Car slows, car symbol on dash

[rjenks78]

In my new A200 as I drove over a hill the car seemed to slow and there was a grinding noise. It's happened a few more times, not on hills, once when I drove through a puddle, and I've realised that when it happens a car symbol appears on the screen with red hatching on one side and blue on the other.
Does anyone know what's going on here?!

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

Sounds like the radar safety has detected an obstruction and is applying the brakes. Have you looked at the symbol in your manual?

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Well its the first thing to do ..look in the manual that came with your new car..

 

[dry run]

Welcome

 

[daveenty]

If you have Active Lane Keeping Assist then try turning it off. It does exhibit the behaviour you are noticing and can be over sensitive.

 

[Botus]

Can I ask your age, driving history, what engine, what amount of throttle application, and what style of driving you were using?

I suspect it was a safety system noticing the available grip was low and helping you from having a crash. That may have been due to an enthusiastic driving style or just a particular situation where the car over reacts to a situation that might happen (they are always set to be cautious).

When car's were much lighter and far more fragile, if a car ends up with less grip available than needed (bad surfaces, lots of standing water, to fast etc.) it was very easy to feel, and if you kept going, it would move about, often in such a lively manner unless alert (and skilled) you'd crash. Often with a very big mess and often injury or worse. As this was "normal" your dad would have told you this, your driving instructor would have made it clear and you'd notice the day after your driving test, and over the next 20 years as your really learnt to drive or just died.

But the world today is very different - todays cars are very much desensitised, easy to drive, stereos or phone booths. And can be quite out of control before some realise. And being heavier once its really wrong, it can be too late, but the airbags help. Then as life got complicated and computers became affordable, its helped in some ways, and hindered in a lot of others.

For a start few people discuss aquaplaning and thus forget to hand on info about this exceptionally dangerous occurrence. Its where a vehicle unexpectedly becomes a boat and you mostly crash. Many parents handed responsibility to drive to an expert, who only trains to pass a test and you never learn to drive. The roads are so busy and so full of cameras you never really go above 25mph anymore, so never actually learn to drive. Motorsport is not on TV much and is so safe many don't understand the consequences like we used to. Schools forget to teach the laws of physics nor give practical examples. And Computer games have taught us that 200mph round hairpins is easily doable save for the odd scrape of an alloy that fortunately looks good as new after pressing the reset button.

So car manufactures added lots of computers and gadgets in to cars to help them stay on the road. And in recent years these have become much, much, more sophisticated as super computer processing can be bought for £15 quid a pop, and with software engineers and math boffins having got Lewis to the front of the grid, have now started selling the tech to car manufacturers. Done well they can be almost unobtrusive. TC traction control on my S500 is a good example it manages so well you don't really know its done anything. Even under silly abuse, sometimes its only when a quiet patch comes on the radio or you have a window open, do can you notice the stuttering engine reining back the power to keep it shipshape. And that's nothing compared to the one trying to stop the car flying off on corners. ESP has been about for 20 years, and it basically means a computer gets you round the corner even after you actually told the car to drive through the house at the side of the road.

And now as Blobcat mentions, radar and cameras, are better able to "see" stuff and help with even more support.... but they can be even more "helpful" sometimes when you don't want it.

 

[Ron240]

Definitely sounds like lane keeping assist which can be very intrusive on the new A/CLA cars, and is always on by default.
If the car thinks you are straying off the road to the left or the right (not simply changing lanes) it will brake one side of the car only and a large warning will come up on the dash. The whole experience can be quite violent and really gives you a fright!
It will not activate if you have indicated...but I have never felt the need to indicate to drive onto a central reservation of a dual carriageway.
The system means well but it is flawed.
I routinely turn it off every time I start the engine along with the start/stop.

 

[Botus]

Definitely sounds like lane keeping assist ...
I routinely turn it off every time I start the engine along with the start/stop.

this system is the one most deactivated by drivers according to Euro NCAP

most car mag reviews all chip in with similar frustration... which its always on by default, but usually three levels of irritation can be changed to a user preference and this is normally remembered for the next drive

I forget whom, but might have been whatcar alongside EuroNCAP, they did a group test and on some cars - they found the force required to move off its chosen path can be very high - with the comment a few brands fight so hard to help, many female drive don't believe they are strong enough to over come the help even when required. Like driving round a massive pothole - or taking the right path when the road markings are muddled for roadworks or from worn paint.

The next issue on some, once you made this level of intervention it can switch out, without clearly informing the user the assistance has now gone AWOL!

Mate has it on his new S60 vovlo and doesn't like it - I suggested he wind it back to min help - but he hasn't the excitement to find where they hid it in the convoluted menu system. He's also got active cruise for the first time, and reports that gets muddled coming of the M40 going anti clock on to the M25 then M4 every morning. It slows for the high speed corners (with steering lock) and then as the lanes open up it stands on it once a car in front dives for the outside lane, only to find another nut job coming from the other side wanders in to you path and it has to stand on it. Bit surprised it doesn't manage that better... Apparently he cancel the cruise at pretty much the same point to avoid the madness each day.

 

[Kitch1st]

Definitely sounds like lane keeping assist which can be very intrusive on the new A/CLA cars, and is always on by default.
If the car thinks you are straying off the road to the left or the right (not simply changing lanes) it will brake one side of the car only and a large warning will come up on the dash. The whole experience can be quite violent and really gives you a fright!
It will not activate if you have indicated...but I have never felt the need to indicate to drive onto a central reservation of a dual carriageway.
The system means well but it is flawed.
I routinely turn it off every time I start the engine along with the start/stop.

I have found this system to be actively dangerous at times and wish I could permanently turn it off.

 

[Rory]

this system is the one most deactivated by drivers according to Euro NCAP

Was quite surprised to see a comment from SEAT UK on their Twitter page repeating the advice in the manual saying only use it on main roads:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1460220589176766471

No idea if that's normal - none of our cars have it. I did drive a courtesy VW Polo with it and it was fairly alarming the first time it intervened.

 

[mioba]

Was quite surprised to see a comment from SEAT UK on their Twitter page repeating the advice in the manual saying only use it on main roads:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1460220589176766471

No idea if that's normal - none of our cars have it. I did drive a courtesy VW Polo with it and it was fairly alarming the first time it intervened.

Makes sense to be honest on things like motorways driver may fall asleep/get tired or drift and the system gives him a jolt.

On smaller roads with lots of steering it will be a PITA constantly fighting the steering wheel to get on track.

 

[Rory]

Makes sense to be honest on things like motorways driver may fall asleep/get tired or drift and the system gives him a jolt.

On smaller roads with lots of steering it will be a PITA constantly fighting the steering wheel to get on track.

It just seems odd for a manufacturer to recommend turning off a safety feature. Having turned it off, very few drivers will remember / bother to turn it on when they get to the motorway.

 

[Ron240]

It just seems odd for a manufacturer to recommend turning off a safety feature. Having turned it off, very few drivers will remember / bother to turn it on when they get to the motorway.

Only during the current ignition cycle because the system is always on by default.

 

[Rory]

Only during the current ignition cycle because the system is always on by default.

Sure - but SEAT, so I guess all VW group cars - tell you in the manual to only use the system on major roads. And it's not like there's a simple on/off button - they apparently expect people to navigate through the system menus, find it and turn it off.

And back on when you hit a main road, and are presumably driving - a complete nonsense.

 

[Botus]

It just seems odd for a manufacturer to recommend turning off a safety feature. Having turned it off, very few drivers will remember / bother to turn it on when they get to the motorway.

I would suggest this also relates to the manu's perspective and the potential buyers - my 1986 5 series user manual said you should often check / try to get it to drift and skid, so you're on top of the prevailing road conditions

as far as I know (whilst these days they have to pretend with all the dangerous safety BS) - BM were first to fit adult mode - a "make it drive like a grown up" button on the steering wheel

 

[Botus]

This is the right location for a bit about ESP behavior on the S class...

the other day feeling good about life, (as I'd just got self dimming on the other side to work..), I came up to a big damp soggy slippery roundabout (that in the good old days - see car above, or my first omeba) I would enjoy drifting round and keep driving skills topped up...

but this tank doesn't do that - but as no one about I thought I'd see how ESP would cope trying to keep it on the road - chugging round 15mph off the pace, I got to max corner load and just stood on the throttle to see how it would react... it kept it safe and just went round the corner - farting and snatching at various wheels - a little scruffy but there was no grip. If you did that without ESP you'd probably do a wheel against a kerb and certainly be facing the wrong way (exactly as a mate did in the dry in his v12, 7 series many years back)