Distronic/AutoPilot woes
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Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 177
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From: Atlanta
Audi R8, Alfa Romeo Quad, 991tt,cls550, 997tt, 85 Carrera
Distronic/AutoPilot woes
I recently switched from an Alfa Romeo with adaptive cruise control to the new E class. Most of my driving is bumper to bumper during rush hour. I've become hooked on adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving. I've noticed on the Alfa and suprisingly on the Mercedes that if a car cuts in front you and is half way in your lane these cars do not sense them easily. This morning I got to about a foot away from the car in front of me before I had to stomp on the brake manually. You would think at this point these would be able to sense a large object in front of them. Makes me think of the unfortunate death caused by the Uber self driving car. I guess it is still a work in progress.
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Joined: Oct 2017
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W213
I recently switched from an Alfa Romeo with adaptive cruise control to the new E class. Most of my driving is bumper to bumper during rush hour. I've become hooked on adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving. I've noticed on the Alfa and suprisingly on the Mercedes that if a car cuts in front you and is half way in your lane these cars do not sense them easily. This morning I got to about a foot away from the car in front of me before I had to stomp on the brake manually. You would think at this point these would be able to sense a large object in front of them. Makes me think of the unfortunate death caused by the Uber self driving car. I guess it is still a work in progress.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 177
Likes: 40
From: Atlanta
Audi R8, Alfa Romeo Quad, 991tt,cls550, 997tt, 85 Carrera
Drive Pilot is a driver assistance function not a self driving mode. The car has short, long, mix mode radar, and two stereo cameras up the front so you can bet it saw the car coming, as to why it didn't react, I don't know, I guess the car doesn't know how to tell apart a$$hole drivers from non-a$$hole drivers, so it didn't brake, and probably isn't programmed to do it in such situations, drive pilot is by far the most technologically advanced driving assistance system on the market today, it's leaps and bounds ahead of tesla's 12 ultrasonic sensors (lol).
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Joined: Nov 2014
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.
So what is your spacing setting? The short setting is very short while the longest setting is what most people would consider normal. I've experimented with this using a child's punching toy as the obstacle. On the shortest setting there was only a few inches remained between the obstacle and the car when it stopped with full braking. I would never use that setting out of concern of following vehicles. I use the longest setting which leaves about 15 feet between the obstacle and the car using more moderate braking. I suggest that everyone experiment these safety settings so they will not be surprised by the results.
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: A Dutchy Living in Marseille, France
EQE SUV AMG-line 350+
It seems that the feature is not perfect ON PURPOSE.
because it's not working 100pct perfectly, it forces you to remain vigilant at all times,
so no risk of you falling asleep
because it's not working 100pct perfectly, it forces you to remain vigilant at all times,
so no risk of you falling asleep
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 643
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From: London UK
2013 W204 C63 AMG, 2008 W221 S65 AMG
As per others, I have experience with the distronic system on a 215, and distronic plus on both a 221 and a facelift 204. They all behave the same.
They often fail to react when a car cuts in front of another car, or take a long time to react when a car moves out of your lane. The 221 has short and long range radar, which replace the parking sensors, and seems to be a bit better in very slow traffic than the 204.
They often fail to react when a car cuts in front of another car, or take a long time to react when a car moves out of your lane. The 221 has short and long range radar, which replace the parking sensors, and seems to be a bit better in very slow traffic than the 204.
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From: Eastern Massachusetts
2021 E450, 2020 C43, 2015 C300, 2007 C280
Surprise!
I recently switched from an Alfa Romeo with adaptive cruise control to the new E class. Most of my driving is bumper to bumper during rush hour. I've become hooked on adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving. I've noticed on the Alfa and suprisingly on the Mercedes that if a car cuts in front you and is half way in your lane these cars do not sense them easily. This morning I got to about a foot away from the car in front of me before I had to stomp on the brake manually. You would think at this point these would be able to sense a large object in front of them. Makes me think of the unfortunate death caused by the Uber self driving car. I guess it is still a work in progress.
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I recently switched from an Alfa Romeo with adaptive cruise control to the new E class. Most of my driving is bumper to bumper during rush hour. I've become hooked on adaptive cruise control and semi-autonomous driving. I've noticed on the Alfa and suprisingly on the Mercedes that if a car cuts in front you and is half way in your lane these cars do not sense them easily. This morning I got to about a foot away from the car in front of me before I had to stomp on the brake manually. You would think at this point these would be able to sense a large object in front of them. Makes me think of the unfortunate death caused by the Uber self driving car. I guess it is still a work in progress.
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