Automobiles Bells And Whistles - do they make better drivers?

[Aquamoose]

I just got a 2019 Pilot with 6k miles and it has all of what you described. The downside is the braking alert on a curve when really, it was an oncoming vehicle that just happened to be in direct centerline of the vehicle.

 

[Jstpssng]

As always, the downside to that is repair bills down the road. Not just from things wearing out, but apparently some of the sensors for those are integrated into the windshield.It may cost more than you think to replace a windshield | Kelley Blue Book I generally generally catch a rock and replace a windshield every two years or so. Last winter I replaced one in each of my pickups, costing me 200$/per; this year I've already had the new windshield in my company truck repaired, and have a pretty good ding in my new Colorado.

 

[Diggin It]

Just curious, what model year did all this hooey start? I want to know what model years to look BEFORE next time I need a vehicle. Neither of my mid 90s models have any of it.

 

[oosik]

I just had the front window on my 2018 Power Wagon replaced. Insurance paid for the new window. $758. Mainly due to all the sensors that are inter-tied to the windshield.

However - I wonder. Do all these new features make people better drivers or make up for the faults many may have. Whatever - I just hope it makes overall driving safer.

 

[Jstpssng]

I just had the front window on my 2018 Power Wagon replaced. Insurance paid for the new window. $758. Mainly due to all the sensors that are inter-tied to the windshield.

However - I wonder. Do all these new features make people better drivers or make up for the faults many may have. Whatever - I just hope it makes overall driving safer.

I think it's both... some people will good use of what is available while others will make a mess of anything. It's good to know that the windshield isn't what I've been hearing, although with my $1000 deductible I still would be footing the entire bill. I don't know how many times they'd replace it anyways before dropping me or at least increasing my rates. Rocks are a fact of life in snow country, to say nothing about the gravel roads I spend a lot of time on.

 

[Oaktree]

As always, the downside to that is repair bills down the road. Not just from things wearing out, but apparently some of the sensors for those are integrated into the windshield.It may cost more than you think to replace a windshield | Kelley Blue Book I generally generally catch a rock and replace a windshield every two years or so. Last winter I replaced one in each of my pickups, costing me 200$/per; this year I've already had the new windshield in my company truck repaired, and have a pretty good ding in my new Colorado.

Not just the cost but the (lack of) driveability if any of these sensors are damaged. There was some discussion on another thread about someone who'd broken one of the side mirrors on a Suburu, and the car wouldn't move due to the damaged sensor. No excuse for that.
I've also read that with all the windshield sensors, it's become a dealer-only replacement due to the alignment necessary to get all that "safety" crap working properly again. Take out the aftermarket option and guess what happens to the cost... unch: I wonder if all dealers are able to make these alignments, or if only the larger-volume ones can afford the equipment to do so.

I'm not looking forward to the day when my next vehicle has all this crap in it. Maybe where Diggin It lives older vehicles are an option, but here in New England not so much.

 

[fried1765]

Over the past year or so we've had some conversations on TBN about cruise control, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, etc... an argument for and against usually ensues regarding if these things make drivers more or less complacent when driving.

I had the oppotunity to drive a 2020 VW Passat for 2200+ miles last week to make a run out to Oklahoma from Indiana, and back. Mostly highway, but a couple hundred city miles. It had forward collision warning, blind spot monitor, rear traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, automatic wipers, backup camera, etc... all the bells and whistles.

Short story...
I LIKE IT! and it makes me a better, more attentive driver. :thumbsup:

Long story...
I found that it made me more, not less, attentive. As you're driving along, and you see a tractor in a field, and you glance over at it, in an old car, you might feel the shoulder of the road if you drift to the right as you gawk, then hopefully you make a correction to stay out of the ditch, without over-correcting and crossing into the next lane. With the lane keeping feature, you feel the steering wheel get stiff and move back in the proper direction, and that makes you snap your head up and say "Whoa, I should be paying attention." Same thing of you try and change lanes without signalling... you can do it, but you have to fight the wheel to overcome the lane keeper. Put on your turn signal, no fight.

If you try and signal and switch lanes and there's someone in your blind spot, not only is the little light lit on your mirror that there's a car next to you, the wheel vibrates in your hands. Again, whoa! Stay in your lane.

The adaptive cruise control can be changed for how far out you want it to go in 5 different increments. I found setting 1 to be Chicago style. Setting 2 to be Indiana style. Setting 3 to be pretty good at keeping at least two seconds between you and the car in front of you. Settings 4 and 5 were too far away for moderate to heavy traffic and people would cut in front of you often, which made your car slow down even more. However, 4 and 5 were great on the highway in open traffic to follow the flow and not be a pest in someone's mirror at night.

It was nice in that if you're cruising along at 75 and come up on someone, the gauge on the dash will show you the car in front of you before it gets to the activation distance. If you change lanes to an empty lane before, your speed never slows. If you come within range, you start to slow very gradually. If you change lanes to an open lane, you pick back up to speed.
If someone slams on their brakes for an armadillo, it will brake before you can hit the pedal. Kinda nice.

You can always choose to push on the gas a little bit and overcome the adaptive cruise control and tailgate the car in front of you. Then the screen flashes at you. Follow even closer and stay there a few seconds, and you feel the car pulsing just enough to notice your head rocking a little bit. Time to back off, bud. :laughing:

The wipers will vary their speed according to how much water is on the window. It was misting for the entire trip out. I had the wipers on the lowest intermittent speed. When I'd come up on a semi, the water would kick up from the road, and my wipers intermittent speed automatically increased. As I got next to the semi, the wipers went to always on as the water increased. They'd go all-out fastest speed right next to the semi. As soon as I got even with the front tire of the semi, you know that spot where the water no longer hits your windshield?, the wipers immediately returned to the lowest intermittent setting I had them on. Very nice!

I'd have to say that these features make me more attentive, less tired, and therefore more alert overall.

That's my take on it. If you've never experienced these tools yourself, I highly recommend you try them out yourself and see how you like them. :thumbsup:

Seems like a really good setup.

 

[Peter 315]

I prefer a chauffeur to drive me around...:laughing:

 

[oosik]

Oaktree......
(I've also read that with all the windshield sensors, it's become a dealer-only replacement due to the alignment necessary to get all that "safety" crap working properly again. Take out the aftermarket option and guess what happens to the cost... unch: I wonder if all dealers are able to make these alignments, or if only the larger-volume ones can afford the equipment to do so.)

This was not the case with the windshield replacement on my Power Wagon. They( Safelite ) had no problems with my windshield replacement.

Recognize - the 2018 Power Wagon does not have - automatic breaking, collision avoidance or lane correction. It did require three or four sensors being reconnected. And Safelite did have to run thru the on-board software programs to reboot/reconnect the windshield sensors.

 

[oosik]

At the price of new vehicles, you might think that includes a chauffeur.