Technical news is useful, but unfortunately not foolproof. This is also the case here. Modern cars, due to an error, can initiate emergency braking despite the absence of any danger.
Tesla faces the lawsuit and Honda is being watched by regulators, Automotive News Europe reports. All because of the so-called phantom braking. It is about malfunction of active safety systems (ADAS). They work by constantly monitoring the vehicle’s surroundings and road situation to react in front of the driver, if necessary, and prevent travelers from being involved in an accident. The problem, however, is that the system sometimes doesn’t work properly.
According to “Automotive News Europe”, there have been a number of cases where the sensors misinterpret the situation and initiate emergency braking or the release procedure when no danger occurs. Such phantom braking can affect many makes and models of cars. So far reported 354 complaints for two Tesla cars – Model 3 I Model Y from 2021 to 2022. The American Vehicle Safety Agency NHTSA is investigating Honda’s phantom braking. The institute received 270 of these complaints.
The scenario is usually the same. Despite the absence of any obstacle or danger from the cars in front, the safety systems begin to brake. Not only is this unpleasant and irritating, it can also be dangerous. A collision could occur if the driver in the rear does not react quickly enough.
The phantom braking problem can affect many car makes and models. According to “Automotive News Europe”, American NHTSA has already been informed of such reactions of the safety systems in Tesla and Honda cars, Mercedes E-Class, Volvo S60 or the Nissan Rogue.
According to the experts phantom braking can be particularly problematic in Europewhere there are large differences in the road infrastructure of individual countries. The way to reduce the annoyance of this effect is to increase the number of ADAS sensors. If cameras are used in addition to radar and lidar, and all data provided by these components is analyzed by an efficient on-board computer with advanced software, the likelihood of system errors and phantom braking will occur.
