In case it wasn’t abundantly clear, Level 2 autonomy absolutely does not make a car self-driving. While systems like adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking can be convenient, they certainly aren’t perfect, and the latest reported flaw is substantial enough to have triggered a recall. See, while adaptive cruise control is active, certain Chevrolet Equinox EV models might not automatically brake.
Interestingly, this recall only applies to Equinox EV AWD models without Super Cruise that were built between July 25 and Dec. 6. Considering product mix and production ramping, that means only 2,890 cars are affected, but that’s still a fair number of vehicles that might not react to slowing traffic in a manner owners expect.
You can probably guess by the specificity of this recall that the fault at play is a software configuration issue. After all, it doesn’t affect front-wheel-drive Equinox EV models without Super Cruise, which means something’s getting garbled along the electronic line. As the recall report states:
The software calibration for adaptive cruise control on the brake control module was incorrectly set. Because of this error, the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control system cannot activate the vehicle’s service brakes and will attempt to slow the vehicle using only propulsion torque.
Even if regenerative braking is better than nothing, adaptive cruise control having no control over the friction brakes is a huge issue, especially when every other adaptive cruise control system today will ramp up brake pressure if necessary. Even scarier, the recall report states that “GM is aware of five field complaints associated with this condition, received on 10/13/2024, 10/27/2024, 11/7/2024, 11/22/2024, and 11/26/2024.” While no injuries are currently associated with this coding SNAFU, having adaptive cruise control that isn’t quite as adaptive as promised sounds like a very unchill thing to experience firsthand.
While General Motors may be able to update some unsold cars wirelessly, owners of affected vehicles will need to see their dealer service departments in order to have this recall addressed. While the recall report states that “The correct software calibrations were implemented in GM’s assembly plant on December 6, 2024,” owners aren’t expected to be formally notified of this issue until March 3, which seems a bit late considering corrected software already exists.
Thank goodness recalls exist to correct safety problems that should never have made it out of the factory because what the hell? It’s easy to understand an assembly issue or a defective part from a supplier leading to a recall, but considering how automotive software like this normally undergoes stringent validation, an oversight like this may point to potential structural quality control issues at play.
At the end of the day, the responsibility of driving falls on the driver of a vehicle. You can’t count on semi-automated systems to do the work of a human being because they might fail, spectacularly in the case of these affected Equinox EVs. We’re still a long way from achieving widely successful autonomous driving, so consider this a reminder to drive defensively and not rely on systems to save you.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet)
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Owners affected got notified on the Onstar app and some already took it to their dealers to fix this, based on some posts on the Equinox EV facebook group.
automotive software like this normally undergoes stringent validation
Assumes facts not in evidence
Meanwhile, My 2020 Accord will slam on the brakes for absolutely no reason at all.
So it wasn’t just the one I rented? <eek>
If GM can GM then GM will GM. This is not a bad as the sidesaddle gas tank thing right??
I rarely use cruise control, but I did use adaptive cruise once to drive between Janesville, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis and I didn’t touch the gas or brakes one time the whole trip.
Remember the guy telling us a couple weeks back that legacy manufacturers are using hundreds of systems in each vehicle that are developed by dozens of outside suppliers that don’t use the same code and those systems don’t talk with one another?
This is the result of that fucked up methodology.
Is it just me or does that top shot make it look a bit like a Renault Avantime?
It kinda does!
And we can build this thing together
Standing strong forever
Nothing’s gonna stop us now
LOL. Honorable mention to “GM: We Built This Sh*tty”
Like a rock and roll.
Let this car around us just fall apart,
Chevy we can make if we’re hard to stop!
This should totally be an over the air update, these EVs just came out last year, this is literally one of the selling points on the Equinox’s web page. C’mon GM, stop tripping over the old business model.
I’ve given a middle finger to adaptive cruise since I wrote a paper on it in 2001 as part of a graduate marketing class. No kidding.
It had just rolled out in the S-class Merc and I made a case that it was a feature that nobody needed because the “laziness factor” would be leaps above anything in cars at the time (ie, prioritizing convenience over attention). Seems downright quaint now, but I still hold that position about distractions in general.
I love the idea of so many of these things like lane assist or adaptive cruise, but when you rely on them on a widespread basis, the downside — however rare — can be catastrophic. Just ask Boeing about MCAS.
Funny thing is that when I was a kid in the 80s, my dad’s enthusiast friends had the same attitude about cruise control…that people would innately want to maintain their speed if they used it, so everyone would become less safe. I still can’t disagree completely, it’s just that we’ve accepted it for so long (and sample bias: People reading this here are all above average!)
As someone who uses cruise control frequently – it would be nice to have a system that reliably decelerates automatically to match the speed ahead and maintain a safe gap when traffic ahead slows.
And I would be far more comfortable if everyone else used that same system too so I know I won’t be rear-ended when I slow down because of a slowdown ahead of me.
Yep, I also use it (non-adaptive) very regularly. Another thing that would be great to have is a slider/adjustment where you can choose “aggressively maintain exact speed” vs “economically maintain approximate speed” depending on traffic and hills…in adaptive cruise’s defense, following distance options are usually offered which is nice. And probably necessary.
In addition to the following distance settings, some cars even adjust the ACC behavior based on drive mode. When it’s in Dynamic/Sport it reacts and accelerates much quicker than it does when it’s in Comfort. You could make it very comfortable and economical if you set it to max following distance in Comfort, but then you run into issues with other highway drivers being like “YOU’RE TOO FAR FROM THE GUY IN FRONT OF YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE GOING JUST AS FAST AS HIM SO NOW I’M MAD”
I always wonder if those guys are insufferable assholes all day or if they just let it all out on the road.
My Ford C-Max Energi had that ECO Cruise option where it would go a little slower up hills.
I use adaptive cruise control more to give my legs a break.
People just need to understand it doesn’t replace a human. It augments a human. If one can coexist with the technology, plan ahead to you don’t lose your desired speed, it works wonderfully. But people have the wrong idea about what it is supposed to do.
I’ll throw my brother under the bus here, but he hates how it slows down automatically and now he’s going too slow. The remedy for that is to look ahead and position yourself to avoid the slow down; go around them BEFORE the radar slows you down. For good reason, it doesn’t want you to follow too close. This might mean speeding up to make your desired lane change. We can complain about left lane campers, or we can simply avoid them. I’d love for them to not camp in the left lane, but, it’s not gotten better, it’s gotten worse, so riding their ass doesn’t work.
My ’37 Plymouth sedan had an auxiliary hand throttle as standard equipment. As was typical of these, it would remain in whatever position was selected, which meant it acted as a rudimentary form of cruise control. This was still too fancy for me so I never used it.
I absolutely despise lane assist. Not only does it encourage inattentive driving, but if you live where roads narrow or have lots of turns, the safest driving lines often involve crossing over the center line or lane edge. Nothing is more dangerous than having the car suddenly decide to fight you as you move over for clearance or start to enter a turn.
First they get outsold by their platformmate, now this. GM just can’t catch a brake, can they?
Icy, what you did there!
Someone needs to put a stop to this.
Goes to show that welding and bolting together ICE parts for a century doesn’t mean pivoting to a software driven vehicle will be easy. To be fair to GM, it’s a legacy OEM issue. Look at VW throwing Rivian $5 billion to use their software since VW’s own was so awful.