Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), 360 camera, and in-mirror blind spot indicator

[stealthytolkien]

This question has been on my mind for a while, so I wanted to get your thoughts on this topic so please bear with me as I explain the context in a rather long winded manner for those who may be unaware of these features to begin with.

CONTEXT:


A few years ago, car manufacturers introduced this safety feature that allows the car to “see” in a unique situation:

1. The car is parked with its trunk (boot) facing the flowing traffic side (typically a mall parking lot).

NOTE: This is how most people park cars because it makes loading groceries in the trunk a lot easier. I am NOT intending to start a “yOu ShOuLD bAcK iN” discussion here. There’s a reason car manufacturers put money into offering this feature after all.

2. The car is parked between two cars on either sides

3. The car is trying to back out and cannot see the incoming traffic from either sides (perpendicular to the car)

Mach-E has a well implemented RCTA. It’ll not only warn you of an incoming cross traffic but it’ll show whether it’s coming from your right or left. With drivers recklessly pacing around the parking lot, this feature saves us many times. On occasion, Mach E has also braked in reverse, which is a good add on.

And the 360 camera is a cherry on top (shows car from top). Basically, this system IMHO truly assists drivers when their view is the most restricted, and I need not tell you how susceptible parking lots are to accidents. I’m sure there’s a statistic out there.

Last but not least - everyone knows in mirror blind spot monitor that flashes when you’re turning to prevent you from hitting a car entering in your blind spot.

MY VIEWPOINT:

For me personally, not having RCTA (and to a great extent the 360 camera) is a dealbreaker. Call me silly but these two things are the main reasons I skipped Model Y (after owning 3 which once got me into trouble because of no RCTA) and went with the Mach E.

But whenever I talk to Tesla owners about these absent features, they seem not bothered at all! I wonder why.

They make some arguments about having a wide angle reverse camera (which is indeed nice) but we all know that’s not the same. And it is also demonstrated in some videos that Tesla is very prone to hitting a car in reverse and may not brake. Probably even worse now with no sensors in there.

QUESTION:

Would you choose a car that doesn’t have all these features (ESPECIALLY RCTA) now that you own a Mach E?

Thank you.

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[the golden eel]

Dealbreaker for me?... Hard to say. Maybe.

But the more (well implemented) cameras the better, I say.

I probably rely too heavily on the backup 360 camera at this point. I rarely look in my mirrors while backing up. The field of view is so much wider in that backup camera compared to mirrors alone.

One camera I do miss on my MME is what my Pilot has... Turn on my right blinker (or just push a button on the turn signal wand) and the screen shows me a view out the side of the car from a camera mounted under the passenger side mirror. This is also very handy, and absolutely provides better coverage than mirrors alone. I think Tesla may have this for both sides?

Now that I think more about it, 2 cars being mostly equal other than camera use would sway me towards the car with the more/better cameras.

 

[Blue highway]

I have both... a car with (MME) and a car without (Y)

The Ford solution for 360 cameras and RCTA is vastly superior to the Tesla in this space.

The other "killer" item for me is that the MME is much quieter than the Y.

I already had the MME and wanted to have an additional EV... and not two of the same car... so added the Y. I admit one of the reasons I added the Y was that relying on CCS for road trips was not improving fast enough for me... and I think the SC rollout to Fords and others will be a couple year process... hope I am wrong.

 

[stealthytolkien]

I have both... a car with (MME) and a car without (Y)

The Ford solution for 360 cameras and RCTA is vastly superior to the Tesla in this space.

The other "killer" item for me is that the MME is much quieter than the Y.

I already had the MME and wanted to have an additional EV... and not two of the same car... so added the Y. I admit one of the reasons I added the Y was that relying on CCS for road trips was not improving fast enough for me... and I think the SC rollout to Fords and others will be a couple year process... hope I am wrong.

I know, right?!

We are a hybrid and EV SUV household. Even with a Tesla in the picture, IMHO, road tripping is a bit easier with a car with a fuel tank. The “next best option” after that is a Tesla for road trips and that’s a fact today.

But given my situation where 90% of our drive is in a city (and hence the topic with all these city tuned safety features). And we fly when it’s more than 6 hours of one way driving. With that in mind, Tesla infrastructure == non Tesla infrastructure for me when it comes to charging needs. I really need ONE charging stop each way.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

While I like these features a lot, they certainly aren’t dealbreakers for me. I also own a 2018 F150 without any of these. I drive a lot of rental cars, usually base models without these bells and whistles. My son’s 2010 Dodge Charger doesn’t even have a backup camera. I learned how to drive when cameras in cars didn’t exist. I am capable without any of the fancy stuff. So while I like them as much as I like a centered speedometer, I can also go without and not feel my experience has diminished.

 

[OrchidMania]

Dealbreaker for me?... Hard to say. Maybe.

But the more (well implemented) cameras the better, I say.

I probably rely too heavily on the backup 360 camera at this point. I rarely look in my mirrors while backing up. The field of view is so much wider in that backup camera compared to mirrors alone.

One camera I do miss on my MME is what my Pilot has... Turn on my right blinker (or just push a button on the turn signal wand) and the screen shows me a view out the side of the car from a camera mounted under the passenger side mirror. This is also very handy, and absolutely provides better coverage than mirrors alone. I think Tesla may have this for both sides?

Now that I think more about it, 2 cars being mostly equal other than camera use would sway me towards the car with the more/better cameras.

I miss my side camera on old accord hybrid. Alot

 

[ctenidae]

Not having them wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but after living with Ford's for a couple of years not having a button to mute it might be. I don't need to know there's traffic on the road 20 feet away when I back out of my garage. Also, my reaction to it going off 99% of the time is "Shut up" (there's a good voice command idea). Would be nice if it could be muted, like the proximity sensors.

I find the 360 view nearly useless. The resolution is low and I have no idea how big the black box around the car actually is. I also am not at all comfortable driving while looking at the screen. I have a pretty good idea of where all 4 corners of the car are, and I make it a habit to know what I'm driving in before I get there. I would not pay extra for that feature again.

 

[stealthytolkien]

Not having them wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but after living with Ford's for a couple of years not having a button to mute it might be. I don't need to know there's traffic on the road 20 feet away when I back out of my garage. Also, my reaction to it going off 99% of the time is "Shut up" (there's a good voice command idea). Would be nice if it could be muted, like the proximity sensors.

I find the 360 view nearly useless. The resolution is low and I have no idea how big the black box around the car actually is. I also am not at all comfortable driving while looking at the screen. I have a pretty good idea of where all 4 corners of the car are, and I make it a habit to know what I'm driving in before I get there. I would not pay extra for that feature again.

I am surprised you find the 360 useless, I do respect your viewpoint. It is IMHO a really neat feature that really shows your surrounding in the most useful perspective. Do I think the resolution and lighting can be better, oh absolutely yes. But it is definitely better than nothing in my book. I didn't pay anything for that feature but I do know that it used to be subscription based.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Ford would not let me buy the 360 cameras for my 2021 GT-PE. I have the cross-traffic alert and blind spot warning systems. I would buy this car again but I would also still shake my fist at Ford for tying the cameras to another option that would be a deal-breaker for me. it looks like the camera option has been decoupled from the weight-adding glass roof option for 2024. Too late @Ford Motor Company for me. If they offer the parts at a reasonable package price I might be persuaded to buy that. Right now, the parts from the wreckers are insanely expensive. ??

 

[ctenidae]

Right now, the parts from the wreckers are insanely expensive. ??

If you can get them out you can have mine for a very reasonable price.

 

[ctenidae]

I am surprised you find the 360 useless, I do respect your viewpoint. It is IMHO a really neat feature that really shows your surrounding in the most useful perspective. Do I think the resolution and lighting can be better, oh absolutely yes. But it is definitely better than nothing in my book. I didn't pay anything for that feature but I do know that it used to be subscription based.

The distortion close to the car kills it for me- the fisheye effect looking down like that makes it hard to differentiate between things, and with the margin around the car it's very difficult to judge distance.

I'm not trying to place a tire for rock crawling or anything, but it would be nice to be able to tell how close I actually am to the water bottle/garbage can/shelf/etc as I turn into my garage. Since I can't with this system it just doesn't serve much purpose.

I didn't want the system at all, but it was bundled with the glass roof, which I didn't want for weight/cost reasons, but took for wife reasons. You know how it is...

 

[YunniorO]

Ford would not let me buy the 360 cameras for my 2021 GT-PE. I have the cross-traffic alert and blind spot warning systems. I would buy this car again but I would also still shake my fist at Ford for tying the cameras to another option that would be a deal-breaker for me. it looks like the camera option has been decoupled from the weight-adding glass roof option for 2024. Too late @Ford Motor Company for me. If they offer the parts at a reasonable package price I might be persuaded to buy that. Right now, the parts from the wreckers are insanely expensive. ??

I would absolutely LOVE for Ford to start doing this.

 

[OrchidMania]

Maybe I am doing something wrong. I don’t feel that the 360 is really 360. The sides are missing. Or after almost 2 years I still haven’t exercised everything. Rented a Telsa 3 and those camera views were fantastic as well as the lane awareness feature. Could see shapes of all the cars around me

 

[RickMachE]

This kind of discussion is a great example of why vehicle manufacturers have such a tough time deciding what features to add. It's also a great reason why the government needs to mandate certain features, because stupid,ignorant, ill-informed ? buyers won't pay money for safety features, if given the choice. "I don't need no stinking _____". Tough Fred, you get it whether you like it or not.

So let's talk a real world Tesla example. A month or so ago, my son was driving in a parking lot at a big box store, headed to the auto center to get new tires. A Tesla owner, apparently without the safety features like cross-traffic that he thinks he doesn't need, proceeded to backup right into my son's pristine car. Then, with his wonderful 1 pedal driving, he pushed on the pedal instead of the brake, and proceeded to total my son's car after he had already made contact.

My son is out a perfectly good 2018 Fusion Sport with a great engine, and very, very low miles, and got market value. So he gets screwed, and has no recourse against the vehicle owner, because no one had any injuries.

So, and I say this with great emphasis, let's force all safety features on everyone whether you want them or not. Tough noogies.

 

[ctenidae]

So, and I say this with great emphasis, let's force all safety features on everyone whether you want them or not. Tough noogies.

The alternative would be to impose heavy penalties on people who can't drive and cause accidents. Then they would have to pay for their actions, and I wouldn't have to pay for their idiocy. Might actually incentivize people to put down the phone/coffee/sandwich and maintain control of the 2 ton implement of destruction they're piloting around.

Just my opinion, there.

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