My first non-fanboy post -- frustrated with smart cruise, auto wiper, and android auto

[bugaboo90]

Well I've finally found some frustrating things about the stinger but I guess nothing is perfect although the stinger comes close..

Rant start --

So, I drove from cincinnati to columbus and back today. The drive up was fine but on the way back, it started slushy snowing.

The auto wipers couldn't figure out what to do with the snow. They would either go too fast and too much or not enough. Later in that day, it went back to rain and the auto wiper function worked perfectly.

This is the first car I've had with radar based smart cruise. (My old subaru's smart cruise /collision warning was based on a dual camera system for sight.) Out of the blue, as I was driving back from columbus, the car went nutz. The smart cruise started to accelerate even with a car in front and the the proximity sensors start doing something weird. After a few second, the smart cruise and forward collision went offline and said something is not working right with the radar. When I got home, I looked at my front bumper where the sensors are and sure enough snow/ice had built up on the sensors which caused it go offline. I guess once the ice builds up, there really isn't a way to get rid of it unless you stop. I am just not used to this since in the subaru worked as long as the wild shield was clean (the only I ever had was where there was massive downpours.)
Is there a solution to this aside from stopping and cleaning?

I am surprised someone from canada hasn't complained about this already.

My final frustration is with Android Auto. I got a text and wanted to respond to it. I committed to someone else on the forum that I wouldn't touch the phone this weekend. AA would understand about 80% of the words so not really usable. I broke my promise. When AA works, it's really nice and it allows for waze in the big screen.

With all this said, the engine, the car, the performance is awesome.. just the tech is a bit frustrating.

 

[westcoastGT]

Well I've finally found some frustrating things about the stinger but I guess nothing is perfect although the stinger comes close..

Rant start --

So, I drove from cincinnati to columbus and back today. The drive up was fine but on the way back, it started slushy snowing.

The auto wipers couldn't figure out what to do with the snow. They would either go too fast and too much or not enough. Later in that day, it went back to rain and the auto wiper function worked perfectly.

This is the first car I've had with radar based smart cruise. (My old subaru's smart cruise /collision warning was based on a dual camera system for sight.) Out of the blue, as I was driving back from columbus, the car went nutz. The smart cruise started to accelerate even with a car in front and the the proximity sensors start doing something weird. After a few second, the smart cruise and forward collision went offline and said something is not working right with the radar. When I got home, I looked at my front bumper where the sensors are and sure enough snow/ice had built up on the sensors which caused it go offline. I guess once the ice builds up, there really isn't a way to get rid of it unless you stop. I am just not used to this since in the subaru worked as long as the wild shield was clean (the only I ever had was where there was massive downpours.)
Is there a solution to this aside from stopping and cleaning?

I am surprised someone from canada hasn't complained about this already.

My final frustration is with Android Auto. I got a text and wanted to respond to it. I committed to someone else on the forum that I wouldn't touch the phone this weekend. AA would understand about 80% of the words so not really usable. I broke my promise. When AA works, it's really nice and it allows for waze in the big screen.

With all this said, the engine, the car, the performance is awesome.. just the tech is a bit frustrating.

I had mentioned the issue of snow/ice building up on my radar back in early December , which caused a dash warning light to come on . I was travelling up and then down a mountain and it cleared itself with rain back down at the bottom..................I wasnt using the "auto pilot " agree it should have a spray or be heated !

 

[bugaboo90]

Sorry, I probably should have done a better search. You get used to the technology and when it doesn't work, its frustrating.

I had mentioned the issue of snow/ice building up on my radar back in early December , which caused a dash warning light to come on . I was travelling up and then down a mountain and it cleared itself with rain back down at the bottom..................I wasnt using the "auto pilot " agree it should have a spray or be heated !

 

[westcoastGT]

Sorry, I probably should have done a better search. You get used to the technology and when it doesn't work, its frustrating.

No issues mate ! I also had posted something a while back loving the "auto pilot" I did a trip from Vancouver BC to Portland Oregon and it was intuitive and seamless ...............it was raining seriously hard , but not snowing . Snow and Ice are the caveats for this system so far but I'm also wondering about members in the Middle East with sand dust ?? ...............I'm really enjoying the car too !

 

[StingerGT68]

Well I've finally found some frustrating things about the stinger but I guess nothing is perfect although the stinger comes close..

Rant start --

So, I drove from cincinnati to columbus and back today. The drive up was fine but on the way back, it started slushy snowing.

The auto wipers couldn't figure out what to do with the snow. They would either go too fast and too much or not enough. Later in that day, it went back to rain and the auto wiper function worked perfectly.

This is the first car I've had with radar based smart cruise. (My old subaru's smart cruise /collision warning was based on a dual camera system for sight.) Out of the blue, as I was driving back from columbus, the car went nutz. The smart cruise started to accelerate even with a car in front and the the proximity sensors start doing something weird. After a few second, the smart cruise and forward collision went offline and said something is not working right with the radar. When I got home, I looked at my front bumper where the sensors are and sure enough snow/ice had built up on the sensors which caused it go offline. I guess once the ice builds up, there really isn't a way to get rid of it unless you stop. I am just not used to this since in the subaru worked as long as the wild shield was clean (the only I ever had was where there was massive downpours.)
Is there a solution to this aside from stopping and cleaning?

I am surprised someone from canada hasn't complained about this already.

My final frustration is with Android Auto. I got a text and wanted to respond to it. I committed to someone else on the forum that I wouldn't touch the phone this weekend. AA would understand about 80% of the words so not really usable. I broke my promise. When AA works, it's really nice and it allows for waze in the big screen.

With all this said, the engine, the car, the performance is awesome.. just the tech is a bit frustrating.

Well you gave it a shot with Android Auto...it's usually 95% accurate for me. I'd rather take my chances there than typing while driving.

 

[CDv6]

Is there a solution to this aside from stopping and cleaning?

I haven't experienced the snow situation yet for the wipers, but it's definitely documented that radar features can be sketchy or will shut-down when they're obstructed by mud/snow/ice. If you're ever concerned they should have shut down, but haven't, you can always switch to traditional cruise control. Page 5-94 in the manual...

1. Turn the smart cruise control system on (the cruise indicator light will be on but the system will not be activated).
2. Push the distance to distance switch for more than 2 seconds.
3. Choose between "Smart cruise control (SCC) mode" and "Cruise control (CC) mode".

 

[bugaboo90]

Oh ya. I agree that it's working as designed and it has to work the way it does. Coming from Subaru , I just wasn't expecting it to be disabled like that. I would have hoped they would have figured out how to clean it without having to stop the car. That's it.

I haven't experienced the snow situation yet for the wipers, but it's definitely documented that radar features can be sketchy or will shut-down when they're obstructed by mud/snow/ice. If you're ever concerned they should have shut down, but haven't, you can always switch to traditional cruise control. Page 5-94 in the manual...

 

[Never thought]

My wife had a Forester with EyeSight. I was not a fan of the car but EyeSight is the BEST adaptive cruise control. The Kia version isn’t as good. But believe it or not, it’s ranked towards the top. My only issue is taking curves and the cruise control thinks I am about to hit a car stopped perpendicular to the road. But I still like it a lot.

 

[Marc Collins]

Oh ya. I agree that it's working as designed and it has to work the way it does. Coming from Subaru , I just wasn't expecting it to be disabled like that. I would have hoped they would have figured out how to clean it without having to stop the car. That's it.

My wife's 2017 Subaru EyeSight shuts itself down regularly when driving in snowy/dirty road conditions.

 

[bugaboo90]

For me the only time it shutdown was really heavy rain. I don't recall it shutting down on snow but I could imagine if frost built up by the camera, it would shut down. Getting used to the way the stinger works..

My wife's 2017 Subaru EyeSight shuts itself down regularly when driving in snowy/dirty road conditions.

 

[voon]

My 0.02$ worth of comment:

1. I never had an automated rainwiper work properly. They usually don't wipe enough for me in heavy rain. Independent on model, brand etc .. always found them lacking.

2. Distance tempomat relies on the radar and I heard the radar in the front is quite sensitive to dirt .. might have been aprt of the problem?

 

[Marc Collins]

My 0.02$ worth of comment:

1. I never had an automated rainwiper work properly. They usually don't wipe enough for me in heavy rain. Independent on model, brand etc .. always found them lacking.

2. Distance tempomat relies on the radar and I heard the radar in the front is quite sensitive to dirt .. might have been aprt of the problem?

All these systems rely on various technologies that cannot function in the worst conditions...when you might actually need the assistance most. Blind spot monitoring--works perfectly on a sunny, dry day, so if you are a distracted driver not paying attention, great. If you are a good driver who might like a bit of help on a foreign, busy, multi-lane highway at night in a huge downpour, forget it because the odds are it will shut itself off and you are on your own with your mirrors and wits.

Reality is that when conditions are treacherous, you either take risks or pull over. The car won't be able to help you. And if there are autonomous vehicles nearby, good luck keeping out of their way or figuring out what they think is appropriate to do in front of you.

Just came back from a trip that included driving on a mountain path (road would be too generous a description) that I really should have had a Jeep to do. No guardrail with sheer cliffs that would result in instant death; washed-out sections of the road, improvised detours around various broken sections; branches off the main road that you couldn't tell whether they were the main road or not....it was nerve racking. In that situation, even the GPS wouldn't work reliably because the signal was intermittently blocked by the mountain itself.

Fair weather and fair condition friends. And I had the first car with these fancy features many years ago (Volvo S80 V8) and every other (five) car in between has also had them. @voon's comment about the auto-sensing wipers can be applied to all.

My favourite was when the smart cruise control was accelerating me into the back of a huge truck trailer during a lane change that confused it. I have never used it in busy conditions since. Either switch to regular cruise or just drive myself.

And I am not a Luddite...was in the IT industry for 10 years and am often an early adopter of new gadgetry

 

[westcoastGT]

All these systems rely on various technologies that cannot function in the worst conditions...when you might actually need the assistance most. Blind spot monitoring--works perfectly on a sunny, dry day, so if you are a distracted driver not paying attention, great. If you are a good driver who might like a bit of help on a foreign, busy, multi-lane highway at night in a huge downpour, forget it because the odds are it will shut itself off and you are on your own with your mirrors and wits.

Reality is that when conditions are treacherous, you either take risks or pull over. The car won't be able to help you. And if there are autonomous vehicles nearby, good luck keeping out of their way or figuring out what they think is appropriate to do in front of you.

Just came back from a trip that included driving on a mountain path (road would be too generous a description) that I really should have had a Jeep to do. No guardrail with sheer cliffs that would result in instant death; washed-out sections of the road, improvised detours around various broken sections; branches off the main road that you couldn't tell whether they were the main road or not....it was nerve racking. In that situation, even the GPS wouldn't work reliably because the signal was intermittently blocked by the mountain itself.

Fair weather and fair condition friends. And I had the first car with these fancy features many years ago (Volvo S80 V8) and every other (five) car in between has also had them. @voon's comment about the auto-sensing wipers can be applied to all.

My favourite was when the smart cruise control was accelerating me into the back of a huge truck trailer during a lane change that confused it. I have never used it in busy conditions since. Either switch to regular cruise or just drive myself.

And I am not a Luddite...was in the IT industry for 10 years and am often an early adopter of new gadgetry

totally agree !