Is it one of those cars that alters the brake boost depending on circumstances?
That drives me nuts. When you put x amount of force into the brake pedal, you should know you're going to get y amount of deceleration. Don't double the brake boost just because you decided it's an emergency due to some opaque criteria.
If you are referring to the alert stage of the emergency braking system, triggering it should be rare if you drive reasonably well. It is also most likely a situation in which you could benefit from a little more braking force.
If you decide to swerve, the additional weight at the front will help you to initiate the turn, and good systems will then reduce the braking force at the right moment to give you the most traction when cornering.
I remember 2 events where the activation was completely out of place and felt it was endangering rather than protecting me.
- Driving from Tahoe to SF where the limited lane visibility due to the slope and a slight twist made the system think I was going to hit the car I was overtaking (from the 2nd and left-most lane). This really felt dangerous since it activated mid-turn and messed with the car's balance.
- The other event was a roundabout where a car yielding to get in behind plants jump-scared the breaking system. At 10-15 mph or so the unexpected breaking wasn't dangerous though, worst-case scenario you get rear ended at low speeds.
Beyond that, overtakes where you slow down as you return to your lane may trip the system, but those cases are fair even though the following distance they intend is a bit too cautious. I reckon my Mom would be holding the roof with both hands if she was there, but my Dad & siblings unfazed.
Yeah, most AEB systems I've used work quite well. I've had a couple false alarms (just at the warning stage) where I can at least understand why they happened from a system perspective, even if there was no risk.
I did find "normal" mode on the Model 3 was way too sensitive, but I set it to "late" and it's been fine ever since.
I'm quite pleased to know that my Tesla S will assist me in braking when I stamp on the pedal. It's happened a couple of times and in both cases made sense and the car was under control all the time.
I'm all in for traction control and to some extent ABS, but braking hard and upsetting the car's balance when you don't need it is dangerous.