Driving in highway Clarity suddenly flashes brake and shakes steering wheel

P

Phil_Meyers

Active Member
This isn't the only time. It's done it at least four times. What causes this? It catches me off guard. Today it did it while I was driving out of town. The car flashes brake and shoke the wheel. I don't like it because it totally caught me off guard. Each time there's been nothing. Now I'm am paranoid it's going to do it again but also apply the brakes.

Are these just false positives or should I take the car in?
 
Last edited:
Is it possible that the lane keep assist is perceiving a pavement seam or sealing stripe as a lane divider? It might believe you're about to depart the pavement.
 
It sounds like you have the collision mitigation turned on and it is detecting something that is triggering it to warn you of a collision. I've had it do it approaching the incline of a railroad crossing and a freeway overpass, and approaching a small narrow bridge. I usually keep it off. I've just started trying it to see how it behaves.
 
Danks said:
It sounds like you have the collision mitigation turned on and it is detecting something that is triggering it to warn you of a collision. I've had it do it approaching the incline of a railroad crossing and a freeway overpass, and approaching a small narrow bridge. I usually keep it off. I've just started trying it to see how it behaves.
Click to expand...
Yes collision mitigation it's turned on. However there's no road crossing etc. Must be something.
Is it possible it could actually brake? In afraid of someone slamming into me now. 40 years of driving, this is something new to worry about.
 
Most likely it is the lane keep assist system. Most likely the highway markings are faint/overlapping due to re-striping and the
system gets confused. Happens to me every day in a particular section of my commute :). It does not apply the brakes.

Take a good look at the lane markings when this happens and see if they are confusing :)
 
Phil_Meyers said:
Yes collision mitigation it's turned on. However there's no road crossing etc. Must be something.
Is it possible it could actually brake? In afraid of someone slamming into me now. 40 years of driving, this is something new to worry about.
Click to expand...
From the manual:

The system may automatically shut off and the CMBSTM indicator will come on under
certain conditions. Some examples of these conditions are listed below. Other
conditions may reduce some of the CMBSTM functions.
2 Front Sensor Camera P. 396
■ Environmental conditions
• Driving in bad weather (rain, fog, snow, etc.).
• Sudden changes between light and dark, such as an entrance or exit of a tunnel.
• There is little contrast between objects and the background.
• Driving into low sunlight (e.g., at dawn or dusk).
• Strong light is reflected onto the roadway.
• Driving in the shadows of trees, buildings, etc.
• Roadway objects or structures are misinterpreted as vehicles and pedestrians.
• Reflections on the interior of the windshield.
• Driving at night or in a dark condition such as a tunnel.
■ Roadway conditions
• Driving on a snowy or wet roadway (obscured lane marking, vehicle tracks,
reflected lights, road spray, high contrast).
• Driving on curvy, winding, or undulating roads.
• The road is hilly or the vehicle is approaching the crest of a hill.

■ Speed bumps, road work sites, train tracks, roadside objects, etc.
You drive over speed bumps, steel road plates, etc., or your vehicle approaches train
tracks or roadside objects [such as a traffic sign and guard rail] on a curve or, when
parking, stationary vehicles and walls.

The collision mitigation braking system will vibrate the steering wheel, flash BRAKE, sound an audible alert, and it may automatically brake - lightly or forcefully. (Pg 442-3 in manual)

I never use the lane keep assist. I've only experienced what you described when I've had the collision mitigation turned on.
 
Interesting, thank you. What I'm concerned about is the braking. Once in a while I get the brake flash warning. Sometimes I also get the warning and audible alert. In not concerned about those. But like I stated about four times now with the shaking of the wheel. I'm assuming next is braking. So if I'm doing 50mph and the wheel shakes and brake flashes, the system isn't far off from applying brakes out of nowhere. This is pretty scary.
 
Sadly, it's a fairly common complaint. These "driver assistance" features are in their infancy and some sensors and software are essentially in beta testing by customers. Yes, sometimes the collision mitigation system slams on the brakes for reasons only it understands. Here's one of the threads on the topic.

https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm...ed-on-my-brakes-when-it-should-not-have.7015/

I've had false alarms with the automatic following cruise control, including dangerous inappropriate braking. I turn off auto cruise and just use regular cruise control. I wish I could turn off collision mitigation auto braking as a default, but it turns back on every restart.

These issues are not Honda specific, let alone Clarity specific. They haunt most vehicles. In the meantime, keep that big front Honda "H" clean!
 
Phil_Meyers said:
This isn't the only time. It's done it at least four times. What causes this? It catches me off guard. Today it did it while I was driving out of town. The car flashes brake and shoke the wheel. I don't like it because it totally caught me off guard. Each time there's been nothing. Now I'm am paranoid it's going to do it again but also apply the brakes.

Are these just false positives or should I take the car in?
Click to expand...
It would be interesting to see if the problem repeats if you looped around and drove the same section of road immediately after you experience this problem. I often get the wheel shake from something as simple as a white streak of salt in my lane, and I get a collision warning from cars in the opposite lane on curves (not that you said you reported a car in the opposite lane).
 
Our Clarity brakes when it shouldn't. A common situation is when the road curves to the right and there is a car in the oncoming lane. The system should know that other car is on the other side of the center-line but apparently the software isn't that smart.

The other time, more common, is if a car ahead of me in the same lane is turning right or left. The car may have actually departed from the lane we were in together and is making it's turn. My car will brake. I have to push on the accelerator to overcome the braking action.

I too wish we could turn the collision mitigation off and is would stay off but it resets to on each time the car is started. I fear getting hit on the rear end if a car behind is following too close or not paying enough attention. The level 2 "safety" features may actually contribute to accidents.
 
I've seen it commonly on when a car in front of me takes a highway exit and slows down even though I continue on the highway.

geo
 
When I first got my Clarity it exhibited many of the quirks and problems noted in this thread. Another quirk it had was a huge bias to objects and vehicles to the right of it as explained by K8QM. I was getting irritated by the nanny that was interfering with me driving the car. At my first service I had the dealer check the sensors and they adjusted them. After that the quirks and irritations diminished greatly although not entirely. But it was enough that it no longer bothered me.
 
These are all quirks that most Clarity drivers just learn to deal with (warnings, wheel shaker, brake notifications, etc.). I've seen the same, cars changing lanes, cars in turns, cars exiting the highway, trucks in adjacent lanes, the list is a long. Turn off some features, cancel out of ACC by brake or paddle, drive through it, etc. I think to some degree we have all experienced most or all of these types of events.

Is it just Clarity, or do other Honda models have the same issues? Accord, Pilot, Odyssey?
 
It's not just Clarity. Not just Honda for that matter. Auto collision avoidance radars/cameras react funny and trigger false alarms at times. I experience similar things in all newer vehicles I have driven with these systems. In my experience my new Mazda, a Subaru I rented, and a Toyota I borrowed, and yes my Clarity, have all glitched out a little bit and quick-pumped the brakes or shook steering wheel, or screamed "BRAKE" alarms when it wasn't really needed. It's the new normal, as these systems are now mandated on all new cars. Drivers must learn the glitches, expect them, and understand how to calmly drive through them. I've never come even remotely close to one of these systems glitches causing an accident, thought these types of claims are undeniably on the rise...and in my experience most such claims are made by people who tend to knee-jerk over-react to minor system glitches, or just don't want to take responsibility for their own errors. If it happens while you're driving, just stay calm and keep driving. The car figures it out and gets past the false alarm usually within a quarter second. If you get in an accident during that short timeframe the car pulls a quick brake pump or wiggles the wheel, it's primarily cuz you had put yourself in a bad/too-close situation already anyway...so the car isn't ENTIRELY to blame. As always, drive defensively and expect the unexpected.
 
I keep RDM, LKAS and CMBS off. I will pull the FR Camera Sensor fuse this weekend to see if that permanent kills CMBS.
 
There's a setting for the sensitivity. I'm sorry don't remember where I found that, but check under settings vehicle. If memory serves there are 3 levels of sensitivity. My memory the default is like a middle choice with one more permissive and one less. Make sure you don't have the 'paranoid' one selected.
Now if you're sure you've never touched the default, then I'd just leave it.
 
It has happened to me when I'm rounding a curve on a multi-lane highway and there's a vehicle in the other lane that is slightly ahead of me so that it moves into the Clarity's visual range: The Clarity thinks there's suddenly a car "dead ahead". It also happened once at a railroad grade crossing with a vastly oversized STOP sign: The sun was behind me, which caused the sign to flare brightly - which the Clarity mistook for something in the road ahead.
 
jdonalds said:
Our Clarity brakes when it shouldn't. A common situation is when the road curves to the right and there is a car in the oncoming lane. The system should know that other car is on the other side of the center-line but apparently the software isn't that smart.

The other time, more common, is if a car ahead of me in the same lane is turning right or left. The car may have actually departed from the lane we were in together and is making it's turn. My car will brake. I have to push on the accelerator to overcome the braking action.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I get that all the time regarding someone turning. Many times it brakes at wifes work where a lot of people are turning left and i'm behind them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top