FRONT ASSIST - saw a ghost?!!

[Duncan Disorderly]

My T6.1 kombi (2020) decided to perform an emergency stop today (whilst driving at about 40mph) with absolutely nothing else whatsoever on the road! It was one hell of a shock to me and the family, but perhaps the van saw a ghost?!!

This has happened to me 3 times since owning it from new, but the previous 2 times I could see what the “front assist” sensor was picking up (albeit neither of those occasions were actual obstructions).

It’s a shame when some safety features become a pain in the ass (lane assist is another imo which I thankfully don’t have on the van), but in this case, the modern “safety tech” turned out to be bloody dangerous. Thankfully there wasn’t anyone behind me as it could’ve certainly caused an accident.

Has anyone else had trouble with this on their vans?

 

[FelixGustavsson]

Sadly ADAS systems can never be 100% due to sensor technology. But overall they will have way way more "correct" activations than false activations (which should be extremely rare)

 

[Pauly]

I think once or twice a year is not uncommon, at least you know it’s working !!

 

[BuilderJay]

Happened to me the other week, left my mates driveway in my Sportline and with the horrid noise I thought I’d grounded the front splitter into hes gravel driveway. My friend ran round the front to say I had at least 6” clearance! He had an upward slope but for a minute I was in shock!
All good though but did shite myself!

 

[roadtripper]

Ours triggers if I come off the drive fast, the particular gradient change across the pavement makes the front dip sharply and the van suddenly "sees" the road surface. Scary the first time!

On the open road we've had it flash a warning 3 times in just under a year, only once has it applied the brakes. I can explain 2 of the 3 but the third does seem to be a ghost as well.

The brake incident I'm sure was a big Defender sharply turning in front of us while the ACC was on and the van suddenly saw stationary traffic from the big metal side.

 

[ChadFagin]

Mine went off for the first time last night & nearly filled my pants, nothing at all in front but the brakes just slammed on, had to pull over as I'd no idea what it was or why it happened. Got home & figured out it was this 'Front Assist' mode, my sensor was a bit grubby with dirt & cobwebs so gave it a clean but have turned it off in settings. Along with the recent Adblue & DPF issues it's taking the joy out of driving the van.

 

[DaveD]

Sadly ADAS systems can never be 100% due to sensor technology. But overall they will have way way more "correct" activations than false activations (which should be extremely rare)

If it has frequent correct activations it's time to think about giving up driving.

 

[Wills]

I think it’s a fab bit of kit. Mine’s worked in anger a few times. Obviously the d1ckhead tailgaters are not aware of the anomalies involved when following v close behind.

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

Switching it off every time I get in the van is not something that I’ll realistically remember to do (Chad - it comes on by default every time you switch on the ignition). It’s just another one of those things we’ll have to live with (like the regen / oil contamination thing).

Such a shame, because I love 95% of this van!

 

[Cuffy]

Had a similar experience coming back from Cornwall on the M5, very unnerving whilst travelling at 70mph.

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

My God, that’d definitely require a trouser change Cuffy… it felt bad enough at 40 on an empty country road, so I can’t imagine how you felt.

Don’t think I’ll be buying one of these driverless cars anytime soon if this is the kind of crap that can happen from a mere safety feature.

 

[DaveD]

My God, that’d definitely require a trouser change Cuffy… it felt bad enough at 40 on an empty country road, so I can’t imagine how you felt.

Don’t think I’ll be buying one of these driverless cars anytime soon if this is the kind of crap that can happen from a mere safety feature.

In the USA self driving / autonomous cars are involved in plenty of collisions, some of them fatal;

Self-driving car systems were involved in 400 crashes since 2021 - 273 were Teslas

Six people died in car accidents over the last year involving self-driving cars

www.independent.co.uk

I think I'll stick to the old fashioned method, looking ahead and expecting the unexpected.

 

[Cuffy]

Was in cruise control, sudden jerk, loss of power. I thought the gearbox had fallen out