Aftermarket add on safety options
 

Awhile back I had a new loaner car while my 2014 F150 was in the shop. The loaner had some interesting options, like lane change assist/warning, forward warning systems with automatic braking and push to start. The rear view camera I have and it’s good when backing into a parking spot.

Yes, we have all driven cars without them for a hundred years and it doesn’t replace awareness, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it.

I imagine it won’t be of the same caliber as factory and I’ve seen pricing from $150 to $900 for some systems.

Since I’m not going to buy a new truck for years with those options, what’s the feasibility of adding any of the above options to a vehicle? Has anyone done it.

There are many aftermarket back-up cameras that utilize either a dash mounted screen, cell phone on a windhield mount, or other. The RV industry has them on most new units. They usually mount them near the rear license plate for backing up to a trailer hitch.

I have the backup camera.

I was thinking lane departure warning, push to start and front collision systems.

I wouldn’t expect an aftermarket system to steer the truck in the lane or brake the truck in a forward collision. Just give Interior warning lights and s buzzer, etc.

Push to start is probably fairly easy and inexpensive. Lane departure will require cameras and most likely flashing lights or something. Don't want to think about the collision avoidance.

I have lane change assist, lane keep assist, and collision avoidance as well as parking assist in my Volt. The collision avoidance is interesting. You can select how many seconds of reaction time you want, say 3 seconds. No matter what speed you are going if you get within 3 seconds of the car ahead it gives a warning. The lane change assist has two components, there are warning arrows in the outside mirrors that indicate when a car is in your blind spot. It will also warn you if you cross a lane marker line and will steer the car back into your lane.
Parking assist is useless. The biggest issue I have is hitting the air dam against a curb, but the forward camera doesn’t see anything below the bumper.

For most of these items to work you need electric steering, electrically actuated braking, radar, 360 cameras, and a host of other electronics.

So not it's really not feasible to get full functionality.

You could rig up a push button start system, aftermarket backup sensors and camera, but anytime I have ever seen these aftermarket they are pretty wonky.

We've been wanting to add a backup Camera to my Mother's car (2008), but she has the "early 2008" model with the early SYNC system which is not compatible. I've wanted to just add a screen, but then you are blocking part of the windshield. I think the best ones have a tiny screen on the rearview mirror.

I fitted a mirror camera system to my Brabus.About 35 dollars from Amazon, took about an hour to fit including the backup camera.

Backup cameras are now required on new cars. Like tire pressure monitors, and the car not starting in gear, and the brakes depressed. Once upon a time, the driver was expected to know how to operate a car in a safe manner. Now the nannies are just part of the car's cost to build.

My 85 Carrera will start while in gear and I am not in it if I reach in and turn the key. The tire pressure is monitored by the driver with a gauge in my hand. I have to use the mirrors to park, and I always double check it is in neutral, and the parking brake is set if I start it to test some system.

Get off my lawn!

I will admit, that my wife's Macan with the full 360 degree video cameras and sensors makes it really easy to back into a parking space. And the tire pressure monitors are OK, most of the time.

I have owned a few cars now with all these tech features...many of them are amazing and work surprisingly well, consistently, and in all conditions.

Adaptive cruise with lane assist (which is basically auto-pilot) and 360 cameras for (parking a large vehicle better than any pro could) are my favorites.

It's incredible how much vehicles have improved in the past 15 years. The pace of advancements has been impressive compared to decades before.

I imagine it would take cubic dollars to recreate the factory systems, ie, automatic braking in a forward collision system or adjust the steering for lane control. The best to hope for would be a noise maker and flashing lights when it’s about to go sideways. I’d be okay with that, as another set of eyes.

I’ve seen camera and radar based avoidance systems, but don’t know which is better.

Push to start with passive entry seems easy but I don’t want to lose or tie into any of my current systems, like remote start (which is very handy on cold days).