Road Departure Mitigation Messages

[Vinoh]

Recently I've noticed a message appearing that says "Road Departure Mitigation Activated". Previously, I only saw "Lane Departure" when I got too close to the lane marking. According to the manual, this message comes on only when in Narrow mode which is what I changed to so I didn't get Lane Departure warnings too frequently.

I read the manual but I really don't understand this message and why it only applies when Narrow mode is selected. It also wasn't clear to me whether Narrow or Wide mode allows for a wider range before getting the warning and a little experimenting convinced me that Narrow mode is what I wanted. Anyone care to elaborate? Thanks!

 

[vicw]

I've had my Clarity almost a year, and it continues to amaze me how often I learn something new about the car (usually from this forum). I didn't know this options existed until your post, so I had to do some checking in the User Manual and verify that mine is set to Normal.

From my read of the description, I think that you would select the Narrow mode if you wanted to apply a tighter adherence to the lane which seems to be contrary your expectation that you would get less warning messages in that mode. I plan to leave mine in Normal mode, but from the manual, it seems that in Narrow mode, the car might actually help to steer the vehicle toward the center of the lane, rather than just emit warnings and shake the steering wheel.

Maybe we will hear from another owner who has been playing with this setting and can enlighten both of us.

 

[Vinoh]

Yeah, I hear ya. Another interpretation is that the system looks in a narrow area for the lane marking. Looking in a wide area would result in more warnings.

Also, steering toward the center of the lane would seem to be the function of the LKAS.

 

[aapitten]

Despite owning my clarity for over a year and reading much of the manual, I must have missed this 'normal vs narrow' setting. Can you enlighten me on this one? Where did you find the setting (or where is it in the manual?)

 

[MNSteve]

Despite owning my clarity for over a year and reading much of the manual, I must have missed this 'normal vs narrow' setting. Can you enlighten me on this one? Where did you find the setting (or where is it in the manual?)

Oddly, there's no explanation in the Owner's Manual for what the difference is between the settings. But in the Owner's Guide is this text:

• Normal (default): Steering control starts from inside the lane edge.

• Wide: Steering control starts from outside the lane edge

• Warning Only: The system only provides a BRAKE message and steering wheel vibrations, but does not apply steering torque or braking.

• Narrow: Steering control starts from further inside the lane edge than Normal setting.

It's on page 109 of the PDF.

 

[MPower]

I have mine set to Normal. I noticed on my first long trip last week where I used LKAS extensively that despite MNSteve's quote from the manual, it actually seemed to follow the outside line and would tend to follow that line to each exit ramp unless I pulled to back to the main road. If you don't engage LKAS by pressing the steering wheel button next to the MAIN button, the only warning you get is the steering wheel jiggle and dash light.

 

[aapitten]

Thanks @MNSteve! As promised, it was there. Here's the snip of the pdf for anyone else wanting to change their setting.

 

[Candice]

The Road Departure Mitigation on/off button is next to the charge lid release button so I accidentally turned it on recently and it kept warning me when I didn't want it to. I could not figure out why it started randomly but I think I hit it when I was wearing winter gloves and tried to open the charge lid. I turned it off because I don't like the warnings.

 

[dnb]

The Road Departure Mitigation on/off button is next to the charge lid release button so I accidentally turned it on recently and it kept warning me when I didn't want it to. I could not figure out why it started randomly but I think I hit it when I was wearing winter gloves and tried to open the charge lid. I turned it off because I don't like the warnings.

IIRC it is always on unless you turn it off manually after starting the car. It will turn itself back on every start because its a safety feature.

 

[Candice]

IIRC it is always on unless you turn it off manually after starting the car. It will turn itself back on every start because its a safety feature.

I was not aware of how to turn it on/off. I never even realized it existed until I saw the warnings after owning the car for 9 months and it would not stop. When I saw the light on next to the button, I realized I could turn it off. It has not come on since.