Hands-Off Driving
10-08-23, 08:07 PM
#16
Driver School Candidate
Back in May, after having the car for 3 months on only around the local area driving, we drove from Ann Arbor, MI to Cambridge, MA and back. I posted my thoughts on the car back then and below excerpted my comments on the advanced driving systems. My thoughts have stayed the same and we'll be making the same trip in about 3 weeks.
Assisted Driving Systems
Assisted Driving Systems
- Hold the Wheel Alerts – At first, I received a lot of alerts until I determined where the steering wheel sensors were located. I found that I could rest my wrist on my upper thigh and lightly put my fingers on the inner part of the wheel, at around the 4:30 to 5 or 7:00 to 7:30 positions, and the system wouldn’t alert and, most importantly, my hands were ready to take control if needed.
- Lane Tracing Assist – It worked well, mostly staying in the middle of the lane. When going through construction zones with concrete barriers, I really didn’t trust it, took active control and turned off the feature. When the system was active, I did notice a few times when passing an exit that the car started to follow the lines on the right leading to the exit vice continuing in the lane. I took active control then. It wasn’t scary but it highlighted the need that when using the active systems, you must pay attention.
- Lane Change Assist – It worked well but seemed more of a gimmick than a system that I found useful. When it is activated, it makes the lane change at a somewhat abrupt angle. My wife really wasn’t comfortable with that part of the feature and didn’t use after trying it the first few times.
- Traffic Jam Assist – As we entered MA from CT on I-84, traffic came to a stop due to an accident up ahead. As we crawled along, I activated the system and sat back. It was a little weird at first, but I found it useful.
- Adaptive Cruise Control – This is the first vehicle I’ve had with adaptive cruise control. It works well, keeping you from inadvertently running up too close on slower traffic.
10-09-23, 05:04 AM
#17
Hands free driving
I am thinking of buying a new RX, and am curious about hands-free capabilities on long highway trips. In particular, how long can you go with the Lane Tracing Assist without having to touch the steering wheel? My Audi A4 requires a twitch of the wheel every 15 seconds or it pops up a nag screen. My Genesis GV80 will go for many minutes, depending on road conditions and traffic.
On long drives in my 22, I can motor the steering wheel adjustment down slightly so I can touch it with my knee. That satisfies the “hands on the wheel” requirement. I tend to test hands on the wheel in traffic, but I’ve actually gone 2-3 hours at a time with this feature on and no problems.
10-09-23, 07:11 AM
#18
Pole Position
I do not believe there are sensors on the steering wheel. I am pretty sure the RX is looking for any of your input to the steering system as slight as it may be.
Last edited by ggebhardt; 10-09-23 at 08:03 AM.
10-09-23, 10:10 AM
#20
Negative- I’ve gone as long as two hours at 70+ mph without touching the steering wheel at all- I just touch the bottom of it with the top of my knee. I can feel the wheel moving on its own accord as it drives itself.
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sheetmetalfab (05-23-24)
10-12-23, 02:46 PM
#22
4th Gear
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Last edited by mahoskwitz; 10-13-23 at 08:56 PM.
04-17-24, 02:32 AM
#24
2nd gear
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I plan to change a better looking Retrofit steering. Can any one here able to tell if I do so, the adaptive lane departure features still working as per normal without any sensing errors? Thanks.
04-17-24, 04:49 AM
#25
Zero issues. I do keep my hands ready, especially when around traffic or in turns but everything works flawlessly.
04-17-24, 07:14 PM
#26
2nd gear
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which mean to change a retrofit steering wheel doesn’t lead any errors or malfunctioned when activating the lane departure assists feature right? Thanks 🙏🏻
04-22-24, 11:07 AM
#27
FYI, my neighbor 4 houses down is one of the managers of the Toyota/Lexus USA advanced driver assistance systems at the Ann Arbor Toyota Tech Center. In response to a question from me he said that a torque sensor in the power steering system senses whether your hands are on the wheel.
04-27-24, 07:31 AM
#29
Yesterday, when driving through Connecticut on our way to Boston to see our son for his 30th birthday, we encountered heavy traffic that triggered the Traffic Jam Assist function.about 3 or 4 times. The car accelerated by itself from a full stop when the car in front started moving and got about 25 to 30 feet in front of us. If traffic started moving faster than Traffic Jam Assist would accelerate the car to, I just used the accelerator to keep up with traffic and then set a new adaptive cruise control speed.
