Feature Spotlight: Lane Change Assist

The Lexus LS 500 offers a suite of standard active safety features but one advanced feature is particularly fascinating.  This feature is called Lane Change Assist (LCA) and it can be found on the 2019 or newer LS 500 models with the Lexus Safety System+ A package.  Described as an enhancement to Lane Tracing Assist (LTA), Lane Change Assist is designed to “help when performing lane changes” – a modest description of this advanced feature to say the least.  When properly executed, we have found this feature does far more than just “help” perform a lane change.  Lane Change Assist will actually make the lane change for you – as long as you meet all of the requirements at the time of use.

How It Works

When all of the requirements are met, Lane Change Assist makes your morning commute even easier by managing speed and steering as “you” change lanes through highway traffic.  Utilizing multiple sensors including the front camera on the windshield, millimeter-wave radar, front side radar sensor, and Blind Spot Monitor, the system monitors the surrounding environment then determines the trajectory and applies Steering Assist – all done after simply touching the turn signal lever in the direction of the lane you want to change into.  Of course, Lane Change Assist requires Dynamic Radar Cruise Control to be activated and set (but we’re assuming anyone looking for this kind of driving assistance would already have that mastered) and you must be driving at highway speeds of approximately 57 mph to 85 mph.

How to Use Lane Change Assist

In order to operate Lane Change Assist and make sure you are meeting all of the requirements, you’ll need to follow these instructions provided by Lexus.

1. All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control must be active and set to control the vehicle’s speed.
2. Press the Lane tracing Assist (LTA) switch on the steering wheel of your properly equipped LS 500 so to turn the LTA system on.  You will know the LTA system is on when you see the LTA indicator light illuminated on the Multi-Information Display and ahead of you via the massive color Head-Up Display.
3. When you want to make a lance change, hold the turn signal partway (lane change position) for approximately 1 second in the direction you would like to go.
4. The Lane Change Assist display will appear and show the direction you are signaling on the MID and Head-Up Display.  If conditions allow, the vehicle will execute the directed lane change and maintain or resume the preset speed.

It is important to remember that no driver should overly rely on this system and the driver must still make sure that the lane is clear.  This is especially important since the system will not blindly take your direction to change lanes.  If the turn signal light continues to blink for a certain amount of time and any of the following conditions apply, you will have to continue driving yourself as you normally would and change lanes manually.

Lane Change Assist may not operate under the following conditions:

• When the system detects the presence of a nearby vehicle
• When the lane markers cannot be detected
• When driving at a vehicle speed outside of the system’s operating speed (57 mph – 85 mph)
• When driving around a sharp curve
• When the vehicle is driving on a merging lane
• When no hands are detected on the wheel

For more information on this advanced feature or to see all that the new Lexus LS 500 has to offer, stop by North Park Lexus at Dominion.  Safe travels!