Modern cars contain a variety of features to help drivers get to their destinations in a prompt, safe manner. However, some have found that these added features can cause more problems than they’re worth.
For example, some have noted that the rise in touchscreen controls (as opposed to physical controls) may be linked to an increase in accidents. Others have claimed that supposed safety features, like automatic braking, are glitchy and can lead to accidents.
On that topic, one user on TikTok claims that a supposed safety feature in her car led to her crashing it—but commenters aren’t so sure.
What caused this car’s accident?
Over two posts, TikTok user Kristyn House (@kristyn.house) explains how her car came to be “basically totaled.”
The first post is a slideshow showing the initial purchase of her car from CarMax. The text overlaying the post reads, “Me on top of the world cause I bought a car.”
The second photo of the slideshow shows the same car with significant damage to its front.
“Met at the bottom of the world after the lane assist malfunctioned and it ended up with me hitting a wall going 80 mph,” she writes in the text overlaying the second image.
Immediately, commenters were suspicious of the TikToker’s claim.
“Were your hands not on the wheel?” asked a user.
“Unless the lane assist swerved ITSELF into the wall, this is completely on you lmao,” added another.
In response to comments like these, the TikToker posted a follow-up clarifying exactly what happened.
Did lane assist really cause this accident?
In her follow-up video, House says that she was driving in the HOV lane, paying full attention to the road. Her phone was “nowhere near” her when she encountered an unknown object on the road.
“If you live in Arizona, you know there’s always random stuff in the road because they stink at cleaning the roads,” she states.
She then turned to go around it—but, as she didn’t use her turn signal, she says her car “jerked [her] back into the lane.”
“When it jerked me back into the lane, I was about to hit it, and I did end up hitting it—but I guess the car finally detected that it was there, and the wheel went left,” she explains. “I did not make the wheel go left. Why would I turn my wheel left into a wall? The wheel did it itself.”
In response to the commenters saying that this is not what lane assist is supposed to do, House says those thoughts simply validate her experience.
“It is not supposed to do that, and it did,” she summarizes.
For those saying that she could have simply overpowered the lane assist, while she acknowledges that this may be the case, she says the move was so unexpected that it did not give her an appropriate amount of time to react.
Can lane assist cause accidents?
It’s unclear what exactly happened or went wrong with House’s car. However, complaints about Hyundai’s lane assist aren’t unique to House.
For example, one Hyundai driver on Facebook alleged that his car would occasionally “[jerk] to the right” when passing by an exit ramp. Others have shown behavior from the feature that they claim is glitchy. Similarly, a forum for Hyundai owners has several stories from people claiming that these safety features either caused or contributed to their accidents.
The Daily Dot reached out to Hyundai via email for clarification on the issue.
In an email to the Daily Dot, a CarMax spokesperson shared the following: “Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to contribute to your story. Customer service is CarMax’s top priority, and we are actively reaching out to the customer to see how we can best assist.”
Commenters say errors are common
In the comments section, while many expressed disbelief at the TikToker’s story, others said that they had experienced something similar.
“I know exactly what you are talking about, in my wife’s hyuandai I was driving in Houston and the ‘accident avoidance assist’ malfunctioned and it almost hit a vehicle in the left lane to avoid a vehicle in my corner right rear,” wrote a user. “Luckily I knew this would happen because it happens so much already on hyuandai’s.”
“… even in some of the most expensive cars I’ve been in the lane assist feature works 70% of the time,” declared another. “And it’s funny because it’s my states fault for it failing due to lack of maintaining the roads.”
“Nah I’ll give her benefit of doubt because my Kia forte with lane assist would pull me hard right whenever it lost detection of the painted lines,” shared a third. “Sold that thing quick.”
The Daily Dot reached out to CarMax via email and House via Instagram and TikTok DM.
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