PRE COLLISION ASSIST

[SandBaja]

Just out of curiosity do you have adaptive cruise.

I applaud your curiosity and persistence. I have been in the technology field for almost 40 years after being trained in electronics and ASW in the Navy. I have always been engaged in electronics with knowledge in radar, sonar and camera systems and heavily engaged in electronics and electromechanical interfaces to hardware, firmware and software. That said, I don't know specifically how this works but have a great deal of practical experience.

There are typically tools and diagnostics available to the manufacturer to verify operation. These tools and diagnostics are generally not available to the average person. My guess is a device able to hook into the bus and observe the camera and it's recognition sensitivity. I would suspect something similar with the radar.

One can go on faith that the system works as advertised or one can delve into it as you have done. Sometimes a simple test (such as a plastic bag you used) will work and sometimes the system is better at recognizing a true event. The camera system is likely using image and shape recognition and there are typically levels of sensitivity that can be set. Radar uses different methodology and if present on yours likely works in conjunction with the camera system. The SW coding is very complex and must be exceptionally fast, if in a vehicle, IMO.

I think I recall you saying you took it in and the dealer verified operation as expected. If I were hell bent on an answer I would have asked to speak to the mechanic that verified it's operation and confirm his testing was more than cursory.

This link is to an early 2014 article talking a bit about testing and image reco software and talks a bit about shapes, etc.
https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/...strian-detection-to-collision-warning-system/

Adding a second link from 2015.YouTube video showing operation.


Good luck!

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[Tracy Bowman]

Just out of curiosity do you have adaptive cruise.

I do.

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

Unfortunately and whether we like to admit it, we all make mistakes/ errors. As accomplished drivers with experience we may make less mistakes than young new drivers.

I also would like to know how the pre collision system is working as my Garmin dash cam seems to alert me better than the Ford system that has yet to go off. I do not have adaptive cruise control and I haven't found a radar unit in my grill. I am assuming the pre collision works similar to my Garmin and is a vision system. I just recently adjusted the sensitivity to high to see if I see some type of alert. Nothing yet but I haven't had any close calls. Time and distracted drivers will tell.

Yes we indeed do. And even the perfect driver can't account for the person distracted who could come into his lane at a moments notice. I set my sensitivity to the highest and have yet to get any feedback from the system. I would have expected it to be intrusive. I have had a few cars brake suddenly and I tried to not hit my brakes without being unsafe, and still nothing. It would seem like if it is working properly and is this non sensitive on it's highest level that I'd have to be in the other vehicles back seat before anything would happen on it's lowest setting. I guess we trust it and hope that it works. Seems odd that people with adaptive cruise have experienced it engaging, but none of us without the adaptive cruise have.....

 

[2.7EcoBoost]

Good Lord! If that's the highest sensitivity in the above test, what happens on the lowest? LOL. I don't get any warnings saying it's not working, so I guess it is. I'm putting my mind at ease now.....Or I could turn it off to feel safer.

 

[mike]

I will say this though. If I had a daughter and was too lazy to teach her correctly and couldn't be sure she wouldn't be tempted to use her phone, I'd definitely be supportive of her driving a car with all of the current driving aids.

 

[Rp930]

What if it’s raining?

 

[Hot Pepper Red Zeppelin]

Seems odd that people with adaptive cruise have experienced it engaging, but none of us without the adaptive cruise have.....

I don't have ac and it engaged on me. It was a little startling because I didn't think I had the pre-collision feature. Lol. It only engaged that one time. Since then there have been times I thought it should have engaged and didn't. And since finding this thread I did like others and set the sensitivity to high and tried (very safely ) to set it off with no luck.

 

[SandBaja]

What if it’s raining?

I know you aren't asking about umbrellas.

WARNING: The system may fail or operate with reduced function during cold and severe weather conditions. Snow, ice, rain, spray and fog can adversely affect the system. Keep the front camera and radar free of snow and ice. Failure to take care may result in the loss of control of your vehicle, serious personal injury or death.

WARNING: In situations where the vehicle camera has limited detection capability, this may reduce system performance. These situations include but are not limited to direct or low sunlight, vehicles at night without tail lights, unconventional vehicle types, pedestrians with complex backgrounds, running pedestrians, partly obscured pedestrians, or pedestrians that the system cannot distinguish from a group. Failure to take care may result in the loss of control of your vehicle, serious personal injury or death.

WARNING: The system cannot help prevent all crashes. Do not rely on this system to replace driver judgment and the need to maintain a safe distance and speed.

 

[Black Beauty]

Ok, a long story. I would like to inform you all on my 1st encounter with the pre collision. I came to the red stop light and stated applying the brake like normal. As I approached closer to the already stop in front of me, I applied more pressure on the brake. As I was coming to a stop within a car length or less I didn’t realized that only part of my foot was on the brake and the rest was on the gas. I was getting too close and pressed harder on the pedal. I could hear the engine accelerating and the truck felt like it was trying to stop and move forward at the same time. Needless to say I was probably Only a few feet away from car in front of me when I finally realized what was happening. Never ever did I have something like this happen to me. . So the pre collision did work outstandingly. I was really lucky. Now I noticed how even and close the brake pedal is to the gas pedal. I need to see if other rangers are like this. I have a 2010 escape right now with 160,000 miles and i had 15 mustang Gt and never have my foot on both pedals like this.

 

[Srgraham1]

FWIW, I have an XL STX, no adaptive cruise. My AEB is set to normal and in the 4700 miles I've put on, I've had three scenarios where AEB signaled bright red LEDs flashing and audible alert.

Once driving 40ish mph approaching train tracks that were built up higher than the normal level of the road... here was a false positive as the the hill I was approaching was not so severe that it could not be safely drive over at the 40ish mph I was traveling although the rise in the road was significant. Tracks are near my home and I pass over them a few times a month and have never had this scenario come up again even though I always approach in a similar speed and traffic.

Two other instances occurred on the freeway both times were times I was cut off in a bottleneck and had to immediately brake. The AEB again triggered lights and bells and definitely added to the drama of the moment. In both instances I was just a fraction of a second behind the system triggering but it was good peace of mind that had I not been there in time the system was engaging.

In all of the events I have experienced, I did not note any active braking but the truck was probably preparing for emergency braking and allowing me greater control. I would not have characterized any of these as close calls, but they were certainly marginal situations where 1 second reaction time was significant. Hope this helps.

Anticipating questions, I've done no testing of the system in different scenarios. I've also had 3-4 fault messages where no obstructions were evident so I assume it was somehow related to cold/humid weather fogging the camera lens or low angle of the early morning sun blinding camera. I never followed up these fault warnings with a dealer but my assumptions seemed reasonable to me, even if imperfect (faults have all been given first thing in the morning on way to work travelling into the sun).

 

[Deckburner]

HI all! I appreciate the info that everyone has shared thus far. Here is my situation
I test drove a few Rangers. One of them surprised me with an audible and visual (on dash display) warnings when a vehicle hit the brakes suddenly for a last-second right hand turn into a gas station. I had plenty of time and space to avoid a collision. As I stated, the warnings surprised me. I immediately liked this feature. From everything that I have read on line this feature is standard on all Rangers. as part of the "Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (includes Pedestrian Detection and Forward Collision Warning)" this is a quote right off of one of Ford's brochures.
Page 7 of this brochure indicates that this feature is standard on XL, XLT and Lariat models.
Page 8 of this brochure states the "Co-Pilot 360 key features: Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) (includes Pedestrian Detection, and Forward Collision Warning with Dynamic Brake Support) is standard on Ranger. Forward Collision Warning with Dynamic Brake Support: – Alerts the driver if it senses a potential collision with the vehicle ahead – If the driver doesn’t react and a collision is imminent, the vehicle brakes are precharged to help the driver stop as quickly as possible – If the brake pedal is pressed, full force braking is applied even if the brake pedal is lightly pressed"
Page 16 of the same brochure states that "Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (includes Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning and Dynamic Brake Support)" is part of the 100A package, which I believe is the most basic of all of the packages and comes with an XL model.
Page 18 of the same brochure states that Package 300A comes with the "Co Pilot 360 which includes the following "Ford Co-Pilot360™ • Automatic High-Beam Headlamps • BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross-Traffic Alert and trailer coverage • Lane-Keeping System including Driver Alert • Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (includes Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning and Dynamic Brake Support)(1) • Rear View Camera(1)"



July 20 - I purchased new Ranger XLT w/ 301A package (NO adaptive cruise control...and that radar device for ACC that someone posted a few pages previously is not present on my vehicle).
same day: realized there is no audible warning on a real life pre-collision" situation (similar to situation described above).
same day: tested theory using garbage cans (hit 27 mph). Test 1: slammed on brakes and stopped within a few inches. No warnings given by vehicle. Test 2: swerved past can at the last moment. No warnings given by vehicle.

I took the vehicle to Ford Dealer on July 22.
July 24: Service Tech tells me that I do not have audible warnings on my model because the audible warnings only come with the "technology package". My vehicle only gets the "AEB" which as he explained means my vehicle will detect a collision and help to precharge the brakes.



based on my research, I believe that the dealer is misinformed or mistaken.

i have called two other dealers and they both said that the pre-collision is part of the "Co-Pilot 360" Package. One dealer took my VIN and looked up my window sticker and told me that I should have the audible warnings.

I am going to send this as an email to my ford salesman and I'll CC the manager...and if there's a way to track it down, the dealership owner. Because I believe that I am correct that all Rangers should have this feature standard. I would encourage all of you to bring this issue up with your dealer because many of them seem confused right now when questioned on this.

 

[DrSafety]

i just read the owners manual pertaining to pre collision assist, it starts at page 198.

from what I see, it talks about both the radar unit and the camera working in unison for the use of this system.
nothing states difference by model in this place.

I'm at a loss as to what you have, you say you dont have the radar under the bumper, do you have the camera?

I too thought from reading brochures back in the day that all Rangers had pre collision assist.

If you have a model (Lariet 500A for instance) without adaptive cruise control you have a camera but no radar unit. At least that is my take and have verified on my truck.

 

[Deckburner]

i just read the owners manual pertaining to pre collision assist, it starts at page 198.

from what I see, it talks about both the radar unit and the camera working in unison for the use of this system.
nothing states difference by model in this place.

I'm at a loss as to what you have, you say you dont have the radar under the bumper, do you have the camera?

I too thought from reading brochures back in the day that all Rangers had pre collision assist.

I do NOT have the 'radar unit'. I am under the impression that the 'radar unit' was for the Adaptive Cruise Control only. I believe (but not certain) tat there is a different radar device for the pre-collision. But I am not 100% certain of that.

I have not checked to see if I have the camera. I believe that is in the top of the windshield. Next to the rear-vew mirror.

 

[Deckburner]

If you have a model (Lariet 500A for instance) without adaptive cruise control you have a camera but no radar unit. At least that is my take and have verified on my truck.

in your Lariat 500A, have you received any warnings from the Pre-collision assist feature?

 

[CoastieN70]

in your Lariat 500A, have you received any warnings from the Pre-collision assist feature?

I have...
But here in Savannah "near misses" are the norm not the exception. Tourist town driving...

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