[cyber2142]

I decided to get a new car after my knee and hip pain got worse over the past years. Current car has no ACC or even auto-hold, and it kills me when I drive for an hour or so in traffic locally or drive to nearby state. I did fair amount of research but couldn't find exact list/map of TJA/HA availability besides saying "mapped, divided highway". Hoping someone in the area can provide some ideas of what I can expect with my 2024 iX (all options).

In case TJA/HA is not available, could you also tell me if ACC+Lane keeping assist is enough in traffic jam situation? I'm guessing lane keeping assist alone is more like feedback+correction unlike lane centering/Tesla's auto-steer.

Some of the areas I drive a lot and/or tend to get stuck in traffic causing knee pain:

1. GWB/Lincoln tunnel. GWB overlaps with I-95, so maybe it would work after all the merge...?

2. Route 9A (between 180th and 55th - the part without traffic lights)

3. Northern NJ to CT, Norwalk/New Haven: Google usually suggest 2 routes depending on traffic. I-95 all the way or I-87 then parkway. One of the main reason I'm getting a new car. Can be dealbreaker if it doesn't work here lol

4. FDR Drive - I asked dealer and he said no (he said there's too many exits). Seems little risky to rely on it there anyway.

5. Manhattan mid/downtown local st - Not expecting to have HA/TJA or use LKA here, but being able to use ACC in traffic situation would be nice...should be responsive enough to keep close distance though.

Much appreciated.

[darylp310]

Originally Posted by cyber2142

In case TJA/HA is not available, could you also tell me if ACC+Lane keeping assist is enough in traffic jam situation? I'm guessing lane keeping assist alone is more like feedback+correction unlike lane centering/Tesla's auto-steer.

The regular ACC+Lane Keeping assist is more than sufficient for your situation. Like you, I also have knee and leg pain, I try to avoid touching the accelerator and brake as much as possible. Rest assured, even without TJA/HA enabled the regular BMW Driving Assistant is more than capable to suit your needs.

I've been driving my iX50 for the past six months, and I'd say I engage the Driving Assistant about 90% of the time on both city streets and highways. It works wonderfully and I rarely need to touch the pedals.

The magical part about TJA/HA is that you don't need to touch the wheel at all. This is amazing when stuck in traffic, I often go 30-40 minutes without touch the wheel. But otherwise, the TJA/HA behavior is exactly the same as the regular Driving Assistant. The iX perfectly handles steering and braking for you. It's extremely smooth and humanlike, and not jerky or unpredictable at all -- which I suffered through when I had a Tesla Model X.

Since you live in a big city, you probably have a pretty big Turo inventory of iX's near you. So I recommend renting one for a full day so you can try out all the Driving Assistant functions. I rented a few times here in Los Angeles, and the overall satisfaction I got driving the iX sold me to move forward and get one for myself.

Good luck!

[mf44]

Originally Posted by cyber2142

I decided to get a new car after my knee and hip pain got worse over the past years. Current car has no ACC or even auto-hold, and it kills me when I drive for an hour or so in traffic locally or drive to nearby state. I did fair amount of research but couldn't find exact list/map of TJA/HA availability besides saying "mapped, divided highway". Hoping someone in the area can provide some ideas of what I can expect with my 2024 iX (all options).

In case TJA/HA is not available, could you also tell me if ACC+Lane keeping assist is enough in traffic jam situation? I'm guessing lane keeping assist alone is more like feedback+correction unlike lane centering/Tesla's auto-steer.

Some of the areas I drive a lot and/or tend to get stuck in traffic causing knee pain:

1. GWB/Lincoln tunnel. GWB overlaps with I-95, so maybe it would work after all the merge...?

2. Route 9A (between 180th and 55th - the part without traffic lights)

3. Northern NJ to CT, Norwalk/New Haven: Google usually suggest 2 routes depending on traffic. I-95 all the way or I-87 then parkway. One of the main reason I'm getting a new car. Can be dealbreaker if it doesn't work here lol

4. FDR Drive - I asked dealer and he said no (he said there's too many exits). Seems little risky to rely on it there anyway.

5. Manhattan mid/downtown local st - Not expecting to have HA/TJA or use LKA here, but being able to use ACC in traffic situation would be nice...should be responsive enough to keep close distance though.

Much appreciated.

Take a look at my thread on HA not working for me. And I’ve been driving a lot of the route you specify in #3… cannot get HA to engage at all.

It might be an issue with my car but this is a brand new iX, built in July.

Don’t get me wrong, adaptive cruise and lane keep are helpful if you are used to having nothing. But so far HA has been a complete dud (because it just doesn’t seem to work) and TJA was may more effective for me. TJA would work on most of the trip from NYC to CT.

[SGiXers]

My ride doesn't come with TJA/HA. TJA is the one we need to navigate close quarter heavy traffic. The basic ACC + lane keeping is good for faster moving traffic and constant highway speed. To move slowly and stopping regularly and crawl in heavy traffic, without TJA, its too blunt an instrument for this situation. It doesn't follow front traffic smoothly enough, it brakes abruptly as if its not able to predict the soon to slow down traffic in front. And yes, you can't take the hands off for too long too. It takes off too suddenly whenever the front vehicles move along and brakes a lot more than those with TJA.
I would pay real money for TJA.

[cyber2142]

Originally Posted by mf44

Take a look at my thread on HA not working for me. And I’ve been driving a lot of the route you specify in #3… cannot get HA to engage at all.

It might be an issue with my car but this is a brand new iX, built in July.

Don’t get me wrong, adaptive cruise and lane keep are helpful if you are used to having nothing. But so far HA has been a complete dud (because it just doesn’t seem to work) and TJA was may more effective for me. TJA would work on most of the trip from NYC to CT.

Thanks! Finally someone from the same area. Behavior you described is concerning....I wonder if different technology is being used for feature with same name. 2024 TJA description shows it only works on controlled access highway, which I think shoould include I-95.

Traffic Jam Assistant
Safely eliminate potentially tiring, small, incremental steering adjustments while sitting in slow traffic. The Traffic Jam Assistant provides automated steering input with continuous hands-off driving on controlled-access highways up to 40mph. This feature can be activated by taking the hands off the wheel once suitable driving conditions are met and the availability is offered to the driver. The driver is responsible for complete vehicle operation.

[mf44]

Originally Posted by cyber2142

Thanks! Finally someone from the same area. Behavior you described is concerning....I wonder if different technology is being used for feature with same name. 2024 TJA description shows it only works on controlled access highway, which I think shoould include I-95.

Traffic Jam Assistant
Safely eliminate potentially tiring, small, incremental steering adjustments while sitting in slow traffic. The Traffic Jam Assistant provides automated steering input with continuous hands-off driving on controlled-access highways up to 40mph. This feature can be activated by taking the hands off the wheel once suitable driving conditions are met and the availability is offered to the driver. The driver is responsible for complete vehicle operation.

Let me continue troubleshooting and if it improves I’ll let you know.

[mf44]

cyber2142 (and anyone else who is following): After I was able to reboot and get my car's GPS to work properly, HA is working very, very well and I can highly recommend it.

I used it between CT and NYC and, while it doesn't operate the entire time, it was engaged the majority of the trip (including in some sections where I honestly didn't feel comfortable being hands-off). But to give an example, on the Merritt, it was engaged except for some of the tighter curves (where I imagine the cameras can't see as well) and one stretch where there was construction. This is still not a full self-driving vehicle, as it can disengage here or there, but it's still a very nice feature.

Also, as for #4, it does engage for portions of the FDR drive, but its on and off and, frankly, I'd rather be more attentive on the FDR drive anyways.

[Sheva_BMW]

Short answer it works very well an almost all parkways, interstates, etc in our area. FDR i would not dare to use it LOL

[cyber2142]

Originally Posted by mf44

cyber2142 (and anyone else who is following): After I was able to reboot and get my car's GPS to work properly, HA is working very, very well and I can highly recommend it.

I used it between CT and NYC and, while it doesn't operate the entire time, it was engaged the majority of the trip (including in some sections where I honestly didn't feel comfortable being hands-off). But to give an example, on the Merritt, it was engaged except for some of the tighter curves (where I imagine the cameras can't see as well) and one stretch where there was construction. This is still not a full self-driving vehicle, as it can disengage here or there, but it's still a very nice feature.

Also, as for #4, it does engage for portions of the FDR drive, but its on and off and, frankly, I'd rather be more attentive on the FDR drive anyways.

Awesome! Thank you so much. Can't wait for my iX50 now

[cyber2142]

Update on this:

It's exceeding my expectations. Hope this post helps someone who also lives in busy city like NYC metro area and don't have demo iX with all the features to test drive with.

1. GWB - Interestingly, hands-free option is not available on bridge or even on nearby interstate highway stretching few miles even though they have center divider. However, it wasn't a problem because non-hands free option works very well which is good enough for me. Had to put preferred distance to short and occasionally use pedal because there are points people cutting line too much if there's space in the front.

2. Other interstate highways and turn-pike: works very well, and HA is on most of time. Drove from NYC to MD and HA was reliable and on 90% of time, exceptions were constructions and weird merge situations. I feel pretty safe and rely on it a lot.

3. FDR Drive - Dealer said it doesn't work there but contrary to what he said HA (>40) was working! I keep good attention because there are some crazy drivers on FDR but it works wonders in most segments. Godly when stuck in traffic (although <40mi hands free is traffic jam assist instead of HA, it's soooo convenient)

4. Manhattan mid/downtown local st - As expected, lane assist is available but I use whole system more like adaptive cruise control. Too much variables to consider. Even hard to use as adaptive cruise control because iX can't read red lights or stop sign like Tesla FSD does. Still useful but highly dependent on situations.


HA is nice but I sometimes opt to use hand-on option because that I think allows me to look at and use touchscreen as long as I keep my left hands on. With HA, I need to keep looking straight but it allows me to stretch and assume comfortable positions.

[ArcticBlueM440i]

For anyone else in the area who drives to CT...

One really odd spot I've found is on route 9W in Northern NJ/Rockland, going north right before the border, at the spot where there is the left turn entrance onto the PIP, the automatic distance control completely stops working while coming down the hill. I have no idea why, maybe the combination of the hill and the curve confuses it, but it's the one spot on my whole trip where I have to take control back and hit the accelerator, or else the car just slows to nearly a stop under the traffic light.
So strange...anyone else drive this route and have this?

Besides that it's friggin amazing, I basically do nothing and let it drive me from North NJ to Greenwich.