A few months ago I too had the SCBS kick in unexpectedly. It actually put me IN danger by doing so. I was in the right lane when a car, many car lengths ahead of me was attempting to make a right hand turn. I was just coasting towards the car because I was anticipating for him to complete his turn, but if by the time I was close enough, if he was still waiting to make the turn (due to pedestrians crossing), I was going to accelerate around him using the left lane. Mere milliseconds before I was about to accelerate, I already started to turn the steering wheel left, my CX5 ground to a halt instantly. It left me ever so slightly diagonal, so the very front of the CX5 (bumper, front quarter panel in front of the wheel was in the left lane. It took me probably 10 SECONDS- which is a lot of time in this situation- to regain my bearings. It gave me whiplash from the sudden stop. I was completely shocked and confused what had happened until I saw SCBS flashing on the dash. By this time the car in the left lane which I was now jutting into actually stopped and honked at me. I quickly hit the gas and pulled back into my lane (the right) since by this time the car making the turn had completed his turn.
The concept of SCBS is good...but I think it still needs refinement. I also wish it worked up to higher speeds, such as 20-30mph, which it does not. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it works from 3-18mph? Since this is protection for city driving, I notice I am usually paying much more attention at the lower speeds (3-18mph is almost like a crawl), making the SCBS pointless. It is at the "higher" speeds of 20-30mph, 30 being the speed limit in NYC, that in my opinion it would be more useful. I will be doing 25-30mph when people will suddenly cut me off and STOP just to get 1 car length ahead right before a red light, or someone will back up out of their driveway without looking, as I am coming down the street doing the speed limit forcing me to jam on my brakes.
This was my only experience with SCBS and I really hope it is my last since I do not think it would work in a situation where I think it should work.