the car. Please remember I'm talking about an Accord not a Fit. And as a side note... I'm not a fan of the LKAS and usually never have it engaged. The most distracting part I find is the fact that it has a hard time deciphering lanes when lines are either faintly painted or break off because of exits/entrances and then proceeds to warn you you are no longer in the lane. That sensory warning is more distracting than the auto steering. And the absolute worst part of the sensing system, at least on the Accord is Auto High Beam. Thank God it can be overridden .

 

No, it lets you do what you want. It will beep and give a slight movement to the wheel. If your hands are on the wheel, it is not enough force to do anything. Even just cruising along with my left arm on the door and index finger and thumb on the steering wheel, i can swerve to dodge a pothole at speed and the system isn't going to "override" me. If you use your turn signal it doesn't complain at all. I would liken the steering correction to having a car with a poor alignment, it just kind of pulls in one direction. Nothing about it is "jerky."

 

Yeah, I used a wrong word.
"Significant" is probably a little exaggerated.

 

Our 17 Civic Hatch Sport Touring works in stop and go traffic, which is really nice. It will come to a complete stop and hold the brake until its time to start moving again.

The Civic's system actually works better than my Crosstrek's Eyesight system in stop and go traffic. The Subaru will only hold the brake at stop for 3 seconds before I have to take control.

My guess is Honda reserved the low speed feature for higher models like the Civic and Accord.