Lane Keep Assist System (LAS) ISSUES

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2018 Madza CX-9 GT
Lane Keep Assist System (LAS) ISSUES

While I love my CX-9 and most of its i-ACTIVSENSE features, it seems the LAS system needs more fine tuning to be competitive.

(Id love to hear owners thoughts concerning these issues:)

Owners Manual 4-126 states that when all conditions are met, the LAS indication turns Green?

I have never seen this specific LAS Indicator as illustrated in the manual on page 4-126. It says this Indicator is displayed in white and then turns green when LAS is working. I have nothing that looks like that in my CX-9 Instrument Panel or Heads Up Display?

(NOTE in my HUD I see 2 different indicators on the right, the MRCC Indicator that is white and turns green when active, and on the left, a LAS Indicator (That looks nothing like the illustration on 4-126, and that NEVER turns green). Im guessing the manual is not up to date?

Concerning the actual performance of the Mazda LAS, I find it inconsistent. (I have tested LAS systems on Honda, Acura, and Volvo). I think I realize the challenge automakers face, they want to strike a balance between automatically steering the vehicle back toward the center of the lane, yet allowing the driver to maintain complete steering control (by not being too overpowering).

My experience on 2 lane country roads (that have crown in them for drainage such that your vehicle may favor drifting slightly to the right). On those roads (when LAS is working), when accidentally drifting left over the centerline, the LAS works well and pushes me back toward the center of the lane. But when drifting right toward the shoulder, it is never strong enough to push me back left toward the lane center and will let me drift off the road if I dont correct it.

I also noticed that even Wind is involved. When driving into a strong quartering wind, the LAS works great when the wind direction is aiding the LAS correction, but poorly when the wind direction is fighting the LAS. I imagine all vehicle manufacturers face the same challenge.

(It would be nice if the force of the correction was included under Personal Settings)

Probably the weirdest thing I find about the LAS is stated in the manual 4-129 that warns that LAS cancels the steering assist automatically IF the driver takes his/hers hands off of the steering wheel, duh? (That would be when I want it to work the most!). Of course this makes testing to see if your LAS is working fairly difficult.

The big new thing that I hope Mazda will soon have is Lane Centering (Like Volvos Pilot Assist and now even available in Nissans Rogue as ProPilot Assist.) NOTE that on Mazdas corp website under safety they describe LANE TRACE that states, When Lane Trace is selected the system reduces the burden of driving by providing continuous steering assistance to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane I WANT THAT IN MY NEXT CX-9!
 
While I love my CX-9 and most of its i-ACTIVSENSE features, it seems the LAS system needs more fine tuning to be competitive.

(Id love to hear owners thoughts concerning these issues:)

Owners Manual 4-126 states that when all conditions are met, the LAS indication turns Green?

I have never seen this specific LAS Indicator as illustrated in the manual on page 4-126. It says this Indicator is displayed in white and then turns green when LAS is working. I have nothing that looks like that in my CX-9 Instrument Panel or Heads Up Display?

(NOTE in my HUD I see 2 different indicators on the right, the MRCC Indicator that is white and turns green when active, and on the left, a LAS Indicator (That looks nothing like the illustration on 4-126, and that NEVER turns green). Im guessing the manual is not up to date?

Concerning the actual performance of the Mazda LAS, I find it inconsistent. (I have tested LAS systems on Honda, Acura, and Volvo). I think I realize the challenge automakers face, they want to strike a balance between automatically steering the vehicle back toward the center of the lane, yet allowing the driver to maintain complete steering control (by not being too overpowering).

My experience on 2 lane country roads (that have crown in them for drainage such that your vehicle may favor drifting slightly to the right). On those roads (when LAS is working), when accidentally drifting left over the centerline, the LAS works well and pushes me back toward the center of the lane. But when drifting right toward the shoulder, it is never strong enough to push me back left toward the lane center and will let me drift off the road if I dont correct it.

I also noticed that even Wind is involved. When driving into a strong quartering wind, the LAS works great when the wind direction is aiding the LAS correction, but poorly when the wind direction is fighting the LAS. I imagine all vehicle manufacturers face the same challenge.

(It would be nice if the force of the correction was included under Personal Settings)

Probably the weirdest thing I find about the LAS is stated in the manual 4-129 that warns that LAS cancels the steering assist automatically IF the driver takes his/hers hands off of the steering wheel, duh? (That would be when I want it to work the most!). Of course this makes testing to see if your LAS is working fairly difficult.

The big new thing that I hope Mazda will soon have is Lane Centering (Like Volvos Pilot Assist and now even available in Nissans Rogue as ProPilot Assist.) NOTE that on Mazdas corp website under safety they describe LANE TRACE that states, When Lane Trace is selected the system reduces the burden of driving by providing continuous steering assistance to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane I WANT THAT IN MY NEXT CX-9!

All I can say is the CX9's LKAS and LDW is not intrusive as some other systems. Drivers complain when these types of system are intrusive while others complain when it is not. I think Mazda designed it on the safer side. Unfortunately manufacturers can't find the proper balance that will suit every driver's style...you'll just have to adapt to it. You can adust the sensitivity on the settings but other than that you get what you have. I don't find it that intrusive and is just right for me and honestly I don't rely much on it as to me it is there to assist/keep my driving safe. Other thing to remember is that it only works when the vehicke detects lane markings.
 
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