Advanced Safety Group - does it really function well?

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Kukailimoku

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I'm about to order a 2020 Laramie.

Please share your experience with the Advanced Safety Group family of products.
Does it really work? (Does it work well?)
Does it give false alarms?
Does it "fight you" when you want to do something deliberately and safely but it thinks you're crashing and fight you for control?
Has trusting the technology lead you into fender benders or near catastrophe?
Is the tech robust enough to last many years (sensors, software, firmware) or did it krap out on you a year later or after the first bumpy trail?

Specifically:

The Lane Keeping Assist
The Adaptive Cruise Control w/ Stop/Go
The Parking Assist (both parallel and perpendicular)

I could take-it-or-leave-it on this package, but think it might be nice "insurance" for those times when my wife borrows my truck, or on long road trips maybe.

Your experiences, please.
Thanks
 

Timeless

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I'm about to order a 2020 Laramie.

Please share your experience with the Advanced Safety Group family of products.
Does it really work? (Does it work well?)
Does it give false alarms?
Does it "fight you" when you want to do something deliberately and safely but it thinks you're crashing and fight you for control?
Has trusting the technology lead you into fender benders or near catastrophe?
Is the tech robust enough to last many years (sensors, software, firmware) or did it krap out on you a year later or after the first bumpy trail?

Specifically:

The Lane Keeping Assist
The Adaptive Cruise Control w/ Stop/Go
The Parking Assist (both parallel and perpendicular)

I could take-it-or-leave-it on this package, but think it might be nice "insurance" for those times when my wife borrows my truck, or on long road trips maybe.

Your experiences, please.
Thanks

LKA - This is my first vehicle with it and I like it. I have it on the medium setting and it will gently correct the steering wheel for me. Some people with it on other vehicles complain it is not corrective enough.
ACC - Love it. Place it and place how far you want to be behind the next vehicle and you are set. This combined with the LKA means you will never hit either pedal until you turn it off. I personally get tired of it when people start cutting in front of you and the truck hits the brakes hard and this is unavoidable with the morons on the road sometimes. I also sometimes prefer to not use it as I prefer to coast to slow down versus the brakes as I wonder what the impact would be on brake pads and also fuel economy. However that being said it does the job well.
PA - Have not tried to parallel park yet so no info there.
360 Degree View - You did not mention this but I love this. Makes parking the truck so nice. Is unfortunate this gets removed with towing mirrors which is odd as it does not on the 3500 models from what I understand.
 
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Kukailimoku

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...this is unavoidable with the morons on the road sometimes...
360 Degree View - unfortunate this gets removed with towing mirrors which is odd as it does not on the 3500 models from what I understand.

Thanks for that great answer!
+1

"Morons" - hahahaha

Yeah, the combinations soemtimes are just ludicrous. Losing the 360 with trailering except on the 3500... More than one dealer told me I cannot get the power running boards (and something, I forgot) unless I take the hemi that has the ecoTorque battery kr@p...
Really?!
 

motorcop71

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I haven’t tried the parallel parking yet but I had to turn off the automatic emergency braking feature because it activated twice for no reason (once going forward at about 25 mph and once backing out of my driveway) and scared the hell out of me. I still get a random warning bell for it but no more unexpected panic stops. The dealer says I have to leave it with them for several days to diagnose the issue. I don’t have high hopes but we shall see.
 

rotts4u

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I love the safety package group and only considered trucks that had it. I drive a lot and the adaptive cruise is amazing on long drives. The land assist and camera is also great. I was one of those that always said I want to drive the car not have the car drive me. Then I got a Subaru with Eyesight package. Now I consider it mandatory
 

star_deceiver

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No, thank you.

If I start drifting lanes or become unable to park it will be time to take the bus. And that’s a hard no to things that beep.

I like the advancements in mechanical tech but I need not all the electrical nannies.

I shake my cane and kindly ask that you remove your children from my lawn....
 

Iowa ram

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First I've had these features, and too set on medium for lane assist.
It will fight you slightly if you dont use the turn signal for off ramps or lane changes.

Full frontal warning works good, and does its job.

ACC is nice, agree with others comments.

I drive 50k a year, and looked at it as a good option, and if avoided one wreck, well worth it.

Iowa has alot of bad drivers.

Havent used the park feature .

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

rotts4u

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As stated above one saved rear end and its worth it. I had a rough night recently with a family member in the ER in the middle of the night and me and my wife both drove to the hospital. It was 3 AM and we finally went home. I am not old and dont need a cane and am capable of driving fine but the collision avoidance thing saved me. I thought my wife in front of me was pulling out of the ER parking lot when my phone text went off. I had just let off the brake to ease up for my turn to pull out when I looked down at the phone for a moment fearing the hospital was calling me back. Just as I looked away my wife stopped for a car coming and I was easing up with my foot off the brake and me not looking. The auto braking deal took over and prevented me from hitting my other car in the rear. I sighed relief from almost wrecking BOTH of our cars that night. Its little things like that which make it worth it to me. It may never happen again and no I should not be distracted but with my family member in ER I was distracted and would likely do it again if in that same stressful situation.

I dont drive as much as Iowa Ram above me but I drive 30K a year and adaptive cruise is worth a fortune to me
 

runamuck

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I have had these options on my previous truck and on my '19 laramie. I turn off the lane keep and the auto braking first thing..annoying and I dont text or do much else but drive when I am driving. I didnt immediately turn off the auto braking and the first time I got in stop and go traffic jam it slammed on the brakes for me once so that was it..some people like the adaptive cruise but I am old school and just prefer to set my cruise and hit the + or - to adjust for slower cars up ahead before I get to em. I like having the blindspot monitoring tho..it comes in handy when towing..IMHO
 

JD Martin

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I haven’t tried the parallel parking yet but I had to turn off the automatic emergency braking feature because it activated twice for no reason (once going forward at about 25 mph and once backing out of my driveway) and scared the hell out of me. I still get a random warning bell for it but no more unexpected panic stops. The dealer says I have to leave it with them for several days to diagnose the issue. I don’t have high hopes but we shall see.
There's no fix for this unless you happen to have a bad sensor. The rear brake assist thinks anything is an impending accident. Backing out of my driveway, which is on an incline, as soon as you get to where the driveway meets the road and it flattens out it slams on the brakes. Had it do it on me when I had to run over some long grass backing into a yard. Turned it off after that.
 

eithkrp

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The Adaptive Cruise control is one of the best features. I live in Atlanta and have gone 30 miles through town without touching the gas or brakes. Does a much better job than the version on my wife's Cadillac Escalade.

Lane Keeping Assist needs work.
 

soapy

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Reverse braking will activate in a parking lot.when it detects a curb and brake 2 to 3 feet away. I turned it off but love everything else about it.
 

unkalj

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+1 on the reverse braking, I also turned that off after almost receiving whiplash while backing out of a parking spot and the object wasn't that close.
 

TestPilot57

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Yeah, the combinations soemtimes are just ludicrous. Losing the 360 with trailering except on the 3500... More than one dealer told me I cannot get the power running boards (and something, I forgot) unless I take the hemi that has the ecoTorque battery kr@p...
Really?!

Yup! And for sure the Level 2 package (on Laramie anyways) and maybe split tailgate.
 

Reverse

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Just got a Limited with all the safety features. So far, I like most of them. Features can be tweaked by turning them off or just give audible signal etc. The only thing I think is ridiculous is the parking assist - you probably shouldn't drive a vehicle this size if you are unable to park it. 360 camera is pretty amazing and very helpful. Still do a final check with the naked eye though - there's only so much trust I put into electronics :)
 

TestPilot57

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\The only thing I think is ridiculous is the parking assist - you probably shouldn't drive a vehicle this size if you are unable to park it.

That seems a bit harsh. Especially towards someone who may have just come from a Civic...

Fact is, I have always (40 years) driven full-sized vehicles ('76 impala, '79 K10, '85 Astro, etc). In my '15 RAM I was constantly misjudging how far/close I was both front and rear.

I know I wouldn't dis the captain of an oil tanker who had cameras all-round...

I really appreciate my rear camera and the F/R parksense on my '20. I would have gotten the surround-view camera except that meant I need to get an E-Torque and there is no way that's happening.
 

Reverse

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That seems a bit harsh. Especially towards someone who may have just come from a Civic...

Fact is, I have always (40 years) driven full-sized vehicles ('76 impala, '79 K10, '85 Astro, etc). In my '15 RAM I was constantly misjudging how far/close I was both front and rear.

I know I wouldn't dis the captain of an oil tanker who had cameras all-round...

I really appreciate my rear camera and the F/R parksense on my '20. I would have gotten the surround-view camera except that meant I need to get an E-Torque and there is no way that's happening.


I guess I should have been more clear: I appreciate the cameras as well, wouldn't want to do without it. I was referring to the technology that parks the truck for you, either parallel or backing in. That should be a basic skill for any driver IMO.
 

TestPilot57

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I guess I should have been more clear: I appreciate the cameras as well, wouldn't want to do without it. I was referring to the technology that parks the truck for you, either parallel or backing in. That should be a basic skill for any driver IMO.

Ah, ok. I concur, to a degree.

Parallel parking has always been pretty easy for me, but I observe that is probably the second most feared of automobile maneuvers (#1 HAS to be hill start with manual tranny!). Following the principle often referred to as the "80/20 rule" or "Pareto's Law" (after Vilfredo Pareto), it makes perfect sense to me to develop a "self-parallel-park" system, since 80% of people find it a challenge to parallel park (that number is pure speculation on my part but I challenge anyone to come up with a scientifically derived significantly different number).

Another way of putting it - if you can solve a problem for a majority of your potential customers you will be well on your way to profitability (which, after all, is the end goal of any enterprise).

Another way of putting it:
Any automotive company of today, who markets to the masses, and ignores the technology available to self-park, is shooting themselves in the foot. Do I expect Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo et al to offer self park? No. Even though many of their models make it very difficult to judge just where the car is in relation to the driver - they market to drivers, who make it their business to know where their cars are. OTOH, do I expect Chevy, Honda, Kia, et al to offer self parking? Absolutely! There are billions of their cars on the road, and the vast majority of them (apologies and exceptions made to present company) are piloted by idiots.
 

litzdog911

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I guess I should have been more clear: I appreciate the cameras as well, wouldn't want to do without it. I was referring to the technology that parks the truck for you, either parallel or backing in. That should be a basic skill for any driver IMO.

I agree. But my son-in-law's 1500 has the self-parking feature, and it's really nice. I wish the HD trucks could get it.
 

Narg

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My 2 pence...

I've driven a number of cars and trucks with these features. They work 99% of the time, but never assume or take your attention off the road for any reason. Driving is an active process (until Level 5 autonomous trucks are real, and even then...)

That said, these features are awesome. Adaptive cruise is great! Though this feature has failed at least once in the vehicles I've driven. I caught it and took action before any problems came up. Or, at least I think it failed. And, I've heard it can be trouble on very hilly areas where the vehicle detects the road as a object it must avoid at the bottom of a hill. I've not yet tried it in a RAM, hopefully I'll have my Longhorn soon... Also, I've not been in a situation with this tech for a full stop scenario, but think it would work just fine.

Lane departure in the RAM seems to be much better than the other vehicles I've driven with it (Ford, Chevy, Cadillac.) Again, I've had this fail, as the vehicle does need a clear indication of a "lane" to keep it from drifting. So on older roads with faded lines it just doesn't work well enough to be reliable. The dash indicator can help in that situation though. But it is nice, and as much as I drive these days it helps on those late evening home trips from way out where I'm worn out and attention is not perfect. The cool thing is that it really never *fights* you. You do feel a tug, but it's very gentle and easy to overcome. To me it's like what you'd feel if a strong side wind was blowing your truck out of the lane and you have to pull the wheel just a bit to get back into it. Similar feeling force. Once you've easily overcome it, the system will give 100% control to you.

I tried the auto park feature on a RAM 2 weeks ago. Wow! It works much better than you'd think. I tried this feature out on a Ford last year, and that was almost a major fail. Good thing I didn't trust it on that attempt. But the RAM both rear parked and parallel parked with ease and speed. Very impressive.

Also, consider this "tech" has been around for a couple decades or more now. At least in some form or fashion, so it is well developed. Not that it couldn't use more, but it's enough to be of use to most drivers. (especially if it helps keep the "morons" in check)

Hope that helps.
 
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