miketc

Have my C300 a little over a week and I'm impressed with the DistronicPlus. I however am not impressed with Active Lane Keeping Assist’s lane-correcting braking even though it’s operatedas stated.

The system will bring your car back to the original lane if it is going toward a solid lane marking, this part is fine. However, the lane-correcting will not operate if it is going toward a brokenlane marking without a car in its path or on the adjacent lane. So in reality, you could go from one side of a four lane highway to the opposite side if the path is clear. It looks like a drunk driver or a crazy driver in heat. I didn’t test drive the C with Driver Assistance Package because the dealers didn’t have one on their lot.

I test drove TLX and Q50 with lane assist, they keep the car on centerwhether it’s solid or broken lane marking and was impress with how they operate. Your opinion?

ManiacGT

I'm about to order mine without any driver aids. I have eyes hands and feet with a fairly reasonable brain joining the dots. It will in most circumstances do a better job of knowing what I want than nanny aids.

rakaye47

Yeah even the collission detection is not that reliable in my C400. It gives false warnings, as does the blind spot assist.

Best not to rely on electric nanny aids for now, the tech is not ready for prime time yet.

floridadriver

Instead of the active lane keep assist, will the steering assist with distronic in the package hold you relatively centered in your lane?

miketc

I don't think so since the steering assist is the same as active lane keep I think. I could be wrong but it certainly didn't keep my car center in my lane without cars on a multi lanes highway. Basically it goes from one solid line to the other solid line on multi lanes highway. It works as described in the owners manual but come on.

The Driver Assistance Package as as whole is a great system but just the lane keeping is not what I want the car to do. It should be called active laneS keeping instead. I would buy it again but it needs improvements.

floridadriver

Ah ok, I might have misread, I have only read online, and thought there was 2 systems. The active lane assist where always keeps you from lane departure on solid line or imminent hit with differential braking after vibrating the wheel. And active steering assist which turns on only when selected while distronic on, an extra button. Not much use if it drives like you've thrown back a few.

Video with demo of steering assist. I'm not questioning you Mike, but double check to see if another something to activate. I hope so. I like this option if it's for real.

joshg1001

Florida, your understanding is correct, they are actually two different systems. Lane keeping assist will always be turned on if switched on, and is actively looking at your lanes. I am surprised to here that it doesn't work if there isn't a car next to you with dotted lines. I would think it would still try to keep you in the lane.

Steering assist uses the electric steering to keep you centered in the lane and only works with distronic plus activated

miketc

Florida is correct about the different systems. Just drove home from work and playing with Distronic plus; the steering assist does work but not perfect. However, the lane keeping assist with the broken/dotted lines does not work if there is no car in the adjacent lane. It works as stated in the owner's manual.

floridadriver

Nice to know it's working ok for you. In your opinion, is it worth the option?

jbbeauso

I'm not sure exactly which features you have on your vehicle but I have all of the driver's assistance features on my c400. I was confused when I first got my car because I had to reconcile my preconceptions and misconceptions with the actual features. I'm not sure if this will help but I think of the steering assistance functions as 2 separate modes of operation. The first is when you are in full control of the vehicle and you "accidentally" cross a lane marking or put yourself in danger. If it is not a solid line, this could be intentional or required to avoid a hazard etc, so it will shake the steering wheel to draw attention to the fact that you are crossing the lines or wake you up if you are falling asleep. If you cross a solid line it takes more of an emergency approach and and uses the breaks on one side to bring the car back in the lane. This emergency break approach is also what is used to avoid side impact collisions because of bad lane changes etc

The second is when you have distronic cruise (with the steering assist) enabled. This is when the car is in control and it actively accelerates + breaks (to maintain speed or keep a constant distance to the car in front), and more importantly for you it steers to keep you in the lane. You have to make the choice to enable this feature and it is not enabled during normal driving although the features in the first mode are active during the second. It also doesn't like when your hands are off the wheel for more than 15 seconds or so. The second function can be further subdivided into 2. The first is when you are moving at higher speeds and it uses lane markings to guide the steering. The second is when you are moving at lower speeds and it uses the car in front of you as a guide of where to be in the lane. There are obviously limitations to it's ability keep the car in the lane. For example, it is only good for slight bends and straight aways at high speeds. For larger bends it could leave the lane if you don't intervene. This function also needs clear and visible lane markings or it won't work. At low speeds/traffic it is as good as the driver in front, so you have to be careful if that driver changes lanes: you may have to override. Of course lane keeping features don't work well in snowy weather. The front ultrasonic sensors will detect when they are being impaired by snow slush etc and ask to be cleaned. I use the self driving when I am in slow moving traffic, or when driving on the highways at high speed. It doesn't work well for normal residential driving with inconsistent lane markings in my opinion. Overall I am happy with it. But you have to have a solid understanding of it's limitations to enjoy it.

miketc

I'm pretty sure we have the same features. The first mode of operation is called 'Lane Keeping Assist', the beef I have with this is why not keep the car in the lane like the name suggested? I preferred it applys the emergency brakes for the broken lane markings as well.

You're right on the second mode which is 'Distronic with Steering Assist'. Thanks for the clarification.

For the record, it's worth the money to get the driver's assistance option and it operate as stated in the owner's manual. I just don't like how the Lane Assist operates, just my preferrence.