nyjohnchan

I swear no matter how fast or slow that I'm traveling, the first stage cmbs only activates when I'm about 5 feet from the car in front of me. I always chicken out by pressing the brake because I'm afraid the system is malfunction. Is there anything wrong with the system? Can the dealer check the system for proper functions?

sotiri

yes they can.
it could be an alignment issue, the radar may be tilted in the grill for whatever reason.
the Helms manual outlines how the tech should test it.

gcook

I like it when the seat belt tensioner is activated. It makes me feel much more secure like the car is taking care of me the best it can. It really is a pretty cool feeling to know the car is taking action.. It has only happened a handful of times, but when it does it is a pretty amazing response from the car.

Chas2

I just saw a Lexus ad last night, perhaps during LOST, where a car and a pick up truck are about to collide, and the car, a Lexus, is taking care of you by tensioning the seat belt, taking care of you as best as possible when the inevitable happens.

Now why didn't Acura do an ad like that? It's a pretty effective gee whiz ad with a lot of Matrix like slo mo, but the point is the RL has had this for a couple of years now, albeit as the CMBS option.

deepdezal

I saw that commercial too, during lost and I was thinking the same thing.

Why didn't Acura/Honda advertise this? They pioneered this feature back in 2003..


http://world.honda.com/news/2003/4030520.html

SpicyMikey

hmm, I fear something isn't quite right with my system based on all these comments. It's just not reacting to situations soon enough. I can see the brakes not getting applied until the last second, but I'd expect the BRAKE signal, alarm, and belt tensioner to trigger with ample time to warn a user to look up and pay attention. My "stage one" doesn't start until about 2 seconds before impact.

I think I'll take Sotiri's advice and have them check it out when I go in for my first oil change.

gcook

Spicy.. maybe you are driving more carefully than you think I have to be pretty close too. Mostly see this when changing lanes and following to closely and the car just hampers down on me.. brakes tighten up, audible and seat tensions.. but I have to be pretty close too. Like 1 car length and the speed has to be sufficient too.

Btw.. I didn't see that commerical but I still felt that secure feeling they are talking about.. funny eh.. Maybe Lexus/Toyo did some focus groups.

GoHawks

Actually they did. There was a commercial showing a guy driving an RL, and as he starts going through some fog, the RL begins to warn him of (I believe) a truck up ahead.

The problem is that it was just ONE commercial. Acura's marketing has seemed somewhat disjointed.

Most if not all of the Lexus ads focus on the "Lexus experience". What it's like to own a Lexus. BMW focuses on the driving experience.

Acura Advance which seems to focus on technology and how it enhances your life (Dreamer Commercial). Whether right or wrong, it is a concept focused on the entire brand and not just one vehicle. The question is, will they give it some time to mature or will they pull the plug after a year or two.

How many tag lines has Acura gone through?

"Precision Crafted Performance"
"Some things are woth the price" (This one was horrible in my opinion)

There were a few more, and now we're to Acura Advance. Seems pretty schizophrenic if you ask me.

Lexus on the other hand started with "The relentless pursuit of perfection" which has now morphed into "The passionate pursuit of perfection". Pretty much the same message that resonates with me and projects an unmistakable image of luxury and quality.

Chas2

Certainly have it checked out...
but my stage 1 " BRAKE"activations are frightfully close, UNLESS you have a very fast closing speed and you are on ACC. For example, you are cruising 70 and someone cuts in front of you going 50 and there is no way the car can slow down by itself by cutting throttle and light application of the brakes. Stage 1 "BRAKE" warning display goes off in concert with light ACC application of brakes.

The one time Stage 1 BRAKE and Stage 2 e-pretensioning went off, I was pretty darn close to hitting someone. In fact, by the time the danger had passed, the car was still tugging on my belt...acutally now that I think about it, it was probably loosening up the belt.

I look at is as a system of close to last resort, or last resort. You don't want it going off all the time.

My activations of stage 1 BRAKE have been less than 10 in 6 months, maybe only 5 times, and mostly in ACC cruise mode when someone cuts in front of you.

SpicyMikey

Could be. 20 years ago the system would probably have been triggering every 5 minutes!

It does seem that everyone is driving faster and faster each year. I think it's just me going slower and slower

I'm going to have it checked out anyway just to be sure.

sotiri

SpicyMikey, the system is affected by the speed, that is the rate of closure to the object in front.
you can basically creep up behind a car going at 65 or at 35 and the system will react slowly.
I believe it was designed that way in case of tight traffic traveling too close- which happens ALL THE TIME.

TampaRLX-SH

I do not have CMBS, or ACC, but I test drove a model with them.

As much as either system can be invaluable in safety, I personally found them an irritation upon irritating road conditions.

As a driver cut you off (a regular, expected practice here) the seatbelt tugs or BRAKE warning light became more distracting to me, already anticipating some jacka$$ would (and did) cut me off with inches to spare.

When I tried the ACC on a highway stretch, someone would cut infront of me. It would adapt and slow just for the next jacka$$ to do the same. Eventually I would be going backwards.

Honestly, I felt I was NOT in control of the vehicle. And atop of being annoyed by the other drivers, I was becoming irritated by the seatbelt tugs, flashing BRAKE warning and slowing speed.

I think if I had them I would not use them and the benefit of when they COULD be a lifesaver (ie. NavyDoc's thread), would be lost.

For me anyway...too much of a good thing.

SpicyMikey

yep, but I was closing on the car in front of me at about 10mph and got within 2 seconds of hitting him. My gut tells me the designers would consider that a stage one situation.

It sure would be good to know the parameters for this systems triggering algorithms. I'll bet its out there somewhere eventhough I'm probably one out of 10,000 that would ask such an anal question. I'm gonna look.

Chas2

This is a place to start

http://www.hondanews.com/categories/757/releases/3766

http://world.honda.com/safety/real-world/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSA98AvCvaQ

SpicyMikey

Thanks Chas2 for the links. I also found a guy from CalTech who did his PHD thesis on the subject! (How did we survive without the internet?). His paper is complete with algorithms for Honda CMBS and everything. Can't make heads or tails of it but interesting to know it exists

CMBS Thesis

I think I'll just take the easy way out and talk to the service dept rather then go for my PHD