2021 F-150 CoPilot 360 hack for completely hands free driving

[Merccat]

Cons:

• Braking for speed limit changes could be programmed to occur even less dramatic, maybe even not braking but coasting to the limit.
• Braking for construction could catch the vehicle behind not paying attention. IC did brake for all 60mph and 55mph construction zones. When doing this from 70mph was to dramatic. Again, coast to the new speed.
• Exit lanes and changing number of lanes will cause IC to cancel until you are past because the lines disappear.

Around here we frequently have [Speed Limit 70 mph] signs followed shortly by a [Towing 55 mph] sign of the same size, color (black lettering on white sign), fonts etc. Did your drive have these and if so how did the system react?

Stories of braking to fit a seen speed limit sign concern me and I worry that the system in trying to be safe is actually creating a hazard. I agree there needs to be an option between on and off for a gradual speed adjustment (ie coast to new speed).

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[mwf5888]

Around here we frequently have [Speed Limit 70 mph] signs followed shortly by a [Towing 55 mph] sign of the same size, color (black lettering on white sign), fonts etc. Did your drive have these and if so how did the system react?

Stories of braking to fit a seen speed limit sign concern me and I worry that the system in trying to be safe is actually creating a hazard. I agree there needs to be an option between on and off for a gradual speed adjustment (ie coast to new speed).

I saw towing and truck speed limit signs in addition to the regular signs and it ONLY adjusts for the regular speed limit signs while ignoring all others.

Your concern is why I learned to either cancel the IC through construction zones, which I prefer so I can coast vs. brake. There were a few construction zones that were not active and I just stepped on the gas as I came upon them to override the IC. I would then just climb 1 or 2 mph to 73mph and set the cruise again. Only thing the system does is flash the speed limit sign in the lower right corner of the speedometer to inform that I was going faster than my +3.

 

[CBGray]

I am one who would always want to keep my hands on the wheel just in case but I would prefer a loose/relaxed grip. They need to make it so that people can use the lane centering with just resting their hands on the wheel at the ready. Then this sort of hack would be much less appealing.

I don’t have mine yet to say how far it is from what I would like but from everyones comments it sounds like it will be which makes this sort of thing tempting even having my hands on the wheel.

Maybe find the right size weight to dial it in where it would alert when hands are off the wheel but not require firmly gripping it.

Same camp here. I've been keeping my hands on the wheel, but with a light grip, just more letting it do the adjustments. It's much more relaxing to me when holding it that way. But, it nags me fairly frequently. Today, I made a concerted effort to "fight it a bit more" and that resulted in zero nags during my whole trip, but I felt like it defeated a majority of the benefit. It's not really centering anymore for me if I'm having to put enough pressure on it to prevent the warnings. I'll keep trying it and hope for some sort of update that balances out the experience a little more.

 

[xtraman122]

Around here we frequently have [Speed Limit 70 mph] signs followed shortly by a [Towing 55 mph] sign of the same size, color (black lettering on white sign), fonts etc. Did your drive have these and if so how did the system react?

Stories of braking to fit a seen speed limit sign concern me and I worry that the system in trying to be safe is actually creating a hazard. I agree there needs to be an option between on and off for a gradual speed adjustment (ie coast to new speed).

As an FYI, the speed limit recognition stuff is completely optional and can be turned on and off on its own. I’ve never used it, now would it most likely. That’s a standalone feature separate from the lane centering and adaptive cruise, all of which can be turned on and off separately.

 

[BHunted1]

If they are going to take advantage of onboard GPS for copilot. They better get their maps updated.
There are quite a few roads that been around a few years now, still not updated on Sync 3.4 nor 4.0

 

[EF150man]

I weighed my little makeshift device with the socket, it was 1lb 3.5oz. And that seems to be about the minimum to keep it happy. Only once it popped up when the message for a second then cleared itself, otherwise it’s never complained. I did try just stuffing a water bottle in the little opening at the 6:00 position on the wheel, but it wasn’t making enough resistance to keep it happy.

I like using that opening at 6 o'clock for my hand so that would not be good for me. I will be taking a 10 hour road trip in about a week which will be my first trip since getting my truck. I plan to set up the socket hack for the trip. I will report back. Thanks to everyone who is working to make our experience better!

 

[daemonic3]

Around here we frequently have [Speed Limit 70 mph] signs followed shortly by a [Towing 55 mph] sign of the same size, color (black lettering on white sign), fonts etc. Did your drive have these and if so how did the system react?

Stories of braking to fit a seen speed limit sign concern me and I worry that the system in trying to be safe is actually creating a hazard. I agree there needs to be an option between on and off for a gradual speed adjustment (ie coast to new speed).

Also in California here, and the 2nd sign I think would still trick the Intelligent Cruise (maybe the 2nd sign in other states is distinctly different). I only use Adaptive Cruise but I do have the speed limit warning where it blinks on the speedo to warn when we are over (above our set margin). I have seen enough times where it will start blinking and it was because it saw the 55mph truck/towing sign. I believe this was screw up the Intelligent Cruise enough to where I am not ready to try it here. I think it fixes itself shortly after, probably through mapping data. Maybe someday I'll try it and see what happens.

 

[EVT Tech]

My opinion of this system as many may agree is that it is not only annoying but slightly more fatiguing than manual control as you are always "fighting" the IC to prevent the warnings or disengagement. The system does a great job on the roads where I engage it and I am always holding the wheel with both hands lightly while it is warning me.

 

[gtotco]

If they are going to take advantage of onboard GPS for copilot. They better get their maps updated.
There are quite a few roads that been around a few years now, still not updated on Sync 3.4 nor 4.0

Correct. Though in this instance probably doesn’t matter. BlueCruise is set to work on ~100k miles of divided highway which are probably pretty well mapped. They will be using even more high definition maps I believe with LIDAR mapping (at least that is my understanding of how SuperCruise works and BC I believe is supposed to work similarly). Don’t expect hands free driving on all streets/roads. This is being released as a divided/limited access highway product and I would expect it to operate that way for at least some time if not forever.

 

[Mike50]

Drove about 150 miles yesterday using the 2.5 lb ankle weight as suggested. It is SWEET. Caveats: It failed once on a very curvy road, after a series of sharp curves, may have been going a little fast, it just couldn't hold the lane. You have to be cautious driving in town with the weight still on the wheel. I don't recommend it but it can be done. Better to pull the weight off the wheel as it makes the steering fairly uncontrollable without strong concentration. This steering wheel wants to flip violently when it goes over center. It can be done wants you learn but you SURE wouldn't want to let someone else drive your vehicle with the weight in place.
I wonder if people applying fixes like this will result in Ford disabling this feature with over-the-air update. It would be a terrible loss. The constant battle with the steering wheel makes the system, as is, not a pleasure to use. The ankle weight WORKS. Just remember that it isn't automated steering. You have to pay attention just as Ford wants or you WILL have an accident.

 

[newdeal99]

Ayy, you have good taste. My other vehicle is a Genesis G70. I don't have to use anything on that one because it seems to be able to better tell that my hands are actually on the wheel. The F150 isn't sensitive enough. I'd keep my hands on the wheel no matter what, but I don't want to have to exaggerate my hands being on the wheel just for it to keep working.

must be some individual variation, my genesis dinged at me all the time when my hands were on the wheel to put my hands on the wheel and yet at 88km/h or below but at highway speeds it would barely ding at all

 

[GolfR]

Around here we frequently have [Speed Limit 70 mph] signs followed shortly by a [Towing 55 mph] sign of the same size, color (black lettering on white sign), fonts etc. Did your drive have these and if so how did the system react?

Stories of braking to fit a seen speed limit sign concern me and I worry that the system in trying to be safe is actually creating a hazard. I agree there needs to be an option between on and off for a gradual speed adjustment (ie coast to new speed).

I was concerned about this as well, but the systems seemed to handle the”truck speed limit” signs very well and not adjust to them. On the other hand, I’ve found that when driving in PA, they tend to post “End xxMPH” speed signs which raises the limit back up to 55 on 2 lane roads and the system doesn’t know to adjust back to 55. You have to manually adjust it back up.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that in school zones it doesn’t adjust based on flashing lights for the different speed limits during school times. Granted, I’m not using adaptive cruise during these times so it’s not a big deal.

 

[GadgetB1]

Did a 10 state 1920 mile drive over three days and I found that a full 1 Liter bottle of smart water for ~$2.99 works great for a hands free driving hack!!

 

[Mike50]

I find trying to drive with the lane centering running is intolerably irritating. It feels like you are driving a vehicle with serious alignment problems. It is almost constantly pulling to one side or another. You have to pay constant attention to the steering wheel to the detriment of everything else, you are constantly gettting warnings. The 2.5 lb ankle weight makes driving long distances with lane centering very pleasurable. You must pay attention, just as you will have to do with Blue Cruise. Just as you must do when driving normally. For those with trust issues, you will have those with Blue Cruise also. I've seen those of us doing this being referred to as morons. That's OK. You should try it, with an open mind, before criticizing. It makes me feel like I'm driving a thoroughly modern, very advanced vehicle. Love it.

 

[whanner]

The problem is the feedback loop they chose. Steering wheel resistance was probably the cheapest way to do it. A capacitance or temperature sensor in the wheel would of worked much better, but then you wouldn't need the $600 blue cruise. Sad thing is you can turn lane centering off and let go of the wheel and it will drive till it crashes.....and they are ok with that? yep, they cant be in a law suite for that . But at the end of the day is it much different?

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