Do not use Blue Cruise 1.0 on Interstate 10 east of 57 freeway, it's dangerous

[astronut325]

Warning folks who might be tempted to try Blue Cruise 1.0 on the 10 freeway east of the 57 freeway. I did that this past weekend and I'm not doing that until BC1.2 is rolled out. Was going to Joshua Tree for a business matter and decided to take the Mach-E in hopes of using Blue Cruise to be less fatigued when I get there. Boy that was completely not the case.

Two main Issues between Pomona and Joshua along the 10 East:
- Constant disengagement. I think the longest hands free session I got was about 3 minutes prior to passing the Morongo casino. After that, it was much better but it would still randomly cancel itself despite a straight road with light traffic. This was really stressful because just when I start to relax, DING DING DING, need to take control. Repeat every 2-3 minutes. I was way more fatigued when I got to my destination using BC than just taking my Camry. And no, this wasn't "watch the road" disengagements. I kept trying BC hoping it would give me a long stint on the 2+ hour drive. NOPE.
- Due to recent and on-going construction, the lane markers made the Mach-E confused and then just outright give up in a small curve while thinking it's still in the lane it needs to be in! This is outright dangerous as it just went into the "Canceled" state mid turn. Thankfully this was Sunday morning and traffic was quite light.

tl,dr: Don't use BC 1.0 on 10E east of the 57 freeway. It disengages a lot, and gets confused by lane markers.

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[Mach-Lee]

BlueCruise 1.2 won't be any better. They both rely on clear lane markings to work properly. If you're driving on a road with a lot of stray lane markings or a construction zone, you should just disable BlueCruise. You're expecting too much from it.

 

[astronut325]

https://goo.gl/maps/BGZaHypowxyrx5H79

BlueCruise 1.2 won't be any better. They both rely on clear lane markings to work properly. If you're driving on a road with a lot of stray lane markings or a construction zone, you should just disable BlueCruise. You're expecting too much from it.

I do understand that. Heck. I found the lane markers confusing. Lesson learned that if there aren't good clear lane markers, don't use BC. Just wish it would be smart enough to try to communicate that it's not reading the lane markers well and I need to take over if it's engaged.

It still doesn't explain the disengagements I got once I was out of Los Angeles and nearing Palm Springs/Joshua Tree.

For example, it would disengage at these places:
https://goo.gl/maps/FNHAS5xCifcnVxGk8
https://goo.gl/maps/BGZaHypowxyrx5H79
https://goo.gl/maps/ksRrQZzB59pteF4G6

No cars ahead or behind me for at least a 1/4 mile at 7AM.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Might also have been the sun. I've found that in certain situations the sun on my windshield really messes up the camera and BC gives up repeatedly. But yeah, poorly marked lanes are also an issue for sure.

 

[Mach-Lee]

https://goo.gl/maps/BGZaHypowxyrx5H79
I do understand that. Heck. I found the lane markers confusing. Lesson learned that if there aren't good clear lane markers, don't use BC. Just wish it would be smart enough to try to communicate that it's not reading the lane markers well and I need to take over if it's engaged.

It still doesn't explain the disengagements I got once I was out of Los Angeles and nearing Palm Springs/Joshua Tree.

For example, it would disengage at these places:
https://goo.gl/maps/FNHAS5xCifcnVxGk8
https://goo.gl/maps/BGZaHypowxyrx5H79
https://goo.gl/maps/ksRrQZzB59pteF4G6

No cars ahead or behind me for at least a 1/4 mile at 7AM.

BlueCruise dropouts are difficult to understand. It's either due to a curve being too sharp, gaps in the map data, or local/current conditions with the vehicle (such as obscured view due to sun glare, fog, dirty camera, loose cable, etc). The dropout areas may have been under construction the last time the HERE mapping vehicle with LIDAR drove through the area. Ford has not improved or refined BlueCruise coverage since inception, so hard to say when map data gaps will be fixed. I personally would expect ongoing map data improvements if I was paying for a BlueCruise subscription, status quo is not acceptable with a recurring subscription model. Hopefully the coverage and data quality improves before I'm due for renewal.

https://www.ford.com/technology/bluecruise/

If you zoom in on the map you can sometimes see gaps in the Blue Zones, but these don't always translate to what the car does.

 

[RickMachE]

Any type of cruise control requires that the driver remain alert, and ready to resume control over the vehicle.

 

[astronut325]

Any type of cruise control requires that the driver remain alert, and ready to resume control over the vehicle.

Agreed 100%. However, I feel it shouldn't ask the driver to take control every few minutes on really simple, well marked roads. And if it's not able to clearly identify lanes, it should say so.

All that said, it was early in the morning and the sun was super bright. That might have played a fairly significant role.

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