Another cover would not fix it as it's the build-up that's causing the jam. not the build-up on the sensor directly.

The only possible resolve would be a spray washer like the ones on the headlights.

 

Or a heated cover

 

Heated would be nice esp after the roads are clear but I would not want to use cruise control or lane keep assist etc in a snowstorm. Good that things do shut down when the sensor is covered by wet snow.

 

Can you get one of those screens that show all the blips? That would be way cool.

 

Too bad Honda engineer's couldn't put a cover to protect or change the emblem so it's surface is flat and slippery so nothing would block the radar.

In fairness, every car OEM has this issue where inclement weather can and does obstruct the radar(s). Its not a problem related solely to Honda.

 

This is true. I was driving a 2019 Accord back in November during a very light snow storm Didn't take much to start getting the warnings that the sensing systems weren't working. It also didn't take long for them to start working again.

 

Plot twist...

You should be happy that it builds up thre and shuts down the honda sensing becuase in inclimate weather the last thing you'd want is driver assist features coming on .
Even if you cleared off the sensor there is now way that the cameras can read the lines in snow since they are obstructed

 

Inclement weather is exactly when I expect driver assist features to work. Snow…absolutely. Got T boned in the rain due to another driver not paying attention in the mild rain during daylight hours. No driver assist warning in my 2020 cr -v. so… useless feature.

 

^

Couldnt agree more with @BoostedV 👌

 

Just to echo what others have said...
The radar and camera work together for the Honda safety system. The radar is low-power, millimeter wavelength, not high power doppler like you see on the evening news.
In most cases, the safety system shuts off because it is overwhelmed with the data in adverse weather conditions. This will also happen in heavy rain.

Pretty much the same situation as your grandma deciding that she is no longer comfortable driving at night or on freeways.

 

Yep, I'm definitely fine with ACC taking a nap when the weather sucks; the car has no idea how poor traction is and will not compensate; that's a good way to starting a huge pile-up in crappy weather.

That said, early '17's had a bug where ACC would take a nap in a mild rain, but it was fixed via TSB, so no big deal...

 

I have that issue, was that a recall?

 

Honda has quietly changed the front cover on the radar emitter on the Accords. It is now essentially flat, with no trapezoidal dip toward the middle of the emitter. I'm sure this is to help mitgigate ice and snow build up in the shallow cupping structure of the original emitters.

I have not yet noticed if they also did this on the mid-life refresh CRVs or not.

Bottom line... the system is mean for very low power fair weather consumer applications. It is NOT meant to operate properly in heavy rain/snow/ice, and as others have noted.. drivers should not be relying on HondaSensing in these conditions anyway... it is not safe to do so.

I'm sure as time passes, manufacturers will get better at weather mitigation and it's impacts on smart driving support systems. And I emphasize the use of the words "driving support" because these are NOT designed to be autonomous or replace the driver in any way. Currently they are a second set of eyes and reactions to events taking place around a vehicle. Nothing more, nothing less, as we are still years away from actual level 4 autonomous vehicles.

I am of the opinion that a slightly dome shaped faceplate in front of the emitter, with either a PTFE coating or even the cover being made of PTFE will do the trick (though I do not know how well this holds up under prolonged sunlight UV.. but there are also UV coatings to address that). But even this modest change would likely add $50 in cost to the vehicle.. so.. we may or may not see this sort of improvement.

 

The solution would appear obvious.
Replace that wimpy blockage-prone mm radar with a real Manly 20 KW X-Band unit that will burn through anything in its path.
If a slowpoke got in your way you could switch up from "Singe" to "Incinerate".

 

If a slowpoke got in your way you could switch up from "Singe" to "Incinerate".

 

The xkcd guy actually ran the numbers to figure out how much heat it would take to melt all the snow in a drift in front of a car at highway speed instead of plowing it. Apparently snow can absorb more heat than you think; the answer was approx. 3 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.

 

I have learned a lot from all the answers received. Might get measurements from Accord emblem, if same size I could replace original and then do the polish/wax/ceramic coat thing. I'm not bothered by the messages except for the part about "lost accident mode" . this can be closed by whoever does that.

 

You do know that the radar is not located behind the Honda emblem. It is located below the emblem behind the trapezoid shaped plastic cover.

 

So, after suffering a Some Driver Assist programs may not work error. After having icons showing ACC and Forward Collision failures, yet having all the systems work except for ACC not turning on as if the switch was broken. After driving 20 miles south in clouds, having lunch with family, then driving 20 miles back in the sun, the ACC started working about 4 miles from home.

No rhyme, or reason. Hopefully the dealer knows because it is going into the shop.

 

Called to schedule service, was told safety systems could take up to 12 cycles to reset. Not good news.

 

I may be wrong here but my understanding is that Tesla vehicles no longer have radar but only use cameras. Perhaps this is the answer to the problem of the radar unit that Honda is using.

 

Trust me, this is NOT the answer. Cameras also go off line in bad weather due to visibility issues, and rain and snow interference.

Tesla was going to go the Lidar route but of course since that is the direction the industry is moving toward, Musk dropped it because he simply cannot be seen to be "in the pack"... nope... he has to always be positioning himself as the coolest, bestest, CEO and vehicle company in the world. Narcissist in action, here.

Trust nothing this man says or claims where his vehicles are concerned. He is all marketeer and no hat.

 

Hi. I have a real issue with my 2017 EX. However, in my case, all the safety functions stop whenever it rains or snows. So when I need it, it doesn’t work.

 

Hi. I have a real issue with my 2017 EX. However, in my case, all the safety functions stop whenever it rains or snows. So when I need it, it doesn’t work.

Have you read any of this thread before posting??

In inclement weather, the camera is often unable to see the road markings to work properly. Not sure whats hard to grasp about this?

 

Seems like everyone missed my problem with the radar. We have lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario in the Rochester, NY area. You might drive thru a couple of miles of snow, have the system shut down, and then drive onto clear roads. Since the temp is below freezing, the crud does not melt and the system remains off even though the roads are dry and all traffic lines are clearly visible.

 

I will take an explanation of the MAIN button on the steering wheel. The dealer told me it was an on/off switch for the ACC.

 

I wonder if covering the radar with soap or some other liquid with a higher freezing point would help. Heard this trick to prevent windshields from icing up and might have a chance since the radar is more vertical.

 

Radiation at mm wave frequencies is stopped by pretty much anything, but especially water or any water-containing liquid.
Pretty much any mass you put in front of that unit is going to cause issues, the only question being how much?
They probably had to work to find a plastic cover that wouldn't attenuate things too much.
The usual answer in the radar biz is a heated radome, but you often have to use blown hot air so you don't have any heating elements in the radiation path.
It could be done, but I don't expect to see it.
"Rain Fade" is an issue in the communications use of microwaves as well, one that has never been successfully solved.

 

^

No, it was a TSB.

 

I have a camera based system on my other car and it also says "Unsuitable conditions" (rough translation) and switches off the ACC when the weather turns bad. It does not get affected by ice per se but by bad visibility.

 

china aftermarket can fix that problem..... Well i really trying found one....Ok!.

 

In the long run, Honda and other brands will continue to improve and enhance the various sensing systems required for augmented safety and ultimately autonomous driving somewhere in the future. The end goal is truly capable and safe self driving vehicles.. and that will drive better solutions.

To do so, they will evolve to newer technologies like Lidar. Lidar by the way is able to penetrate weather barriers quite well, but it is still in the development stages for use in future true autonomous driving systems. Lidar systems are in common use now days by archeologists to find ruins that are literally covered in forest canopy and buried under dirt. They do this by installing Lidar systems in aircraft and they they fly a search pattern over an wide area and then analyze the results. So... what they do is not real time, yet... but the technology will quickly move in that direction. Lidar is also being used by US Geological Survey to do rapid accurate mapping of terrain for geographical and navigation maps.

The trick is going to be how to produce Lidar for use in motor vehicles, a very demanding application where cost and capability are in direct opposition to one another.

Meanwhile.. what we have is what we have. Both radar array and front facing camera will be impacted by bad weather and may cause some or all HondaSensing systems to go offline. It is what it is, and no type of home after market remedy is going to improve the baseline operation.

From my perspective I do think the radar emitters can be better protected from rain and snow interference, but it will never be zero.. because there is literally a wall of rain or snow falling as you are driving at speed. See, it is not just rain or ice on the front face of the emitter, that is only half the challenge.

 

Try rainx

 

While that is a very simple idea, it strikes me as a potentially good one that could help in some situations. My radar shut down during a rain storm as I was passing a semi truck as it kicked off water and associated road dirt.

I think the real key however is that owners know this sort of obstruction could occur and what happens if it does so they aren't surprised by the unexpected warnings and system shutdowns.
.

 

Yes, if owners knew... That error message about Driver Assist Features being disabled is not in the owners manual I got.