Hi all,

I recently purchased (yesterday) a new 2021 CX-5 Touring with the SV package. All in all I really like the vehicle, but I have a couple questions about the lane keeping and alert system.

I took the vehicle on an 8 hour trip today, and after 5 hours of trying to convince myself that the active lane keeping assistance was doing something, I turned it off. I discovered that not only had it not been helping me stay centered in the lane, it was actively making it harder to drive on the highway. As the owner of a 2020 KIA Telluride that has LKAS, which is absolutely amazing, this is a major letdown to say the least.

Is there a factory calibration of the radar and camera system that was maybe not done, or done improperly at the dealership?

second item is more of a comment than a question.....the lane departure warning is totally useless and too soft to feel. You have to be way over the lines to active it, complete junk. Really sad that Mazda failed so badly on these important features.

 

I know the departure warning strength can be adjusted in the settings and I think the sensitivity can be also. I'm not sure that its intent is to keep you in the lane, like making it safe to take your hands off the steering wheel. I think it is intended to warn you if you start to wander and point you in the right direction. I also expected a little more assertive correction, but since I don't really use it for anything other than a warning it has been OK so far.

 

Mazda has LANE DEPARTURE WARNING, not LANE KEEPING ASSIST. It gives the very slightest tug in the right direction, but that's all.

 

Well that's just not true.

https://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/...ve_safety/las/

My 21 CX-5 Sig will very gently steer me back a little. I wish it was a bit stronger, but a BMW I rented once was so strong I didn't like it, especially near semis in construction zones where lanes were quite small. So while I'd prefer it to be a bit stronger, I understand everyone has different levels of sensitivity.

 

I know what's written, but in practice, it's a bunch of baloney! Unless the 2021's are significantly different than my 2019GTR, the assist is almost nothing.

 

I think the Canadian spec cars only have a lane departure warning system LDWS, whereas the US spec cars have the lane keeping assist feature.
My Canadian car just vibrates the steering wheel when you venture over the lines on the road. The vibration has a low and high setting.

 

Mazda does have a Lane Trace feature which is more aggressive than LKS, but they don't offer it in the US for some reason (probably liability reasons, their user manual sure reads like a liability disclaimer book).

 

I think that's how it works in the US too. Just a gentle reminder that you are out of line. You also sometimes get a "lane light" on the dash. But it doesn't straighten it up for you. I also think it's sub-standard from what is out there now.

 

30 years ago, users manuals showed you how to adjust the valves. Today it's 400 pages in 10 languages telling you not to drink the battery acid.

 

Wait, I'm not supposed to drink the battery acid? I didn't see that in my manual. Probably in the small print if I looked hard enough.