Adaptive cruise control

[abyss]

I have the tech package with adaptive cruise control. I have noticed something that is a little bit disconcerting when using the adaptive cruise control. It seems to use the rear brakes to slow the car down and I have been put into the situation where the traffic ahead is slowing faster than the cruise control is applying the rear brakes. I instinctually apply the foot brake and because the rear brakes already are in use, the brake pedal then locks up the rear brakes well before the ABS kicks in for the front brakes. Has anyone else noticed this? I guess the proper thing to do would be to disengage the cruise control and apply brake as needed. But of course that is a lot of forethought for a situation when you need to stop the car. The problem seems to be that the cruise control only operates the rear brakes and there is no ABS for the rear brakes. Does anyone else have thoughts on this matter?

[Poyzinous]

if you apply the parking brake the abs wont do anything. The cruise control is only meant to assist in maintaining speed, not do hard braking. clean the laser lens and keep the distance setting a little higher and see how it responds.

[abyss]

I'm not sure what you mean by applying the parking brake. My parking brake is a foot switch, not a center console mounted brake. What I was trying to communicate is that the cruise control brakes automatically with the rear wheels and hopefully you are monitoring what the cruise control is doing. Once the cruise control is braking at its maximum and you are not slowing down enough to prevent a collision, your natural reaction is to hit the brake pedal, thereby locking up the rear brakes and skidding to a stop. I understand why the system only brakes from the rear because if it used the front brakes, the sytem runs a risk of pitching the front of the car down and the laser would no longer see the car in front. In Southern California where you can be cruising along at 70 mph, and all of a sudden, traffic comes to a complete halt, the software appears to be totally incompetent in handling this situation . My understanding is that the 2009 EX adaptive cruise control now has the ability to reduce speed all the way down to a complete stop, given how it brakes from the rear. I would like to hear from someone with the 2009 adaptive cruise control to see if they have noticed this problem.

[SteveTheTech]

Let me tell you from my personal experience with ICC (a feature I am in love with) it will stop you if someone cuts you off, or slams on there brakes. I was in an M35 testing the system operation and was driving in the DC metro area and was cut off the best Honda Civic driver ever. The car proceeded to do exactly what it should have and initiated a near panic stop which was perfect for the situation. The 09FX with tech package and ICC has Zero Speed cruise which can be used in traffic situations, I have yet to try this but some of the people I have spoken with enjoy this feature. Personally I am not willing to find traffic when I do not need to be in it just to test a theory. Frontal collision avoidance is another interesting feature that really does an impressive job at altering the driver to a rapidly approaching object detected by the ICC sensor, when the system is activated. This system vibrates and pushed against the throttle and has several audible tones and flashing lights.

The EX has preview braking which maybe something you are experiencing in the abrupt highway situation you are describing. The ICC is limited to a normal driving situation and is not autopilot extreme cases, like the one you are describing, are beyond the capabilities of the ICC but that is what Preview braking is designed for. The car will do everything it can to keep you and your passengers safe, if the ICC is engaged and a sudden stop is required the ABS actuator will apply the brakes to slow to about 20mph, where an audible tone and sudden jerking feeling will alert you.

When discussing this system you really need to understand the limitations of the Cruise Control laser unit that uses a Dopplar type pinging to detect upcoming vehicles. The basic system has been used by Infiniti since 2002 with little changes here and there but the basic theory and operating characteristics are pretty much the same as they were 6 years ago. I've taken one of these apart a while ago and it is a very interesting device. There is a two segment Fresnal lens with an electromagnet that oscillates the lens back and forth that both increases the operating output and detection range. The system works well but it is limited, check out ( http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/EX/2008/CCS.pdf CCS-100)

[jmess]

One of the more endearing features of ICC is the steering wheel angle sensor that abruptly slows you down going around a nothing corner. A very irritating feature for both the driver and any cars following behind you.

[EX55]

Excellent post Steve, thanks! Go Pats.