Kia Smart Cruise Control: I HATE it!

[pah]

Greetings all; this is my first post.

My Kia Stinger 330S is 2000 kms old. I recently drove it from Sydney to Melbourne and back on the Hume Freeway. Driving south and after passing the Canberra turn-off, traffic on the Hume thins out. There are two lanes each way. I was driving up a steepish his and in the overtaking (right) lane. I was using the Smart Cruise Control function and it was holding the car at 110 kmh. This steepish uphill section of the Hume also features a sweeping bend to the right. The Smart Cruise Control detected a slow moving truck travelling at around 40 kmh (due to the steepness of the uphill section and BRAKED SAVAGELY to prevent the Stinger (IN THE OVERTAKING LANE) from running into the side of the slow truck (IN THE SLOW TRAFFIC LANE). The was no car in my lane and ahead of me. In other words, it looks very much like the Smart Cruise Control incorrectly assumed the truck was in my lane and BRAKED SAVAGELY to slow the car from 110 kmh to circa 40 kmh in a very short section of road. It was panic stations for a few seconds as I tried to figure out what was happening. After shutting down SCC I had the car back to 110 kmh. But that was after the car had slowed radically.

As far as I am concerned, such an action could (in certain circumstances) cause a serious smash. If the cars behind me had been a tad closer they may have seriously shortened the rear of the car. And I guess it would then be up to me to prove that an autonomous Kia system (highly irregular Dave?) caused the smash (not malicious braking on my part). If I can find a way to permanently deactivate SCC, I will certainly do that. I've asked Kia Australia for assistance but no joy so far. Has anybody had a similar experience? And can anybody tell me how to deactivate SCC? Kia Australia is suggesting that it can't be turned off.


PAH

 

[mkotek]

The SCC works perfectly where the curve is a part of circle - the radar is checking if on your path (virtual path - not the road line) there is any other car. To calculate your path system is taking into consideration your speed and your steering wheel angle.
If the curve is part of the ellipse your steering wheel angle is changing when cornering - but system doesn’t know during calculation your path that in next few meters this angle will change and in your case - on right curve radar found the truck and immediately slow down your car to avoid the crash.

 

[pah]

Thanks mkotek. But I was maintaining a perfect line within in my lane. There was nothing in my driving style to confuse the SCC. I was totally within my lane and tracking true to my lane. If the SCC system was functioning to my liking, it would NOT have applied a heavy application of the brakes (that would have caught any driver behind me totally by surprise because the road in front of me was free of any vehicle).

Anyway, I've been rechecking the Owner's Manual and it seems that both LKA and FCA both use the camera located in the top centre of the windscreen. So I am guessing that a suitably opaque band tint might be a back-door method of turning off both of them? Autonomous systems? HA!! If I was a fan I'd book a ticket on a Max8!


PAH

 

[mkotek]

SCC does not care about the line drawn on the road - it works without line on road also using those two parameter mentioned by me before. SCC will work also on the parking area if you will drive across the parking slot(you will cross the line c.a. every 2.5 meter).

LKA works only if line on road is visible and keeps you between them.

Currently Kia is not an autonomous car. All systems only support driver, but not replace him - fortunately


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[Deeepsix]

You can hold the button to disable for “normal” cruise

 

[pah]

mkotek. Yes understood. Not saying that the Stinger is autonomous. But I think that LKA and SCC are heading in that direction and I'd prefer the car not to brake abruptly without warning and for no good reason (especially if there's a chance that it might cause the car behind to rear end me). And thanks for the pointers on SCC - the LKA seems to beep when I steer over a white lane marking line so I'd assumed that there were sensors looking for white lines. Because my Stinger was in the inside lane and on a sweeping right hand curve, I suspect that it "saw" the slow moving truck in the outside lane as directly ahead of me (which it certainly was not - we were in separate lanes). If I understand you correctly, the truck and I could be on a skidpan devoid of white lines and if the Stinger didn't like my steering angle as I passed the truck on an inner arc I'd get the same result? If that's the case, and given that I was NOT veering into the truck's outer lane, I dislike whatever system it was that slammed on the brakes (LKA, SCC or FCA - whatever it was, I don't like it).

My Owner's Manual (p.5-127) shows an illustration of a camera at the top of the windscreen. Can I assume that SCC and LKA and FCA use this same camera? My Manual warns that there's a need to keep the screen clean so I assume that an appropriately placed length of duct tape might prevent HAL (this is highly irregular Dave) trying to "help" me drive. If I can't learn how to live with Kia's "help" I might resort to such back door strategies.

Deepsix. Thanks heaps for the info on disabling for normal cruise! I am still learning how the car works as it's very new to me. It doesn't help that the Owner's Manual is half as thick as a phone book and heaps of clauses state "IF EQUIPPED". I am still looking for the clause that explains how to adjust SDVC (Speed Dependant Volume Control). Do I think Kia could do a better job with their Owner's Manual? YES.
On my return journey to Sydney on the Hume, I resorted to turning off Cruise Control whenever I encountered traffic. That was a dang nuisance. If I'd known that I could have turned off SCC by holding the button my trip would have been more enjoyable. I emailed the Kia Head Office in Australia who in response wrote this: "Unfortunately you cannot deactivate the Smart Cruise Control Function". I wish he'd told me about holding the button to deactivate SCC as you did.

 

[mkotek]

I hope this picture will clarify the case when SCC will brake the car:

And on second picture is the place where radar for SCC is located:

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[Deeepsix]

Hit setup/sound/advanced for speed volume

 

[pah]

mkotek and Deepsix. Thanks HEAPS! - the diagrams are great however I'm experiencing a wee bit of difficulty with the text ;-) Where did you get this info? Is it in an official Kia document?

Deepsix. That's very helpful. I expected something like that to be in the Audio section of the Owner's Manual. Finding nothing in the Audio Section I flicked through the manual looking for SDVC and again found nothing. Very happy to know that i's in Setup/Sound/Advanced.


PAH

 

[mkotek]

pah - come on, what problem with a text it is polish - I am from Poland and the picture is from polish manual for Kia Stinger.

 

[SVStinger]

pah - come on, what problem with a text it is polish - I am from Poland and the picture is from polish manual for Kia Stinger.

PAH can drive on the wrong side of the road but he is stumped by Polish? Strange land down under!

 

[pah]

pah - come on, what problem with a text it is polish - I am from Poland and the picture is from polish manual for Kia Stinger.

mkotek. Yes I guessed the diagrams are from your Kia Manual in Polish. The funny thing is that they appear NOT to be in my Australian version. Thanks again for sending them.