SCBS/SBS activation stories

[Klatch]

My wife says it engaged for her the first time yesterday when someone was making a left turn and she got a little aggressive in passing them on the right.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

My wife says it engaged for her the first time yesterday when someone was making a left turn and she got a little aggressive in passing them on the right.

Did it apply the brakes or did it just warn her?
Did it apply the brakes after the nose of her car was in the right-hand lane (potentially stopping her in that line of traffic she was merging into)?

I read a couple of stories where owners felt that this feature put them in a potentially unsafe situation in the exact scenario your wife apparently was in.

 

[shadonoz]

My wife says it engaged for her the first time yesterday when someone was making a left turn and she got a little aggressive in passing them on the right.

Altho I HATE the car overriding my inputs, and feel that inappropriate application of the brakes can be almost as bad as failing to apply them when needed... MAYBE there's a bright side in that it may encourage all of us to drive a little less aggressively.

That said, mine's set to the lowest sensitivity. Sometimes you've just got to react fast in traffic, and automatic braking can't possibly evaluate a situation as well as a good, attentive driver.

What was your wife's reaction to the car's action?

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Altho I HATE the car overriding my inputs, and feel that inappropriate application of the brakes can be almost as bad as failing to apply them when needed... MAYBE there's a bright side in that it may encourage all of us to drive a little less aggressively.

That said, mine's set to the lowest sensitivity. Sometimes you've just got to react fast in traffic, and automatic braking can't possibly evaluate a situation as well as a good, attentive driver.

What was your wife's reaction to the car's action?

I've commented before that the Safe Following Distance display has caused my to pay more attention to my following distance, although I'm not convinced the calibration is consistent. (Today it seemed to warn me I was too close doing 45 and said nothing when I was closer than that doing 55). But as you said, you've got to be a good, attentive driver.

After 10 days of ownership, I'm finding that I have to be careful to not let the entertainment system distract me. In other vehicles, I have radio presets. If I want a certain station, I just reflexively push the preset button without taking my eyes off of the road. Here, I have to navigate to a screen, scroll to the station I want, and then select it. Part of the problem is my penchant to change stations a lot.

So I can now keep my eyes straight ahead and know how fast I'm going, know what the current speed limit is, know if I'm objectively following a safe distance, know how far ahead my next turn is and what my next turn is, and know if there are vehicles in my blind spots. But I have to take my eyes off the road every time I want to go to a preset (Favorites) radio station.

It's an interesting switch.

 

[shadonoz]

I've commented before that the Safe Following Distance display has caused my to pay more attention to my following distance, although I'm not convinced the calibration is consistent. (Today it seemed to warn me I was too close doing 45 and said nothing when I was closer than that doing 55). But as you said, you've got to be a good, attentive driver.

After 10 days of ownership, I'm finding that I have to be careful to not let the entertainment system distract me. In other vehicles, I have radio presets. If I want a certain station, I just reflexively push the preset button without taking my eyes off of the road. Here, I have to navigate to a screen, scroll to the station I want, and then select it. Part of the problem is my penchant to change stations a lot.

So I can now keep my eyes straight ahead and know how fast I'm going, know what the current speed limit is, know if I'm objectively following a safe distance, know how far ahead my next turn is and what my next turn is, and know if there are vehicles in my blind spots. But I have to take my eyes off the road every time I want to go to a preset (Favorites) radio station.

It's an interesting switch.

So true.
How hard would it be to add voice commands to the favorites? Not just to call up the list, but to switch to one.
Not hard at all.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

So true.
How hard would it be to add voice commands to the favorites? Not just to call up the list, but to switch to one.
Not hard at all.

I gotta laugh.
After posting my comment, I immediately ran to the manual to see if voice commands worked for the radio.
Nope.

I'm sure this issue is not limited to Mazdas, but I've never been a distracted driver. Taking away my radio buttons has changed that to a degree. If voice commands cannot be easily added, at least the ability to change the sort order of the Favorites would help.

You know, before XM radio, I just listened to whatever station I could tune in and be glad to have it.
Now, the slightest irritant and I'm off to greener pastures.

Just when I thought I was growing up, I find that I'm growing old.

 

[Iwannacx5]

You do know you can scroll through radio favorites with just your thumb on the steering wheel, right?

 

[Avoidin Deer]

You do know you can scroll through radio favorites with just your thumb on the steering wheel, right?

No,I did not know that. I'd still have to watch the screen, but that would help.

I looked to see if I could change the station from the steering wheel controls, but all there is that I can discern is Volume Up/Down, Voice, and Phone On and Phone Off.

edit to add: Thank you for that!! I just went out and played with it!! That helps immensely. I do NOT have to watch the screen, since I can tell which station is playing.

Feature #23 down, 950 more to go...

ps: Love the username & the avatar

 

[Iwannacx5]

Thanks! The avatar is our pup's baby picture. She'll soon be 10 years old.

And I also looked up voice commands for the radio. Unless something has changed for the latest model year, voice commands can be used for changing radio stations. It's in the manual.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Thanks! The avatar is our pup's baby picture. She'll soon be 10 years old.

And I also looked up voice commands for the radio. Unless something has changed for the latest model year, voice commands can be used for changing radio stations. It's in the manual. **

Nice dog. My last dog (and cat) both lived to be in their early 20s. It's amazing how much life they accompany you through in 2 decades.

Back on topic: Is it really????

I have a soft-copy manual on my PC, and keep it open while I am here.
I looked up Voice Commands, and it only referred to Bluetooth devices.

And when I look at available Voice Commands, none of them seem to pertain to the radio except for saying "Play AM" or "Play FM" or Play XM." I see more extensive Voice Commands on Android Auto and other USB-connected sources.

I tried talking to it the other day to see if I could do any radio commands. I was unsuccessful. I used to work for a Japanese company. Perhaps I need to brush the dust off of my marginal communication skills.

"Moshi-moshi, Mazda-san"

 

[Klatch]

Did it apply the brakes or did it just warn her?
Did it apply the brakes after the nose of her car was in the right-hand lane (potentially stopping her in that line of traffic she was merging into)?

I read a couple of stories where owners felt that this feature put them in a potentially unsafe situation in the exact scenario your wife apparently was in.

She was not the one turning, if that's what you mean. The brakes were applied as she was going around on the right side of a car turning left off a two lane road, so no oncoming traffic in her lane.

 

[Klatch]

.

What was your wife's reaction to the car's action?

She didn't seem to mind, at least didn't express any concern.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

She was not the one turning, if that's what you mean. The brakes were applied as she was going around on the right side of a car turning left off a two lane road, so no oncoming traffic in her lane.

Gotcha.

I read a couple of stories (I believe they may have been in the Edmunds long-term CX-5 review) where the Mazda driver was in the spot your wife was, and when they swerved into the right lane to go around the stopped car, the Mazda braked. That briefly prevented them from accelerating in order to safely merge into the traffic that was in the right lane.

 

[nolig36]

Gotcha.

I read a couple of stories (I believe they may have been in the Edmunds long-term CX-5 review) where the Mazda driver was in the spot your wife was, and when they swerved into the right lane to go around the stopped car, the Mazda braked. That briefly prevented them from accelerating in order to safely merge into the traffic that was in the right lane.

I know when driving with the adaptive cruise control, the moment I move to a lane that is clear, the car downshifts and accelerates to the set speed. I have driven hundreds of miles with my foot off all pedals and just let the adaptive cruise control take care of everything with an occasional touch of the speed adjustment and resume buttons on the wheel.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

I know when driving with the adaptive cruise control, the moment I move to a lane that is clear, the car downshifts and accelerates to the set speed. I have driven hundreds of miles with my foot off all pedals and just let the adaptive cruise control take care of everything with an occasional touch of the speed adjustment and resume buttons on the wheel.

I believe that the story I read was a close-quarters, low speed, in town situation. It was a story on the internet by someone I've never met...so who knows.

I've had my car a few weeks now and have yet to use Adaptive Cruise Control. I'm retired and live in a rural area, so not only am I not on the interstate that often, out here there's not much congestion even when I do get on it.

Regarding in town driving, the Smart City System engaged when I came up on someone too fast...he was stopped waiting for a guy to turn left. I don't know if I would have reacted in time or not, it happened so quickly. This was just a few days into ownership.

 

[nolig36]

I believe that the story I read was a close-quarters, low speed, in town situation. It was a story on the internet by someone I've never met...so who knows.

I've had my car a few weeks now and have yet to use Adaptive Cruise Control. I'm retired and live in a rural area, so not only am I not on the interstate that often, out here there's not much congestion even when I do get on it.

Regarding in town driving, the Smart City System engaged when I came up on someone too fast...he was stopped waiting for a guy to turn left. I don't know if I would have reacted in time or not, it happened so quickly. This was just a few days into ownership.

I use the cruise control for in city driving too as it helps keep me from speeding more than I set it to and it reacts better than I might if I were distracted by something. Also it is a lot more relaxing to not have to constantly brake and accelerate when the car can do it for me. Just set the speed and space and keep hands on the wheel.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

I use the cruise control for in city driving too as it helps keep me from speeding more than I set it to and it reacts better than I might if I were distracted by something. Also it is a lot more relaxing to not have to constantly brake and accelerate when the car can do it for me. Just set the speed and space and keep hands on the wheel.

I've used cruise control in town for a very long time. My commute used to take me off of the interstate and right onto a 25 MPH road. On a nice spring day with the right tunes playing, I'm not paying attention to my speed. The transition from 70MPH to 25MPH can be tough. Just like you, I found that cruise control prevents me from speeding through residential neighborhoods. And in the town I just moved from, people would get tickets for doing 28 in a 25.

I only recently hit the break in miles on my CX-5, and I've been real conservative on not getting the revs up and not driving at constant speeds...so I've just started using the cruise control on it. I'm thinking the cruise control will help improve my mileage, once I tire of the turbo and manual shifting on back roads. This MPG on this tank is not gonna be good.