Emergency Brake Assist.

[iamAlegend]

Why can't I turn it off?

I'm 'out for a drive' merrily along my way, start to brake for a corner and get WAY more brakes than I wanted, now i'm going too slow for the corner.
The worst part of it, as you're hanging out of your seatbelt, theres no modulation on the EBA, you have to come completely off the brakes and start again!!
It's just dangerous, what if someone is following you and BAM, your EBA kicks in coming up to a roundabout. If you go 'too quickly' from the throttle to the brake pedal the brakes seem to panic and immediately assume everyone is going to die.

Anyone else despise EBA?

[iamAlegend]

I drive a Mondeo mk3

It could be user error, i'm used to driving an old astra without any electronic aids, however i'm pretty sure i'm not being excessively harsh on the brakes.

[iamAlegend]

It seems a few people have been caught out by it even in a better developed car than mine!

It's not happening all the time, but more often that i'd like. Most of the time i'll be braking smoothly and progressively, but for instance if you come off the throttle very quickly and quickly move the brake pedal to the bite point, the EBA takes over, so now at the bite point is a solid vibrating pedal. (1bhp 1.8l with barely any engine braking so this doesn't cause many balance issues)

Is there maybe a fuse I could take out? After 30,000 miles in the car this year, I've yet to see the benefit, only the hinderance :P

[iamAlegend]

R_U_LOCAL said:

In simple terms, this is the problem.
Studies have shown that the majority of drivers do not press the brakes hard enough in an emergency.
So it's not a fault with the system, or an over sensitive system - it's a fault with how the controls are being used. The cause of the fault will likely be one of two things:
1. You're a bit "stompy" on the pedals.
2. You're left-foot braking.
Have a read of my post on braking - particularly the section on three-phase braking here:

Braking Bad

Maybe I am being a little too quick on the pedals, it's very alarming at how the system works though. I assume that because my previous car had very unresponsive controls, I developed a ham footed usage of the brake pedal :P

My worries lay with the prospect of me being 'too quick' to the brakes on a motorway resulting in the car shedding 20mph before i let go of the pedal!

I need to practice.....

Ford decided not to allow left foot braking in the Mondeo, it lets you for a few seconds, then ratchets the predal back up.

[iamAlegend]

mr_fibuli said:

I had the same problem with a Mk3 Mondeo (ST220) - if I suddenly decided that I needed to brake gently, and moved my foot too quickly onto the brake, then it would take it upon itself to do an emergency stop. Never had it happen in other cars with EBA since.

Aha! Just noticed your post, this means i'm not crazy!

[iamAlegend]

It sure stops the car pretty damn quick, but no quicker than you can do yourself with a bit of practice!

[iamAlegend]

coppice said:

Mr2Mike said:

coppice said:

Really- how many people, be honest, find heavy braking satisfying or remotely interesting?

What an odd question, no one has suggested that this was the case?

You might as well ask "How many people find rapidly moving the indicator stalk satisfying or interesting?"

The words- 'with a bit of practice' triggered the comment. Like most people , on the road i doubt if I have emergency braked more than a handful of times in about 700k of driving . So 'practice' suggested doing it for fun .

The bit of practice was meant to suggest that not many people find it interesting and so wouldn't practice doing it. Therefore not being very good at stopping a car quickly. Surely its all about having that 'muscle memory' or whatever they call it, so you automatically apply a LOT of force when the emergency arrives.

I'm not frequently on the limit of my brakes, my brakes just think I am. Although I'd love to have the chance to try and outbrake Plato at some point in my life :P