Why You Shouldn't Trust Driving Assists in Newer Cars

Driving the 2019 Honda CRV showed me what’s coming in the next few years on all cars as standard features. It’s incredible to see the difference even from my 2012 Subaru WRX. I don’t love these features, nor do I think they’re all that good but it’s a clear indication of where auto manufacturers are going and it’s not slowing down from here.
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“Altek” intro animation and video thumbnail by Gary Doodles.
“Altek” intro music by Tommy Sica
Equipment Used:
Video - Nikon D5600
Audio - Zoom H4N Pro
Video Editing Software - Adobe Premiere CC
Who am I?
I’ve been an IT guy for the last 15 years with a serious passion for tech and all things automotive. From motherboards to combustion engines, I find happiness in anything that powers on or throws you back in your seat with the fierceness of a Greek god.

[@sansfreedom1629]

Still killin' it 👌🏼

[@Altek1]

Thanks bud!

[@Rottensteam]

I have exactly the same experience in my 2019 Honda. Lane assist only works every so often. I think it depends on which white lines there are. Here in Denmark we have some clear quite wide ones which works fine, but also those skinny ones as in the video, and with those it is struggling (I'm lucky that the my drive to work has the wider lines so it's not a problem there every day, but I have tried alot of other places where it doesn't work). But auto cruise control is just fantastic in traffic in my experience. But note that if the set distance is too far, it'll keep distance for too long even when going on an off-ramp, like what happened to you in your vid (I have found setting on 2/4 is kind of the sweet spot).

[@Altek1]

You're dead on. The lines make all the difference. I recall reading that it works best with reflective lane markers which I've seen heavily used when on the west coast. My area of NY doesn't have those, or wider lines, so it's most likely struggling to be sure of where the lane is. For the cruise control, I think I was set to the closest setting when I was in the last bit of traffic but I may be wrong. Either way, it's distance wasn't a bother to me but rather how it maintained it at high speeds. The jostling me back and forward was a bit much but it did work 100% of the time. I could see me using that feature on long drives where you want to just set it and forget it. Thanks for watching and commenting buddy!

[@ninjamaster3453]

Great video. These driver assist and so called autopilot systems aren't fully there yet I agree. It'll never master weather conditions for a great while.

[@Altek1]

Thanks Ninja! Weather is a big concern, one time Honda Sense disabled itself because of ice over the sensors. I'd have to imagine heating elements being integrated to combat that or sensors that still work when covered.

[@TysonHugie]

Great observations. Totally agree - as an enthusiast who drives for the sake of being in control, these are tough "advancements" to embrace. I had a Fiesta rental a couple of months ago with manual roll-up windows like the ones you showed. Fun stuff :)

[@Altek1]

Control is one thing I feel like I give up with those systems and not in a good way. Thankfully our Acura's last damn near forever and we won't be forced into new tech for a long while. And isn't it incredible how Ford is still rocking the roll up windows, kinda shocking. Thanks for watching Tyson!

[@mrjakedasnake813]

IK that you dont have the largest subscription base but i want you to know you do amazing work. Never once have i seen a video from you where i was like wow this is bad or something like that. You always output quality. Amazing work and thank you for everything you do

[@Altek1]

Well thank you kindly Jake da Snake! If I'm tagging my name on it, I try to make it as high quality as I can. I'm happy to hear the hard work shows and is appreciated. Subscribers are hard to come by but I hope to have some cool cars and topics to talk about once the weather warms up. Maybe it'll drive more traffic my way, fingers crossed. Thanks again buddy.

[@FitLabb]

Really loved the insightful commentary on the auto pilot-type systems. Another great video as always!

[@Altek1]

Thanks so much buddy! I'm going to look into doing more informational videos like this, just need topics to go with. Stay tuned!

[@63256325N]

I'd never trust it. Well done on the narration and edit. Thanks for the video.

[@Altek1]

Ha, I don't blame you. Glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching as always bud.

[@mrmerlin6287]

Top commentary, mate. Haven't really experienced adaptive cruise control myself, but now I'm on a quest to go experience it!

[@Altek1]

Thanks Thomas! It's funny how I scoff at some of these features but it really is a different ball game once you try it out yourself. I'd be curious to know what you think when you do give it a go. Thanks for watching!

ACC is GR8 I have it on my Volt. Increases MPG about 30% behind a truck. I had a truck, angry with me for following so it locked up it's brakes. ACC braked fine to a complete stop.

[@jimdevries]

Insightful, thoughtful and extremely well done, as usual!

[@Altek1]

Thanks Jim! Much appreciated, glad you had a chance to watch it. I'm getting my hands on a 2020 Vette soon, that should be a good one.

[@sblexls]

BRILLIANT! Love the video bro. Happy New Year, I hope all is well with you and the family. Wishing you a successful new year full of good health happiness and plenty of prosperity. Glad to see a video pop up on your channel after a while. Looking forward to the next one! Can you find a 99 C280 Mercedes to review? I know it’s an odd ball one, but hopefully you can find one that’s decent and runs well to make a video about 😁. Have a great rest of the week brother! -Steve

[@joshpinchuk7061]

Happy New year. I am not sure of the value of the lane keep assist. But the auto braking when so many people are using their phones while driving, seems to be very valuable. I wish I could get THAT with a manual. Like what's the big deal if the system causes a manual to stall out? Who cares if the car stalls but you avoid hitting something.

[@Altek1]

Happy New Year to you as well. I can agree with you when it comes to the auto-braking system. I hate to admit that it's even worked for me when I was testing the Mercedes GLC 300. It's sad that instead of informing drivers and having them drive better, we'd rather install systems to help them keep driving as bad as they do. I would hesitate putting the auto-braking in a manual car, what if it stalled you out then you needed to quickly move out of the way. Even a little chance of leaving you hopeless is too much. Maybe in Toyota's new "manual" cars that clutch for you, but then you can argue what's the point of even having a manual in that case. Thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated.

[@MrGrentch]

Great vid as ever. And yep I'd agree 100% with your conclusions. Any time I've driven such systems(inc a Tesla) ike you I found I was checking the systems as well as normal driving. Quite distracting I thought. The lane assist reminded me of the very first driving lesson my dad gave me, where he'd grab the wheel to correct me. It was irritating then... :D

[@Altek1]

Haha that's the way I felt, like I was giving the car a driving lesson. I'm going to try to get my hands on a newer Tesla to test out the autopilot, I'm curious to see how jaggy it is. Thanks for watching bud, glad you enjoyed it.

[@HotHeadCJ]

I agree regarding adaptive cruise control, its a useful feature. Good content BTW

[@Altek1]

Glad to hear you dig my content, thanks. Adaptive cruise control is probably the only tech I'll welcome into a car I'll purchase. I can definitely do without all the other jazz.

[@HotHeadCJ]

Traction Control, Roll Over Mitigation and Adaptive Cruise Control are good

[@Altek1]

Ahhhh yes, roll over mitigation, seeing that in action in videos, I fully agree with you.

[@mredgar325]

I find that active cruise control actually reduces the stress of driving in traffic

[@Altek1]

Couldn't agree more. I think it still needs a bit more fine tuning, at least in Honda's case, since it was a bit jerky. But it does show a lot of promise in clearing up pointless traffic jams (assuming people use it) well before we have self driving cars in place.

[@torreyinnewyorkcity334]

👍🏼 great commentary. I am trying to get my husband to buy one of these. Thanks you for your post. Riverdale-Bronx here.

[@Altek1]

Thanks! I love Honda's, even the new ones don't disappoint. The main setback with this is, even as an SUV, it still gets beat up by bumps more than I would expect it to. Still a predictable and comfortable ride though. Hello from Yonkers! Thanks for watching!

[@sudilos1172]

First saw you featured on Scotty Kilmers channel. Then saw you went ahead with your channel! Nice

[@Altek1]

Thanks for checking my channel out buddy! I'm hoping to post another video to Scotty's channel this summer to get more traction on mine if he'll allow it. More content coming soon, thanks for the sub!

[@g65_]

Well, my hyundai elantra 2005 doesn't even have cruise control lol 😂... But like you said, this is what's coming for the future

[@Altek1]

Oh man! I never cared about that until an 8 hour drive to Pittsburgh. I remember screaming, "what new car doesn't have cruise control!" You're a brave man my friend, stay strong!

[@garydiraffaele9255]

Great Job Al

[@Altek1]

Thanks for watching pops

[@miguelbaeza65]

I own a 06 Accord. I wish my car only had adaptive cruise control. That would come very nicely on traffic. I really don't care about the other safety systems. I don't need a backup camera, or blind spot monitor.

[@Altek1]

Just know any new car you get will most likely have it in the next 2 to 3 years so you'll have it eventually. I do, however, need the backup camera, at least in my hatch. I can figure out where that rear end is. Thanks for watching bud!

[@123jaydonjessica]

This was a informative video

[@Altek1]

Glad you thought so, thanks for checking it out bud.

[@hdjoeiii]

Nice job, and i agree with your views. Do you think in 20 plus years will we have self driving 18 wheelers? That weight 80,000 plus pounds

[@Altek1]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Honestly, I think 18 wheelers would be the first to move to autonomous since they arguable have the easiest job... Hit 65mph and cruise in a straight line. I know there was some testing done already but I can't say if anything is currently in use.

[@shawnshan9817]

Al I hit a wall - Al's brother :D

[@Altek1]

Hahahaha, funny thing is, that's the exact call I'd get. Thanks for watching all the way through Shawn!

[@mauri3591]

Can we get more videos of your integra ? Maybe you doing general maintenance.

[@Altek1]

I was thinking about putting a video together of how the Integra is as a daily driver. I need some more content to put up so that's a good idea. Thanks for the sub buddy!

[@mauri3591]

Thanks I also have a 92 integra myself and I dont see many on the streets anymore and if I do they are not in good condition so I appreciate someone who has a clean one like yours and mine.

[@Mindblazter80]

Line assist is most stupid tech in a car! I hate it so much. The car is moving right or left all time! Thanks god we can turn it off..

[@Altek1]

Haha, exactly, it's a constant sway back and forth. Thanks for watching.