Problem with aftermarket Blind-Spot Monitor

C

CharlesBranch

Member
Does anyone have any experience with aftermarket blind-spot monitors for the Clarity? My VOXX (Advent) ADVBSD20 blind-spot monitor is very unreliable. It almost never sees other cars on the right, which is not such a great problem because of the factory camera. And it never detects cars on the right after I pass them. On the left, it seems to see large trucks and large SUVs. It is sporadic on midsize SUVs, and it fails to detect almost all regular cars. I have been back to the dealer twice, and he says it is installed at the correct angle. (Apparently, there is no test mode for this model).

At first, I noticed that the was very unreliable and detected so many false alarms that I had to disconnect it. The dealer found that the sensors had come loose from the bumper, so he reinstalled it on the frame with some sort of bracket. He said that the manufacturer said that that was OK.

I was wondering if the crimson pearl paint might have some sort of metallic component that would affect the radar sensor, but my local body shop told me that it does not. I plan to take it back again Monday and show the dealer what it's doing, but I thought I might first check here to see if anyone has any suggestions.
Thanks,
Charles
 
Suggestion: Angle the mirrors properly and there is no blind spot. If you can see anything in your own lane or your own car in the side mirrors, they're not far enough out.
 
petteyg359 said:
Suggestion: Angle the mirrors properly and there is no blind spot. If you can see anything in your own lane or your own car in the side mirrors, they're not far enough out.
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I do keep the mirrors adjusted correctly, but I can't get others who drive the car to do so. My wife's Pilot has a factory blind spot monitor, and at my age of 79, the beep is an extra safety factor that I appreciate. Also, the rear cross-traffic alert is a nice feature when parked between two panel trucks.
 
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I installed an aftermarket RCTA (rear cross traffic alert)/blind spot system by Rydeen. It was the BSS1LPB (attaches to license plate; there is another version BSS1 that goes inside the bumper). It's pretty expensive, but uses radar, turns off below a certain speed, etc and other nice features.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend it. The blind spot monitor (really a "traffic moving faster than you approaching your blind spot sensor") is too sensitive, and so gives lots of "false positive" signals (e.g. when a car is not in your blind spot, but is one or two lanes further away but in the same line). Similarly, the cross traffic for backing up is OK but not very sensitive (it doesn't "see" very far along the extreme angles you want such a system to be watching), and goes completely nuts when the car is moving in reverse (e.g. parallel parking).

I have disabled the beep, and will unplug the lights when I get around to it.
 
CharlesBranch said:
I do keep the mirrors adjusted correctly, but I can't get others who drive the car to do so. My wife's Pilot has a factory blind spot monitor, and at my age of 79, the beep is an extra safety factor that I appreciate. Also, the rear cross-traffic alert is a nice feature when parked between two panel trucks.
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Charles- When I first got the Clarity, I was concerned about the lack of true BSM and RCTA. I have since gotten use to the lack of the latter, and Lanewatch in conjunction with a better than average side view mirror (convex outer edge) work well enough. However, I completely agree that true BSM alone or in conjunction with Lanewatch is preferable. Please keep us informed on whether you can fix your current setup or find one that is better.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Final Report on VOXX (Advent) ADVBSD20 blind spot monitor.
As recommended by Tek_Freek I did send a message on the link on the Voxx WebSite. I got a prompt response suggesting I take it to the dealer and a phone number for the dealer to call for help. I took it back several times, and the dealer tried everything he could think of. I was getting between 20 and 40% detection of regular cars, somewhat better with pickup trucks and vans, and almost 100% for 18-wheelers. After several attempts, he agreed to remove it and refund the purchase cost. I am still wondering what the problem might have been and whether it is something unique to the Clarity.

Has anyone had better luck with any brand or model of a blind spot detector on a Clarity?

Other than this, I still love the Clarity. I cannot understand why they discontinued sales outside of California. Bad marketing would be my guess, because it really is a nice car. I wonder if they would sell better if they offered a battery large enough for sixty miles instead of mid-forty.

Charles
 
CharlesBranch said:
I cannot understand why they discontinued sales outside of California. Bad marketing would be my guess, because it really is a nice car. I wonder if they would sell better if they offered a battery large enough for sixty miles instead of mid-forty.
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Honda hasn't been able to sell the Clarity PHEV at MSRP (which likely isn't high enough to generate a profit), so they decided to sell it only where they need it to generate zero-emissions vehicle credits, in California. If Honda added all the things people want, such as heated steering wheel, blind-spot detectors, cross-traffic detectors, folding mirrors, longer-range battery (could you live with a tiny trunk like the Clarity Electric drivers must do?), the company would lose even more money on the car. Recently, Honda said they're discontinuing plug-in hybrids (of which they make just one).
 
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insightman said:
Honda hasn't been able to sell the Clarity PHEV at MSRP (which likely isn't high enough to generate a profit), so they decided to sell it only where they need it to generate zero-emissions vehicle credits, in California. If Honda added all the things people want, such as heated steering wheel, blind-spot detectors, cross-traffic detectors, folding mirrors, longer-range battery (could you live with a tiny trunk like the Clarity Electric drivers must do?), the company would lose even more money on the car. Recently, Honda said they're discontinuing plug-in hybrids (of which they make just one).
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I think the Japanese MSRP of the clarity is a good indicator of the real cost of the car which is equivalent to $60k USD. Those have Chademo, power folding mirrors, extra USB ports, rear cross traffic alert, and some other goodies iirc.
 
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