Confidence is eroding on my Mach-E

[Jimrpa]

As almost 1st adopters of self driving systems rising into different levels of supposed convenience we are the guinea pigs for this test case and it’s kind of scary remember that a self driving vehicle killed a bicyclist in Phoenix and the woman was watching videos and vehicle could not react properly.

it’s not fully baked yet. It’s a gimmick to maybe use on the interstate when there’s a little traffic around and that’s about it

Let’s not call anything Ford is currently selling to the apublic “self driving”. Ford is only selling driver assistance systems to the public. To my knowledge, Tesla is the only manufacturer who claims to have “self driving” in their customer’s vehicles.

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[ripperAZ]

Let’s not call anything Ford is currently selling to the apublic “self driving”. Ford is only selling driver assistance systems to the public. To my knowledge, Tesla is the only manufacturer who claims to have “self driving” in their customer’s vehicles.

Indeed. I use the term as loosely as the vehicle holds a lane. It’s still gimmickry. I prefer driving

 

[ripperAZ]

Adaptive has been around for a while my 2010 Taurus had it Lane centering is new for ford and most car manufacturers. I think 2018/2019 is when ford first started offering lane centering.

Certainly had all those tools as well and now adding sign recognition and lane changing doesn’t seem to make it a whole lot better it’s still a gimmick you still need to drive your car it’s still more fun

 

[AndyP]

My 2017 Lincoln had adaptive cruise (which worked great), emergency braking (system was not ready for prime time - it would brake hard when I could easily tell that the car ahead would complete the turn and be gone before I got there), and lane assist (which was mostly annoying). When I get my Mach E, I'll try them all and then decide on the current state as driver assist.

 

[KyloRen]

Spot on..driver assist and autonomous driving can not be used as synonyms. I would say if Ford can get a driver license for MME/blue cruise-in any state, then it is ready to call it autonomous.

Let’s not call anything Ford is currently selling to the apublic “self driving”. Ford is only selling driver assistance systems to the public. To my knowledge, Tesla is the only manufacturer who claims to have “self driving” in their customer’s vehicles.

 

[jznd400]

The series of updates that should soon take you up to 2.5.3 and BlueCruise should both improve the hands-on ADAS and add Hands-Free.

For what it's worth, my car (GT MY21, manufactured 12/21, took delivery 1/22) has had BlueCruise working from the start of my ownership but wandered quite a bit in the lane even on the slightest curve. Worse, it really liked to hug the right side of the lane when driving in the passing lane - like it was allergic to the yellow line. Very disconcerting especially as the cars being passed on the right would naturally drift towards my lane when the road curves left.

I received an OTA a few weeks ago and immediately noticed much better lane centering and smoother turning through the curves. Still drops out of BC when going into a sweeping turn at speed though. Hopefully an update will help your car.

 

[ctenidae]

I used Autopilot about 8 times in total in 2.5 years in my Tesla. Almost always ended with my panicked takeover after it didn't care the semi/bus/van next to us was cheating hard on the line and it just stayed in the middle. Riding with Autopilot was may more work and stress than driving myself.

I might use BlueCruise just to see, but unlikely I will ever feel comfortable with it- not because of the system, but because of all the human error on the highways. Adaptive cruise control is great, until you realize you're behind a Yugo doing 35 and can't remember when you got there.

Until I figured out how to turn all the traction control gizmos way way down I was nervous driving it hard - I knew what physics would dictate that car should do, but couldn't really predict how the car would decide to react. We finally reached an understanding that if I was jamming my foot through the floorboard it meant either go like you don't give a damn or lock up those tires and let them screech, depending on which pedal I'm mashing on.

 

[Jimrpa]

Spot on..driver assist and autonomous driving can not be used as synonyms. I would say if Ford can get a driver license for MME/blue cruise-in any state, then it is ready to call it autonomous.

I’m sure there are smarter, more knowledgeable people than me on here (particularly those who live on the left coast of CONUS and work in “tech”) who can offer better insight than me.
I’d offer that the current “state of the art” in artificial intelligence in the United States is such that it’s not possible yet to create a system that could pass any US driving test (and I’m including the practical part here). I’m not trying to pick on Tesla - I just don’t think the technology/state of the art, is there.

 

[KyloRen]

GM ('Cruise') and Google (Waymo) have received California driving license for their autonomous technology. Tesla has been trying to get one - California DMV has a program to give DL to manufacturers.

I’m sure there are smarter, more knowledgeable people than me on here (particularly those who live on the left coast of CONUS and work in “tech”) who can offer better insight than me.
I’d offer that the current “state of the art” in artificial intelligence in the United States is such that it’s not possible yet to create a system that could pass any US driving test (and I’m including the practical part here). I’m not trying to pick on Tesla - I just don’t think the technology/state of the art, is there.

 

[Polar]

I've had the exact opposite experience. Use it all the time. The key for me is understanding it is driver assist and its strengths and weaknesses.

I too have probably driven over half of my 12,000 miles in Lane Keep-Auto Follow
If you already know when the system has issues - IE next to a semi; then plan for it.

also… HFnblahblah did you let a password generator make your username?? That is a 128 bit password right there

 

[1969Camaro]

As almost 1st adopters of self driving systems rising into different levels of supposed convenience we are the guinea pigs for this test case and it’s kind of scary remember that a self driving vehicle killed a bicyclist in Phoenix and the woman was watching videos and vehicle could not react properly.

it’s not fully baked yet. It’s a gimmick to maybe use on the interstate when there’s a little traffic around and that’s about it

It's probably 85% of the way there based on my experience. Lane centering is not great. The car bounces side to side in the lane or hugs the right line.

 

[jrstinkfish]

Let’s not call anything Ford is currently selling to the apublic “self driving”. Ford is only selling driver assistance systems to the public. To my knowledge, Tesla is the only manufacturer who claims to have “self driving” in their customer’s vehicles.

They do call it "hands-free" though, so I suppose taking your hands off the wheel and having the car try to ram you into the 18-wheeler to your right can be pretty terrifying.

 

[Jimrpa]

GM ('Cruise') and Google (Waymo) have received California driving license for their autonomous technology. Tesla has been trying to get one - California DMV has a program to give DL to manufacturers.

Are there exceptions / restrictions on the licenses issued? Did the GM and Waymo AI’s have to interact conversationally with the state trooper during the exam? How did the AIs see and respond to the troopers body language (for example, “let’s parallel park over there.”, while pointing to the right side of the road, between two cars)? Is there ain in-car video of the entire interaction between the trooper and the AI during the exam?

 

[Jimrpa]

They do call it "hands-free" though, so I suppose taking your hands off the wheel and having the car try to ram you into the 18-wheeler to your right can be pretty terrifying.

“Hands-free” does not mean relinquishing your responsibility for safe operation of the auto. Consider: aircraft have had autopilot systems for many decades and they operate in a much more structured environment than the Washington beltway at rush hour ? Do you really think that the pilots in the cockpit then kick back, chill, read articles on MachEForm.com and take naps? ?

 

[Flyboy]

I just returned from my 1st X-country trip from South LA (the other South LA on the Gulf Coast) to New Mexico. I had everything from mid-70's dry roads to snow storms in the mountains.
Inteligent Adaptive Cruise (IAC) - not always intelignent and not always adaptive, lane keeping is also very querque.
I found myself unconciously fighting the lane keeping function (becuase it felt like the car was right-of-center) and when I released pressure on the wheel, it almost always went to the right. Right turn tendancy was very strong and the car almost crossed over the line while recovering. If I just kept a few fingers on the bottom side of the wheel to monitor, the car adiquately centered itself in the lane. My big issue was during a lane-change, I would center-up into the new lane and wait for Blue Cruise (BC) to grab control, when it did there was a jerk to the right. If I fought the "jerk", I would have to continue with left pressure. If I just let BC take control, it would move to center, but as I said before it almost crosses the lane line before recovering.
Snow in the mountains (quite a challenge for a Louisiana driver, good thing I had lots of experinenc in the snow-belt of Ohio) - Quickly switched off lane-keeping and IAC and switched to Whisper mode. The car handled very well on snow-covered roads; good acceleration traction and good braking control - stayed straight. One thing to note while on slushy roads - the radar sensors on each side of the air intakes will get covered over with ice. When that happens you will loose emergency braking and IAC. Good thing is the car will tell you when it happens. Just pull over clean them off and keep going.

Last thing - IAC; watch out, it will do unexpected things. Anything that looks like a speed limit sign is fair game for this AI. Mistook some signage on a parked Amazon Prime delivery truck and started accelerating from 25 to 70. A section of Hwy 90 was undergoing construction a few years back and that area was a 35mph zone (down from 55). The contruction has been completed for years and the signs are back to 55, but everytime I drive by that spot the AI slows me down to 35 mph. If you choose to use Speed Sign Recognition be ready for unexpected things to happen and react accordingly.

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