Ford Ranger, Everest lane-keep assist update imminent to reduce ‘hands-off’ warning sensitivity: Exclusive

Ford Australia will soon issue an update to reduce the sensitivity of the ‘hands-off’ warning in some Ranger and Everest models following customer feedback.

EXCLUSIVE

The sensitivity of the hands-off detection of the steering wheel of the newest Ford Ranger and Ford Everest will be reduced following customer feedback, Drive can reveal.

Ford Australia has confirmed a software update will become available from mid-September for Model Year 2024.5 Ranger and Everest models, after customers raised concerns to Drive the system warned them too frequently in some driving situations.

“The calibration of the ‘hands-off’ warning for the Lane Centering and Lane Keeping Systems was updated for the MY24.5 Ranger and Everest,” said a Ford Australia spokesperson.

“This [current] calibration requires a greater amount of torque to be applied to the wheel for the driver’s hands to be detected compared to the version of the software which was launched in 2022. The amount of time the system takes to alert the driver remains unchanged.”

Ford Australia says it started working on a software update after it received customer feedback about the hands-off warning for the lane-support systems in the Ranger and Everest.

“Ford Australia has received feedback from customers regarding the hands-off warning of the Lane Centering and Lane Keeping Systems and has been actively working on a software update, which we expect will be available to roll out from mid-September,” added the spokesperson.

“To get the updated software, customers will need to schedule a free-of-charge service appointment with their nearest Ford Dealer.”

It is possible to deactivate the lane-support systems in the Ranger and Everest by double-pressing the lane assist button on the steering wheel, which will prevent the ‘keep hands on steering wheel’ message from appearing in the instrument cluster.

However, the Ford Australia spokesperson warned “this will also prevent these systems from providing driver assistance” and “disabling the Lane Keeping System is not recommended”. It will default to ‘on’ with each start-up.

Drive understands Ford Australia is also investigating customer concerns the driver attention alert system in the Ranger and Everest – which uses the same windscreen sensors as its lane-keep assist system to monitor driver movements – is too sensitive.

Speaking with Drive, a Model Year 2024.5 Ford Ranger Platinum customer – who asked to remain anonymous – said their vehicle began issuing ‘driver fatigue’ alerts in the instrument cluster multiple times on rural roads at speeds over 60 kilometres per hour immediately after they took delivery.

According to the owner’s manual, the driver alert system in the Ranger and Everest is activated at speeds above 64km/h.

The driver alert system in the Ford Ranger and Everest is different to driver-facing camera-based monitoring systems in vehicles such as the Mitsubishi Triton and Hyundai Santa Fe, which use an infrared camera ahead of the driver to monitor their eye movements.

Drive is seeking further clarification from Ford Australia on whether the software update announced for the hands-off function will also introduce any changes to the operation of the driver alert system in the Model Year 2024.5 Ranger and Everest.

The ‘hands-off steering wheel’ concern is the latest active safety feature to be called back for a software fix after Mitsubishi Australia admitted the Triton’s driver monitoring camera was ‘too sensitive’ in some situations – while Hyundai, Kia and Genesis have released a mute-button fix for its overspeed warning in certain vehicles.

The post Ford Ranger, Everest lane-keep assist update imminent to reduce ‘hands-off’ warning sensitivity: Exclusive appeared first on Drive.

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Teacher accused of using rented Toyota Supra for land-speed record attempt

Gambar
A high-school teacher in the US could be more than $6000 out of pocket if he is found to have violated the terms of use of a rented Toyota Supra driven to a top speed record. A US high school teacher is facing legal action – and $US4000 ($AU6000) in costs – after being accused of renting a turbocharged Toyota Supra performance coupe from a car-sharing service and used the vehicle in a racing competition without the owner’s knowledge. The high-school teacher from Indiana – and his team of female mechanic students – were on their way to compete in the 2023 U.S. Mile land-speed trials in Texas last month. The girls and their teacher had built a high-performance Chevrolet S10 pick-up for the ‘Texas Mile’ – a competition which sees vehicles try to achieve the highest possible speed from a standing start within one-mile (1.6km) on a runway. However, the 1997 Chevrolet S-10 ute suffered a mechanical failure on the way to the event. Due to the hard work put in to make the 1800km j
Baca selengkapnya

‘Smells Like WD-40’ – lubricant spray now a fragrance

Gambar
The smell of WD-40 – the multi-purpose lubricant spray used by mechanics and home handymen – is now available as a fragrance. Those who like to tinker with older cars will no doubt be familiar with the lubricating spray WD-40 – the penetrating oil that helps helps loosen, degrease, and protect nuts and bolts. The product is so versatile it’s become the stuff of legend, but it’s the smell of WD-40 that is arguably its most memorable feature – so much so, people on the internet have pretended to turn it into a perfume for years. Now, a very real cologne has been launched, called Smells Like WD-40. The Eau De Parfum is made by New York art collective MSCHF, who are known for creating spoof products designed to point out the absurdity of a particularly industry – in this case, the multi-billion-dollar world of luxury fragrances. According to Business Insider, MSCHF used to run non-traditional advertising campaigns for brands, but stopped in late 2019 to focus on its own projec
Baca selengkapnya

2023 LDV T60 Max price and specs: Prices up by more than $4000

Gambar
The LDV T60 has been hit with its second major price rise in 12 months to account for new equipment – but the ute still lacks key advanced safety tech. 2023 LDV T60 Max pricing and specifications New equipment for Pro and Luxe grades Only top 10 dual-cab ute without auto emergency braking Priced from $38,990 drive-away for ABN holders 2023 LDV T60 Max Luxe The updated 2023 LDV T60 Max has arrived in Australia with a $4000 price rise and some equipment upgrades – but it still lacks advanced safety technology which is standard in its rivals. LDV Australia has announced the T60 Max 4×4 ute has undergone a handful of tweaks for 2023 after its major facelift (and $5000 price hike) last year – resulting in a price increase of $4000 across the range for buyers with an ABN. But Australia’s ninth best-selling ute continues to forgo advanced safety tech such as forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking – making the T60 the the only du
Baca selengkapnya