Collision Mitigation, yay or nay?
 

I've done a search and read the threads on CM. My question as I consider buying a 2016 RDX is, should I look for one with the collision mitigation? Or is the technology too new still?

What are your personal experiences with it?

Thanks

I have it and I like it. Personally, I want everything I can get to tip the odds in my favor to avoid an accident or reduce the severity of an accident. That's why I specifically chose the Advance package that includes the AcuraWatch Plus Package and the Technology Package. Not only is the Collision Mitigation Braking System included in the AcuraWatch Package but also Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist System, Lane Departure Warning, and the Adaptive Cruise Control. I also wanted the Blind Spot Information (BSI) System and the Rear Cross Traffic Monitor that's included in the Technology Package. So far, all of those systems have worked fine for me.

You should get a discount on car insurance depending on your Insurance company. You also have the option to turn one, some, or all of the AcuraWatch features off if you don't like it. I like AcuraWatch because I travel a lot and being unfamiliar with local driving habits in other states can be a little scary and having electronic safe guards really helps. Another plus is AcuraWatch is a excellent back-up if you have multiple drivers with various skill levels.

I take it it is the feature while you are moving on the highway. I have that little light that lights up on the inside of the mirror mount (I disabled the audio portion of it). I don't use it simply because I do a visual check in my mirrors and a shoulder check...can't beat those.

I like the feature when backing out of a parking spot it warns you if a vehicle is coming across. Sometimes with a van on both sides, its next to impossible to see what is coming.

For the sake of other drivers on the road, use it.

We have it on my wife's 16 Advance and occasionally get the warning on the dashboard, but have never had it actually apply the brakes. I think it's a good safety feature and as mentioned above anything that helps avoid accidents is a plus. Is it a must have - probably not, but a good to have for sure. My $0.02

I like it. It's never engaged the brakes but it's warned me to brake. Seems like a smart system.

No the little light next to the mirror is blind spot monitoring. The beep when in reverse if something is in your way is called rear cross traffic monitoring. Both of these features are included in the Tech package
in the US. Forward collision warning is only available with Acura Watch Plus or standard in the Advance.

I asked, before we went out to look, if the Advance model would have cheaper insurance (through Mercury) by giving my agent VIN numbers of RDXs for sale. All models had the same insurance profile. At least with them.
Having had the Tech for a few months now, the feature the Advance has I would really like is auto dimming side mirrors.

Yes, I was aware of that and what I stated above. I find the cross-traffic alerts far more useful though.

My "Elite" (same as your Advance) has that. It would be nice to be able to adjust the tint though, much like the windows in a Boeing 787.

The odd time the BRAKE indication might come on when I am swinging wide for a driver pulling into a driveway.

I tried the brake function for the hell of it and sure enough it does brake. I do not know if it would come to a full stop though as I was trying it coming up on a traffic light. In any case, I do not trust systems as much as I trust myself.

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like most everyone has had good experiences with it. I read the thread on people having bad experiences with it and wanted to see how prevalent that occurred. Sounds like not so often.

Completely agree with both of your comments above.

Adaptive cruise is nice, I use it all the time although it could be refined to be somewhat smoother. Cross traffic alert is good, especially when there are two large trucks/SUV's parked next to you that you can't see through/around. Lane keep assist, I use it once in a blue moon but you need good lane lines on the road for it to function properly. Don't particularly like it though. Lane departure warning, I turned it off after a couple of months and haven't turned it back on since I found it annoying and I don't have any problems keeping the vehicle between the lines. Blind spot warning works OK but I honestly don't pay any attention to it. My $3.99 pair of convex mirrors give me much more information not only if there is someone next to me but two or three lanes over as well as what is coming up behind me. Forward collision warning gives me a lot of false alarms like when a car in front of me is slowing to get into the center turn lane or at rarely at odd times when in corners with traffic ahead of me and oncoming. I never have been in situation where it alerted me to brake that I didn't already know I needed to brake. Like the above posters noted, I don't trust any of it as much as I trust myself (except the cheap convex mirrors).

We are replacing a 2005 Toyota Sienna with a 2016 RDX Advance. I figured it would be a hug jump in insurance, given the relative replacement values. The increase for us was $66, with the differential being down to the safety features, as I understand it.

We have a '16 Advance and I don't think much of these features at all. In fact, I have found them to be dangerous at times. The auto braking? When following someone through town and they decide to slow down and move left to a turning line, our car puts the brakes on hard and needlessly. This has happened many times and I'm glad we didn't get hit from the back. The adaptable cruise control? I'd rather have the regular cruise control. The adaptive cruise control adjusts speed when I would not and when not watching it will slow you down to a point that you have to adjust it yourself anyway. The rear cross traffic is a hit and miss. It doesn't pick up a person walking until they would be close enough to reach out and touch the car and it's a hit and miss on picking up cross traffic - often telling you a car is behind you instead of telling you a car is approaching. Lane keep? For us it is useless. In fact, to be very honest, most of the "safety features" on our advance are unnecessary for an observant driver. Others may enjoy them or appreciate them, but IMHO I'd rather not even have them on the car.

I've only had my '17 Advance for only two weeks now, but I've put about 700 miles on it. The "BRAKE" warning only came on once, with a car that was slowing down and turning, but it has not auto braked on me. I used the Adaptive Cruise Control a lot and it has worked very well, adjusting the distance when someone merges in front of me and keeping a good distance and speed. One thing I've noticed is that it will just slow me down to match the guy in front of me and I'll end up driving more slowly than I would otherwise until I look at the speedometer. No harm, no foul. The rear cross traffic alert has worked every time so far as I back out of my driveway. But I haven't had any pedestrians go by as I was backing up yet. I don't use the Lane Keep Assist, but my wife tells me I should because I always steer in the opposite direction of where I'm looking. Hopefully all of these things will continue to function as I hope, but if it ends up braking hard on me when not needed, then I would definitely consider turning the system off. And that's the thing, I can choose to turn it off if I don't want to use it.

As for insurance costs, the '17 RDX costs me $6 more than the '06 BMW X3 it replaced per 6 months, so $1 more per month.

So I have 2017 RDX without all of the safety goodies. It is in the shop for a warranty repair and the dealer has loaned e a 2019 RDX that is loaded with everything and if I had it to do over again, I definitely would have bought my RDX with collision mitigation, lane keeping assist system, and all of the other safety options. (Not sure if RDX had the lane keeping assist system or just a lane departure warning). By the way, the 2019 RDX is a very nice car and I can see why they are letting my borrow that vehicle.

You have a really good dealership that gives you loaners. My dealership hardly ever provides loaners. What they say is, it has to be a warranty work requiring more than two hours of labor,..... so essentially “take a hike”. :D. Don’t have any other dealership within reasonable distance.
As far as blind spot indicator, what I’ve learned is that proper adjustment of side view mirrors would preclude the need for these. Apparently most people adjust it wrong (by trying to see the rear of car in the mirror).
https://seniordriving.aaa.com/improv...-your-mirrors/
It’s a little counterintuitive in the beginning and annoying but once you realize that your inside mirror can see most of what you need to see, and there is no need to duplicate that in the side mirrors, then it becomes easier. Now merging into traffic is a breeze for me.

Totally agree that setting up the mirrors is important and most people get it wrong including me before I knew how to do it. I remember when the SAE article came out with this guidance on properly setting up your car's mirrors to minimize blind spots. Can't find the original SAE paper online, but there are plenty of references such as the one you note and even some videos. And yes, my dealership is pretty good except for tempting me with newer generation cars as loaners.