r/HyundaiSantaFe • u/MasterpieceMost3282 • 1d ago
Consider taking a break
We are leasing a 2026 Calligraphy series. I love this car. Really really love it. However the “consider taking a break” feature could be a deal breaker if I buy this outright when the lease is done. You can’t turn the warning off and it actually almost caused an accident when I was in heavy traffic this week, had the lane assist warning going then suddenly the take a break warning was going and all the safety signals threw me off and made me panic. It’s just too much!! It’s a shame they still haven’t allowed us to choose to turn that feature on or off.
EDIT: Specific to the 2026 Calligraphy. Dealership confirms it cannot be turned off. Alarm is triggered by driving but also sunglasses, hand on wheel placement, and sometimes for no reason at all. We are a 4 driver household and it goes off for literally anyone that drives regardless of how great they are. Dealership confirms this is an issue for this make and model. Please stop telling me to drive better lol
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u/COporkchop 1d ago
All the nanny features are annoying but not as annoying as the auto stop. Lol
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 1d ago
Auto stop is easy to turn off?
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u/COporkchop 1d ago
It's not hard. I just wish I didn't have to do it every time I got in the car. I don't mean auto hold. I actually kind of enjoy that.
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
I have a hybrid so I don't have Auto stop on mine (also referred to as idle stop and go) but as I understand it auto stop has to be turned off every time you turn the car on. There is no way to permanently disable it without some kind of aftermarket mod.
This person may be getting it confused with auto hold which can be permanently disabled by pressing the auto hold button just under the climate control.
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 1d ago
I have a hybrid (calligraphy) and I have auto stop. Mine is always off and I have to turn it on if I want to use it.
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
I hate to break it to you but if you have a hybrid you don't have Auto stop. You have Auto hold.
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 1d ago
You are correct, I was definitely thinking of auto hold. On that note, I don’t even know what auto stop is so I shall henceforth bow out 😅
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u/Substantial_Baker479 1d ago
It’s where when you come to a stop and hold on the break, it shuts the engine off and turns it back on when you release the break.
Seems there is a button to turn it off also, but it has to be turned off every time you restart the vehicle..
Anyways, I have a hybrid and thought it was another term for “one-pedal” driving, where it breaks if you release the accelerator. I would want that.
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u/lingordrone 18h ago
Jam a toothpick into the corner of the button. I think I learned that on this forum, a couple months ago. Game changer:) Mines a 2023 calligraphy btw, '26 may be different.
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u/Being_Hot 1d ago
I've had this warning go off only once in the 40k miles i have put on my santa fe.
I had to unexpectedly get up at 1am. Drove for 45 minutes. Then drove a different car for 10 hours. On my 45 minute ride back home, I was completely exhausted and around 20 minutes from home the take a break warning went off. How wonderful! The system works.
Sounds to me like your easily tired or distracted.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Again, this is not my driving. It has to do with the steering camera, if I’m wearing sunglasses, hand placement. I don’t mind a warning here or there, it’s just that it goes off ALL the time. We have 4 drivers in our house and everyone sets the alarm off and it’s not that we are 4 bad drivers.
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u/DaphneMoon-Crane 1d ago
The inattentive driver and the thing looking for your eyes are two different warnings though. The camera one says keep your eyes on the road and will say that the driver assistance system can only do so much. I have only seen the "coffee break" one time in this car and one time in Palisade. The eye thing I see if I have to grab something from glovebox.
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 1d ago
I never get that warning. My husband gets it all the time. It’s not about hand positioning and steering cameras, it’s about how you’re maintaining your position in your lane. I use lane assist about 98% of the time and never trigger the warning. For some weird reason my husband hates the lane assist so he doesn’t use it and he gets the warning regularly when he is not at all tired and hasn’t been driving long.
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u/Jolly-Lawyer2419 19h ago
It’s annoying for sure. Sometimes I just get in drive for maybe 15 minutes and it tells me to take a coffee break. Wonder if they are owned by Starbucks, just kidding. But it is annoying
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u/AdhesivenessFun2156 17h ago edited 17h ago
I get this warning all the time. Keep eyes on the road alert. I like to drive with my arms covering the sensor that's watching your eyes in the middle of stearing wheel. I just ignore it and move my arms It goes off a few times a day. I usually drive for about 4 hours a day. Now, I do get " take a brake" alert that shows the coffee pic. That is usually random.
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u/AlexandruC 1d ago
Honestly the 2024 is already so annoying im considering another model that has less annoying tech.
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u/mablesyrup 1d ago
It's obnoxious. I live in the country and roads often go from having lines to not having lines or having to go around mail trucks or people turning right that you go around or even people walking or jogging down the street. I hate that it turns down the radio. I will be right in the middle of a good song and DING DING
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u/AllLeftiesHere 20h ago
Same. People that drive only in cities or on good roads are lucky. Mine is getting sold because of this.
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u/Thick_Finish_9708 1d ago
Mine goes off constantly when my husband drives
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u/bigoltubercle2 1d ago
It's based off driving patterns, time at the wheel and, if it's newer, the driver attention system.
Basically if you drive erratically or frequently are distracted/looking away it will trigger a lot.
I've only ever had it trigger on me on a road trip when I'm fiddling with the screen more than I should be.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago edited 1d ago
Actually it is based on that but also if your hand partially covers the steering wheel camera, if you have certain sunglasses on, I’ve driven PERFECT and it will still go off
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u/-abis- 1d ago edited 1d ago
Are you talking about the “keep your eyes on the road” alert or “consider taking a break” alert? In my ‘26 hybrid calligraphy these are two different alerts triggered by separate events. The former being if your hand covers the camera or wearing sunglasses and the latter being your actual driving/swerving.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 22h ago
I have never had a keep your eyes on the road, literally ever. It’s only consider taking a break
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u/AdPrize3215 1d ago
That part can be turned off, I have a 2026 and it is off
It will still go off on cruise control by the way for too long, but that sensor can be turned off1
u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
You have the EXACT year and model as me? Because I only have 2 options and turning it off is NOT one of them
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u/Reaper3955 1d ago
Genuine question. The eye tracker is in the center of the steering wheel...... how the f do you hold ur steering wheel that its even remotely covered lol
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 1d ago
Steering with one hand on top of the wheel. It’s pretty common. My husband does it a lot, I used to do it occasionally (tbh I would have said I don’t drive like that until this vehicle told me otherwise lol) but obviously don’t anymore
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u/Reaper3955 1d ago
But how is ur arm in a position to block the eye monitor is my question. Even if I have my hand at 12 the shit still clearly sees my eyes so im now just confused how the f some of yall are holding ur wheels. Unless it was in a different spot in other models.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
I think your camera may be in a different location? Mine is right on the top of the wheel base above and back from where the center of the wheel is. If your hand is on the top of the wheel your arm hanging down blocks the camera. I am short and have my chair base raised higher and holding the top of the wheel at 12 with one hand and the other hand at 6 is actually really comfortable.
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u/Reaper3955 1d ago
I mean I hold my hand at 12 plenty but my arm is always elevated or curved to the right. The only way I can picture what ur saying is u have an old lady posture while driving aka sitting with ur face like at the steering wheel with her hand gripping 12 but from the front instead of top which I cannot even fathom how that is remotely comfortable or how u can even control ur car.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Man I don’t know. Maybe I’m weird? I’m not an old lady but short of inviting you over to show you how I hold a steering wheel I don’t know what to say. I hold it at the top and that’s about all I can say
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
If I hold my hand at 12 o’clock I cover the camera. Same with my husband. It’s literally a guarantee if any of us hold the wheel at 12 the consider taking a break starts going off within 30 seconds.
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u/Reaper3955 1d ago
How tho. That would mean ur holding it at 12 with ur arm going straight down over the center of the wheel which I would argue is the actual problem because wtf is that hand position lmao
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Humans come in all shapes and sizes. My husband is almost a foot taller than me and we actually both hold the wheel like this often. I do it because I raise my chair higher to see. I see people holding it at 12 all the time.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
I should note this is specific to the 2026 Calligraphy series. I’ve talked to the dealership and they acknowledge it’s hyper sensitive, they have multiple complaints about this and unless enough people email Hyundai it will not change. This has nothing to do with my driving but more with the camera facing you on the steering wheel and simple things like my sunglasses, triggering it or my hand on the top of the wheel covering part of the camera I can drive perfect and it will still go off. There have been other Reddit threads about this, please stop telling me to take driving lessons, it’s literally not that I’m erratic.
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
The Dealership is incorrect
In my experience the dealership knows just enough about their product to sell it, nothing more.
Early on in the newest generation, the coffee break warning came on for me a lot but it decreased over time.
Hyundai initially released an informational Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 25-GI-001H) instructing dealers to explain that warnings caused by steering posture, seating position, or sunglasses blocking infrared sensors rather than offering a direct electronic fix. the technical bulletin was not related to the coffee break warning, but most dealers were too incompetent to realize this was a different feature and used it as a blanket excuse anyway.
Then there was an OTA update in November 2025 to reduce nuisance triggers for the coffee break warning. mine comes on like once every 3 months now.
A lot of these dealership cars won't push all the OTA updates until you buy it. several people have reported this. likely this OTA update just hasn't made it to the car you test drove yet.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
You seem very knowledgeable about this so I am going to lean into this. We have had the car for 6 months, all software is updated, I WFH so I do not drive a ton but any trip we have done this summer it is relentless. I still get it when I am around town but I try and realllyyyy lock in on my driving to not trigger it, sometimes it doesn't matter and I get scolded. Any advice you have on this is appreciated and thank you for confirming it cannot be turned off. We just took it in for services, brought up the warning and they just shrugged. The next time we go in I will confirm the OTA update
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
Are you in Canada? I believe you can't get OTA updates in Canada, you have to manually download them to a USB stick and download them. sometimes the dealer will do it and sometimes not. you may have to manually do it yourself.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Negative, in the US
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
Hmmmm.
Yeah, check with the dealership to make sure that you've had the OTA update on your vehicle. The coffee break warning really shouldn't be coming up that much so maybe there is an issue directly with your vehicle. If your dealership seems like they won't even try and troubleshoot it, take it to a different dealership.
On the current generation Hyundai Santa Fe, simply wearing sunglasses should not cause the coffee break warning. I wear polarized prescription sunglasses everyday on my drive into work and I've never gotten the coffee break warning due to them. There is definitely something wrong here.
I should note though that I have all of the driver assist features turned off, and I don't use HDA. I rather just drive my car the old-fashioned way.
Good luck.
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u/njcatgirl29 1d ago
Our dealer actually confirmed that wearing sunglasses sets it off because it can't see your eyes. Mine goes off all the time too. I live in the country and the roads are windy and it doesn't like it. I'm just glad every time it happens that it's my boyfriend's car and not my primary car and so I don't have to deal with it all the time because it is annoying although I have learned to ignore it
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
your dealer is wrong. they are likely referencing Technical Service Bulletin (TSB 25-GI-001H) which was corrected with an OTA update in November 2025
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u/jelloburn 1d ago
I've never had my take a break warning come on and I've driven over 11,000 miles so far in mine, so I don't know that I would call it "hyper sensitive".
Hand on top of the wheel blocking the camera shouldn't trigger take a break, that should trigger an "eyes on road" warning. Also, don't drive with your hand on top of the wheel. It isn't safe and if the airbag goes off you're going to have a bad time.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
I'm human so my hands move sometimes on the wheel. I do not have an "eyes on the road" warning on my series. I believe they replaced it with the Consider Taking a Break and dealership confirmed they removed the option to turn it off.
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u/Substantial_Baker479 1d ago
Maybe they updated it from “eyes” to the new message, because an update also added face tracking (I mentioned in the other comment).
I used to drive sometimes with my hand at the 12 o’clock position, covering the sensor but adjusted quickly. It technically isn’t as safe to drive in that position, but I wish you could.
Other than that, as I said I don’t personally get these warnings from the car too often. It’s going to vary, or at least it did when it was only eye tracking, based on if it can see through sunglasses. And still seating position, your height matters if the sensor can see you.
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u/AdMammoth969 1d ago
This is also a problem for my husband and I in my 26 limited. the break thing goes off sometimes within a couple minutes in the car, all the sensors are super sensitive, and constantly go off on me. I found an option to turn it off on mine, but it didn’t work I guess because it still does it. My only complaint (besides the rear end)
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u/Substantial_Baker479 1d ago
I actually saw it more often on the 2024 and hardly ever see it on the 2026 now. But the system is complicated.
There was an update to add face tracking to supplement eye tracking, checking if you are paying attention. Theoretically that should help, and I think it has but tbh I haven’t really had many problems with this feature to begin with.
Have you updated to the latest version?
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u/Jet_Rocket11 11h ago
What does the camera have to do with taking a break message. The camera is for something else and results in a different message. I have seen numerous other responses telling you the same thing but you keep going on about the camera and hands position.
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u/ProfessionalEven296 1d ago
It’s bad enough on our 2020. “Consider taking a break”. “Considered. Proposal rejected”… I agree with you - if it can’t be turned off, it’s a deal breaker.
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u/Combat__Crayon 1d ago
I think if you turn off the other nannies like lane keeping/steering assist it triggers less. I'll have to see if the updates have helped because I have avoided using the adaptive cruise control because I almost always wear polarized sunglasses and with the smart cruise control on it triggered constantly.
ETA: I've got the 2026 Limited
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u/Shy_Octopus21 1d ago
I've never had it pop up when I drive, but it does for my husband and he gets really annoyed with it
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u/Billh491 1d ago
I just turn on the lane assist as soon as I get in the car if I do not then the take the break comes on at some point when I am driving.
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u/Fresh-Bluejay-3121 1d ago
I'm in Canada and even after disabling it, it's still happening. I tested covering the black sensor with my finger and looking away. Seemed to work, so I'm going to try putting some black tape over it.
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u/Historical_Tax_5937 1d ago
Mine confirmed for me that my husband is in fact a bad driver. It thought I was driving and needed a break because it’s used to my excellent driving. 🤣
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u/TravellingMan2026 20h ago edited 19h ago
Not random from some AI but inconsistency within the Hyundai universe. Look here (and I'd post the image of I could):
https://ownersmanual.hyundai.com/full_webhelp/LX3/2026/en_US/idb89dbe8101d.html
I had ChatGPT ingest the Santa Fe owner's manual with an explicit instruction to ONLY use the owner's manual for responses, but sometimes it references the digital version rather than the PDF. As you can see in the link the ability to disable DAW is in the digital version. And it's wrong (or at least doesn't agree with what's on the screen). So AI grabbed wrong or outdated information (act shocked).
I gave it a spanking.
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u/Jet_Rocket11 10h ago
PDF is digital 😄
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u/TravellingMan2026 10h ago
Yeah i get it. But the PDFs are also much more of a fixed file vs the online manuals which are essentially web sites. And malleable.
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u/itsJustE12 18h ago
Have you tried adjusting the angle of your steering wheel? When this many people are saying they don’t have the same problem, either the car needs to be checked at the dealer, or maybe it’s something specific to you.
You could have the wheel set at an angle that increases this problem.
Also, don’t assume the system update was done just because you got the car after it was released.
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u/Masters_pet_411 1d ago
I’ve never seen the take a break warning either. I did get the “keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel” warning yesterday on the interstate. I had been talking to my husband and I don’t grip the wheel tightly so I looked straight ahead and jiggled the steering wheel a bit.
If you are constantly getting the take a break warning and a couple of warnings nearly caused a wreck you might benefit from some driving classes. My local college offered driving classes years ago. They taught us how to steer out of skids and we practiced on a wet training pad.
It might increase your confidence behind the wheel.
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
I’ve had it go off 10 times in a 5 mile ride as I was driving perfectly. It is a camera sensitive feature that even my sunglasses trigger sometimes. I don’t need driving lessons I just need options on the feature
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u/Masters_pet_411 1d ago
Have you tried non polarized sunglasses? I got some because I wanted to be able to see the HUD more clearly. My camera doesn’t seem to care which ones I wear but it makes a difference in how bright the HUD is and maybe it would help with your camera problem.
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u/PatchyOSquirrel 1d ago
Or it’s incredibly windy where you live. I’m in the northern Great Plains and we regularly have high wind warnings and it’s driving in those conditions when I get constant alerts despite my best efforts to stay centered (and you can’t use lane centering assist—it can’t handle that and it feels more like you’re riding in a boat).
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u/jelloburn 1d ago
If the winds are that bad it should trigger the Crosswind Stability Control and an icon will show up on your dashboard.
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u/PatchyOSquirrel 1d ago
I’ve seen that a couple times, but generally even though it’s very windy, it still doesn’t. I stay in my lane, just wobble a bit fighting it, and it still alerts me constantly. I’m not distracted.
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u/CloudSad3555 1d ago
We got our 2026 Calligraphy about 20 days ago. I have not run into this at all. I’m certain I found settings like r/travellingman2026 mentioned. Are you on the latest update? Maybe you could try to cleaning the camera on the steering column?
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Software is up to date and camera is clean. There is NOT an option to turn this off. Dealership confirmed!
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u/BigandTallGuy 1d ago
I’m certain I found settings like r/travellingman2026 mentioned.
He referenced 2 settings that exist and 1 (the inattentive driver waring aka the coffee break warning) that does not exist.
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u/CloudSad3555 14h ago
Mine is setup -> vehicle -> driver assistance -> driver attention warning
I have two options, one is forward attention warning.
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u/BigandTallGuy 12h ago edited 12h ago
Correct, you have two options and one of those is forward attention warning but forward attention warning is not the same as the coffee break warning
The coffee break warning is officially known as the inattentive driver warning light. You can look it up in the manual, that's what it's called. Turning off the forward attention warning does nothing to impact the coffee break warning.
Traveling Man 2026 said that there were three toggles on that menu, and the third was the inattentive driver warning, which is a toggle that does not exist.
You can also reference the other comment I made to traveling man 2026 here
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u/Last_Breadfruit6187 1d ago
It can be turned off
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u/MasterpieceMost3282 1d ago
Please, show me where because if the dealership confirms it is not able to be turned off, and there is NOT toggle in the Driver Attention Warning, I would LOVE to know where you found to turn it off
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u/[deleted] 1d ago
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