2019 VW Golf R Distance warning Dashlight

[d0m0kun]

Hello All,

Got this 2019 VW Golf R a few months and noticed this occurring about a few weeks ago. Noticed this light kept on coming up randomly on my dash when I am driving on the highway/freeway. I looked it up at the manual and online and it says the following

Distance Warning

The system detects when safety is endangered by driving too close to the vehicle in front. The indicator lamp lights up. Increase the distance.

Speed range: approx. 65 km/h (40 mph) to 250 km/h (155 mph).

I have never tailed gated anyone and I am always at least one to two car lengths behind a person when I am driving on the highway/freeway. But I don't understand it says to increase the distance. What is up with this light and if there is something wrong with my front sensor? Also, this has happened when there is no one in front of me too.

https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/own.../warning-light/electric-distance-warning.html

 

[d0m0kun]

Hmm, might have found the answer here. But not sure if anyone else experience this issue.

https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/fr...arning-am-i-really-driving-too-close.8188953/

 

[IGM2019]

Uh 1 to 2 car lengths behind someone at fwy speeds is definitely tailgating. You want to have a 3 seconds gap from the person in front of you. I usually notice that light will come on for me if the gap is 2 seconds or less.

 

[Salami]

I have never tailed gated anyone and I am always at least one to two car lengths behind a person when I am driving on the highway/freeway.

You just contradicted yourself.

Two cars or less distance at any speed from 45 mph and up is definitely tailgating. Don't be that asshole and give people more distance.

 

[d0m0kun]

Good to know, thanks.

 

[DarkArrow]

I just turned it off, since in SoCal if you're driving at a 2-3 second gap from the car in front of you you'll get cut off constantly and the result in even less space between you and the car that just cut you off.

I swear people here drive like cats. They try to find the tightest spot to squeeze into. There could be no one in front of the car in front of me and no one behind me, but a SoCal driver will still try to squeeze between me and the car in front of me.

 

[scrllock]

Set your ACC to the minimum distance and observe how much room it leaves. Less than that and you'll get that warning.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

Happens to me every time I drive my car. The distance VW has established is needed to maintain a "safe following distance" is hardly realistic. On city highways, it's near impossible to keep the light from flashing. Every time I leave enough room between me and car in front of me, another car just slips right in between us.

@scrllock - I've played with the ACC. Have not seen a discernable difference in stopping distance. From what I can tell, the indicator light is a static distance, but I could be wrong.

 

[Charlotte.:R]

Happens to me every time I drive my car. The distance VW has established is needed to maintain a "safe following distance" is hardly realistic. On city highways, it's near impossible to keep the light from flashing. Every time I leave enough room between me and car in front of me, another car just slips right in between us.

+1

left to itself, car after car after car will just cut in front of you and ACC will just slow you down more.

I wish you could turn the adaptive part off.

 

[kevinkar]

I drive in SoCal and rarely get this warning. I'm a "2-second +" driver and don't give a hoot about people filling in the spot in front of me because I'd rather not ram in to anyone. Yeah, it ticks me off that they do it but I just drive my drive and zen out. I'll give them the old WTF hand wave sometimes but they probably don't care.

Even when I'm closer than I should be I rarely get that warning. Guess there's some variance in the sensor calibration across thousands of Golfs?

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I drive in SoCal and rarely get this warning. I'm a "2-second +" driver and don't give a hoot about people filling in the spot in front of me because I'd rather not ram in to anyone. Yeah, it ticks me off that they do it but I just drive my drive and zen out. I'll give them the old WTF hand wave sometimes but they probably don't care.

Even when I'm closer than I should be I rarely get that warning. Guess there's some variance in the sensor calibration across thousands of Golfs?

You must not be noticing when the indicator turns on. I forget it's there too, until I see it.

 

[RudyH]

Uh 1 to 2 car lengths behind someone at fwy speeds is definitely tailgating. You want to have a 3 seconds gap from the person in front of you. I usually notice that light will come on for me if the gap is 2 seconds or less.

it's more of a get out of the left lane, car length.

Otherwise I agree about any other lane on the freeway. Then again it's North America...

OP, is that a 2015-2017 message? I assume so

 

[Cuzoe]

It would be interesting if VW published the exact scenarios that cause that indication... although I don't think any manufacturer does this. I imagine it takes your speed, de/acceleration and distance to the car in front of you and determines the time needed to avoid a collision. Too little time, you get the warning.

In some thread a while back I think it was "agreed upon" that this warning means you are too close for Auto Emergency Braking to work. It doesn't directly have to do with ACC, except preventing you from engageing ACC since you're already too close for emergency warning/braking to function. So you can/will get this warning regardless of your ACC car length follow setting.

Every time I've I've seen that indication I've been following too closely. I may have had my reasons in the moment (or been distracted) but I was not at a distance where I would normally drive... And more importantly not at a distance that I would want anybody driving behind me.

In my younger days somebody driving two car lengths behind me at highway speeds was getting brake checked, without hesitation. I was never one to hang out in the fast lane so... go around or back up .

 

[kevinkar]

You must not be noticing when the indicator turns on. I forget it's there too, until I see it.

I will try and tailgate a bit and find out and report back.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I will try and tailgate a bit and find out and report back.

There are several situations where you will be close enough to another car to make the indicator come on. I'm not inferring that anyone intentionally tailgates.

Obviously, there is a specific distance that VW has determined appropriate for the indicator light to turn on. If you are on a freeway in a highly populated city (LA, Phoenix, etc.) you will find that cars regularly drive at speeds exceeding 75mph without enough stopping distance. Matter of fact, there are certain situations that driving the speed limit is more dangerous than keeping up with traffic at 10-15mph over what's posted. Most cars will just be blowing by you. There are also the situations where you merge onto the freeway. Something to keep in mind would be - how fast do you need to be traveling to have the indicator turn on? Similarly, lane assist requires a certain speed to engage, seems to be somewhere around 40mph. It's possible that at slower speeds the light still comes on, where stopping distance isn't as much of a factor.

All that being said, I highly doubt you can drive on the highway in such a way that the indicator light never turns on. Not sure if that's even possible. Whether it's merging on / off of the freeway, changing lanes, or having a car cut in front of you suddenly. At some point, you are going to see that light.