Adaptive Cruise Control not working in cold weather

[Rurali3]

Hi

I do a long UK motorway commute (80+ miles each way) a few times a week and use the adaptive cruise control quite a lot. I also use the preconditioning / departure time function so the car is warm when I leave, but find that regardless on cold mornings (-6C up to around 3C) the cruise control comes up with an error - basically saying clean the sensor. However, give it another 30 mins into the journey and the error clears and it works ok without any intervention at all. Only generally seems to be an issue on cold mornings, and being the UK that is cold weather combined with relatively high humidity.

Have had the BMW garage look at it twice now and they have not been able to find a problem. I personally suspect condensation is forming while preconditioning from cold, but that is being met with some scepticism by the garage.

BTW - this is not the same situation as the cruise control switching off due to spray, fog and other stuff it cannot deal with. In this scenario it will not turn on in the first place and displays a dashboard error.

Anyway, anybody else encounter anything similar and if so was there a (sensible) solution?

Ta

 

[bwilson4web]

You're not crazy. I see the same pattern. Humid mornings are worse.

Bob Wilson

 

[jadnashuanh]

I'd take a close look at the camera lens in the morning. It should be fairly easy to verify if there's condensation there...a picture would help build your case to the dealer that it has a seal problem.

 

[brorob]

I've had the same error on multiple occasions in various conditions. Sometimes it will work again after driving for a while, sometimes not. Would be nice if there was an "old fashioned" cruise setting in situations like this, but I can understand them not wanting this since some drivers would expect the car to brake or slow down when it wouldn't. Pretty annoying when you can't use something as basic as cruise control though.

Technology is great, when it works.

 

[alohart]

Would be nice if there was an "old fashioned" cruise setting in situations like this, but I can understand them not wanting this since some drivers would expect the car to brake or slow down when it wouldn't.

But there is! Just hold down one of the buttons that increases or decreases the distance to the car head to turn on standard cruise control.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Classic symptom of not reading the owner's manual! The car is controlled by numerous computers and the software was written to accommodate many things most people don't think of, but might want in certain circumstances. It's a good idea to skim through the manual every 6-months or so to remind yourself of what's there to get the best advantage from the features...it's usually a bit much to take it all in on the first go around.

 

[brorob]

Thanks Art! I have gone through the manual a few times since driving the car but don't remember seeing anything about this or must have just missed it. I'll this next time I see the message about a dirty sensor.

 

[Xipper]

Classic symptom of not reading the owner's manual! The car is controlled by numerous computers and the software was written to accommodate many things most people don't think of, but might want in certain circumstances. It's a good idea to skim through the manual every 6-months or so to remind yourself of what's there to get the best advantage from the features...it's usually a bit much to take it all in on the first go around.

I'd argue that this is actually a symptom of a car that implements half-assed technology that fails to account for actual real world use case and operating conditions. The entire "adaptive cruise" on the i3 and its many defects should make us all wonder if the "safety" features that rely on the same technology will even work when we expect it to. The adaptive cruise uses the same camera (only!) system that the collision avoidance also uses...so if adaptive cruise can't operate in rain, fog, sun...do you really trust the safety features to? It really seems there are more conditions that the Adaptive Cruise won't work than when it will.

 

[czarmar]

There’s a myriad of conditions that all current ADAS systems, camera and/or radar, cannot handle. I do believe that the BMW i3 ACC would be better with radar - my wife’s MDX locks onto cars 200 meters out, but i3 only recognizes cars 100 meters ahead.

Nothing is perfect, and the closest we’ve got so far in the real world is Tesla/Mobileye AP1.

 

[jadnashuanh]

For a city car...high speed motorways seem sort of an anachronism. A radar would draw lots more power than a camera. Would it be more capable, yes. Is it needed for the design goal of the car, BMW seems to think it wasn't. Running around town, the speeds are lower, and a camera works the majority of the time quite well.

 

[Boxbrownie]

In cold conditions try turning on the REAR window demister/heater as there is also a heated element around the forward facing camera which is activated with the rear demister, don't ask why BMW decided on this odd configuration but they did. Then again the ACC implementation on the i3 is very basic is prone to many "condition failures".

 

[Xipper]

In cold conditions try turning on the REAR window demister/heater as there is also a heated element around the forward facing camera which is activated with the rear demister, don't ask why BMW decided on this odd configuration but they did. Then again the ACC implementation on the i3 is very basic is prone to few "successful operating conditions".

I edited this to be more accurate for such a fundamental feature of the car. I would say that I have at least a 30% failure rate, between the sun being "too hot" and the camera overheating after being parked (I live in Portland, we aren't known for sunshine)...to inexplicable failure to operate anytime it is "cool", to failing anytime it is raining, or the sun isn't high enough in the sky or the random deactivations due to shadows of clouds, trees, and overpasses. It really makes me feel that there is at least a 30% chance the safety features won't work either, so glad I paid so much extra for gadgetry that doesn't work...

 

[Boxbrownie]

In cold conditions try turning on the REAR window demister/heater as there is also a heated element around the forward facing camera which is activated with the rear demister, don't ask why BMW decided on this odd configuration but they did. Then again the ACC implementation on the i3 is very basic is prone to few "successful operating conditions".

I edited this to be more accurate for such a fundamental feature of the car. I would say that I have at least a 30% failure rate, between the sun being "too hot" and the camera overheating after being parked (I live in Portland, we aren't known for sunshine)...to inexplicable failure to operate anytime it is "cool", to failing anytime it is raining, or the sun isn't high enough in the sky or the random deactivations due to shadows of clouds, trees, and overpasses. It really makes me feel that there is at least a 30% chance the safety features won't work either, so glad I paid so much extra for gadgetry that doesn't work...

Potato Potarto, Tomato Tomarto :lol:

It is an issue that should never have made it through development.

 

[ronbot]

Lidar sensors are not expensive, it's always baffled me why they are missing. Garmin sells them on their website for $130, so OEM cost would be about 30% of that... or less.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/557294

 

[vreihen]

Lidar sensors are not expensive, it's always baffled me why they are missing. Garmin sells them on their website for $130, so OEM cost would be about 30% of that... or less.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/557294

Only 40 meter (131 feet) maximum range. The ACC would be tailgating at 50 MPH using the two-second rule for following distances, and well beyond the panic stopping distance at higher speeds.....

 

[eNate]

Lidar sensors are not expensive, it's always baffled me why they are missing. Garmin sells them on their website for $130, so OEM cost would be about 30% of that... or less.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/557294

Did you read the manual for that sensor? It's not real LIDAR in the common applicaton. It's more like the laser distance measuring devices you might us instead of a tape measure.

Real LIDAR is so expensive because it requires a powerful laser, a means to disperse the laser over an area (normally rotating mirrors, but solid state solutions are emerging), and then advanced signal processing to take in all the point data and convert it into a meaningful 3D picture.

For simple distance following, I suppose there could be something in the middle. But the radar-based systems all the other cars use seems reliable enough.