Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 26,460
From Forbes
According to the car-shopping site BestRide.com, fastidious motorists driving 14 different vehicle brands are finding that their rides can be rendered virtually immobilized at many automated car washes unless certain auto-braking systems can be disabled.
That’s because the sensors used for forward collision mitigation systems aren’t able to tell the difference between a solid wall and what the industry calls a “soft mitter curtain.” To an auto-braking system’s sensors, both are considered large and equally hazardous obstructions with which collisions must be avoided. Car wash operators are reporting instances where cars have become stuck in mid-wash by their vehicles’ auto-braking systems. Some, ironically in the act of preventing a crash, have actually jumped the car wash rails and inadvertently caused a collision with the vehicle directly rearward.
What’s more, car wash operators report similar problems with some vehicles’ electronic parking brake systems holding up the queue, which tends to most hamper car washes in which the driver is required to leave the transmission in neutral, switch off the engine, and exit the car. Some cars engage the emergency brake automatically when a car is switched off, while others require a motorist to shift into park before turning off the engine.
“Collision detection, auto hold braking and other technologies are coming to every car as standard equipment by 2020,” said BestRide editor-in- chief Craig Fitzgerald. “Consumers have no idea about the unintended consequences of these technologies on simple, everyday tasks. We want drivers to be informed before they get to the car wash.”
The vehicles that can apparently be confounded by soap and suds come from Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, RAM, Range Rover, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo.
According to the car-shopping site BestRide.com, fastidious motorists driving 14 different vehicle brands are finding that their rides can be rendered virtually immobilized at many automated car washes unless certain auto-braking systems can be disabled.
That’s because the sensors used for forward collision mitigation systems aren’t able to tell the difference between a solid wall and what the industry calls a “soft mitter curtain.” To an auto-braking system’s sensors, both are considered large and equally hazardous obstructions with which collisions must be avoided. Car wash operators are reporting instances where cars have become stuck in mid-wash by their vehicles’ auto-braking systems. Some, ironically in the act of preventing a crash, have actually jumped the car wash rails and inadvertently caused a collision with the vehicle directly rearward.
What’s more, car wash operators report similar problems with some vehicles’ electronic parking brake systems holding up the queue, which tends to most hamper car washes in which the driver is required to leave the transmission in neutral, switch off the engine, and exit the car. Some cars engage the emergency brake automatically when a car is switched off, while others require a motorist to shift into park before turning off the engine.
“Collision detection, auto hold braking and other technologies are coming to every car as standard equipment by 2020,” said BestRide editor-in- chief Craig Fitzgerald. “Consumers have no idea about the unintended consequences of these technologies on simple, everyday tasks. We want drivers to be informed before they get to the car wash.”
The vehicles that can apparently be confounded by soap and suds come from Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, RAM, Range Rover, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo.