Evasive steering helps you avoid or reduce the damage in hazardous front-end collisions. It works hand-in-hand with the emergency brake assist in the Pre-Collision Assist system.
Evasive steering is for situations such as when a car in your lane (ahead of you) suddenly brakes. If you don’t notice in time, you’ll struggle to react. The Pre-Collision Assist helps you to:
- Slow the car (emergency braking)
- Steer away from the danger (evasive assist)
This post will tell you all about the Mach E’s evasive steering, how it still requires your input, and how to use it safely.
Table of Contents
What is evasive steering on the Mustang Mach E?
Evasive steering is part of the Pre-Collision Assist system. It’s an assist that adds extra torque to the steering wheel when you turn it in an emergency.
As a result of this, the car’s wheels (and therefore the vehicle as a whole) change direction much more quickly. This gives you the best chance possible to avoid the danger ahead.
Evasive steering doesn’t control the steering wheel for you. In an emergency, you shouldn’t sit back and leave it all to the car. It’s a driver assist, not an autonomous driving program. All the Evasive Steering Assist does is increase the effort you put through the wheel. You’ll still have to react and control the car yourself.
How to switch on Evasive Steering Assist on the Mach E
The Mach E’s evasive steering assist is always on when you restart the ignition. You don’t have to worry about manually activating it. It’s part of the Pre-Collision Assist system, meaning it (along with the emergency braking assist) always switches back on when you turn your car on.
If you want to double-check that the evasive steering is active, go into the same menus as below (for turning it off).
- Open Settings.
- Tap Driver Assistance.
- Go to Pre-Collision Assist.
- Locate Evasive Steering and check it’s turned on.
Mach E: Switching evasive steering off
Switching evasive steering off on the Mach E is as simple as going into the menus and deactivating it. You’ll have to do this every time you start the car. Whenever you turn the ignition off and on, evasive steering will reactivate.
Here’s where you’ll find evasive steering in the Mustang Mach E’s menus.
- Open the Settings menu from the vehicle drawer.
- Select Driver Assistance.
- Find Pre-Collision Assist.
- Turn Evasive Steering off.
You can also switch evasive steering off by deactivating the emergency braking in Pre-Collision Assist. This automatically turns evasive steering off. Follow the instructions below to do this (it’s in the same Pre-Collision Assist menu):
- Go to Settings.
- Choose Driver Assistance.
- Look for Pre-Collision Assist.
- Switch off Automatic Emergency Braking.
Is Evasive Steering Assist safe on the Mach E?
Evasive steering is perfectly safe on the Mach E. If activated, it will only kick in during immediate emergency circumstances. It’ll then deactivate as soon as you’re in the clear.
Using Evasive Steering Assist safely requires a healthy amount of respect for road awareness. As mentioned, it isn’t a self-driving system. You must always maintain an alert view of what’s going on around and in front of you.
Also, remember that evasive steering increases the torque you send to the wheels. It’s therefore possible to overcorrect your steering which may lead to a loss of control. That isn’t ideal, of course, but balanced up with the possibility of a heavy front-end collision, it’s a far less risky outcome.
Evasive steering has some system limitations, as always. It won’t work all the time. Watch out for the ‘Pre-Collision Assist deactivated’ light. Whenever this is illuminated, evasive steering won’t work.
- It won’t work if you’re travelling under 3 mph.
- Pre-Collision Assist won’t kick in for small road users (pedestrians or cyclists) above 50 mph.
- Pre-Collision Assist and evasive steering won’t work if a car turns across your path when you’re going at more than 19 mph.
- An impaired sensor or camera will also prevent the system from working.
- Adverse weather (heavy rain, snow, fog, dust storms, etc.) might negatively affect the evasive steering sensors.
Here’s a PDF from the Mustang Mach E owner’s manual.
