Lane trace assist always on on new RAV-4s

[LesU]

Having talked to my sister, a proud owner of a new Ford Kuga, the one aspect that she found irritating was the lane keeping assist.

While it is fine I'm sure on motorways, on lesser roads I found that the system was continually fooled and would jerk the wheel unexpectedly.

I switched mine off on the RAV-4. I told my sister to do the same. Apparently it can be switched off, but has to be done at the start of every drive.

I thought this was unique to Ford, but it seems a lot of manufacturers have this setting. I'm starting to get the impression that this might be another one of these great mandatory safety features so beloved of regulatory authorities. I was all for ABS and tyre monitoring, but this is actually producing less safety in driving.

Can anyone confirm whether Lane Trace Assist really is a permanently enabled feature in new RAV-4s or can it still be disabled in the menus?

[Catlover]

My Prius has the lane deviation warning but it is very mild reaction, plus the beeps. I don’t know if there is a severity setting, can’t remember. I will have a look maybe this evening. 

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, LesU said:

Having talked to my sister, a proud owner of a new Ford Kuga, the one aspect that she found irritating was the lane keeping assist.

While it is fine I'm sure on motorways, on lesser roads I found that the system was continually fooled and would ***** the wheel unexpectedly.

I switched mine off on the RAV-4. I told my sister to do the same. Apparently it can be switched off, but has to be done at the start of every drive.

I thought this was unique to Ford, but it seems a lot of manufacturers have this setting. I'm starting to get the impression that this might be another one of these great mandatory safety features so beloved of regulatory authorities. I was all for ABS and tyre monitoring, but this is actually producing less safety in driving.

Can anyone confirm whether Lane Trace Assist really is a permanently enabled feature in new RAV-4s or can it still be disabled in the menus?

On my 2020 RAV4 the car remembers the last set value. It was 'off' when I collected the car; I have used it occasionally but it is normally off. It does not come on automatically at the start of each journey. It is controlled by the button on the steering wheel ...

[ernieb]

I’ve posted on the issues I’ve experienced with lane trace always oscillating and with a tendency to pull to the left when I used it on the motorway. I have switched it off and use lane guidance which gives a warning and stops the car from drifting out of the lane. This seems to function well in my opinion.

LTA can be customised in the MID display, various options. (2021 PHEV I’d assume it would be the same for a HEV?)

[LesU]

Having done some more research the bad news is that this will be part of the mandatory safety package about to unleashed on new car owners from May 2022.

Auto speed limiting based on sign recognition, lane change control, data logging, autonomous emergency braking, driver fatigue system etc. Presumably all switched on unless overridden. It feels more like we are getting to having driverless cars even though the driver is there steering. This is an EU thing, but as usual we will be going with the flow. Some manufacturers have jumped the gun in order to get a higher safety rating now.

[Roy124]

Using LTA on well defined lanes works quite well.  I have found I can go hands off for about 15 seconds then it switches off.  I am not sure that is a good idea as at 16 seconds the car is running free!  I know you shouldn't but tell me a dozzy driver won't be caught out.

On a dark, wet night the system is effectively off.  With a well defined lane centre and a cut grass verge and hedge row it seems perilously close to the grass.

[Catlover]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

My Prius has the lane deviation warning but it is very mild reaction, plus the beeps. I don’t know if there is a severity setting, can’t remember. I will have a look maybe this evening. 

I said I would have a look and I have.  I can switch lane deviation on or off, but no severity setting that I can adjust. But mine is very mild pull. Wonder if it may be a dealer setting. I ok with mine, just thinking of those saying it’s too severe.

[philip42h]

3 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

With a well defined lane centre and a cut grass verge and hedge row it seems perilously close to the grass.

Agreed - that is exactly why mine is switched off normally - I don't really want to drive in the hedge or ditch! It's probably a bit subjective but I feel more comfortable closer to the centre line ...

[ernieb]

@LesU, when I bought the car the lane tracing was a feature I was sure I’d use as I do a regular trip up and down parts of the M1. However, as I’ve said the implementation left me very concerned about our safely if it was left switch on. On one stretch of the M1 we use there are large concrete barriers on the left hand side of a two lane section through road works. This lane has been narrowed and the tendency in normal driving is to bias the car away from the blocks. The oscillation not only caused me real alarm my wife who was in the passenger seat also commented as to why I was so near the edge and the car weaving about. The current setup appears to over compensate for a small deviation by adjusting quickly not taking into account the speed of the car so producing a offset in the other direction.

Tracking seems to work well only giving the a nudge when obviously on the line edge. I’m always happy to give these technologies a go but in the end it’s the “nut” behind the wheel that’s important and who carries the responsibility if anything goes wrong.

[FROSTYBALLS]

47 minutes ago, LesU said:

Having done some more research the bad news is that this will be part of the mandatory safety package about to unleashed on new car owners from May 2022.

As far as I'm aware, lane keep assistance, intelligent speed assistance, etc, will become mandatory on cars with new Type Approval from May 2022, and will become mandatory on all new cars from May 2024. This follows previous practice such as for daytime running lights, TPMS, AVAS, etc.

[ernieb]

Like all these things it’s how well they tried tested before they are implemented.
AVAS makes perfect sense but it would have been better if Toyota had included a second speaker in the rear of the PHEV version as the sound is only produced from the front of the car and to be heard when the car is in reverse the output level is very load if your at the front of the car.  The actual sound is very “marmite” you either love it or hate it. I get some very funny looks if I select reverse in a car park, it’s  a cross between sounds from Dr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.

[Catlover]

3 minutes ago, ernieb said:

Like all these things it’s how well they tried tested before they are implemented.
AVAS makes perfect sense but it would have been better if Toyota had included a second speaker in the rear of the PHEV version as the sound is only produced from the front of the car and to be heard when the car is in reverse the output level is very load if your at the front of the car.  The actual sound is very “marmite” you either love it or hate it. I get some very funny looks if I select reverse in a car park, it’s  a cross between sounds from Dr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.

Well, that’s what it is tended to do, alert people you are there. Job done!

[ernieb]

Agreed and I did say it made “perfect sense” but the volume is probably 5 times higher than when the car goes forward, why? As I said I’m happy it’s on the car it makes sense to protect people around the car the PHEV in particular needs this feature as it does not need to engaged the engine for 40+ miles, but the sound and volume are unnecessary strange and high when compared with the car going forward.  It’s a matter of a lot of debate on US forums with many trying to find a solution that still does the job but does not wake up the neighbours who are trying to sleep if you leave the house early.

Have you heard the sound and volume and compared it with other hybrids in the range, it bears no comparison to my neighbours Prius, even she has made unfavourable comments.

[Catlover]

Get the point about leaving the house early mornings, must be annoying to neighbours.

[ernieb]

Indeed it is, I’ve had a few people ask if the car has something wrong with it as it’s making a funny noise. When I tell them it’s a safety sound like lorries use to let people know the car is reversing the comment is “well why does it not sound like a lorry”.

One of my walking buddies an ex motor mechanic said he’d probably diagnose it as the rear brakes dragging for the sound alone.

It dose not dent enjoyment of the car. 

[Yugguy1970]

I have a 2021 rav.  Lta is off and stays off over restarts and lock cycles.

My neighbour thinks the Avas sound is cool.  I guess we will start to hear it more and more as evs and hybrids proliferate.

And in years to come when ice is dead and the yoof can't fit droney exhausts and fake popbang devices they'll want to mod the sound to that.

*Make your ev sound like a V8, only £300 from Supersounds.com"

[ernieb]

….and for now we rely on the howl of a Toyota CVT combo to let people know when you floor the accelerator, now that does make heads turn. 😁

[Nick72]

On 8/27/2021 at 5:49 PM, ernieb said:

I’ve posted on the issues I’ve experienced with lane trace always oscillating and with a tendency to pull to the left when I used it on the motorway. I have switched it off and use lane guidance which gives a warning and stops the car from drifting out of the lane. This seems to function well in my opinion.

LTA can be customised in the MID display, various options. (2021 PHEV I’d assume it would be the same for a HEV?)

That's a shame. Worked really well on the Peugeot even on minor roads with some curve and half decent road markings. Wonder why it can't be sorted.

[Nick72]

On 8/27/2021 at 8:57 PM, ernieb said:

Agreed and I did say it made “perfect sense” but the volume is probably 5 times higher than when the car goes forward, why? As I said I’m happy it’s on the car it makes sense to protect people around the car the PHEV in particular needs this feature as it does not need to engaged the engine for 40+ miles, but the sound and volume are unnecessary strange and high when compared with the car going forward.  It’s a matter of a lot of debate on US forums with many trying to find a solution that still does the job but does not wake up the neighbours who are trying to sleep if you leave the house early.

Have you heard the sound and volume and compared it with other hybrids in the range, it bears no comparison to my neighbours Prius, even she has made unfavourable comments.

I've not heard it yet in the flesh. Car coming Thursday with any luck.

Prefer it with no weird reversing sound. Most EVs and PHEVs don't bother. Might see if I can take the fuse out or just pull the pins on the speaker and put a power resistor and inductor in there. 

 

Otherwise I'm going to be waking up the neighbours kids across the road.

 

[ernieb]

On the same US forums people have tired all kinds of options to defeat the sound but most have come up with a fat zero. It does not seem to have a fuse of its own so pulling that is a no no and stuffing the speaker with material appears to not be effective as the sound propagates through the front beam. I also wonder if it was disabled and there was an accident your insurance and the police might want a word with you about who turned it off!

[Nick72]

8 hours ago, ernieb said:

On the same US forums people have tired all kinds of options to defeat the sound but most have come up with a fat zero. It does not seem to have a fuse of its own so pulling that is a no no and stuffing the speaker with material appears to not be effective as the sound propagates through the front beam. I also wonder if it was disabled and there was an accident your insurance and the police might want a word with you about who turned it off!

Sounds tricky.

I don't think it is a legal requirement here like it might be in North America? 

[LesU]

6 hours ago, Nick72 said:

Sounds tricky.

I don't think it is a legal requirement here like it might be in North America? 

Yet another EU requirement. All Hybrid and EV cars from July 2021. For reversing and speeds up to 12mph. It always seems that the announcement of these new measures are released 2 years before, are covered in the press, but when they are about to be implemented there isn't a thing written about it. 

 

[ernieb]

@LesU, totally agree about the lack of advertising when the law actually kicks in.

[FROSTYBALLS]

6 hours ago, Nick72 said:

I don't think it is a legal requirement here like it might be in North America? 

It is:

 

[Nick72]

On 8/30/2021 at 3:19 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

It is:

 

Weird because my last PHEV SUV didnt and that was delivered new in September 2020. 3008 hybrid4 GT 300.