Stinger Lane Keep Assist. Good or Bad..

[Irish]

So just got my Stinger and this is the first time I have every had a feature like this on a car. So keep that in mind.

Here are my short observations.
- I do like that it is turned on an off via a button, and no need to go through some sort of menu to access it.
- I can see it extremely useful for non-attentive drivers that weave all over the road.
- It has something like a 15 second time on how long you can have your hands off the wheel then it warns you to put your hands back on or it will discontinue. Then another 10 seconds and it turns off. Was very surprised by this, as 25 seconds is definitely not enough time for me to finish eating a burger, and reading a book. And when it turns off the car may swerve off the road, if the car was in the middle of an adjustment when the system turns off (if you not paying attention).
- If your out on an open highway and you have just a finger or two on the wheel, I don't think the system will register that and will turn off. I sometimes drive with my arm up on the window sill, and then just pinch the wheel with my thumb and index finger. The system did not like that.
- Holy cow does the system flip out if you go from a single lane to a double lane road.

All in all I don't think I would every really use this system after my testing. But I know someone like my dad who is a horrible driver should use it always. In fact he should just get rid of his license and hire a driver..

 

[mldavis2]

Where are the sensors in the steering wheel? I usually drive holding the bottom corner of the wheel rather than the "official" 2-10 position so if it can't sense that contact, I'll have it turned off.

 

[MarkyMark]

And herin lies a big issue, where it is customer beware. Just because car company A has "blind spot monitoring" or "forward collision waring" etc... doesn't mean all these technologies from company A are as good as company B and C, and D and...

If these safety feature mean a lot to you, I suggest using them all in a lengthy test drive to see if these features hold up to the marketing hype of the company.

Customers often assume if it has a feature then it "just works" as good as anyone else's, which is NOT the case... We need to hold the companies accountable for poorly executed features, and praise them where they succeed.

If reviews spent half the time on these features vs how summer tires vs all-season tires handled on the slalom course, we'd know a heck of a lot more about the overall use and abilities of cars...

 

[Chris]

My kids new Jeep has LKA and it seems to work really well. (Unless it can't see the lines because of the snow) I would never use it to drive the car, but it does give me peace of mind knowing there is one more nanny watching out for my kid.

 

[MarkyMark]

My kids new Jeep has LKA and it seems to work really well. (Unless it can't see the lines because of the snow) I would never use it to drive the car, but it does give me peace of mind knowing there is one more nanny watching out for my kid.

That is why these systems are called Lane Keep ASSIST, and not Lane Keep... These technologies are new, really new relative to other car tech, so it's going to be a while until they become very, very, trustworthy. Agreed. Nice to have another system helping we humans stay on the road!

 

[iclicku]

Don't think LKA is designed to help you finish your novel or eat a burger...

 

[ralzod]

Don't think LKA is designed to help you finish your novel or eat a burger...

Yeah, hoping that was a joke.

 

[Gdank]

Great on a Motorway (Highway) ... useless on anything else (well in the UK)

 

[Dave Miller]

Where are the sensors in the steering wheel? I usually drive holding the bottom corner of the wheel rather than the "official" 2-10 position so if it can't sense that contact, I'll have it turned off.

I don't think it matters where your hands are, the wheel just needs to feel some kind of weight. When we had our Stinger training our trainer told us somebody she knew tied a weight to a string to keep it from disabling and to see how far it would bring him without issues.

 

[Kia Stinger]

So just got my Stinger and this is the first time I have every had a feature like this on a car. So keep that in mind.

Here are my short observations.
- I do like that it is turned on an off via a button, and no need to go through some sort of menu to access it.
- I can see it extremely useful for non-attentive drivers that weave all over the road.
- It has something like a 15 second time on how long you can have your hands off the wheel then it warns you to put your hands back on or it will discontinue. Then another 10 seconds and it turns off. Was very surprised by this, as 25 seconds is definitely not enough time for me to finish eating a burger, and reading a book. And when it turns off the car may swerve off the road, if the car was in the middle of an adjustment when the system turns off (if you not paying attention).
- If your out on an open highway and you have just a finger or two on the wheel, I don't think the system will register that and will turn off. I sometimes drive with my arm up on the window sill, and then just pinch the wheel with my thumb and index finger. The system did not like that.
- Holy cow does the system flip out if you go from a single lane to a double lane road.

All in all I don't think I would every really use this system after my testing. But I know someone like my dad who is a horrible driver should use it always. In fact he should just get rid of his license and hire a driver..

@Irish, it sounds like your father was meant to be chauffeured...

As for the ten second warning and then turning off after another fifteen second - I think that's dangerous. There should be something that maybe nags the driver to grab the steering wheel - but I think it's silly that it'll just shut off. My Honda Accord has the feature and I've never tested it long enough to see what might happen and when - but I can say that I've lightly held the steering wheel to allow that warning and didn't squeeze it for a while - and the car just kept on with the warning - but also kept on steering me within the lane...

It's definitely a useful feature and there will be times when you're using it that you find it a life saver. There are just times when your eyes are not on the road in front of you - for various reasons - checking escape routes, checking the next lane before switching, looking in the rear view mirror for whatever reason - staring at that naked woman running across the highway. It happens (maybe not the naked woman - but looking away). Even when opening a bottle of water - you might have your hands off the wheel for a few seconds. This feature is great for that.

...and it's also great for all the drunks who you'd rather not think are on the road. They're there. But now they have something to keep them out of your lane...

If reviews spent half the time on these features vs how summer tires vs all-season tires handled on the slalom course, we'd know a heck of a lot more about the overall use and abilities of cars...

Seriously. Very seriously...

Yeah, hoping that was a joke.

You know you don't even need to hope.

 

[Irish]

Yeah KiaStinger we test drove the new Accord, and it did not care if your hands were on the wheel and it did not time out. I think I drove a couple miles with it on.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Yeah KiaStinger we test drove the new Accord, and it did not care if your hands were on the wheel and it did not time out. I think I drove a couple miles with it on.

I definitely prefer it that way. It's not the greatest system but it does work very nicely most of the time...

 

[tofu]

I can sometimes feel it making corrections which I'm not a fan of, might turn it off at some point. It also gets really confused oi construction zones where some lines are painted over but the system is still picking them up.

 

[westcoastGT]

remember when we just drove the car without nannies

 

[tofu]

remember when we just drove the car without nannies

I used the 360 camera a lot when I first got the car but I'm using it less and less as time passes... Feeling comfortable with it now!

 

[Stinger GT SS]

Great on a Motorway (Highway) ... useless on anything else (well in the UK)

Totally agree, great on the highway & useless on anything else, drove it on a winding with it on when I first got it, was like wrestling a croc. always fighting it through the corners, it is now off.

 

[PBM]

Yeah KiaStinger we test drove the new Accord, and it did not care if your hands were on the wheel and it did not time out. I think I drove a couple miles with it on.

Sorry but this is false. The new Accord also requires you to keep your hands on the wheel, and its LKAS also won't be active if the wipers are on, and a couple other limitations.