Motorway pileups, Not my problem says VW

[Donboon]

Ok, so I’ve a way to go before anyone takes notice so I’ll cut a long story short.
Travelling north on M1 between junction 14 and 15.
Cruise control active so it detects 70mph limit and away we go.
As we are overtaking a long line of articulated lorries that are using lanes 1&2 a truck pulls out from behind me into lane 3; our lane.
Cars are hurtling past us at 80mph plus
Suddenly and without any warning the brakes slam on and we rapidly decrease speed to 50mph.
The truck behind naturally closes in on us and hoots. Trucks on the inside continue unabated as do those in lane 4.
The reason: cruise control.
After a second or two I plunged the accelerator to pick up speed or get mashed by a i-rated trucker behind.
It was our first outing on the motorway in the car.
I’m fully conversant with VW active cruise control from owning a Tiguan 4x4 which used the same.
Slightly further along the motorway we saw overhead signals reducing speed to 50 then 40 due to a vehicle stranded.
My first impression was the ACC had detected the speed restrictions some distance ahead but I was concerned that it had acted far too soon.
We completed our journey to Warwickshire somewhat shaken.
On the return we passed junction 16 heading south where we noticed on the map that overhead variable speed control were out of action due to the accident earlier. The same that caused us the first braking issue.
As we proceeded exactly the same emergency braking occurs but this time we had space around us.
We passed another vehicle in the third lane apparently stuck at around 40mph. We wondered if they had experienced the same but didn’t understand or know how to get out of it especially as vehicles were rapidly overtaking on their inside and outside.
Approximately a mile ahead there were the overhead signs showing 40mph.
Once again I assumed the car was picking up advance warnings but reacting far too soon.
As we passed through the 40mph signs the map displays a message saying that speed restrictions were lifted to 70mph.
Again the cruise took over and accelerated us rapidly up to 70mph whilst we were still well inside the overhead warnings showing 40mph.
I put on my brakes to avoid getting a ticket and drove the rest of our journey without cruise control.
Having thought about it carefully we took another drive up the M1 but this time I didn’t use Apple Play or Google Maps.
I’d set the car to use its own maps for this journey.
As we headed towards junction 15 at 70mph in the 3rd lane the car suddenly braked again but this time not only was I prepared but I noted the map had changed from 70 mph to 50 mph.
Clearly the map was controlling the cruise control; not the overhead warnings.
The map continued to show 50 mph until we reached junction 16.
At no point did the overhead signs indicate any speed reduction or warnings.
We took a short video to show this.
To prevent further stressful experiences we drove without cruise control.
I spoke to my local VW dealer who used the same phrases as VW themselves.
The actions of the cruise control are for assistance only.
The driver takes full responsibility for whatever happens and whilst they know about the problem they have no intention of doing anything about it.
So my feelings are equally solid. If as a result of VWs dubious programing their vehicle suddenly and without adequate warning causes brakes to be applied in such a way as to cause a crash then I hope the ensuing enquiries will exonerate the driver and hold VW wholly responsible.
Especially as they have prior knowledge and refuse to accept their technology relies on mapping that contains speed information completely detached from the highway being used and controlled by their program.

If any other driver has had this experience then it’s our duty to report it to DVLA.
Fortunately I’m with Motability who have confirmed that VW are aware of this being a potential problem but hold the opinion that because it’s an accessory which assists then they are not responsible for any outcome.
Motability has granted me a meeting with the RAC to examine my vehicle for any defects before undergoing tests to see if I’m mistaken about the circumstances and what I believe is the cause.
If the RAC engineer agrees with me that this has the potential to cause an accident then I’m certain they will continue with their role in protecting other drivers.

Whilst I completely love the car I cannot abide those who place others at risk either through negligence or deliberate ignorance.
I hope my message helps others

[swingman]

Hi, I am a new owner of PRO model and previously owned Two Tiguan with one with ACC and all mod cons. I never had these issues you described with my Tig.
I was driving my ID5 two days ago from Swindon towards M25 along M4 using ACC with 70mph set. Along the new widened all lanes running section near Reading, we have overhead variable speed signs. On Sunday morning not a single one was lit and no heavy traffic. My car suddenly braked and reduced my speed to 50 and also displayed the 50 speed limit on the display. I looked everywhere and there were no static 50 signs as well. It remained all the way through the new section and then changed back 70. On my way back in the evening same thing happened. I had a pre-arranged appointment with my dealer for warranty issues I reported when I took delivery but had to wait 6 weeks. I added this also to the list of complaints.
As it turned out It was was pure waste of time and they did bugger all to all the compliant saying all are ok according to their computer. I had severe breaking issue and didn't even bother to take the car out of the dealership. For this issue they just switched off the sign section on informant display. They or the VW are not interested in dealing with with any complaints. I will be contacting VW again tomorrow to register my dis-pleasure of their dealership and going ask RAC to investigate.

In the meantime If you get any feedback from RAC let us know via this forum or pm me.

[Electrickery]

As a new ID5 owner this happened to me - looking at the Driver Assist menu / icon there is a Speed Limiter option which allows you to switch off the Speed Limit Preview. When you do this it should stop doing this. If you touch the 'i' icon in the top right corner in this function it explains that it does this - stupid function really as the camera even picks up road signs on fly overs and for me even a 100 km red and white sign on the back of a truck! of course it changed to 100 mph which was rather a shock.

I'll let you know if this works when I drive home from work today!

[Perkman1969]

I’ve had the same issue with my ID5 and as a result I rarely use the ACC, even though I commute 120 miles a day, most of which is on motorways. I’ve never had a car with ACC before and was rather looking forward to it when I got the car but this issue highlighted by @donboon along with the overcautious distance control which is easily fooled by passing cars who aren’t as fastidious at their lane keeping as they need to be, means it stays inactive. The only times I’ve really found it a worthwhile aid were in a couple of mahoosive traffic jams on the motorway caused by a partial road closure. Even then, on one occasion it lost concentration and had to activate the emergency braking to stop itself plowing into the car in front (I was on guard and just testing it’s reactions but it beat my hovering foot to the brake pedal by a millisecond). So like a lot of so-called driver aids, this one has been added to the “fad” folder, along with gesture control and the like.

[finlagganfan]

It's definitely a bit of a dumb "driver aid'. We have had some issues with it. The most frustrating was in France in the summer when the 90 km/h signs for slip roads off the autoroutes constantly got picked up by the car. I did email VW to complain about this fact, it got very annoying. But got nothing back.
Another issue the car had in France was that in rain the speed limit on roads reduces. I wasn't sure how the car decides it is raining sufficiently for it to have reduced speed. I had instances of it working correctly and slowing down in heavy rain. But also the opposite where it thought it was still raining and was keeping the speed reduced when it was dry and clear, and also the opposite where it was throwing it down and the car didn't seem to acknowledge such a thing. I presume it would all be set by the cameras? There weren't any speed signs displaying a temporary speed change...