How can I tell if ACC is on?

[minjaep]

I got my Mach-E recently with BlueCruise already activated. As most videos demonstrating ACC are for MY21, I'm a little confused about how the cluster displays work in the latest version. FYI, I read manuals and watched videos but it is still not clear.

(1) Does ACC turn on anytime?
I know BC turns on specific roads. But I wonder if ACC should turn on every time whenever I push the button on the steering wheel. I thought I read it only turns on when the lane-keeping system is on which is indicated by green lines on the sides. So it means that if side lanes on the cluster are gray, it does not turn on, right? I also heard if it rains a lot, most aids do not work. Is this situation implemented as these gray lines or indicated by another message/icon?

(2) How can I tell ACC is on?
Anyway, assuming I saw green side-lines and pushed the Cruise button, sometimes it shows distance setting right after, or sometimes the front bar is immediately changed to some blue arc while green side-lines remain as before. Or sometimes all three sides changed to blue arcs which seems not BC activated (as if it were, the whole cluster should be blue that I can easily tell.) Is this behavior intended? I have trouble understanding why the outcome is different every time, and can't tell if it is working correctly.
In particular, according to videos I saw for MY21 where "intelligent CC" was there, it seems like blue arcs on all three sides should show up and there is some speed meter icon at the bottom of the car (and above "READY" sign). If there is no such icon and only the front is a blue arc, does it mean ACC is not turned on? Then what is it?

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[Triggerhappy007]

1. You can turn on ACC at any time, there is a minimum speed iicrc.

2. There's a small speedometer with the set speed. When ACC has been cancelled, there will be a line across the number.

 

[minjaep]

1. You can turn on ACC at any time, there is a minimum speed iicrc.

2. There's a small speedometer with the set speed. When ACC has been cancelled, there will be a line across the number.

Thank you! So can I ignore various graphics shown around the car? Sometimes the side lanes are blue arcs and sometimes not.

 

[newmme]

Don't complain, this could be a massive recall. Tesla had to recall to add a chime for this exact thing.

Tesla recall

 

[hybrid2bev]

I got my Mach-E recently with BlueCruise already activated. As most videos demonstrating ACC are for MY21, I'm a little confused about how the cluster displays work in the latest version. FYI, I read manuals and watched videos but it is still not clear.

(1) Does ACC turn on anytime?
I know BC turns on specific roads. But I wonder if ACC should turn on every time whenever I push the button on the steering wheel. I thought I read it only turns on when the lane-keeping system is on which is indicated by green lines on the sides. So it means that if side lanes on the cluster are gray, it does not turn on, right? I also heard if it rains a lot, most aids do not work. Is this situation implemented as these gray lines or indicated by another message/icon?

(2) How can I tell ACC is on?
Anyway, assuming I saw green side-lines and pushed the Cruise button, sometimes it shows distance setting right after, or sometimes the front bar is immediately changed to some blue arc while green side-lines remain as before. Or sometimes all three sides changed to blue arcs which seems not BC activated (as if it were, the whole cluster should be blue that I can easily tell.) Is this behavior intended? I have trouble understanding why the outcome is different every time, and can't tell if it is working correctly.
In particular, according to videos I saw for MY21 where "intelligent CC" was there, it seems like blue arcs on all three sides should show up and there is some speed meter icon at the bottom of the car (and above "READY" sign). If there is no such icon and only the front is a blue arc, does it mean ACC is not turned on? Then what is it?

I think you are mixing Adaptive Cruise and Lane Centering/Lane Keeping.

If you have the blue arc showing on the IPC car icon front that means adaptive cruise is on. Adaptive cruise will just maintain a set following time/distance to a vehicle in front of you, that's it. You can have adaptive cruise on and also have lane centering/lane keeping on or off at the same time.

Lane Centering will be on if you see the blue arcs on the sides. This will work to actively keep you in the lane center. With or without BlueCruise.

Lane Keeping will be on if you see the green lines on the side. If you see grey bars along side of the car icon then lane keeping is off or the system cannot see the painted road lines. Lane Keeping when used without Adaptive Cruise will just help nudge you back into the lane if you happen to drift.

If you see the blue arcs on the front and sides at the same time that means you have adaptive cruise on and lane centering on. If the 'Hands Free' icon does not display/the IPC did not turn blue that means you are not in a BC mapped zone or BC is not active yet.

 

[minjaep]

I think you are mixing Adaptive Cruise and Lane Centering/Lane Keeping.

If you have the blue arc showing on the IPC car icon front that means adaptive cruise is on. Adaptive cruise will just maintain a set following time/distance to a vehicle in front of you, that's it. You can have adaptive cruise on and also have lane centering/lane keeping on or off at the same time.

Lane Centering will be on if you see the blue arcs on the sides. This will work to actively keep you in the lane center. With or without BlueCruise.

Lane Keeping will be on if you see the green lines on the side. If you see grey bars along side of the car icon then lane keeping is off or the system cannot see the painted road lines. Lane Keeping when used without Adaptive Cruise will just help nudge you back into the lane if you happen to drift.

If you see the blue arcs on the front and sides at the same time that means you have adaptive cruise on and lane centering on. If the 'Hands Free' icon does not display/the IPC did not turn blue that means you are not in a BC mapped zone or BC is not active yet.

Thank you so much for the detailed answer! This is the information I wanted.

There is just one thing not explained: when ACC and LC are on so that all front and side lines are blue arcs, what is the difference when there is/isn't an icon (maybe some speedmeter) at the bottom of the car? (right above the "READY" sign) Are they the same ACC+LC but in the former it is not from BC and the latter it is something that came from (or cancelled from) BC?

By the way, I have never seen only lane-centering on while driving. In most cases the side lines are either green or gray. As I can turn on the BC, the setting should be turned on. So does it mean that the lane centering is just difficult to activate? Or am I just not aware of it by chance?
Nvm. I just read the manual again, and I think I pushed the lane centering on/off button at some point.

 

[hybrid2bev]

Thank you so much for the detailed answer! This is the information I wanted.

There is just one thing not explained: when ACC and LC are on so that all front and side lines are blue arcs, what is the difference when there is/isn't an icon (maybe some speedmeter) at the bottom of the car? (right above the "READY" sign) Are they the same ACC+LC but in the former it is not from BC and the latter it is something that came from (or cancelled from) BC?

This is keep your hands on the wheel, ACC + LC mode active:

This is Blue Cruise hands free ACC + LC active.

 

[minjaep]

This is keep your hands on the wheel, ACC + LC mode active:

This is Blue Cruise hands free ACC + LC active.

I'm still a little confusing between lane centering vs lane keeping. I just checked the manual and on pg 230, it says there is a lane centering on/off button on the steering wheel. But apparently, I don't have such a button drawn on that page on my steering wheel. Mine has only lane keeping on/off button.

 

[hybrid2bev]

I'm still a little confusing between lane centering vs lane keeping. I just checked the manual and on pg 230, it says there is a lane centering on/off button on the steering wheel. But apparently, I don't have such a button drawn on that page on my steering wheel. Mine has only lane keeping on/off button.

Both are activated using the same button on the steering wheel so it is confusing.

Lane centering can only be active along with cruise control.

Lane Keeping is what you get without cruise control being active OR in the meantime if you JUST turned on cruise control, sometimes it takes a few seconds for the lane centering to kick on.

If you have the LC/LK button on but cruise control off then you'll only see the green/gray bars along the sides (no arc in front).

 

[minjaep]

Both are activated using the same button on the steering wheel so it is confusing.

Lane centering can only be active along with cruise control.

Lane Keeping is what you get without cruise control active. If you have the LC/LK button on but cruise control off then you'll only see the green/gray bars along the sides (no arc in front).

Makes perfect sense! Thanks for the clear explanation.

 

[SnBGC]

In case it helps any....
This is Adaptive Cruise Control

This is Lane Keeping Assist (with ACC paused)

This is Adaptive Cruise Control + Lane Keeping Assist

Additionally, if you turn on Lane Centering in the Adaptive Cruise Control menu...

.....and then activate ACC and LKA then you get the side bubble which means Lane Centering is included.

 

[wavyphotons]

With all the settings on, sometimes I notice that car doesn't slow down when the car in front is stopped/slow, so somehow it's only activating normal cruise control and not the adaptive part of it.
I'll need to check what buttons I have pressed next time (I have all settings enabled in the sync 4 and never change them).
It's kinda scary and not very obvious.
I'm assuming in the case, adaptive icon is gray (paused/unable to engage) and there's no blue arc around the car? I wish adaptive cruise vs normal cruise wouldn't be so seamless.

Overall, I'm quite disappointed how little warnings we get when adaptive gets cancelled and then re-enabled automatically (and other settings). Even with eyes on the road and focus, it can be easy to miss and you really to keep eyes on the dash!
I know they are trying to keep the magic and minimize interruptions, but it should at least be a setting you can enable (how loud the beeps are and maybe wheel can buzz).
I'm sure over time ppl get used to it but it's unindeal for a new driver.

 

[Mach-Lee]

With all the settings on, sometimes I notice that car doesn't slow down when the car in front is stopped/slow, so somehow it's only activating normal cruise control and not the adaptive part of it.
I'll need to check what buttons I have pressed next time (I have all settings enabled in the sync 4 and never change them).
It's kinda scary and not very obvious.

You're probably using it wrong and have incorrect expectations. The cruise control radar does not detect cars moving slower than 6 MPH unless you are really close. So if you are coming up on stopped cars, you MUST MANUALLY SLOW DOWN because the radar will not see them in time. This is due to technical limitations of how the radar works. You should be looking for the car ahead icon in the cluster, if you don't see that you need to brake the car yourself. If cars are changing lanes in front of you, you also need to take over because it may not lock on them in time.

Adaptive cruise control is a "follow me" technology, so if it's not locked onto and pacing a car ahead, it may crash into it.

I think you really need to go read all the warnings in the adaptive cruise control section of the owner's manual again.

 

[SnBGC]

I agree with the above.
Ford calls their systems "Co-Pilot" which I think is a great description. The driver is still responsible for safe operation of the vehicle at all times. The driver aid features are helpful and sometimes can even help avoid an incident but the driver is still expected to cover the myriad of non-standard situations that occur in everyday driving. Use the features for comfort and fatigue relief but continue to pay attention and be prepared to take action when necessary.

 

[wavyphotons]

Got it...to clarify, I'm driving very carefully and slow down in advance if I don't see the car itself slowing down and mostly just trying to understand the features (and how and when they disengage) so appreciate the help.

But I've def seen car slow down and stop at red lights by itself when car in front is stopped but maybe I need to check again based on what you said about 6mph.

I'll keep an eye on the car ahead icon in the cluster and read the owners manual section again.

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