[CyberGene]

I have only had the visual signal so far a few times and once it stopped and saved me from colliding with the car in front that decided to brake suddenly for no reason and I thanked the system!

 

[cbcdesign1]

When you get the warning but no braking it can be because the auto brakes wont engage if you are already partially braking or slowing down sufficiently quickly to avoid a collision. It when you steer out of a situation but don't brake or slow down that the system sometimes falls short and suddenly slams the brakes on briefly.

 

[Guest]

Recently, there was discussion about Front Assist calibration in one of the Finnish car forums. Apparently the radar is very sensitive to correct alignment, you can get all sorts of problems with Front assist of ACC if the sensor is misaligned. Instructions for the calibration procedure cover 11 pages on the workshop manual, so not particularly easy task I guess. It requires specially built "calibration wall", laser sights etc. And the first step on the procedure is a full 4-wheel geometry check and wheel alignment. This procedure is required, if you change the front bumper, for example. Or if you just detach the radar sensor for some reason.

After reading about it from the other forum, this discussion thread came to my mind, and I started to think if you guys just have misaligned radar in your car?

 

[Etchings]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but had an interesting conversation with my dealers today.

There's been a spate of rear-ended Atecas (that was what my car had been in for... rear bumper trim replacement). Apparently they're seeing a lot of these incidents due to auto-braking and have told me that SEAT are about to release a software update because it's too sensitive!

He didn't have time scales but said it was coming soon.

 

[Uggzy2014]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but had an interesting conversation with my dealers today.

There's been a spate of rear-ended Atecas (that was what my car had been in for... rear bumper trim replacement). Apparently they're seeing a lot of these incidents due to auto-braking and have told me that SEAT are about to release a software update because it's too sensitive!

He didn't have time scales but said it was coming soon.

Theres a traffic island near my house and it sets it off everytime, nothing more unsettling than driving along at 40 then your parking brake suddenly slamming on.

I would take anything a dealer tells you with a pinch of salt, granted they can't have all the information all the time, but I would wait until you get a recall notice for this fix before getting too excited about it. My local dealership are nice enough guys but they just seem to have a make it up as you go along approach to anything technical since they probly don't have a clue, the fact they think the ateca is built in barcelona tells you all you need to know.

 

[Etchings]

Yeah, this was the mechanic telling me. Not the service/parts desk, not the sales side - although my local dealers are very clued up (tiny outfit), do know what they're talking about and don't try fobbing you off, which is nice

My point was that it seems like SEAT are doing something about it for those of you really suffering with the oversensitivity - albeit slowly! As always these things do take time to trickle through.

 

[takingthetrain]

Hi all,

I read this post with interest. Has the OP had any luck getting this sorted?

We have had our Ateca since March and get the scary front assist warning roughly once per week. Twice it has applied the brakes forcefully. Once when my wife was driving on a roundabout and once when I was driving past a traffic calming bollard. These were both activations when they were not necessary and could have resulted in the car behind hitting us if they were too close. We have the advance warning option set to "Late" which I believe should reduce the number of alerts. The car has gone to the dealer today, for the first time since buying it, to get the front assist checked. They've come back and told me no fault found. They said that, if the activation does trigger braking then this would be logged in the on board computer. However, they said the diagnostics did not show anything in the logs. I tried to explain that the car has applied the brakes twice, so why would these not be recorded? They simply kept on repeating that the diagnostics don't show a fault. Can anyone tell me (ideally with reference to the manual or a Seat document) if these activations should be logged? If they are not being logged when they should be then this in itself would seem to be a problem. The car is still under warranty but, as they are saying no fault found they have said I have to pay a diagnostic charge and would also have to pay if I wanted the sensor to be re-calibrated (something like £300 by VW dealer). Any advice on what I should say or do here? The dealership seems very defensive (read argumentative) when I try to discuss the problem logically with them. I am quite concerned that, as we approach winter driving conditions, if the car decides to emergency brake in icy conditions then this could result in loss of control of the vehicle. Turning off the front assist is relatively simple but would need to be done every time the key is turned.

Thanks.

 

[Etchings]

Hi all,

I read this post with interest. Has the OP had any luck getting this sorted?

We have had our Ateca since March and get the scary front assist warning roughly once per week. Twice it has applied the brakes forcefully. Once when my wife was driving on a roundabout and once when I was driving past a traffic calming bollard. These were both activations when they were not necessary and could have resulted in the car behind hitting us if they were too close. We have the advance warning option set to "Late" which I believe should reduce the number of alerts. The car has gone to the dealer today, for the first time since buying it, to get the front assist checked. They've come back and told me no fault found. They said that, if the activation does trigger braking then this would be logged in the on board computer. However, they said the diagnostics did not show anything in the logs. I tried to explain that the car has applied the brakes twice, so why would these not be recorded? They simply kept on repeating that the diagnostics don't show a fault. Can anyone tell me (ideally with reference to the manual or a Seat document) if these activations should be logged? If they are not being logged when they should be then this in itself would seem to be a problem. The car is still under warranty but, as they are saying no fault found they have said I have to pay a diagnostic charge and would also have to pay if I wanted the sensor to be re-calibrated (something like £300 by VW dealer). Any advice on what I should say or do here? The dealership seems very defensive (read argumentative) when I try to discuss the problem logically with them. I am quite concerned that, as we approach winter driving conditions, if the car decides to emergency brake in icy conditions then this could result in loss of control of the vehicle. Turning off the front assist is relatively simple but would need to be done every time the key is turned.

Thanks.

Tricky - but is front assist activation an error? Didn't think so - the computer logs a lot of parameters over a short time (in case of accident), but only long term storage are actual faults. That is my understanding, but I'm not an expert.

Only other suggestion I have is dashcam footage - i.e. if you have one (hopefully with audio to log the scary alarm warnings) - then next time it goes off you can present that to them and say "look, road is clear but you can see/hear the system activating... is that normal? Tell me what in this footage would set it off, and if you cannot then by definition activating when no danger present is abnormal/faulty behaviour".

 

[takingthetrain]

I will ask the dealership tomorrow when I pick the car up if the activations are supposed to be logged or not, or if they don't actually know the answer. If not then it's only my word against theirs so the dashcam approach might, sadly, be the best option. I'm dissapointed that the dealership (Arnold Clark Seat Glasgow North) have chosen the defensive and unhelpful approach as they are the only ones who can deal with any problems. There is clearly an issue with the sensor but the dealer and Seat will be in denial unless we all complain or there is a serious accident linked to it.

 

[tobydog]

Hi 'takingthetrain'. OP here as requested! I've only had a couple of incidents since I last posted. Unfortunately I do think that I've actually changed my driving style as I head into certain corners. I've learned how the car is likely to respond, hence the considerable reduction in incidents. It's annoying because I shouldn't have to do that. It isn't just corners though. It's parked cars along the side of the road, going past a car that has pulled into a slip road to turn left, overhanging vegetation, etc.

I see that you have your system set to 'Late'. Trying setting it to 'Early' and see what happens. It sounds counterintuitive but it might result in you just being warned earlier (still very annoying sometimes) but without the brakes locking on. Having it set to Late might be the problem because you get a warning and locking of brakes at the last second. I think that's where I went wrong but I can't check my system right now as I'm in the office.

Annoying as it can be, I would never turn it off. It's thankfully done its job properly on a couple of occasions.

I agree with Etchings. A warning, legitimate or otherwise, won't show up as a Error.

 

[JohnF1]

I'm now getting seriously fed up with the auto braking :x . I've already set it to its lowest setting but it still went off twice yesterday in 10 minutes. The first time I got the big red scary warning in the middle of the dash, the warning sound, but oddly no brakes. Also, oddly, nothing anywhere in sight. The second time the brakes did slam on, as usual, in a country lane but this time I couldn't see any overhanging vegetation which is the usual culprit. Nearly gave me a heart attack :shock: . I'm now getting overly conscious of it rather than having it sit in the background like ABS.

In two months it's now happened on about 9 or 10 occasions and it's only a matter of time before it causes the accident it's trying to prevent. Any advice? Should I log this as an official safety problem with SEAT HQ. I don't want to have to go through the faff of turning it off every start up because it's not as simple as pressing a button like the Stop / Start. Also, if I turn it off and I run someone down, can I ever argue that it wasn't my fault?.

I have had a problem with the ABS it started with unexplained braking. had a dealership check no fault found even with diagnostic check. Problem got worse advised by second dealer to reduce sensitivity , till they could have it in but problem got worse so couldn't use the car had breakdown truck take it in. ABS had failed damaging the discs and pads cost £2500 to repair. Fault first noted 10 days out of warranty SEAT will not help at all even though the car was not used during two lock downs so had not actually done 3 years work the mileage was 21.400. so beware

 

[Katana]

I've had my Ateca for 4 years and never had this issue. I hlave set the sensitivity to the lowest level. Sounds as though you need to investigate for a fault. Automatic braking has only warned me, when on the rare occasion, I've been too slow to brake quickly. It's a fantastic safety feature that I would always choose.

 

[rafletcher]

Looking at the dates on this trea, it may be that later models don't suffer from the premature braking. The only time I get it is trying to park at home - I nose up to a hedge, and if I'm a bit fast everything locks! Other than that (mines a late 2020) I've had the warning symbol and beep a couple of times, and, to be fair, I was closing too fast on the car in front. Otherwise, rural Bucks lanes, 90 degree bends, multistories etc. etc. no issues.