Help! LKA - can’t turn off - at all!

[prestonscotty]

Hi

Had an mg4 for about a week. First trip on the motorway yesterday and LKA nearly killed me.

Now I can see disabling it permanently is an ongoing issue. But my problem is I don’t seem to have the option to disable it for a single journey.

I’m on software version R33 and it simply doesn’t appear in the menu in MG pilot. It only has lane change assist but I can see from the in car description and mg4 brochure that this is a different function.

So I seemingly have no means to disable it or change the settings of it whatsoever.

Can anyone help?

 

[mg4mc]

You have to "start" the car before the option appears

 

[RayReliable]

I have found that all you need to do to prevent LKA from giving you a shock is to indicate when you switch lanes. I have driven a few motorway miles now and had zero issues.

So I guess the idea is if you leave the lane without indicating the it stops an accident.

The only time I have trouble is country roads, especially two directional carriage ways with a line down the middle. Because they are narrow it is super easy to cross a line on either side.

 

[AndyL61]

Hi

Had an mg4 for about a week. First trip on the motorway yesterday and LKA nearly killed me.

Now I can see disabling it permanently is an ongoing issue. But my problem is I don’t seem to have the option to disable it for a single journey.

I’m on software version R33 and it simply doesn’t appear in the menu in MG pilot. It only has lane change assist but I can see from the in car description and mg4 brochure that this is a different function.

So I seemingly have no means to disable it or change the settings of it whatsoever.

Can anyone help?

Press the brake pedal , when the car is in ready mode the LKA then appears on the MG pilot screen. You can then turn it off for that journey.? You will see the symbol at the top left of the driver's screen turn yellow which means it is disabled.

 

[prestonscotty]

Now on the one hand I feel a little silly that the solution is so easy. On the other if I'd posted this yesterday it would have saved me hours of manual reading and internet searching !!

Either way I'm just delighted that I have found a solution as the LKA is a big no for me.

With regards Ray's post I do appreciate that this is the correct way to change lane but in my case a lorry swerved to the edge of its lane to avoid either a pothole or some debris (couldn't see). I instinctively gave it a wider berth but didn't have time to indicate. The LKA forced me back towards the lorry. We got far too close for comfort but thankfully the lorry was already manoeuvring back into the middle of its lane. If for any reason it had continued to move out we'd have been pancake.

Thank you all for your help !

 

[Surfdog]

When I learned to drive I used to indicate all all the time until I did an advanced driving course and had this habit hammered out of me. A driver should be fully aware of all vehicles, pedestrians and other hazards and only I indicate when doing so would benefit another person was what I was taught.
I have a friend in fire service and their new vehicles all have lka apparently which the drivers all deem dangerous when on a blue light call. Unfortunately this unnecessary feature seems here to stay on all modern vehicles.
I recently wrote to MG and told them I would be prepared to provide testimony in court regarding the dangers of lka based on my experience with it should any MG4 be involved in a series or fatal crash.

 

[Ian Key]

Now on the one hand I feel a little silly that the solution is so easy. On the other if I'd posted this yesterday it would have saved me hours of manual reading and internet searching !!

Either way I'm just delighted that I have found a solution as the LKA is a big no for me.

With regards Ray's post I do appreciate that this is the correct way to change lane but in my case a lorry swerved to the edge of its lane to avoid either a pothole or some debris (couldn't see). I instinctively gave it a wider berth but didn't have time to indicate. The LKA forced me back towards the lorry. We got far too close for comfort but thankfully the lorry was already manoeuvring back into the middle of its lane. If for any reason it had continued to move out we'd have been pancake.

Thank you all for your help !

You do get used to it and start to second guess when it's going to twitch the wheel and are ready for it.

 

[Rolfe]

@Surfdog I was taught to drive like that from the get-go. Mirror, take stock of who is in the vicinity who might expect to see you signal if you're going to do what you intend to do, signal as necessary, then manoeuvre. I don't signal to an empty road.

I think it's safer. If your decision as to whether or not to signal depends on your assessment of the position of other road users, then you automatically make that assessment. If you just signal no matter what, there's a danger you get into the habit of just signalling then pulling out, as if the very act of signalling gives you the right of way. Which it doesn't. It means "I want/intend to do this" not "I am about to do this right now no matter what."

This caught me out during my test drive. The LKA was on but it didn't operate at all until relatively late in the drive when I made to exit the motorway using a slip road. There was nobody behind me, so I didn't signal, and the LKA made its presence felt. I hadn't been expecting it and it startled me, but it did let me do what I wanted to do despite initially trying to steer me back on to the motorway. The dealer explained that was the Lane Assist, and it had operated because I didn't signal. I remarked that there had been nobody there to signal to!

I thought about a future where I had to signal every time I wanted to change lanes even if all my training and experience said it wasn't necessary, and didn't like it. Then the day after I took deliverly I went on a joyride down the A701, which is a road that isn't really suitable for LKA at all, and was properly spooked. I stopped in Moffat and got out the manual and figured out how to turn it off good and proper. It's never been on since.

I thought, maybe I might use it on the motorway. But even then, I don't want to be constantly signalling to an empty road just to appease the LKA. Frankly, if I'm in a condition where I need the LKA on, I shouldn't be driving. I should be finding that cup of coffee, or even a hotel for the night.

I wonder if LKA would have prevented the Selby (Great Heck) rail disaster?

 

[Rolfe]

You do get used to it and start to second guess when it's going to twitch the wheel and are ready for it.

It's not going to get the chance, I assure you.

 

[StuartMG]

After the seatbelt it's the next thing I ensure is dealt with (i.e off) in the pre-flight check before going anywhere. ?

 

[Rolfe]

Me too. That and the lying piece of scum that is the speed limit detector.

 

[mg4mc]

I had it kick in the other day, a motor bike was overtaking me splitting the lanes, I moved over to give him room and the car swerved me back towards him. Really dangerous.

 

[Rolfe]

Turn it off. Srsly.

 

[gus]

Do you have to turn it off for each and every journey? The reason I ask is, I drive an ZS and it has stayed off since I turned it off, now the speed limiter I wish would stay on as we have an increasing amount of 20mph limits near me.

 

[Rolfe]

Newer models have the LKA default to on, as it seems to be a legal requirement. Older models are likely to find this happening to them with new software updates. It only takes seconds to turn it on before you get going though.

We have 20 mph limits around here, which I try to observe scrupulously, as I have been that pedestrian standing by the side of the A702 in Carlops wincing as some Stirling Moss roars past, and noticed how much better it is since that speed limit. Last night I got to the speed limit sign, having conscientiously let the regenerative braking slow me, and found an ICE car right up my non-existent tailpipe. Despite the green flashing signs saying "20 - thank you" he stayed there all the way through the village. I thought he was going to overtake me on the last stretch before the end of the speed limit (as has happened to me twice before) but someone else was coming the other way and he couldn't.

I was driving entirely manually, but I thought, suppose I had the "observe speed limit" selected to do this automatically? You'd be just as mad. Get over it.

 

[johnb80]

When I learned to drive I used to indicate all all the time until I did an advanced driving course and had this habit hammered out of me. A driver should be fully aware of all vehicles, pedestrians and other hazards and only I indicate when doing so would benefit another person was what I was taught.

Yep, same for me too

I have a friend in fire service and their new vehicles all have lka apparently which the drivers all deem dangerous when on a blue light call. Unfortunately this unnecessary feature seems here to stay on all modern vehicles.

I would think the overall result will be a net gain is safety.

I recently wrote to MG and told them I would be prepared to provide testimony in court regarding the dangers of lka based on my experience with it should any MG4 be involved in a series or fatal crash.

To be absolutely fair, I didn't find it an issue unless youre not driving with both hands on the wheel with a reasonably firm grip, exactly what you should be doing just in case a blowout / mechanical failure / object in the road conspires to divert you from the carriageway. I wouldn't have thought MG will deem you a credible threat to their systems operation having gone through the varous approval authorities, they wont be quaking in their boots as it were. It would seem to be a sensible idea to be able to switch the system off and leave it as an option for the driver to select, it's also a real no cost to MG option, simply a parameter in the software systems involved.

 

[Rolfe]

A lot depends on the road you're driving on. If it has clearly marked lanes, all you should need to do is remember to indicate if you want to change lanes, although personally I'm not inclined to do that. But even then, there's the situation where you may move aside in your lane to avoid some hazard and the LKA throws you straight back at the hazard. I think that's a real issue.

If you're driving on a twisty A road it's a menace, as you often cut across the centre line to take a bend if you can see nobody is coming. On roads without lane markings it's appalling, as it can pick up a rut or something and send you into the hedge.

The manual itself instructs the driver to turn it off "immediately" if it starts behaving badly, for example recognising ruts instead of lines. That is however impossible to do if you have to scroll through several infotainment screens before you get there. Personally, I prefer never to touch the infotainment screen while I'm moving, at all, as I think it's potentially dangerous. What that LKA needs is a physical on/off button that's easy to reach, and until and unless MG provide one, it stays off in my car.

 

[johnb80]

A lot depends on the road you're driving on. If it has clearly marked lanes, all you should need to do is remember to indicate if you want to change lanes, although personally I'm not inclined to do that. But even then, there's the situation where you may move aside in your lane to avoid some hazard and the LKA throws you straight back at the hazard. I think that's a real issue.

Possibly but in reality it's not that strong a push in my limited experience.

If you're driving on a twisty A road it's a menace, as you often cut across the centre line to take a bend if you can see nobody is coming. On roads without lane markings it's appalling, as it can pick up a rut or something and send you into the hedge.

I can see that being problematic.

The manual itself instructs the driver to turn it off "immediately" if it starts behaving badly, for example recognising ruts instead of lines. That is however impossible to do if you have to scroll through several infotainment screens before you get there.

LOL, yes that conjures up quite a picture.

Personally, I prefer never to touch the infotainment screen while I'm moving, at all, as I think it's potentially dangerous.

Agreed, I hate touch screens in cars.

What that LKA needs is a physical on/off button that's easy to reach, and until and unless MG provide one, it stays off in my car.

Can you not program one of the user programmable buttons on the steering wheel for this?

 

[AndyL61]

Possibly but in reality it's not that strong a push in my limited experience.


I can see that being problematic.


LOL, yes that conjures up quite a picture.


Agreed, I hate touch screens in cars.


Can you not program one of the user programmable buttons on the steering wheel for this?

No that option is not on either star button.

 

[johnb80]

No that option is not on either star button.

They’ve missed a chance there for no good reason