Lane Assist Trying To Kill Me!

[tonybridge]

NCAP/govt/authorities need to sort this out. Most of us have made it a routine to turn off LKA. Its stupid tech that introduces more risk than its trying to mitigate

Well, I never have switched it off, and as far as I'm aware, have never changed a setting.

I wish someone could sort this out - as there seems to be wildly differing experiences with this, from people rejecting the car after two days, to others who are quite happy with the situation. I'm guessing it's down to the software version that each car has, with the settings being tweaked with each new version release. But my 6-month old car has, I think, R33, and the latest is maybe R56? So I can't imagine why newer cars are so much more lethal than mine

 

[NLMGSAN]

NCAP/govt/authorities need to sort this out. Most of us have made it a routine to turn off LKA. Its stupid tech that introduces more risk than its trying to mitigate

Why would you think they will sort this out? They caused it because they expect these systems will improve population risk rates. And as long as the opposite effect remains hidden enough they will not stop. In fact, as of today the next group of obligatory system have become mandatory....

 

[Fluffy]

Why didn't you just switch it off, before you set off, like most owners do. You must've known about the problem beforehand, it's been well documented on here. Presuming you came on here before you bought the car. ?

Well,

do you know know the car brand with good enough LKA ?

my main car (the MG is intended for Mrs Fluffy) is an I-pace and so far in 30k of driving it’s been perfectly well behaved. Also drive a lot of hire cars for work and beyond the odd beep etc none of them has tried to collide with anything randomly so I do have a reference point to draw from at least. The MG is something else and not convinced turning off the ELK, LKA etc is particularly insurance friendly should a legit prang occur.

 

[Rolfe]

I don't see how there can be any insurance liability for turning it off. The manual says to turn it off if it's doing something unhelpful. If in your experience it always does something unhelpful, there's your justification.

 

[Fluffy]

I don't see how there can be any insurance liability for turning it off. The manual says to turn it off if it's doing something unhelpful. If in your experience it always does something unhelpful, there's your justification.

Agree but, ultimately paid for a vehicle that advertised itself as having these features and it got an NCAP 5* on them as a result. Arguably in their current form they aren’t fit for purpose and pose potential additional risk. It also appears to be a flaw in the Euro NCAP testing regime for these kinds of systems where they aren’t representative of the environment these systems need to operate in the real world. Anyhow, will see what happens with ours but is a brand new car and quite expensive (perhaps not for a performance EV but as a car more generally it is) so the plan is to reject it as waiting for a patch/fix could take a while. Either way, it’s too unpredictable for me.

 

[Dafc1fan]

I had my test drive in a Trophy, but it wasn't a demonstrator model, it was "the boss's own car". The LKA felt about the same as it does on my own SE, although I can't say I had a lot of experience. It only went off during the test drive when I turned on to a motorway slip road without indicating (because there was nothing behind me), and after a feeling of "I don't want to do that!" it relented and let me take the slip road.

I had had quite enough of it on my own car by half way through the joyride I did on the day after taking delivery. I parked up in a layby in Moffat and studied how to make damn sure it was off. I might leave it on when I head south on the M74/M6 next week, just to give it another chance.

I only get that when I forget to cancel it with the indicator! I know resistance on the wheel will always trump LKA, but if that happened to me with my indicator on, I would switch off LKA until I got the latest update which is free for most of us who have MG4s.

Don’t buy a second hand one that has ever had even a minor collision. There are nightmare stories trying to fix them without a warranty. I’m not blaming the Chinese because value for money with the tech on MGs is frankly not comparable, but it seems the actual manuals are a Chinese whisper!

No you are not. Mine is the same.

Love LKA, always will, even if it can glitch occasionally on a D road, I’m the driver and don’t give the car permission to attempt, “driverless’. But when we go driverless and I am old, blind and deaf, looking forward to that experience!

 

[Martinonline]

@tonybridge, the infotainment version (R number) does not have a direct correlation to the LKA software version. When I queried the LKA forcefulness at the car's first service the service manager said it should be better because the camera system has been updated. Note, it has not improved.

 

[Chris Dunn]

I have had my MG4 EV for approximately 4 weeks (2,000 miles and counting!) and my lane assist is most definitely trying to kill me!

Leaving it in emergency lane assist is asking for an accident, the car reacts so violently that you can quite easily end up in a different lane, or off the road entirely.

The lane keep assist is not much better, the sensitivity of the movement the car makes is not as violent, but it has been known to start to wander into a different lane.

In my meagre opinion MG need to recall and programme (or send an update) to tone down the sharpness of the emergency lane assist!!

Agree. But I wonder is something else is also involved. My wife can drive safely around the narrow and winding country lanes without setting off the 'assist' EXCEPT if cars are coming in the opposite direction and particularly if they have headlights on. I wonder if 'lane assist' is more appropriately 'oncoming vehicle assist'? Still a pain whatever the stimulus. Some reports it's severity is toned down in the 5K service - ours is due in a few hundred miles, so watch this space! How do you find out what Systems Level you have on the car?

 

[siteguru]

Maybe she drives slower than you, so LKA isn't coming on so often? (It activates at 37.5 mph .. 60 kph, and deactivates at 34.5 mph .. 55 kph).

 

[tonybridge]

@tonybridge, the infotainment version (R number) does not have a direct correlation to the LKA software version. When I queried the LKA forcefulness at the car's first service the service manager said it should be better because the camera system has been updated. Note, it has not improved.

Yes, of course you're right!

 

[smartn]

Whats frustrating is that we are still having these conversations almost two years in......

 

[crowe99]

Is there a latest version of software / firmware that I can double check on my EV4 and how do I check please? My wife mentioned that it randomly tried to guide her out of the lane with no other cars present and it scared her so I need to check it out. No problems for me so far.

 

[siteguru]

We can't (easily) see firmware versions for the various computer systems in the car; we can only see the Infotainment version - and that isn't related to LKA.

 

[Ian Key]

This was posted on the MG4 fans and owners Facebook group yesterday.

 

[Martinonline]

Interesting semantics. Why is a software subsystem that does not work properly not the same as a mechanical device that does not work properly and thus would be considered a 'manufacturing defect'?

Will the upgrade be part of a mandatory service campaign to be installed at a service interval?

 

[NLMGSAN]

Interesting semantics. Why is a software subsystem that does not work properly not the same as a mechanical device that does not work properly and thus would be considered a 'manufacturing defect'?

Will the upgrade be part of a mandatory service campaign to be installed at a service interval?

Clearly it is not. So you have to complain first.

 

[crl84]

Interesting semantics. Why is a software subsystem that does not work properly not the same as a mechanical device that does not work properly and thus would be considered a 'manufacturing defect'?

Will the upgrade be part of a mandatory service campaign to be installed at a service interval?

Because "work properly" is subjective, and as far as MG are concerned, it does work properly.
This update will "enhance" it, whatever that means.
No system like this will be 100%, so this might just be an incremental improvement.

Maybe the line recognition will be improved, or maybe the force that the steering wheel pulls will be reduced. Or maybe the enforcement of what the system considers road markings will be even more aggressive after the update.

I've driven a few cars with LKA-esque systems, and all of them miss roadmarkings, so either none "work properly" or by manufacturer's opinions they "work properly" but not 100% of the time as that's basically impossible.

 

[NLMGSAN]

Because "work properly" is subjective, and as far as MG are concerned, it does work properly.
This update will "enhance" it, whatever that means.
No system like this will be 100%, so this might just be an incremental improvement.

Maybe the line recognition will be improved, or maybe the force that the steering wheel pulls will be reduced. Or maybe the enforcement of what the system considers road markings will be even more aggressive after the update.

I've driven a few cars with LKA-esque systems, and all of them miss roadmarkings, so either none "work properly" or by manufacturer's opinions they "work properly" but not 100% of the time as that's basically impossible.

All manufacturers have listed a number of conditions that may reduce the quality of these systems. And most of them provide advice to disable it in very specific circumstances. So there is plenty of room for improvement from their side without the need for a recall.
In all others situations, these systems are expected to work as they are supposed to do (NCAP 'tested' them). And according to the manufacturers they actualkt do work despite all individual complaints. A single car with some flawed responses from the lane assist system does not have to mean this system is flawed in all cars (' incidental issues'). So there are no flaws as long as we do not come up with hard evidence that they are in fact flawed on a larger scale. We need N=100, not N=1.

 

[Eber]

Whats frustrating is that we are still having these conversations almost two years in......

Indeed. After I had the LKA update done (in early 2023!), it was fine. Really fine. Whereas it was utter cr*p before.

I can't understand why not all cars are delivered with this update.

 

[Lillemy]

I got mine updated november 23, Night and day difference on LKA behaviour.

Still not perfect, but I very rarely have to turn it off.