More unpleasant surprises thrown up by my Excel 2L Hybrid

[Louie]

On 12/28/2023 at 5:51 PM, JayCee88 said:

Yes, 3 levels of sensitivity available in the menu. You need to use the menu in the odometer. 

 

[Louie]

I am a bit of a techie nerd (ex IT hardware and networking support guy)and own a smart home and the only thing i can't get Alexa to do is flush my loo but I am working on it. I fully embrace car technology but only if it works properly and you don't need Einstein to interpret the instructions. The Toyota is somewhat of a challenge but i am getting there. I do find the Toyota's software designers logic patterns to have gone  astray   e.g. why have two Settings menus, one on the dash and the other on the drivers display panel lt  makes no sense. At the end of the day all this will get scrapped as soon  the age of "Johnny Cabs"👨‍✈️(Total Recall)  and variants thereof  will be upon us and  I believe all this is currently in the works.

 

[Louie]

I originally experienced after taking delivery of a brand new Excel strange handling during an overtaking manoeuvre. The speed is around 70 mph after overtaking  a vehicle doing say 60mph. After I have accelerated and no pedal to the metal stuff the car acquires momentarily a life of its own i.e. and the steering becomes vague and I have to fight the vehicle to enter the lane I previously occupied before overtaking. The Corolla does not like white lines and treats them as patterns of ice regardless of road conditions. Now I have changed the tyres from the original Falkens to Michelin Sport 5's and the handling has only changed marginally for the better. At this stage I would like to point out that all the options such as lane departure /cruise control etc Is disabled but it feels that someone has taken control of the steering and wants to shove me into the nearest ditch. The new Michelins Sport 5 tyres were balanced by the fitter but as its a new vehicle  tracking adjustment was not carried out. Apart from this oddity the car behaves perfectly even under soft or hard  acceleration. Anyone have any suggestions why my current vehicle is misbehaving  ?

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Similar topics merged

[Cyker]

When you say you disabled the lane departure, are you sure you didn't just disable the cruise control auto-steer part of it?

e.g. on the Yaris, there is a button to control all the lane assist stuff; Pressing it toggles the cruise control steering, but you have to hold it to disable the rest of it.

I've not had issues with mine, but I am one of these very rare people that actually signal when changing lanes, which temporarily disables any of the lane assist stuff.

 

[Stopeter44]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:20 AM, Cyker said:

I've not had issues with mine, but I am one of these very rare people that actually signal when changing lanes, which temporarily disables any of the lane assist stuff.

I didn't recall that, all I know is that I have become used to LTA, and I have no issues with it whatsoever, I know what the little tugs are, the beeps, however, really annoyed me. Using ACC is a mostly a very comfortable experience even on country roads.

The only time I find it in appropriate is in fast moving dense traffic on motorways and expressways where there are people changing lane all the time. It will slow down too much when the buffer zone (as designated by one to three horizontal blue bars on the dashboard indicator) is suddenly filled up by a lane changer. 

[Cyker]

Yeah, I always reflexively jab the Cancel button when people do that so the car doesn't throw me into the steering wheel

Apparently enough people have complained that, in the new Mk4, they've changed the software so the bigger you set the buffer to, the more gradually it'll react so the changes will be less violent. More like a gentle spring than the more scaffolding pole-like reaction it has now  

 

[Extreme_One]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Mk4, they've changed the software so the bigger you set the buffer to, the more gradually it'll react so the changes will be less violent. More like a gentle spring than the more scaffolding pole-like reaction it has now  

I used to have the 2021 TS and the adaptive cruise used to stop very late and very abruptly. The new system feels incredibly gentle, almost human, in comparison.

Very impressed so far.

[Louie]

Thanks guys for the hints but a the moment I have invested in some new pants as every time I go through an overtaking manoeuvre when I get home I have to change my pants.

Today I overtook some guy driving what looked like a go kart gritted my teeth and off  I went and blow me down with a feather nothing happened the car behaved perfectly. 
I think I may be living in an alternative universe. 

[bigblock]

Re-check that the Proactive Driving Assist (PDA) is off. This will cause strange steering feedback when passing vehicles too close and it messes with the brakes too. I don't like it and have turned it off.

[RabButler]

Using the indicator when changing lane also reassures the car that you know what you are doing.

[RzrAzr]

On 12/30/2023 at 6:35 PM, Extreme_One said:

I used to have the 2021 TS and the adaptive cruise used to stop very late and very abruptly. The new system feels incredibly gentle, almost human, in comparison.

Very impressed so far.

I've noticed the car behaves a lot more gentle when you are in Eco mode, which is what I use on the highways as it brakes and accelerates a lot more smoother compared the regular mode. 

[2badmice]

On 12/27/2023 at 3:48 PM, Louie said:

Today my Toyota decided to jam on the brakes while i was trying to park up. The first hissy fit was crawling forward facing a brick wall a place i have parked many times before without any issues. The second was reversing very slowly into a minor road from the spot. The Toyota decided to slam on its brakes and stop then after a very long pregnant pause a van passed by very slowly a vehicle I had seen and had taken into account of when reversing. This van was nowhere near  my Toyota. I had already assessed the reversing scenario and the Toyota had decided I was wrong and taken over the control of the vehicle how crazy is that.  Toyota need a rethink here.

 

On 12/28/2023 at 3:09 PM, Chas G said:

Parking at Sainsburys recently while in drive with the brake on in my yaris cross,  I opened the car door to see how close I was to the white line of the bay. Car started alarming and turned itself off leaving me half blocking the lane while I gathered my thoughts.

I must be in the minority in thinking these features are game-changers.

 

I first noticed the emergency braking in a 2017 VW Golf when reversing up on the driveway and it stopped me from hitting the garage door.  At first, I was startled as I thought I'd gone too far and that I'd hit the door.  When I got out and checked and saw the gap, I was pleased knowing it had done me a favour and also saved denting the door.

I was also pleased that this feature was available in my Corolla.

Like I said, I must be in the minority.

On 12/29/2023 at 6:03 PM, Cyker said:

I'm sorry, but in my opinion if you can't reverse out of a bay safely, you probably shouldn't be driving at all.

Everyone is taught reversing manoeuvres and how to perform them safely with plenty of observation before they get their license and should be capable of doing them safely when required to.

 

 

I hear you completely, and reversing out should not be an issue for a competent driver, however, our instructors taught us to reverse parking for a reason.  To be a safer driver.

 

The Japanese way is to reverse park, we're driving their cars.  Let's honour them and be safe and sensible.  Reverse parking into a car park is done by those who are better drivers, without a doubt.

The majority of car park drivers in the UK drive into parking bays and it hurts to see how lazy we have become.

Also, when you get in a car and some BOZO has driven in with the L200, Qashqai etc. it's such a chore to see over the tailgate/rear end and easing out backwards is a recipe for disaster, far safer to roll out forwards and come to a stop should you need to.

[Cyker]

It's a nice thought, but sometimes it's just impractical to reverse in; Have you ever tried to load a fridge or washing machine into a car that's been reverse-bay parked? It's impossible!  

I reverse park most of the time - It's just so much easier to get out, but there are some situations where going in nose-first is better. Mainly for loading large things, and diagonal bays for instance, but there are places I have had people dive into the space nose first while I'm setting up to reverse in, which is infuriating! (If only I'd splurged for the rocket launcher turret option!  )

I will say about the safety ADAS stuff, the reason I haven't disabled any of them is they have been helpful, and saved me a few times when I've been caught out by the poor general visibility of the Mk4 Yaris, and I have no doubt they will save a lot of lives from inattentive drivers, but I do wish where was a big red button or something you could slap to quickly override them - The problem is the false positives; I've had several examples:

The EAB triggering as I'm driving through narrow roads with closely parked cars and traffic islands

The Lane keeping trying to pull me into parked cars as I move closer to the centre lane divider, ironically to avoid crashing into them in the first place

Several times I've been trapped in the middle of a busy junction because the car's thought I'm about to crash into some phantom, and cut the accelerator, so I'm swearing at it stamping on the accelerator while cars are coming at me from both directions, turning what would have been a perfectly safe emerge manoeuvre into a rather more bum clenching situation!  

Its these edge-cases, where they actually make things MORE dangerous instead of less, which stops them being a no-brainer addition. Until they can make them always 100% correct, I feel there needs to be overrides in these robot systems...

 

The other thing I don't like about ADAS is it's not solving the problem - IMHO there are a lot of drivers who should either be retrained or banned from driving; I don't consider myself a good driver, and if I was in charge of such things I'd rate myself as a borderline-pass, but I would rate myself better than 3/4 of all current drivers on the road!

One side effect of these ADAS systems is they are saying it's okay to be an oblivious inattentive driver, as the car will look after you, and I'm worried they will lower the standard of driving even more...

 

[Moleman]

41 minutes ago, 2badmice said:

 

Reverse parking into a car park is done by those who are better drivers, without a doubt.

 

Really?

The car park comes to complete halt, while your so called better driver takes multiple attempts to reverse into a space, and having failed, leaves the car badly parked at an angle within the space. It takes one attempt to drive in forwards and one attempt to reverse out for most sensible drivers.

 😁 🤣

[Cyker]

The reverse part is the tricky bit in either manoeuvre - Even with driving in nose first, it's the reverse out that is the tricky bit and there are a lot of drivers who couldn't reverse onto the toilet without hitting something...

The biggest advantage with reversing in first is you don't need to worry about crossing cars when doing the reverse part, but you still need to worry about pedestrians, trolleys etc.. When reversing out, you need to worry about all that AND cars!

 

[Roy124]

Regarding two settings menus.

The Odometer display is common to each model (?).   The media system can vary between models and specifications.   It makes sense to have separate software systems and integrate them. 

[Big_D]

11 minutes ago, Moleman said:

Really?

The car park comes to complete halt, while your so called better driver takes multiple attempts to reverse into a space, and having failed, leaves the car badly parked at an angle within the space. It takes one attempt to drive in forwards and one attempt to reverse out for most sensible drivers.

 😁 🤣

If they can't reverse in, which in my opinion is easier than reversing out, how are they going to reverse out without causing the car park to come to a complete halt? I say easier to reverse in that out, because when reversing in, you have the right of way. When reversing out, you will be at the mercy of other motorists, as @Cyker puts it "it's the reverse out that is the tricky bit"

At the end of the day, reversing is reversing. In or out, it should make no difference.

[50p]

Supermarket car parks. Most of my local establishments have 2 lines of parking spaces, then the access roadway. If you were to reverse into the space you wouldn't be able to unload the shopping trolley. There is not enough space between the parked cars to get the trolley to the rear of the car, especially if a monster SUV has parked next to you with its mirrors sticking out. Reversing in is not an option.

[Moleman]

1 hour ago, Big_D said:

If they can't reverse in, which in my opinion is easier than reversing out, how are they going to reverse out without causing the car park to come to a complete halt?

And that is the point! Many drivers today seem unable to reverse correctly (no matter what they are taught).

However, reversing out of a space is in to a much larger area than reversing in, so even the bad drivers should make less of a mess of it. 

Each to their own of course.

[Cyker]

The best sorts of carpark have a path between bays so you can reverse in, walk down the path (Instead of in the road like in most car parks!), then when you bring your trolley back, you can go up the path and right to the back of the car. Best of both worlds!

Sadly that sort of design is rare because it's not as space-efficient for packing in the maximum amount of cars.

 

[Louie]

Guys guys guys i have been driving for nigh on 55 years i started on motorcycles then went on to cars all without incidents other than the odd speeding ticket and that was in the days where there much more traffic police about compared to  today. Why does Toyota feel the need to now tell me to adapt my driving technique I consider it insulting enough said other than Toyota make some nice vehicles.

 

[Cyker]

Partly the law - A lot of this stuff is required to be included for newer cars to be homologated for use in the EU, and thus here.

The other side is EuroNCAP - All this stuff is required for cars to get a maximum rating, and Toyota have always been particularly rabid about getting the full 5 stars for its flagship models.

It's not just a Toyota thing; You'll find most new cars have a lot of this stuff on them now and it'll only increase as they strive in vain for this zero road deaths pipe dream without addressing the core problems.

[Extreme_One]

Most of the driving aids are optional anyway.

If you don't want the car to attempt to stop you from reversing into another vehicle or a wall, turn it off.

I can't understand why LDA can't be turned off permanently though. It reverts to On on every new drive.

 

[Cyker]

I think that's for NCAP rating; I think you don't get credit for it if it can be permanently disabled. A lot of the ADAS settings that reset when you turn the car back on are because of that.