Intelligent Cruise Control and Lane Keeping experience on a 2500 mile trip

[GolfR]

I couldn’t agree more with the OP and many of the posters here. These are very good assessments (good and bad) of the system operation as I’ve found through about 7500 miles so far.

In general, I’m happy with the system but I can understand why many might be a little frustrated. I have driven a significant number of miles behind the wheel of a 2020 outback with eyesight including lane centering and with one exception I find the Ford system to be superior. That exception is the 2 second warning (I’ve measured it) that you get to jiggle the wheel. I really wish you had a longer time to move the wheel before it went to “red alert”. More importantly, they shouldn’t disable the system completely after two of those red alerts. On a recent 700 mile drive, I had to pull over twice and restart the truck in order to get the lane centering functionality back. It’s not that I’m not paying attention, it’s that my eyes are on the road and not staring at the instrument cluster just in case the system decides I’m not applying enough torque to the wheel. There are some long stretches of the Jersey turnpike that are very straight and I found myself getting distracted constantly and keeping an eye on the dash to avoid the red alert rather than on the road. If you drive with a hand at the top of the wheel or at the bottom on straight roads, you are doomed to constant alerts to put your hands on the wheel. Frankly, it’s enough to drive a person nuts and enough to push people to using the stupid ankle weight truck just to avoid being pestered all the time.

Ford - Please reduce the required torque on the wheel to avoid the red alert of death!!!! At least remove the “two strikes and your out” code!

Other than this, I’m very happy with the performance of the system.

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[gtotco]

So we just took a trip from San Diego to Colorado to drop my daughter off in Denver for college. Was approximately 2500 mile roundtrip (Thanks to the i70 being closed on the way out due to a landslide and closed on the way back due to flash floods). I was the only driver (Not letting the wife or daughter drive the truck yet lol) so needed to use cruise so I didn't kill my leg and back over that long of a drive. Ran about 1800 of the 2500 miles under Intelligent Cruise (Wish I had the beta for Blue Cruise...) and found it overall to be a very good system. It handled most driving situations well but it also leaves me thinking we are still a ways away from autonomous driving (or even hands free Blue Cruise). Here are the main issues I had:

1 - It does not consistently handle off-ramps well. It see's the line on the outside of the lane going off to the right and doesn't know which line to follow and half the time it ends lane keeping because it doesn't know what to do.
2 - Same thing goes for poorly marked lane lines. System cant handle it and ends lane keeping.
3 - Same thing for construction areas where lane lines have been moved but the old ones are still partially visible.
4 - It is not graceful when it slows down due to cars going slower then your set speed in front of you. It can be very jerky.
5 - Having to give it a nudge on the wheel so it knows your there still. My wife's VW has a touch sensitive wheel so as long as your touching it your fine.

Now I know that these seem like fairly obvious situations where lane keeping will have issues, but that's the point. When we go to Blue Cruise and the system hits those type of roads you better be ready to grab the wheel quick or your going to have major issues. Seems like we have a lot of major programming to go to be ready for all of these situations. Hopefully they capture the issues and use it to make the driving cloud smarter. Still saved my leg and back so I'm happy overall with it.

Just FYI my understanding of BlueCruise is it works fundamentally differently (I know SuperCruise does). It relies on high definition maps and high resolution GPS to figure out the lane positioning in addition to the camera based system.
My understanding is this is one of the biggest differences between how these limited access systems (SuperCruise, BlueCruise, the upcoming Toyota Teammate, etc) operate fundamentally differently from Tesla AP. AP is more like a more refined version of the lane keeping assist plus ACC, and like LKA plus cruise control works everywhere. These limited access systems utilizing HD maps are fundamentally different in how they augment positioning within the lane using mapping data which is one of the reasons they only work on limited access roads (as these need to be thoroughly mapped using LIDAR and then regularly updated from the fleet with changes based on vehicle observations of construction zones etc).
We will see how BlueCruise actually operates but my understanding based on my understanding of MobilEye technology (which is what BC relies on) based s that it is fundamentally different in this regard. Some engineers from Toyota Teammate were on a recent episode of Autonocast podcast discussing this. While it’s a different company I believe both they and Ford are MobilEye based and it’s similar technology (as is SuperCruise).

 

[F-150 Prius]

At least remove the “two strikes and your out” code!

My truck will alert with numerous (dozens?) of red warnings and beeps before eventually requiring a stop-start to reset whatever counter.

 

[ColoradoHunter]

My experience is pretty much the same as these great reviews. My biggest gripe is the keep hands on steering wheel warnings. I will have my hands on the wheel and it seems to have difficulty sensing. Its annoying to the point I get tired of squeezing tightly and will turn off the cruise system all together.

Great reviews. I agree with the braking issue. Experimenting I've found the best results to be to run 3 or 4 lines on the distance adjustment when traveling a highway speeds above 45 or so. Then switch to 2 lines in town under 45. Really slow traffic jam type traffic I may even change to 1 line. I still feel it needs some tweaking but this has given me the best results. I've never gotten a crash warning while in cruse and I have run the cruse probably 80% of the 2100 miles I have on the truck, including many miles in city driving.

Lane centering has a long way to go before it's ready for autonomous driving. My opinion is they set the computer to give the right side line priority. That causes the problem of going past exits and turn lanes. If there is a priority to one side or the other it should be to the left side line. If there isn't a priority, there should be and is should be left side. I've also seen that it doesn't like the sharper turns at speed in the Colorado Rockies!

My truck, which may be different than others, rarely gives me the warning as long as I only have one hand on the wheel. As soon as I put two hands on the wheel It gives numerous warnings, My guess is they balance each other out to where the system doesn't feel enough pressure against the steering wheel. My normal placement of my hand is on either spoke at 3 or 9. I've driven over a 100 miles like this and never got the warning.

My truck was built on 18 June so who knows, maybe they made some changes to the later builds. I have not experienced any problems as drastic as it sounds like some of you have. Overall very pleased with the truck, you just need to be aware of the conditions that it doesn't work well.

 

[Blue Spruce]

I have about 14,000 miles on my truck and probably 4,000 of that is with adaptive cruise and lane centering.

I had a 2016 Subaru with adaptive cruise and I liked it better than ford. It seemed more predictive of traffic slowing. Ford seems to run up and then brake a little late for my comfort.

also, I really miss that Ford doesn’t indicate when it is braking versus when it is just off the gas. The Subaru had a car symbol on the display and when it applied the brakes the brake lights would light up on the symbol. Not sure why Ford couldn’t do the same thing. I like to know when my brake lights are on. Not super critical but I like to know what I’m “communicating” with other drivers around me. I have teenage daughters and teaching them to be better drivers I am always point pointing out what other drivers are doing and helping them to learn what they might do next. minor item an maybe I shouldnt care but it Would be an easy programming fix in my mind.

lane centering can be a little unnerving. Mine seems to bounce from edge to edge sometimes.

 

[GolfR]

I have about 14,000 miles on my truck and probably 4,000 of that is with adaptive cruise and lane centering.

I had a 2016 Subaru with adaptive cruise and I liked it better than ford. It seemed more predictive of traffic slowing. Ford seems to run up and then brake a little late for my comfort.

also, I really miss that Ford doesn’t indicate when it is braking versus when it is just off the gas. The Subaru had a car symbol on the display and when it applied the brakes the brake lights would light up on the symbol. Not sure why Ford couldn’t do the same thing. I like to know when my brake lights are on. Not super critical but I like to know what I’m “communicating” with other drivers around me. I have teenage daughters and teaching them to be better drivers I am always point pointing out what other drivers are doing and helping them to learn what they might do next. minor item an maybe I shouldnt care but it Would be an easy programming fix in my mind.

lane centering can be a little unnerving. Mine seems to bounce from edge to edge sometimes.

I agree with you about the breaking indication. It is really nice in the subaru to know when the car is breaking and this seems like something that could be easily incorporated into the Ford driver automation screen. In general Subaru has a couple of years of maturity on Ford as it was a leader with their Eyesight tech. My wife's Outback also has the eye tracking sensors like Ford's but they have figure out how to use those same cameras to do facial recognition when you get into the car to set your seat and the driver profile. The feature works very well and I appreciate it because we both drive the car regularly. The facial recognition is the only thing that keeps me from turning the cameras off. I would also say that the Subaru system handles off ramp line gaps a little better than Ford as it's not linked directly to the lane centering capability. The subaru system is a little jerkier around turns to me and will "give up" on turns earlier than the Ford. While I hated the "heads up display" lights in the Subaru at first, I have gained an appreciation for them given my challenges with the Ford system disabling lane centering after two "red alert" messages.

 

[GolfR]

My truck will alert with numerous (dozens?) of red warnings and beeps before eventually requiring a stop-start to reset whatever counter.

That's interesting that you aren't seeing the lane centering shutdown. There are lots of people seeing this and it's identified in the manual that this is a "feature". Here is a whole thread about it:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/lane-centering-randomly-shutting-off.3538/

Are you seeing the yellow "put your hands on the wheel" warnings or the red "resume control" alerts that happen 2 seconds later? It's the red ones that cause the system to shut down.

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

Reading this makes me a little nervous to get my truck. I currently have lane centering from a brand many car reviewers claim to be the best system (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia - I have a Genesis G70). I knew the Ford was going to bother me about hands on the wheel more, but it sounds like almost an obnoxious amount from what you all are saying. I also knew I’d be losing the ability to use it when not on cruise control, but not a big deal. I have made almost entire 3-4 hour trips without getting a “hand on the wheel” warning in the Genesis. It usually gives me about 45-90 seconds between warnings with my hands off the wheel completely. I’m seeing the f150 is more like 15? And I’ve come to learn what the lane centering can and can’t handle and anticipate it pretty well, I’m guessing that’s similar for people who use it often on the f150? (Ex the exit ramps, the Genesis will half follow them and then cut out too). Also does the system shut down until you power cycle if you don’t cancel the “hands on the wheel” fast enough? My car will shut it down just until it detects you on the wheel again.

Can anyone who frequently used these systems on a different brand prior to the f150 comment on how the transition has been? Also, how well does the adaptive cruise handle stop and go traffic? That is one of my favorite uses for it currently.

 

[F-150 Prius]

That's interesting that you aren't seeing the lane centering shutdown. There are lots of people seeing this and it's identified in the manual that this is a "feature". Here is a whole thread about it:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/lane-centering-randomly-shutting-off.3538/

Are you seeing the yellow "put your hands on the wheel" warnings or the red "resume control" alerts that happen 2 seconds later? It's the red ones that cause the system to shut down.

I see both the yellow and red alerts. I was expected a "three strikes" on the red, so I was being careful to react to it, but on a longer trip I noticed I'd heard the warning beep and seen the red alert numerous times … eventually it disabled lane-keep and I stopped to restart the engine and re-enable then deliberately went past three red alerts … I don't know the exact number limit on my truck … I guess I should find out.

 

[F-150 Prius]

I knew the Ford was going to bother me about hands on the wheel more, but it sounds like almost an obnoxious amount from what you all are saying.

Can anyone who frequently used these systems on a different brand prior to the f150 comment on how the transition has been? Also, how well does the adaptive cruise handle stop and go traffic? That is one of my favorite uses for it currently.

Adaptive cruise is fine in slow-n-go. In stop-n-go, you have to press a button to start moving again, but that's livable.
I have had a Tesla since 2016 and find Autopilot to be obnoxious. Ford Co-pilot is painless. I don't know the frequency of the yellow reminders. I'm guessing 20-30 seconds and the red reminder is a quiet beep and easily noticed out of peripheral vision. The Tesla makes a loud noise and the reminders are almost invisible … you have to be looking at the instrument panel (Model X) or the touchscreen (Model 3 or Y) to see it even as it starts to go into "red" mode and it's a strict three-strikes then you have to stop and start. I've grown to loathe how they've dumbed it down over the years (mainly due to imbeciles with ankle weights …)
I see co-pilot and BlueCruise as "must have" and an important feature of the F-150.

 

[Pioneer74]

My experience is pretty much the same as these great reviews. My biggest gripe is the keep hands on steering wheel warnings. I will have my hands on the wheel and it seems to have difficulty sensing. Its annoying to the point I get tired of squeezing tightly and will turn off the cruise system all together.

The steering wheel doesn't sense you gripping it. It senses torqued applied to it when you turn it.

 

[GolfR]

Can anyone who frequently used these systems on a different brand prior to the f150 comment on how the transition has been? Also, how well does the adaptive cruise handle stop and go traffic? That is one of my favorite uses for it currently.

I find the system to work very well in top and go traffic. I haven't quite figure out the logic behind when it will stop and auto start again vs having to hit the button for it to move ahead. Sometimes I get a message that it will auto resume. Thankfully, I don't sit in true stop and go traffic enough to have figure it out. I have found that it's better to give a little more distance on the selector in traffic so that it doesn't speed up as aggressively and have to apply the brakes hard when traffic slows back down.

I think every make and model is going to be a little different in how the implement adaptive cruise and lane centering. Each system is going to have quirks and strengths and you just have to use it for a bit to figure out what they are. As I've said, I prefer the Ford system over Subaru as a whole, but there are pluses and minuses to each system.

 

[F-150 Prius]

the logic behind when it will stop and auto start again vs having to hit the button for it to move ahead. Sometimes I get a message that it will auto resume.

From what I've observed, cruise "resume" in stop-n-go waits for the car ahead to move away a distance related to the distance-keeping setting then it offers to resume by pressing the magic button:

 

[n1chu]

So we just took a trip from San Diego to Colorado to drop my daughter off in Denver for college. Was approximately 2500 mile roundtrip (Thanks to the i70 being closed on the way out due to a landslide and closed on the way back due to flash floods). I was the only driver (Not letting the wife or daughter drive the truck yet lol) so needed to use cruise so I didn't kill my leg and back over that long of a drive. Ran about 1800 of the 2500 miles under Intelligent Cruise (Wish I had the beta for Blue Cruise...) and found it overall to be a very good system. It handled most driving situations well but it also leaves me thinking we are still a ways away from autonomous driving (or even hands free Blue Cruise). Here are the main issues I had:

1 - It does not consistently handle off-ramps well. It see's the line on the outside of the lane going off to the right and doesn't know which line to follow and half the time it ends lane keeping because it doesn't know what to do.
2 - Same thing goes for poorly marked lane lines. System cant handle it and ends lane keeping.
3 - Same thing for construction areas where lane lines have been moved but the old ones are still partially visible.
4 - It is not graceful when it slows down due to cars going slower then your set speed in front of you. It can be very jerky.
5 - Having to give it a nudge on the wheel so it knows your there still. My wife's VW has a touch sensitive wheel so as long as your touching it your fine.

Now I know that these seem like fairly obvious situations where lane keeping will have issues, but that's the point. When we go to Blue Cruise and the system hits those type of roads you better be ready to grab the wheel quick or your going to have major issues. Seems like we have a lot of major programming to go to be ready for all of these situations. Hopefully they capture the issues and use it to make the driving cloud smarter. Still saved my leg and back so I'm happy overall with it.

I have the same system and agree with your findings. But… the TV show “60 Minutes” did a segment on autonomous driving. A trucking firm running 18 wheelers on Florida’s limited access highways… with no one on board… absolutely no one! And they didn’t say if they had a chase car along for the ride, no mention of it anyways. How those trucks handled a cop directing traffic at an accident is beyond me! I can picture a cop waving his hands at the truck and the truck not comprehending what’s going on! If Tesla’s poor results are any indication, we are certainly not ready for this! Time will tell…

 

[xtraman122]

Reading this makes me a little nervous to get my truck. I currently have lane centering from a brand many car reviewers claim to be the best system (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia - I have a Genesis G70). I knew the Ford was going to bother me about hands on the wheel more, but it sounds like almost an obnoxious amount from what you all are saying. I also knew I’d be losing the ability to use it when not on cruise control, but not a big deal. I have made almost entire 3-4 hour trips without getting a “hand on the wheel” warning in the Genesis. It usually gives me about 45-90 seconds between warnings with my hands off the wheel completely. I’m seeing the f150 is more like 15? And I’ve come to learn what the lane centering can and can’t handle and anticipate it pretty well, I’m guessing that’s similar for people who use it often on the f150? (Ex the exit ramps, the Genesis will half follow them and then cut out too). Also does the system shut down until you power cycle if you don’t cancel the “hands on the wheel” fast enough? My car will shut it down just until it detects you on the wheel again.

Can anyone who frequently used these systems on a different brand prior to the f150 comment on how the transition has been? Also, how well does the adaptive cruise handle stop and go traffic? That is one of my favorite uses for it currently.

The reminder is definitely 10 seconds for me, I’ve started counting it to test and it’s consistently 10 seconds from when I let go of the wheel until it first flashes the reminder. After a few it makes noises, then it’ll really get mad and disable.

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