Lane Keep Assist Issues? A Simple Fix Might Be Blocking Your Camera

We recently had a customer bring in a 2014 Acura MDX that was experiencing issues with the lane keep assist system after minor repairs to the front end of the vehicle.

Acura's Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) is designed to help drivers maintain their vehicle within the lane markings on the road. The system uses a camera mounted on the front windshield to continuously monitor lane markings. When LKAS detects that the vehicle is unintentionally drifting out of its lane without the turn signals activated, it gently applies steering torque to help guide the vehicle back into the center of the lane. 

In this case, the customer stated the vehicle LKAS was only working occasionally and was not detecting lane markings even on well marked roads. The vehicle would not alert when leaving the lane or attempt to steer back into the lane. 

A quick inspection by our team, as documented in the attached photos, revealed the LKAS camera was not working properly due to an EZ-Pass transponder mounted on the windshield directly in front of the camera. The transponder was blocking about 90% of the camera’s view and was likely mounted in this location prior to the recent accident and repairs. 

Quite often on vehicles where the windshield camera is set back from the windshield and not flush mounted to the glass, we see transponders, phone/GPS mounts, parking decals, and other items blocking some, or all of the camera’s view. Items on the dash can also cause a reflection on the glass disrupting the camera’s vision as well. Typically, information can be found in a vehicle Owner’s Manual explaining limitations when mounting items on the glass and repairing or replacing the windshield.