Tips when using Pilot Assist

Pilot Assist is a comfort function that can provide you with steering assistance and help you to maintain the distance to the vehicle in front of you. Initially, you may find it feels a little strange when Pilot Assist helps to control your car, and you may need to drive a few miles with Pilot Assist before you feel completely at home with the function. Below are some tips that you may find useful when using Pilot Assist.

Get to know Pilot Assist

The first few times you use Pilot Assist, it may be a good idea to drive in a calm traffic situation on a roadway. Pilot Assist is designed to work best on dry roadways with clear lane lines and a smooth flow of traffic.

Give yourself plenty of time to get to know the function. After a while, you will feel comfortable with how it works and learn the situations in which Pilot Assist can help you. It is important for you always to pay attention to your driving and keep your hands on the steering wheel. You are always ultimately responsible for driving in a safe manner, even when using Pilot Assist.

Instruction videos

Videos on Pilot Assist and on how you activate and use the function can be viewed below:

Pilot Assist, part 1

Pilot Assist, part 2

 Note

With Sensus Connect software from May 2017, Pilot Assist cannot be activated if a trailer, bicycle rack or similar item has been connected to the car's electrical system.

On bends and at road junctions

Pilot Assist interacts with you, the driver. You should therefore always be prepared to increase your own steering input, particularly in curves. Do not wait for the car to provide steering assistance. Perform the necessary steering maneuvers.

If you are approaching an exit or a road junction, drive towards the lane you want to aim for – this tells Pilot Assist where you are going.

Pilot Assist attempts to keep your car in the middle of the lane

When Pilot Assist helps to steer, it attempts to place your car halfway between the visible road lines. For a smoother drive, it is a good idea to allow the vehicle to find a good position. You can always adjust the position yourself by increasing your steering input. It is important for you to make sure your car is positioned safely in the lane.

If you think Pilot Assist is positioning the car in a way that is not suitable to the traffic situation, or in a way you want to drive the car, you can simply switch off Pilot Assist or switch to Adaptive cruise control1 via the steering wheel buttons. You can switch from active Pilot Assist to active Adaptive cruise control by pressing the left arrow button on the steering wheel. If you want to reactivate Pilot Assist, press the right arrow button on the steering wheel.

How do I know when Pilot Assist is providing steering assistance?

When the steering wheel symbol in the driver's display or the Head-up display2 is green, Pilot Assist is helping you to steer. If the steering wheel symbol is gray, no steering assistance is provided. You can clearly feel from the steering wheel when Pilot Assist is helping to steer. You can always steer the car yourself in a manner that differs from what Pilot Assist suggests. When you do so, you will feel slight resistance in the steering wheel as long as Pilot Assist is active.

16w49 - P5 - Support site - Pilot Assist grey and green steering wheels
When the steering wheel symbol in the driver's display is green, Pilot Assist is helping you to steer (illustration 2 on the right).

Steering assistance can toggle between off and on at any time

It is important to be aware that steering assistance may toggle between off and on at any time, without prior warning. This may be because the road lines are not clear enough for the system to see them, for example.

Focus on your driving and keep your hands on the wheel

It is also important for you always to continue to be active and alert when driving as Pilot Assist is unable to read all situations and the function may toggle between off and on without prior warning. If the system discovers that you are not keeping your hands on the steering wheel, a warning will sound and a text message will be shown on the driver display. Pilot Assist will be switched off if you fail to comply with the request.

Activate/deactivate Pilot Assist

The function can be easily activated/deactivated by scrolling to the Pilot Assist symbol16w49 - P5 - Support site - Pilot Assist symbol using the arrow buttons on the steering wheel. Then press the steering wheel button 16w17 - Support site - Pilot assist - Steering wheel symbol to launch Pilot Assist.

 Note

The function is briefly described below. For complete information and important warnings etc., refer to the owner's manual for your vehicle model.

Function availability may vary depending on the market and model.

Some systems are fitted as standard while others are options. This may vary depending on market, model year and car model.

 Warning

The function described is a supplementary aid and cannot handle all situations in all conditions.

The driver is always responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is driven in a safe manner and in accordance with applicable traffic rules and regulations.

  1. 1 (Adaptive Cruise Control - ACC)
  2. 2 Option. Not applicable to XC40.

This article is applicable to

  • Vehicle model/model year
  • XC90 and XC90 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid of model years 2016 to 2022.

  • S90, V90 and V90 Cross Country of model years 2017 to 2021.

  • XC40 from model year 2018 onward.

  • XC60, XC60 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid, V90 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid and S90 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid of model years 2018 to 2021.

  • V60, V60 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid, V60 Cross Country, S60, S60 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid of model years 2019 to 2022.

  • XC40 Twin Engine/Recharge Plug-in Hybrid from model year 2020 onward.

  • Model range may vary from market to market.