A few wonderings about Clarity features as a new owner

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jeko44

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I've had my '21 Touring a week now, and I like a lot about it. There are some niggly things that I certainly don't like. Wondering if anyone can offer feedback on any items below.
I've looked in the manual, the settings in the car, and this forum, but no luck finding definitive answers on these...

1. Is there really no backup beep warning if you are coming close to an object?
2. Is there no way to totally disable the LKAS, whether you are in cruise or not? I really don't like the steering wheel shake when I'm trying to work the lanes (as someone else mentioned on another thread).
3. I know someone else tried to disable the pedestrian sound (which my bro-in-law measured as a G note with his app) with poor results. Is there a way to muffle it at least?
4. Is anyone else having trouble with their iPhone not connecting to CarPlay?
5. Is there no warning system (light or sound) when you activate your left turn signal and there is a car next to you or in your blind spot?

TIA!
 
jeko44 said:
I've had my '21 Touring a week now, and I like a lot about it. There are some niggly things that I certainly don't like. Wondering if anyone can offer feedback on any items below.
I've looked in the manual, the settings in the car, and this forum, but no luck finding definitive answers on these...

1. Is there really no backup beep warning if you are coming close to an object?
2. Is there no way to totally disable the LKAS, whether you are in cruise or not? I really don't like the steering wheel shake when I'm trying to work the lanes (as someone else mentioned on another thread).
3. I know someone else tried to disable the pedestrian sound (which my bro-in-law measured as a G note with his app) with poor results. Is there a way to muffle it at least?
4. Is anyone else having trouble with their iPhone not connecting to CarPlay?
5. Is there no warning system (light or sound) when you activate your left turn signal and there is a car next to you or in your blind spot?

TIA!
Click to expand...
Howdy!

There really is no backup alert!
You absolutely can disable road departure mitigation (which is what you describe), it’s a button low, by your left knee!
There is a thread somewhere that describes how to do exactly what you want regarding the generated noise, just Google it!
No issues connecting iPhones (including my 12 Max Pro) that I’ve heard.
Sadly, there is no blind spot detection. They give us the crappy (IMO) lane watch, and that’s it!

Enjoy your new ride
 
Thanks! I appreciate all the info! I know about the road departure button, but that's different from the lane keep assist, no? As I understand it, RDM watches for the solid lines at the edges and applies brakes and tries to steer you back if it thinks you're headed into a ditch. LKAS simply shakes the steering wheel when you start to cross a dashed lane marker.
BTW, I'm in the Boston area as well :)
 
jeko44 said:
I've had my '21 Touring a week now, and I like a lot about it. There are some niggly things that I certainly don't like. Wondering if anyone can offer feedback on any items below.
I've looked in the manual, the settings in the car, and this forum, but no luck finding definitive answers on these...

1. Is there really no backup beep warning if you are coming close to an object?
2. Is there no way to totally disable the LKAS, whether you are in cruise or not? I really don't like the steering wheel shake when I'm trying to work the lanes (as someone else mentioned on another thread).
3. I know someone else tried to disable the pedestrian sound (which my bro-in-law measured as a G note with his app) with poor results. Is there a way to muffle it at least?
4. Is anyone else having trouble with their iPhone not connecting to CarPlay?
5. Is there no warning system (light or sound) when you activate your left turn signal and there is a car next to you or in your blind spot?

TIA!
Click to expand...
1) The pedestrian sound is quite loud enough in reverse. I'm not happy to have the pedestrian sound, I'd dislike a beep even more. The Prius had an inside beep in reverse which seemed quite ridiculous to me.

2) Switch off the Main button on the steering wheel and you won't have LKAS or cruise control.

3) Apparently it can be defeated.

4) No problem with iPhone

5) No warning signal for left turns.
 
jeko44 said:
Thanks! I appreciate all the info! I know about the road departure button, but that's different from the lane keep assist, no? As I understand it, RDM watches for the solid lines at the edges and applies brakes and tries to steer you back if it thinks you're headed into a ditch. LKAS simply shakes the steering wheel when you start to cross a dashed lane marker.
BTW, I'm in the Boston area as well :)
Click to expand...

West Roxbury here, born and raised! You have them swapped in your mind. LKAS only guides you, by looking for, and following the lines…it doesn’t shake or throw up the orange warning, that’s RDM does that.
 
jeko44 said:
Thanks! I appreciate all the info! I know about the road departure button, but that's different from the lane keep assist, no? As I understand it, RDM watches for the solid lines at the edges and applies brakes and tries to steer you back if it thinks you're headed into a ditch. LKAS simply shakes the steering wheel when you start to cross a dashed lane marker.
BTW, I'm in the Boston area as well :)
Click to expand...
The thing that makes me chuckle sometimes is when the car is in LKAS mode and I'm not steering it will get too close to the right lane marker and complain. My out loud comment is, "you did it yourself!"
 
I strongly dislike the humming pedestrian sound, but I wouldn't mind a beep to warn me that I'm about to hit someone's mailbox in reverse :)
 
Boston_Pilot said:
West Roxbury here, born and raised! You have them swapped in your mind. LKAS only guides you, by looking for, and following the lines…it doesn’t shake or throw up the orange warning, that’s RDM does that.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'll try disabling the RDM then and see what happens. Thanks! Over in Framingham...
 
Bluntly, if you have a blind spot, your mirrors are not at the right angle. You should be able to see 100% panorama behind you. If there's half a car behind you in the left mirror, the other half should be in the center mirror, with nothing missing.
 
petteyg359 said:
Bluntly, if you have a blind spot, your mirrors are not at the right angle. You should be able to see 100% panorama behind you. If there's half a car behind you in the left mirror, the other half should be in the center mirror, with nothing missing.
Click to expand...

100% incorrect.
 
petteyg359 said:
Apparently you, too, need to fix your mirrors.
Click to expand...

Fixing my mirrors doesn’t stop the science. The best set of eyes can see 140 degrees straight ahead, the average is 120 degrees (more or less).
Looking through rear view mirrors cuts that almost in half.

Cool story though.
 
There's an OEM add-on you can buy for the backup sensors. I think it was about $500 plus dealer install fees. Didn't seem worth it to me considering there is a backup camera already.
 
petteyg359 said:
Bluntly, if you have a blind spot, your mirrors are not at the right angle. You should be able to see 100% panorama behind you. If there's half a car behind you in the left mirror, the other half should be in the center mirror, with nothing missing.
Click to expand...
I understand about the precise angle one's mirror needs to be to "eliminate" blind spots, but nobody's perfect. It would be reassuring to have a blind spot monitor for that one time I impulsively try to switch lanes before checking the panorama. If my '16 Hyundai can have it, there's no reason the Clarity can't.
 
Every so often the iPhone and the car do not work together. I have seen black screens and sometimes just not wanting to connect. The easiest way to fix it is just reboot the audio system (you can even do it while driving) by holding the Audio button until you see the reboot popup. Even my wife can do it in her 2017 Honda Civic which has the same system. I also recommend that you get a USB cable with a magnetic adapter to the iPhone (be sure it does data). It then only takes one hand to reconnect and the magnet does all the work.

BTW, I am in the Boston area and a pilot (fixed and rotary).
 
jeko44 said:
It would be reassuring to have a blind spot monitor for that one time I impulsively try to switch lanes before checking the panorama. If my '16 Hyundai can have it, there's no reason the Clarity can't.
Click to expand...
It comes down to money. Honda has a hard time selling this car at MSRP and I don't believe it makes a profit even if it does sell at MSRP. Would you pay a greater MSRP if it had a blind-spot sensor? The Accord is Honda's money-maker in this segment and it has all the bells and whistles. It's interesting that Honda is willing to include better features (head-up display, better infotainment system) on the much lower-production, but lease-only, Honda Clarity Fuel Cell car.

I paid the big bucks (more than $600) for the Clarity's back-up sensor and think it's worth the money. Wish it had both front and rear sensors for those bucks, however. I like that my compact, sporty BEV's front sensors warn me I'm about to make contact with a bumper block.
 
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jeko44 said:
If my '16 Hyundai can have it, there's no reason the Clarity can't.
Click to expand...

You are correct, there is no reason the Clarity can’t have the sensors. But, it doesn’t. Our 2015 Jeep has an actual TPMS that provides a view of individual tire pressures from the comfort of heated or cooled leather seats. It also has a host of other nanny features that can be annoying at times, such as backing up with bikes on the hitch mounted rack.
 
Honda is cutting back on many sensors. The new Honda sensing in the 11th gen Civic apparently doesn't have a radar, it works with camera only.
 
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