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Radar Obstructed - Cruise and LKAS affected

10437 Views 20 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  FRR
Snowy Day - Systems DOWN

Interesting -- sticky, wet snow today.

Collision Mitigation System Error AND all RADAR went down. ERROR messages all over the dashboard.

Stopped vehicle. Powered down then powered on after a few moments. Still non functional.

Called dealer service adviser. He said, "You've got snow in your logo" "HUH?" Yeah, he said "...get out, wipe the accumulated snow from the "H" Honda logo on the nose of the vehicle."

Voila! All fixed.

Who knew?????
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Interesting -- sticky, wet snow today.

Collision Mitigation System Error AND all RADAR went down. ERROR messages all over the dashboard.

Stopped vehicle. Powered down then powered on after a few moments. Still non functional.

Called dealer service adviser. He said, "You've got snow in your logo" "HUH?" Yeah, he said "...get out, wipe the accumulated snow from the "H" Honda logo on the nose of the vehicle."

Voila! All fixed.

Who knew?????
We are starting to get snow here in eastern Washington, so this is good to know. Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t know there was radar in the logo. Thanks for the info!
Good to know! It’s supposed to snow here on Thursday.
I was looking at mine and I can’t see anything to do with radar and the H logo. What Ive got is more on the lower drivers side part of the grill. And then there’s the one on the top part of the windshield. Or am I just not seeing it?
I was looking at mine and I can’t see anything to do with radar and the H logo. What Ive got is more on the lower drivers side part of the grill. And then there’s the one on the top part of the windshield. Or am I just not seeing it?
I’m with you..... not on the “H” logo at all. Sensor is in the bottom of the grill towards the ground on the driver side. It’s a black square. However, I did have the same errors as we also had heavy, wet snow that accumulated on the front of my Insight on Monday morning. By the evening on my way home, the snow had melted or blew off the front (30 mile an hour winds and 40 mile an hour gusts.... hello windchill) and everything was fine with those systems and I didn’t have to do anything for those error messages to go away.
Yes. Remove the snow from that metallic square then the message would disappear. That plastic square is actually is radar that sense the front objects.
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Left Spokane, WA Thursday morning (Dec. 26) to set out on a 1,650 road road trip (one way) with my wife to visit her parents in Missouri. Experienced wet snow just out of Spokane and ice built up on the front of the EX. Then got the message "Some driver assist systems cannot operate. Radar obstructed." Tried to wipe the front "radar" systems clear, but ice was built up to much. Yesterday and today it was obstructed both days. We are about 950 miles into the trip and it's cold wintery weather.

Also, getting very poor mpg. We are driving anywhere between 40 mph to 75 mph on interstates depending on conditons and we are getting about 37 mpg in Econ mode. My 2015 Honda Fit made the same trip in winter twice and we usually got better mpg than that.
Left Spokane, WA Thursday morning (Dec. 26) to set out on a 1,650 road road trip (one way) with my wife to visit her parents in Missouri. Experienced wet snow just out of Spokane and ice built up on the front of the EX. Then got the message "Some driver assist systems cannot operate. Radar obstructed." Tried to wipe the front "radar" systems clear, but ice was built up to much. Yesterday and today it was obstructed both days. We are about 950 miles into the trip and it's cold wintery weather.

Also, getting very poor mpg. We are driving anywhere between 40 mph to 75 mph on interstates depending on conditons and we are getting about 37 mpg in Econ mode. My 2015 Honda Fit made the same trip in winter twice and we usually got better mpg than that.
I keep a spray bottle filled with -35 windshield washer fluid around - mainly to defrost the windshield quickly, but it should get your radar cleaned in a pinch.
I keep a spray bottle filled with -35 windshield washer fluid around - mainly to defrost the windshield quickly, but it should get your radar cleaned in a pinch.
That’s a good tip! I’m going to do that too.
From what I've read, the radar sensor is located in the front grille emblem for SOME Acura and Honda models (e.g. CR-V, Pilot), but not for the Insight or Civic. When the radar is part of the emblem, it has a solid black background rather than a hollow logo. https://www.motortrader.com.my/news...d-and-experienced/camera-and-radar-locations/

Perhaps the dealer confused models, but the Insight Owners Manual shows the radar sensor is a rectangle in the lower front bumper, rather than in the emblem. (See pages 32, 483, 530 of the Insight Owners Manual.)
This is just the sort of info that forums should be about (not always what actually is on many forums)
My acc and lkas turned off in a cold sonwy icy day. It's the ice in front of the radar that causes it. not much we can do apparently. Unless somehow manage to clear that ice.
Radar Interference With Cruise and LKSS

The past two days I keep getting messages on my car that indicates that many features can not work because of radar intererence. Whe it comes on it stays on no matter how may miles I drive before I turn off the key and then start it. Then within a couple of miles it get the same screen with the same message. Driven the car 2400 miles in three months and only had that message on once, and then it went away in a couple of miles. Anyone have an idea on what is going on with this thing?
Is there anything blocking your radar like snow or mud?
Could you share the specific message that you're seeing? Is it: "Some Driver Assist Systems Cannot Operate, Radar Obstructed" -?

Gently cleaning the surface of the radar and/or using in clear weather should address the most likely issue of buildup; but the manual does advise to contact a dealer if the indicator doesn't turn off after cleaning OR if the warning message appears too frequently (pp 100, 124, 498).

Technically the radar sensor for ACC/LSF is shared with the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS), so if ACC/LSF isn't working then neither is CMBS.

Beyond surface grime, there are a few other interesting possibilities that the manual suggests could be cause issues. Some of the list can be easily ruled out by making your own checks, but I'm listing them for completeness because they're spread out in different places/pages (pp 488, 498, 505, 530):
  • abnormal tire or wheel condition (e.g. tire chains)
  • excess load exceeding maximum limit (causes car to tilt & misalign radar from calibrated position)
  • driving with the parking brake on
  • driving at night with headlights off (affects camera's view)
  • windshield is blocked by dirt
  • driving in off-road conditions for extended time
  • camera behind the rearview mirror around camera is dirty
  • strong impacts to the radar sensor cover (e.g. collision)
  • strongly striking bumps, curbs that jar the radar sensor
  • car is driven through deep water
  • harsh solvents used to clean the cover
  • sticker or paint on radar sensor cover

Some of these seem basic, but worth checking before making a trip to the dealer.
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Where is the radar. Is it the box at the top of the mirror? My windshield is clean although it was snowing earlier in the day. I can't believe this warning is going to activate every time it snows. None of the other items listed where a problem at all.
Found a good article about the radar detectors. The essence of the piece is that radar sensors are located in the front grille and why it is important to keep it clean. I posting it in case there are others like me that was unaware of this fact
https://www.manchesterhonda.com/car-safety-sensors-to-keep-clean-during-winter/
See attached photo for the location of the Insight's radar and screenshots of what happens when it is covered or obstructed in any way (such as with snow).

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Where is the radar. Is it the box at the top of the mirror? My windshield is clean although it was snowing earlier in the day. I can't believe this warning is going to activate every time it snows. None of the other items listed where a problem at all.
The radar is a rectangular plastic box in the lower right side, as Honda2019 pointed out. The camera is inside the car on the upper part of windshield, near the rearview mirror. If you refer to the manual, each section of Honda Sensing starts with a diagram that shows the position of both.

The radar operates on radio wave feedback, and the camera uses visual feedback... so any buildup in either area affects the reading, and the alert message reflects that. Bad weather conditions like snow affect how radio waves "bounce" back to the car, and how visual signals are interpreted by the camera. The manual does a good job of flagging this in multiple places (e.g. p124).

Did your recent issues occur in snowy weather? Did the indicator return to normal once your radar was cleaned and/or snow stopped?
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