Defective Auto Braking Systems Scare Vehicle Owners

Advanced driver assistance systems, which include lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking, are designed to make cars and driving safer than ever. But sometimes, functions like automatic braking malfunction and have the opposite effect, wrecking a driver’s confidence in driving at all.

Ideally, automatic braking helps slow down or stop the car when the system detects a risk in order to avoid a collision, especially if the driver doesn’t react quickly enough.

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wilfred - 8/30/2019 1:59:47 PM

+3 Boost

There are too many kinds of braking system... Some only give warnings but no actual braking, some will actually assist like applying full pressure, some will only activate in certain speeds, some will only brake if there’s no drivers interference...

And then you have manufacturers being so careful on choosing the right names of these systems to avoid lawsuits but terms only an expert can remember or lawyers can understand. Not to mention technology is constantly changing and dealerships personnel may or may not present it correctly on the specific car you are buying.

Last but not least, a lot of people have more than one car.

SanJoseDriver - 9/6/2019 9:30:09 PM

+1 Boost

You forget how many lives were saved by this feature--you only hear the negative stories.

MDarringer - 9/6/2019 10:38:03 PM

+1 Boost

Link?

And please make it one that is non-speculative and one that specifically counts the number of people who were near death and were saved.

Fake data bullshittery not welcome.

pcar4evr - 8/30/2019 5:40:09 PM

+2 Boost

I got a small lesson in this myself. On our Mazda CX-5 with emergency braking, I was behind a car doing about 40 mph. The guy I was following slowed down to make a right turn into a driveway. I slowed down to about 30 mph and went around him as he pulled in. The Mazda didn't like that and slammed on the brakes thinking that I was going to hit this car. I head the screech of the tires from the guy behind me he swerved away in time. This has happened twice, so now I have modified my driving style - no need for a third time. In our Subaru Impreza emergency braking, the maneuver I describe creates no issue. It is a bit scary.

TomM - 8/30/2019 9:41:11 PM

+2 Boost

You may not remember but when Anti-Lock Brakes first came onto the market - people were not accustomed to just slamming on the brake pedal and allowing the "system" to modulate the brakes - we had been Taught to modulate the brake application to prevent "lock up.

AS they add more and more "features", we will have to modify our prior habits to allow the systems to do their job - and some of these systems actually "learn" as they are used. But still - changing the way you ALWAYS did something is often hard for people to do.

MDarringer - 8/30/2019 11:10:36 PM

+1 Boost

I so want to do a PIT maneuver on idiot drivers.