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Honda Sensing: Annoying or Useful?

46K views 87 replies 48 participants last post by  BLCKFLSH 
#1 ·
I'm thinking about getting a 2016 EXLV6 and I'm debating about whether or not to get Honda Sensing.
I don't really need Navigation since I already have a large smartphone with navigation that works well. Honda Sensing requires navigation on the EXL models and that bumps the cost of the car up a lot.
Also, I have seen posts here and review videos of the LKA and LDW and many people find then to be very annoying because of over sensitivity and lots of false warnings. So, they end up turning them off in frustration. I have also seen some say the smart cruise control doesn't work that well. Keeps beeping and leaving overly large gaps that encourages other drivers to jump in front of you, which then sets off more alarm beeping and automatic slams of brakes.
A vicious circle.
If I would end up with these features disabled most of the time, then it is just a waste of money and would become useless electronic complexity to fail out of warranty when the car is older.

Is Honda Sensing worth it?
 
#2 ·
As soon as it saves you from an accident, it's worth it. The lane keeping assist it a little gimmicky, the Adaptive cruise control is a convenience and the Collisiion Mitigation Braking System could be a lifesaver. Unfortunately, I believe that you have to pay another 1k for Nav to get the sensing so many may pass. I believe that Acura charges around 600 for sensing, so a little game playing going on here.
 
#3 ·
If people can't stand to keep them activated because it is constantly beeping and overreacting, it will not be saving them from an accident because it is going to disabled during the time when it would have been useful.
I seen enough complaints about it that it looks like it needs some revamping.
 
#5 ·
I've had a little bit of experience with it, probably around 100 miles logged with it active in various Honda products (CR-V, Accord, Civic and Pilot.) I like it. Does it need fine-tuning? Perhaps. I would say the best execution of Honda Sensing that is in showrooms right now is the 2016 Civic.

If I were buying a Honda vehicle that had Sensing as an option, I would spend the little extra and get it. Right now my muse is a 2016 Civic EX-T with Honda Sensing. If money were no object, I'd get the Civic Touring. My opinion is that I can turn it all off if I don't like it. I've seen too many posts on CivicX.com about 2016 Civic owners who wish they had bought the Sensing. You can't add it after purchase, but you can turn it off, and for $1,000, I think it's worthwhile.

One thing to note is that it is a $1,000 option on every Honda where it is available except for the Accord EX-L, where it is bundled with Navigation for $2,000. The new Garmin nav is pretty fantastic in my opinion, so I would splurge for that, too, if I were looking at an Accord EX-L.
 
#6 ·
I've had a little bit of experience with it, probably around 100 miles logged with it active in various Honda products (CR-V, Accord, Civic and Pilot.) I like it. Does it need fine-tuning? Perhaps. I would say the best execution of Honda Sensing that is in showrooms right now is the 2016 Civic.

If I were buying a Honda vehicle that had Sensing as an option, I would spend the little extra and get it. Right now my muse is a 2016 Civic EX-T with Honda Sensing. If money were no object, I'd get the Civic Touring. My opinion is that I can turn it all off if I don't like it. I've seen too many posts on CivicX.com about 2016 Civic owners who wish they had bought the Sensing. You can't add it after purchase, but you can turn it off, and for $1,000, I think it's worthwhile.

One thing to note is that it is a $1,000 option on every Honda where it is available except for the Accord EX-L, where it is bundled with Navigation for $2,000. The new Garmin nav is pretty fantastic in my opinion, so I would splurge for that, too, if I were looking at an Accord EX-L.
I did not know this, thanks for the clarity, IMO makes the jump from an EXL-V6 with sensing to a Touring easier to take unless you can negotiate a good deal on an EXL-V6 sensing.
 
#8 ·
Granted, I have only owned my car for 170 miles, but as someone that drives all day most days in a low tech POS work truck I don't have an issue at all. Maybe I am just more experienced than most when it comes to driving, but it isn't annoying or that active to me.
 
#10 ·
Is Honda Sensing worth it?
I have a 2014 Accord Touring, so I can't speak of all the features of Honda Sensing. However, I can give you my thoughts about LDW, FCW, and ACC.

First, I have not found my 2014 Touring to be annoying nor distracting. My Touring uses radar & cameras to operate the features and it is pretty accurate. All other 2013-2015 trims below the Touring level depend only on cameras, and thus may be prone to give false alarms. Likewise, Honda Sensing integrates radar technology to improve the accuracy and make the features smarter. So, you should get less false alarms.

Regarding ACC, the distance between vehicles is adjustable (long, medium, & short). The default setting is long, which would tend to invite people to jump in between you and the vehicle ahead. I have mine set to short which keeps a safe distance and prevents folks from jumping in. ACC applies the brakes and flashes a warning should the vehicle ahead rapidly slow down, or a vehicle jumps in front of you. I like it a lot and miss it when I'm driving a car without it.

Similarly, the LDW and FCW are adjustable (at least on the Touring trim). So far, I like and appreciate how these features operate.

Some of the complaints from other owners may be a result of their bad driving habits as opposed to the over-sensitivity of the features. Also, some owners may not have adjusted the sensitivity of their features, which for obvious reasons, would have the defaults set to the most sensitive/safest. In other words, I wouldn't put a lot stock in the complaints.

Finally, ask yourself this question: Have you ever driven tired, sleepy or distracted? If so, then you're like most of us. Honda Sensing may be well worth the cost since it can alert you of erratic driving and/or a possible crash.

Just food for thought ...
 
#59 ·
As an owner of a 2014 Touring owner, with 55,000 miles of experience with it, there is NO WAY I'd get another car without these features. My wife just bought a 2017 Pilot, because of the sensing package. Other than that, we would have been happy with a 4-5 year old Pilot Touring, and the cost savings. So... Heck yeah, its worth it! :)
 
#11 ·
Very useful! My 2015 EX does not have it but my wifes 2015 CRV touring does. If I had to do it over I would purchase a model with Honda sensing.
 
#12 ·
Lane Keep Assist is my favorite feature of my Accord and has made my 6 hour trip a very pleasant experience. My touring comes with all these multimedia features and iphone/android integration so it's great that the car is keeping an extra eye out for you and other drivers on the road.
 
#14 ·
Honda wants 6MT drivers to die, since you can't get it on the Sport without the snazzy CVT.
 
#16 ·
I've driven CVT Touring w/ sensing and our Ody has some of the same features but not the entire suite. I personally don't like it and purposefully decided against it on my accord.

However, I'm not sure one is "risking their life" but not choosing to have (or use) sensing. It is difficult to quantify the amount of "life saving" that sensing affords over the same vehicle in the same situation w/o sensing. It most likely helps but I don't think it is typically the difference between life and death.
 
#18 ·
Mine is a 2015. It has LDW and FCW. They both work pretty well out-of-box. Actually they probably have saved me several times already. The false positive rate is really low. I guess it only happened once or twice in a year, on a curvy road. You have an option to turn it off a any time using a very convenient button, or you can adjust its sensitivity when you are in park.
 
#19 ·
I have LDW and FCW on my 13, LDW is superb and never false alarms It only works when I drift out of my lane. The volume is too low and can not be adjusted which is a real handicap.

FCW is a joke. It rarely works and when it does, it's almost always false. It is the low end camera system. Subaru uses cameras too and beat MBs 3 camera and radar system in collision avoidance braking so not all camera systems are bad.

If LKAS works as well as LDW I would love to have it. I would opt for sensing. I think the systems for auto braking are far better than my FCW (which also has volume way too low and can not be adjusted).
 
#22 ·
The FCW system only uses a camera mounted in upper portion of the windshield above the rear view mirror. Its way less accurate than the Sensing system. If it malfunctions & brakes the vehicle for no apparent reason I could see accidents happening instead of being avoided. There is no substitute for a focused / alert driver.
 
#27 ·
Honda Sensing, which came standard on my Touring coupe, is exceedingly useful on long trips. Having just done 660 miles today, (RI to NC), ACC and LKAS came in really handy for long stretches of the trip when traffic was light. And watching the car steer itself (for short periods of time) is a hoot! My 2 cents....
 
#28 ·
IMHO, the braking feature is the only one that would be useful to me. As for the cruise control, honestly, who would use it that much? How much road trips does one take? A few times year? Most people use this for commute to and from work and school on roads we are used to. I thought about getting it but glad I realized that I don't need it. I haven't need it for the last decade that I been driving and I won't need it now.


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#31 ·
... As for the cruise control, honestly, who would use it that much? How much road trips does one take? A few times year? ...
Actually, I use my cruise control a lot when I'm on the interstates. Cruise control is not just for road trips (i.e., long distance travel). I travel interstates quite often to get from point A to point B in my area.

I'll admit its not very useful (and more dangerous) outside of the interstates. However, I've had cruise control cars since the '70s and wouldn't buy a car without it. I've also come to really like the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) because of its ability to automatically adjust your speed when approaching slower moving vehicles, and resume your set speed when safe to do so. In other words, I don't have to play around with the speed control buttons with ACC.
 
#29 ·
I went on a test drive with an Accord EX-L V6 with Honda Sensing and I am stll skeptical about it. It seemed OK but confusing to set up for the first time while driving.

I have also read horror stories about false alarms causing unexpected braking and Sensing features not being able to handle certain situations. I have read about it going crazy bv thinking trees on the side of the road are in the road when you are going around a corner or trying to follow the road markings and steer you down an offamp when you are driving on the far right lane on the freeway.

I also don't need factory nav. So, getting an EX-L Sensing model could be paying $2000 extra just to get adaptive cruise control.
 
#30 ·
I found this on another forum. Yeah, this sounds more than just "annoying." Dangerous.

The bad thing about the collision brake mitigation system....if someone pulls out in front of you (and turns) or suddenly brakes then gets out of the way....
I've had a similar situation where I was in a turn lane turning left and the person across from me was doing the same (in correct lanes, as marked on the road) and for a short while, it does look like the other car is coming right at you (we would both obviously turn left to avoid each other as we continue our turns) - my car braked needlessly. I was worried the guy behind me would rear-end me because no one in their right mind would expect the guy turning left in front of you with a green arrow to stop in the middle of his turn for no reason.

In another instant, my car started to brake (but quit) when I was curving left and the road had a wall (construction barrier)... the car mistook the wall for an obstacle it needed to brake for, not thinking about the fact that I was already turning away from it. Clearly, this system doesn't consider the direction of the wheels - it just looks straight in front of you. I wonder how long until Honda is sued for causing an accident with the system.

Aside from these instances where the brake was actually applied, I find the car gives the 'brake' warning ALL THE TIME for no reason. It appears even changes in the color of the road will throw up the warning.
 
#32 ·
I see that Toyota's equivalent will be standard equipment on all 2017 Toyota Highlanders. Curious what this means for the Camry and other offerings. Honda are you listening?? Looks like Toyota learned it's lesson when it was late to the game with the backup camera as standard. This tech offering looks a lot like ABS when it was first introduced.
 
#33 ·
Due to the owner reported problems of unexpected braking around corners and in turning lanes as I posted earlier today, I think I am going to pass on Honda Sensing until this technology is more mature in future generations.
I know it can be turned off, but if it is going to be off most of the time, what's the point of having it?
If the upgrade from EX-L V6 to EX-L V6 with Honda Sensing wasn't so expensive due to the bundling with Navi, maybe I would still get it and just use it as an expensive adaptive cruise control.
 
#35 ·
Honda Sensing is worth it!!!! I have 2016 Honda Accord Touring. Honda sensing come with it. I love it. It is great future!!!It already been save me 2 times been hit and It does not give false alarm warning. Only one thing is that when I drive my car in traffic with CBMS ON, I feel minor vibration in my break pedal since it apply automatic break because of traffic. other than that I love it!!!!
 
#37 ·
I have been considering trading my Sport for and EXL-V6 this year. Apparently there are 3 or maybe 5 systems that are part of the Honda Sensing package, LDW, LKAS, ACC, FCW, and CMBS. I am a little put off by the problems reported in this thread. Can these systems be turned off or on individually or do you have to use all or none? Also do they remain turned on or off when you shut the car off and then restart it. Or do they come back up configured the way they were when the car was shut down?

I owned a 2010 Prius that had 3 of these systems, radar cruise control, lane keeping assist, and a collision system that included automatic braking. I had no problems with any of them except the collision system. As noted above it would sometimes activate when cars slowed to turn off the highway ahead of me. I always worried that people behind me would run into me because they would see no apparent reason for me to slow down. Fortunately that never happened but it is a legitimate concern.
 
#38 ·
You can disable them all. I believe FCW isn't needed if you have sensing. My wife has sensing on her CRV Touring and you really don't know that it's there. Sure there will be instances/problems that are trumped on these forums but statistically, they are minor. Sure these systems will improve over time but I'm convinced that the system is good enough to help out when you need it to. Think of VSA, it's been around for years and bails you out keeping your car straight when you need it to, priceless.
 
#39 ·
I've been using Sensing for about six weeks now with the following observations:

Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)
Uses the radar sensor and the front camera to detect vehicles and pedestrians. It notifies the driver by flashing a light in the multi-information display, heads-up lights, beeps, and steering wheel vibrations. It will eventually apply full braking if necessary. The timing of the warnings can be adjusted to Long, Normal and Short. The system can be turned off on the dash (lower left). I haven’t had many false-positives and it seems to work very well.

Adapted Cruise Control (ACC)
ACC monitors if a vehicle ahead of you enters the ACC range. If a vehicle is detected doing so, the ACC system maintains or decelerates your vehicle’s set speed in order to keep the vehicle’s set following-distance from the vehicle ahead. It works at speeds above 25 MPH so it cannot be used in stop-and-go traffic. The following distance can be adjusted between: short, middle, long and extra long. Works very well.

Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS)
Provides steering input to help keep the vehicle in the middle of a detected lane and provides tactile and visual alerts if the vehicle is detected drifting out of its lane. The LKAS only alerts you when lane drift is detected without a turn signal in use. Works between 45 and 90 MPH. It is really interesting to be able to take your hands off of the wheel and have the car steer itself. Unfortunately, it often loses the detected lane and stops steering for no apparent reason; therefore, it is not very reliable. It sure is fun to use though :)

Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
The front camera behind the rearview mirror monitors left and right lane markings (solid lines in white or yellow). If your vehicle is getting too close to detected lane markings without a turn signal activated, the system, in addition to a visual alert, applies steering torque and alerts you with rapid vibrations on the steering wheel, to help you remain within the detected lane. Works between 45 and 90 MPH. Can be turned off on the dash (lower left). I never actually had the feature activate, but it sounds good on-paper :)
 
#40 ·
I have a '14 EX-L V6 Coupe which only has lane departure and forward collision warning, both of which for me are just obnoxious lol. The brake mitigation system would be neat I'm sure, haven't ever used it. My FCW constantly sets off false alarms. This morning I was on a two lane road and I was in the left lane and there were no cars in front or next to me or even on the other side coming the other way and it started beeping and flashing and scared the life out of me! Kinda funny now, but every time it randomly goes off with someone in the car they ask what it is and I explain, and then get the response "but there was no possible forward collision?"
 
#41 ·
Sensing tech isn't perfect, but as I posted in another thread on this forum, Sensing and CMBS saved me from hitting an idiot that ran out in front of my '16 Coupe on an 8-lane freeway while traveling at ~65 MPH. The system reacted faster than I could hit the brakes and we stopped about 4 ft from splattering the crazy person all over the hood and windshield of my brand new car.

So I'm willing to accept an occasional false alarm...
 
#46 · (Edited)
I've only had my Touring for a little over a week now and I'm conflicted on its effectiveness. I turned off the Lane Departure warning system; just found it annoying and never found it useful. I think I may feel similarly about the Lane Keep Assist too, but I've yet to use it. As for the Collision Mitigation Braking, it activated the other day when I was in stop and go traffic on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. I had my foot on the brake and was actively stopping the vehicle, but the car didn't think it was enough and slammed on the brakes, scaring the hell out of me and the tailgating driver behind me. It made me wonder about the system's effects on the brakes, especially new or newly serviced brakes and pads, when the system performs hard "panic" stops at 15 mph. I'm sure my tune will change when the system stops the car legitimately; it just hasn't happened yet.
 
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