Snowfall stops ACC working.

[FelisBengalensis]

After driving through a heavy snow shower for a couple of minutes in the morning I had gongs and warnings going telling me that everything connected with the front ACC sensor had stopped working.

After quickly pulling over to check it, I found a 1/4" layer of snow had collected on the sensor cover effectively 'blinding' it's view. I suspect a heater is a little OTT though!

I have thought about putting a bit of RainX on it, however I am told by one of our materials experts that RainX contains Toluene and that does nasties to plastics. Anyone got any other suggestions?

The only other car I have seen a radar system on is BMW and their aerial array is mounted in front of the radiator looking through a plastic grill so it may stay warmer and not collect snow in motion.

So if your ACC suddenly stops playing it may be snow on the aerial!

[Q102]

It's mentioned in the user manual not to use ACC in snow....

[ant2ant]

Try polishing with a good quality wax like autoglym wax or showroom shine. I am surprised that it holds onto the snow because when I touched the front of mine it felt quite warm

[mannyo]

Do not use ACC in snow as per the manual, you could get very unpredictable results which can end in an accident. as the car may try to do things that work fine in the dry but could send you offroad on ice/snow.

[fj604]

Manual page 164

WARNING

For safety reasons, do not use the ACC under the following conditions.

...

When visibility is poor, (e.g. fog, heavy rain, thick snowfall).

When road conditions are poor (e.g. ice, slippery road, gravel, dirt road).

 

Edited 15 January, 2016 by fj604

[FelisBengalensis]

I know not to use any kind of cruise control in snow (I want absolute control of the car in those conditions anyway), but it knocked out a number of other systems too which was the surprise.

[Gromle]

Ive had it happen when driving in wet snow. But if its cold enough, it will work just fine.

The problem is wet snow/slush who will form a hard Shell over the radar unit as it freezes.

[muddyboots]

I know not to use any kind of cruise control in snow (I want absolute control of the car in those conditions anyway), but it knocked out a number of other systems too which was the surprise.

I assume it'll stop the emergency braking working too, if the radar can't sense what's ahead.

 

I was clearing snow & ice off ours this morning, and noticed the radar cover was encrusted with thick ice and snow - such that I couldn't just wipe it off with my gloves. However, after I'd started the car for a few minutes, it seemed to wipe off easily, so there must be some heat generated - perhaps not enough to keep it warm enough in motion though.

Edited 17 January, 2016 by muddyboots