FCW Caused Accident! - Forward Collision Warning Malfunction?

[duke2001]

Decided to deactivate FCW +braking today. Doing 60 on I69 through Houston, out of the blue hard brake down to about 30. No cars on either side and none merging on the right. Best I can figure is the sensors picked up a large white bag of probably trash on the shoulder next to a wall. I was in the far right lane. The sensor must have mistaken the bag as an obstruction. Lucky for me the car behind me was far enough back to also brake. I still like the idea of FCW + braking, but have to reconsider when to use it. I think had I not been following this thread I would have not reacted as calmly as I did. Hats off to the Forum and to those commenting on this thread.

 

[Maconi]

Disabling it is one way. Or leaving more reaction space is another.

Not directed at you but, the common thread seems to be people following closer than the system will allow. My very uneducated guess is that the system uses an algorithm based on speed, distance, weight, etc, as to when to activate. And let's be honest, who actually uses the "2 second rule" when driving? Here in CA, you leave 6 car lengths in front of you there will be 5 cars that dive in. Literally nobody leaves that much room. Surely the system is built to provide something similar, not what most drivers actually do.

As far as the OP's quick exit, it happens when someone comes looking for validation but does not get it.

They do (use an algorithm). It tries to estimate how much stopping distance is needed if the car in front of you suddenly slammed on their brakes based on your current speed.

The problem is, as you say, traffic. People will cut you off if you drive at a safe distance. It comes down to how many times you can be cut off before you hit your road rage limit lol.

I have to set my adaptive cruise control distance to "far" (leaving the most distance possible between me and the person in front of me) and the collision warning to "near" (meaning I have to be almost on their bumper to get a warning). Otherwise even the cruise control will trigger the collision warning (you would think the two systems would work together better than that).

 

[jokal]

Mine does the same thing, almost got rear ended in a parking garage with nothing and no one at all in front of me. Goes off when it sees shadows on the freeway from overpasses as well as speed bumps. It's a dangerous POS. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow after waiting for a few weeks for an appointment to see what they can do about it.

 

[duke2001]

Mine does the same thing, almost got rear ended in a parking garage with nothing and no one at all in front of me. Goes off when it sees shadows on the freeway from overpasses as well as speed bumps. It's a dangerous POS. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow after waiting for a few weeks for an appointment to see what they can do about it.

Just turn off the braking feature and keep the warning part. You wasting your time if you make a trip to the dealership for just this. Besides, unless FCA comes up with a software change there is nothing the dealership can do for you.

 

[ldoh]

They do (use an algorithm). It tries to estimate how much stopping distance is needed if the car in front of you suddenly slammed on their brakes based on your current speed.

The problem is, as you say, traffic. People will cut you off if you drive at a safe distance. It comes down to how many times you can be cut off before you hit your road rage limit lol.

I have to set my adaptive cruise control distance to "far" (leaving the most distance possible between me and the person in front of me) and the collision warning to "near" (meaning I have to be almost on their bumper to get a warning). Otherwise even the cruise control will trigger the collision warning (you would think the two systems would work together better than that).

Maybe FCA should add a warning to following vehicles: "Warning, this vehicle may brake hard for no apparent reason. Follow with caution."

 

[Edwards]

Maybe FCA should add a warning to following vehicles: "Warning, this vehicle may brake hard for no apparent reason. Follow with caution."

No, you'e got to put your corporate marketing hat on:

Warning, this vehicle may brake hard!
(for no apparent reason)

 

[Edwards]

Great article about the widespread issues with FCW across many brands.

Faulty Automatic Braking Has Drivers Afraid Of Their Own Cars: Report

Advanced driver assistance systems, which include lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking, are designed to make cars and driving safer than ever. But sometimes, functions like automatic braking malfunction and have the opposite effect, wrecking a driver’s confidence in...

jalopnik.com

 

[jokal]

Just turn off the braking feature and keep the warning part. You wasting your time if you make a trip to the dealership for just this. Besides, unless FCA comes up with a software change there is nothing the dealership can do for you.

I went anyway since I had a lot of other TSB's addressed. And my dash was separating (which they still haven't figured out how to fix after weeks, supposedly the whole dash has to be replaced, not sure why this is my problem, and they still have not fixed at all.) But you are right, the auto braking is still unsafe and absolute crap. After the updates it still warns me and locks the brakes when nothing is there. I guess it's good we can turn this off, but WTF? Why should we have to? I am going to report to the NHTSA and I encourage others to do so as well so we can get this addressed. I'll post the process once I figure it out. This is completely unacceptable. My last vehicle had the same tech and it worked perfectly.

 

[DavidNJ]

I went anyway since I had a lot of other TSB's addressed. And my dash was separating (which they still haven't figured out how to fix after weeks, supposedly the whole dash has to be replaced, not sure why this is my problem, and they still have not fixed at all.) But you are right, the auto braking is still unsafe and absolute crap. After the updates it still warns me and locks the brakes when nothing is there. I guess it's good we can turn this off, but WTF? Why should we have to? I am going to report to the NHTSA and I encourage others to do so as well so we can get this addressed. I'll post the process once I figure it out. This is completely unacceptable. My last vehicle had the same tech and it worked perfectly.

Could it be a sensor problem?

 

[j517]

Maybe my power wagon tells me to wipe off sensor there is nothing on the sensor

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[Tred]

I have never had system act that with those circumstances but mines one day when I was coming home it was raining really hard and traffic was moving between 25 and 35 mph. I had some distance between me and and the vehicle in front of me and all of sudden my FCW starts going off then this freaking applied the breaks in the middle of the interstate and it wasn't just a one time thing it did it a few time I finally had to pull over and turn off cause I was afraid it was going to make me have an accident.

This very thing happened to me last Thursday on the I-10 frontage road during the heavy rain we were getting in Houston.
I was only going about 20 mph at the time, and I was about 40' behind the car in front of me, and all of a sudden the brakes lock up. The car in front hadn't braked or noticeably slowed down. Thankfully the vehicle behind me managed to avoid rear-ending me.
I had only taken delivery of the truck on Monday, and I hadn't had anything like that happen before. Needless to say, I have switched the FCW to "Warning Only".

 

[stevestrike]

This finally happened to me today. Driving northbound on the freeway, left lane and under an overpass. Truck beeps and braking suddenly--there were no cars in front of me for quite a ways and nothing around that I could tell that should have triggered this. Fortunately, as soon as I heard the beeps I instinctively stomped down on the gas (how's that for a safety feature?) so the slowdown was minimal and I didn't get rear-ended. This seems like a huge safety issue for FCA?

 

[RamCares]

This finally happened to me today. Driving northbound on the freeway, left lane and under an overpass. Truck beeps and braking suddenly--there were no cars in front of me for quite a ways and nothing around that I could tell that should have triggered this. Fortunately, as soon as I heard the beeps I instinctively stomped down on the gas (how's that for a safety feature?) so the slowdown was minimal and I didn't get rear-ended. This seems like a huge safety issue for FCA?

Hello stevestrike,
We are certainly sorry to hear about your recent concern. If you have not already done so, I recommend bringing this concern to the attention of your servicing dealer as they are in the best position to provide assistance. We’d be more than happy to help if you are in need of any assistance during that process.
Laura
RamCares

 

[1FastHemi]

I haven't received my Ordered Ram yet but it is coming with all these features on it.

I retired from driving an 18 wheeler about 4 years ago and my last truck was a Volvo VN780 with all the same type safety features on it. I hated it for the first few month until It saved me from a major accident in heavy fog. After that I drove with them all set to the further distances, Yes, I didn't get where I was going as soon but It helped me reach my 3 Million Mile Safety Award. What is a few minutes when it can save lives. Maybe we all should leave a few minutes sooner so we won't be in such a rush.

On the other hand, Yes it can give false warnings but I always kept my right foot near the accelerator to mash it to the floor to over-ride the breaking in case a false alarm happens. Does that accelerator trick work in the Ram Trucks? It is just a new learning process for all of us.

I am so glad no one got hurt.

 

[jokal]

I love 99% of my truck, but it's total BS that it the collision avoidance auto braking obviously doesn't work properly and the most common answer is to just turn it off b/c it's first gen technology. Even the dealer told me it gets "confused" sometimes. WTF...Please don't settle for that.

This false auto braking is dangerous and unacceptable. We paid extra for it, and it should work properly. I've had other vehicles with this tech that worked perfectly. I had the TSB flash completed on my RAM and it still does it. I turned it to warning only and have noticed that it triggers when I am going under something like an overpass, crosswalk roof, cross beam in a parking garage, freeway sign -- all things that happen every single day that could be extremely dangerous to lock the brakes because there is always someone right behind me. It only does it intermittently so the dealer wasnt able to replicate it.. The National Highway Transportation Safety Association says that most recalls are a result of vehicle owners reporting issues since they drive their vehicles most often.

If false forward or rear collision auto braking has EVER happened to you, PLEASE go to this site and file a complaint so maybe we can get it addressed:

Home | NHTSA

Get resources and info about staying safe on America’s roads. And, find out if there’s a recall on your car or how to report a vehicle safety problem.

www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov

It only takes about five minutes. You will need your VIN

 

[maddog49]

If you have 6 feet to the car in front of you your driving far to close in any situation. The system can only work if you follow reasonable and safe driving practices. 25mph and barely able to see the cars tires in front of you is way too close..... what do you expect the system to do? You've basically set yourself up for a collision.

Being a man made system I'm sure the system has failed before but many of the above examples sound like dangerous and aggressive driving.

 

[TreeGuy67]

My problem is that my front crash avoidance braking is not working, at all. The rear system works fine. I've had this truck, a 2020 1500 Diesel Laramie, for one week. Today, a car pulled in front of me, from a side street, missing my truck by a foot, or so. ZERO report and/or action from the system. It's turned on, and I've set the distance from far to near without any actions taken, whatsoever, when I come up on a barrier, be it a vehicle or wall. Tomorrow, I'll set up a paper barrier spanning my open entrance gate. The gf will record the tests. This is not rocket science, as I see it. The logic of the system is simple, I believe: With the braking features turned on, the warning system relays a message to the brakes, and they slow you down, or stop you, depending on how close you are to a given hazard, which, beforehand, is sensed to a greater extent by the sensors, the closer you get.

Just as someone else posted, somewhere in here: I took the truck to the dealer. It was hooked up by a tech who told me everything is AOK. NO, that's incorrect. Get it to work, even once, in conditions that mimic a low speed crash, and I'll trust the system. As it stands, I will be taking the truck back to the dealer for a module swap out, on Monday. If they can then show me it works, great. If not, I'm going to pursue what I need to either get another truck that works, or get my money back.