[Moonmack]

We like driving our 2020 Honda Clarity but have a strange experience with the Adaptive Cruise Control shutting off and a message displayed about the radar being obstructed. I pull the car over and turn it off. When I turn the car back on the ACC works again. Since this first happened in the winter I figured it must be snow on the sensor, but it's still happening without snow. It seems to happen on the same 2 miles of road on a country road / highway (single lane but 60mph). It doesn't happen every time we drive that way, and it doesn't seem to happen elsewhere in the city or at highway speeds. I washed the car just in case there was mud or debris covering the sensor, but it still happens.

Any ideas of what is going on? My mechanic was guessing that we lost cellular signal and the car needs to be able to communicate with other cars in order for the ACC to work. That doesn't sound right to me, but I'm not sure what the answer is. I was wondering if it something stuck around the radar, but then it should happen all the time or at least in random locations. Is it possible for a road sign or the ground to reflect the radar strangely that would cause problems?

Thanks in advance for the ideas.

 

[obermd]

Talk to your Honda dealer. Your local mechanic is clueless because ACC doesn't communicate with other vehicles.

My guess is you have a short circuit in the sensor itself.

 

[2002]

Your local mechanic is clueless because ACC doesn't communicate with other vehicles.

LOL I think the mechanic has been spending his breaks reading Popular Science magazine. We are still several years away from cars communicating with each other. The technology might exist but it will take years to work out all of the protocols, not to mention figuring out the legal implications.

Reminds me of a clerk at my local grocery store claiming that at some of their other store locations they had self-driving cars delivering food to customer's homes.

 

[4sallypat]

Have you checked if the camera sensors on the windshield are not obstructed by dirt/debris ?

 

[ev_n]

Your ACC sensor, and really all the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) can be diagnosed by companies other than the Honda dealer. Mechanics shops don't really normally deal with it, servicing ADAS across all manufacturers is a different demand with different layouts in the shop, but yes a lot could make the room for it and profit.

Some technicians for what you need are able to come to your home for diagnostics and confirm if you need hardware replacement, how much of it, or a simple recalibration. One way to find a pro around you is to search for ADAS recalibration in Google. If you're up to it, calling a few nearby body shops is a guaranteed referral, if they don't do it in-house and the rep you're speaking to knows who to refer you or transfers you to someone who can help.

 

[Moonmack]

Have you checked if the camera sensors on the windshield are not obstructed by dirt/debris ?

I don’t think debris is the problem since it happened after washing the car. Also, it seems strange to only happen for one stretch of road. We’ve driven for miles and it hasn’t really happened elsewhere.

 

[Moonmack]

Your ACC sensor, and really all the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) can be diagnosed by companies other than the Honda dealer. Mechanics shops don't really normally deal with it, servicing ADAS across all manufacturers is a different demand with different layouts in the shop, but yes a lot could make the room for it and profit.

Some technicians for what you need are able to come to your home for diagnostics and confirm if you need hardware replacement, how much of it, or a simple recalibration. One way to find a pro around you is to search for ADAS recalibration in Google. If you're up to it, calling a few nearby body shops is a guaranteed referral, if they don't do it in-house and the rep you're speaking to knows who to refer you or transfers you to someone who can help.

I’ll keep that in mind, but I live in a small town so there’s not a lot of choice for mechanics. I could take it back to the dealership in the city since it’s still under the factory warranty. i’m pretty sure, however, this is the first Clarity they’ve sold. Is the sensor identical to other Honda models?

 

[obermd]

Most of the Clarity is identical to other Hondas. Since it's under the B2B warranty I'd definitely take it to a Honda dealership.