Honda "Lane Keeping Assist System" = 90% Tesla AP 1.0 FW 7.0

[davidc18]

We have just had the most interesting experience in a 2018 Honda Odyssey with the Honda Drivers Assurance package. The Honda system delivered 90% of what Tesla AP 1.0 FW 7.0 delivered during our 500 mile round trip between Miami and Disney World Orlando. We have just over 65,000 miles of Tesla AP 1.0 FW 7.0/7.1 experience and I am certain that if Honda was as forward leaning as Tesla, they could easily tweak the system to be the equal of AP 1.0.

For driving above 45 mph (the system is disabled at lower speeds) the system nags are equal to AP 1.0 on FW 7.0 and the car completed almost all of the driving (we had to take over 3 times) while on the interstate at speeds up to 85mph. All that was required of the driver was to place hands on the wheel when the "steering required" alert showed on the screen in front of the steering wheel. The traffic aware cruise control worked as expected with the system maximum follow distance was about 50% greater than Tesla's.

Overall I was surprised at how well the system works as I don't remember Honda advertising they system and its advanced capabilities.

I would be interested to heard about other cars that may have similar features.

 

[Electroman]

So what happens when the traffic slows down momentarily down to 45 mph, while you are on the highway? How about stop and go traffic, which is a huge benefit of AP ?

 

[davidc18]

The system alerts that "steering required" and you take over below 45. It will not work in stop and go traffic like AP 1.0.

I had to post about it because I was frankly shocked and delighted at how well it works on the freeway/interstate making me wonder what hardware is lurking under the cover.

 

[Mickie]

It’s inability to work under 45 and in stop-and-go traffic would place it more around 50% of AP1 for all major city dwellers, if not a total deal breaker.

Interesting otherwise and yeah, I’ve heard nothing of it. Only thing I’ve seen outta Honda lately is touting of their new Civic SI.

How was the lane-keep? Smooth and controlled or ping-pongey?

 

[swhang]

That 90% figure is totally misleading.

In the EASIEST of situations (highway with no stop-go traffic), it can do 90%.

But in the real world, it's less than 50% b/c the best use of AP1 is in rush hour, stop and go traffic, which the Honda is useless.

 

[davidc18]

simply speaking of highway driving and it was very smooth, no ping ponging. I had to post as I was so surprised with the system and its performance. It very much reminded me of how the 70D drove with firmware 7.0.

 

[BQst]

A 70D with AP1.0 is my daily driver, and I've driven an MDX with the "Acurawatch" version of Honda's system for highway trips several times. I agree the Honda system is about 90% there. But the missing 10% can be quite annoying.

I view these systems as a balance between helpful and annoying. The old ping-pong lane departure assist systems were more annoying than useful. Autopilot 1.0 is clearly useful on the highway (and borderline on less predictable roads). Acura's system is right on the edge on the highway, where it can be very helpful but also very annoying.

-Ben

 

[eddielee1970]

MS 75 AP1 and MX 75D AP2. so far the AP1 is better then AP2 for us. we have the 2016 honda accord which is like your 2018 odyssey. doesn't work below 45mph which is annoying or work in stop and go traffic. our 2016 MDX with acurawatch work in stop and go traffic and below 45mph if you have it activated above 45mph. major setback in honda or acura system is that major bend in freeway won't slow the car down like Tesla will. Tesla electric drive system keep up with heavy traffic better then Acura gas engine systems. I don't like our Tesla for it's reliability, but everything else ( electric drive, autopilot, no more gas stations) we love about Tesla.

 

[jelloslug]

The system alerts that "steering required" and you take over below 45. It will not work in stop and go traffic like AP 1.0.

I had to post about it because I was frankly shocked and delighted at how well it works on the freeway/interstate making me wonder what hardware is lurking under the cover.

It's great that other companies are making progress. To be honest though, highway travels with it's relatively constant speeds and fairly straight lanes are the easiest one to get right.

 

[ai4px]

I have a 2016 Civic with the lane keeping assist. I gotta say I'm very disappointed in it. It'll ping pong left and right and if the radius of a curve is too tight, it'll run out across the centerline. The honda steering torque is set too low on the honda for it no navigate all curves. There is an app that runs on an android phone comma.ai , I haven't run it in my car, but it seems to do a better job with keeping centered and not ping ponging.

As for emergency braking, we've had someone turn left in front of us (close, but plenty of room to spare in practical terms), and the emergency braking activated. The issue is that the gas is a dead pedal while this is going on. So a guy turning left in front of me caused my car to lock up the brakes and almost made the guy behind me rear end us.... we were unable to make the car resume until it got below 10mph or so.

One other annoyance... the forward facing radar knows where the steering is pointing, so if you are in a curve, it won't false for someone approaching in the other lane even though they are in fact straight in front of you. However (ahem)... if you haven't entered the curve yet and the on coming car is exiting the curve, the emergency braking will activate. My wife found this /very/ alarming and annoying.

There are so many special cases the car manufacturers have to account for when self driving that I just don't know if they'll ever be solved. It is much, much more than lane keeping and cruise control. Also, in the case of Tesla's self driving model 3 taxi program, who is responsible for insurance if there's an accident?