Golf R - automatic post collision braking system

[TNJ]

I have had my Golf R for about three weeks now and am thoroughly enjoying it.

However, I have had a couple of nasty moments with what VW call their "automatic post collision braking system" or "adaptive cruise control" - or what I would rename the automatic cause a collision system. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar incident.

The first time was driving along a residential road at 30mph in busy traffic - a plastic bag blew across the road and must have touched the front of the car. The car obviously thought this was a "collision" and slammed the brakes on!! The car behind nearly went straight into the back of me.

This has happened twice more and feels like an accident waiting to happen.

The blurb from VW says that the system is designed to slow the car to 6mph automatically in the event of a collision or in anticipation of a collision. Sounds ok in theory but the car doesn't seem able to determine what is actually a collision - are the sensors just very sensitive in mine or is this a common occurrence?

I would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this or if it is something that can be adjusted (ie turned off!).

Edited by TNJ on Monday 25th August 14:04

[TNJ]

I have done a bit more trawling on Google and it looks like it is the Adaptive Cruise Control that is the problem - I think it can be disabled but I need to understand what other implications this has - ie does it switch off any other safety systems.

Looks like it is a case of the technology sounding good in theory but causing more dangerous problems in practice. It also seems that this system is standard on the R, GTI and GTD so likely to affect a large number of cars.

I wonder if this will cause more accidents than it prevents....

[TNJ]

andrewparker said:

I've had a few incidents where the emergency braking has kicking in for a split second when there was no apparent danger of any collision. It's nothing to do with the ACC, it's the CEB system that uses the same radar as the adaptive cruise control. It's also only functional at speeds under 18mph.

I very much doubt there is a way of disabling it, and if there is I'd be worried about the implications to your insurance.

Interesting - this definitely occurred at 30mph, not less. I was on a road I know well and where there are fairly regular police radar traps so I check my speed very carefully there. The brakes just slammed on, only for a couple of seconds, but enough for me to feel lucky that I wasn't being tailgated.

My wife said it has happened to her as well - not sure what speed she was travelling.

I take your point about insurance - if I intentionally switch off a "safety" feature and then hit someone, maybe the insurance company would pick that up. Not sure if it would be a problem - is it any different to in my RS Clio Where I can press the button for Sport mode or Race mode which disables the traction control, either partly or fully - since I am given the option to do this by the manufacturer, I would have thought it difficult for an insurance company to argue that I am not permitted to put the car in whatever settings I choose.