A vehicle hitching assistance system including a controller determining a trailer target area to a rear of the vehicle. The trailer target area is positioned within left and right lateral vehicle steering limits, defined in a lateral direction between left and right boundaries respectively spaced inwardly of the left and right lateral vehicle steering limits by one of a system perception factor or a vehicle geometry factor, and defined in a longitudinal direction between a minimum movement limit and a maximum perception limit. The controller further identifies a trailer coupler within the trailer target area and outputs a steering signal to the vehicle to cause the vehicle to steer to align a hitch ball of the vehicle with the coupler during movement of the vehicle.

This disclosure relates to an electrified vehicle configured to selectively increase an energy recovery threshold and a corresponding method. In particular, an example electrified vehicle includes an energy recovery mechanism configured to apply a negative wheel torque up to a negative wheel torque threshold. The electrified vehicle also includes a controller configured to selectively increase the negative wheel torque threshold based on a mass of the electrified vehicle.

A vehicle control system configured to control a braking operation of a hitch ball to a coupler on a trailer. The system may comprise a vehicle brake control system, a maneuvering system, an image sensor configured to capture an image data, and a velocity sensor. The system may also comprise a vehicle mass sensor configured to detect a vehicle mass and a controller. The controller may be configured to control the maneuvering system of the vehicle along a vehicle path. The controller may also identify a coupler distance based on the image data depicting a coupler of the trailer. The controller may also calculate a stopping distance for the braking operation based on a plurality of braking parameters, wherein the braking parameters comprise the velocity, the break pressure, and the vehicle mass.

A method for exhaust braking includes monitoring, by a controller of a vehicle, an engine speed of an internal combustion engine; comparing, by the controller, the engine speed with the a predetermined braking speed threshold to determine whether the engine speed is greater than the a predetermined braking speed threshold; and, in response to determining that the engine speed is greater than the a predetermined braking speed threshold, switching the vehicle to an exhaust braking mode.

Various applications for use of mass estimations of a vehicle, including to control operation of the vehicle, sharing the mass estimation with other vehicles and/or a Network Operations Center (NOC), organizing vehicles operating in a platoon and/or partially controlling the operation of one or more vehicles operating in a platoon based on the relative mass estimations between the platooning vehicles. When vehicles are operating in a platoon, the relative mass between a lead and a following vehicle may be used to scale torque and/or brake commands generated by the lead vehicle and sent to the following vehicle.

A driving range estimator system for a vehicle accounting for a load on the vehicle may include an energy storage device configured to power the vehicle. Sensors may be disposed about the vehicle and may be configured to detect information relevant to a range estimate. A towing control unit may be configured to receive the detected information from the sensors, and configured to determine a) an expected range for the vehicle with the load, and b) an expected range for the vehicle without the load. A display may be configured to simultaneously display a) the expected range for the vehicle with the load and b) the expected range for the vehicle without the load.

A vehicle system includes a vehicle brake system, an accelerometer mounted on the vehicle, and a controller. The controller receives a first signal from the accelerometer and, during reversing of the vehicle in a longitudinal direction, transmits an actuation signal to the vehicle brake system when the first signal from the accelerometer indicates a deceleration in the longitudinal direction above a predetermined rate within a predetermined time interval.

Disclosed are a power assisted towing mode control method and system for ecofriendly vehicles. The power assisted towing mode control method is executed to control a power assisted towing mode between a first vehicle as a towing vehicle and a second vehicle as a towed vehicle, and includes determining, by the first vehicle, whether or not an accelerator pedal amount exceeds a threshold value, calculating, by the first vehicle, driver request torque based on the accelerator pedal amount, calculating, by the first vehicle, motor allowable torque based on the driver request torque, receiving, by the second vehicle, the motor allowable torque and calculating motor dischargeable torque based on the motor allowable torque, and performing, by the second vehicle, motor torque output based on the motor dischargeable torque.

A vehicle control apparatus, configured to control a vehicle, includes an engine that is configured to drive wheels via a power transmission device. The vehicle control apparatus includes a towing state detector and an engine controller. The towing state detector is configured to detect whether the vehicle is in a towing state. The engine controller is configured to stop the engine in a case where a predetermined engine stopping condition is satisfied during traveling of the vehicle. The engine controller is configured to vary, in a case where the towing state detector detects that the vehicle is in the towing state, the predetermined engine stopping condition to reduce an operational range in which the engine is to be stopped compared with an operational range in a case where the towing state detector does not detect that the vehicle is in the towing state.

Particular embodiments described herein provide for a system and method to help enable a towing vehicle. In an example, the system can identify a location of the disabled vehicle, deploy the towing vehicle to the location of the disabled vehicle, where the towing vehicle uses sensor data from a sensor suite and a perception module to navigate to the location of the disabled vehicle, and use the towing vehicle to tow the disabled vehicle to a new location.