Does cruise control ever go wrong ?
I have been driving my TDCI mondeo around on cruise control over the last few weeks as an experiment to get better mpg
and assuming the mpg figures are correct on the dashboard , i have increased the average mpg from 36 to 47, this is all on town driving, with no
journey over 5 miles
It was only on the way home did i think "Does cruise control ever go wrong ?"
steve
There has been reports. But cant really see how it can go wrong to the point of being a problem. Ie if it got stuck, you just turn the engine off and on again!
A guy in the a1 last year crashed as his BMW cruise control wouldn't turn off. Given the start stop button model of BMW it wouldn't turn off, he crashed into the barrier to stop the car. I know cos I stopped behind him . He didn't think to trying to change gear on the auto box just the brake and cruise control button.
Out of interest and a bit off topic but is it a newer mondeo?
I only ask as my last car (st220) I could get 3-4mpg better using my foot than when on cruise for some bizarre reason. It was a bit of a primitive
system however.
Only the same as the throttle pedal can now most are fly by wire anyway, probably both subject to the same unlikely chance of failure.
Just wondering how you can use it round town, BMW's doesn't work below 40mph I don't think.
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
I could get 3-4mpg better using my foot than when on cruise for some bizarre reason. It was a bit of a primitive system however.
A guy I work with who drives a 2/3 year old Impreza Sti rear ended a Porsche within a temporary 50 during roadworks on the M4.
Cruise control was set to 50, traffic slowed down but the CC would not disengage regardless of which button/pedal was pressed/stamped on. He actually
managed to shunt the porsche twice before the CC eventually cut out.
Subaru said nothing was wrong and they'd had no other reports. Only thing 'different' on that say was it was exceptionally cold, for
the region, but not really really cold
Rich
Thanks for the answers, most of my town driving is on a 50mph bypass, and i just select cruise and it cuts in, i would say around the 22mph mark (ish)
quote:
Originally posted by NigeEss
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
I could get 3-4mpg better using my foot than when on cruise for some bizarre reason. It was a bit of a primitive system however.
Cruise generally gives less MPG than your foot. Quite simply due to the human ability to assess the terrain and act accordingly. You will naturally let the car pick up a bit of speed downhill reducing the need to accelerate up the other
side or letting the speed come down agan on the flat. Likewise you rarely boot it to maintain 70/80 up a hill.
Cruise doesn't know this and will floor the throttle up hill and some modern system even brake on downslopes.
quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
I'd say quite the opposite on a BMW 320d, Cruise control accelerates much smoother and maintains a higher indicated MPG than I ever could..
Without realising it when you pull out from behind a truck or the like you don't realise just how hard you do push the throttle.. Just keep pressing + one the steering wheel and the MPG barely moves as it increases 0.5mph per press.
I've got CC on an old shape Mazda 6. And agree with the boot it up hills brake down hills view. Also it accelerates as fast as possible to reach a set target speed. I think it saves MPG on flat routes as it won't fluctuate the speed, and it's great for average speed cameras.
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
I'd say quite the opposite on a BMW 320d, Cruise control accelerates much smoother and maintains a higher indicated MPG than I ever could..
Without realising it when you pull out from behind a truck or the like you don't realise just how hard you do push the throttle.. Just keep pressing + one the steering wheel and the MPG barely moves as it increases 0.5mph per press.
Suddenly I understand why people creep past other vehicles on DCWs and motorways with a queue of frustrated drivers behind them rather than completing their overtake quickly and then pulling in...
Must admit using cruise control on my motorway and long dual criiageway drives I'm averaging 38 - 40 MPG, in an L200 pickup......
So hope to god it never goes wrong cos I use it all the time when practical now.
All modern HGV's have cruise control and drivers are told to use it at every available opportunity, as you get much better MPG using it.
Just as a wierd foot note to this.
Did you know that............. Apparently its illegal to use Cruise Control in Belgium. (or at least it was so I presumed that nothing has
changed recently).
I had a new Mondeo as a temp company car a year or two ago. ITs CC was impressive. Far more accurate than my foot was.
Try just increasing and maintaining 1 mph in particular, its very difficult as you look at the road and back down again.
You end up constantly coast and burn. THis method is good at low speeds but for higher speeds an average speed is better. This is due to wind
resistance at higher speeds.
To turn off that particular CC I had to dip the clutch or touch the brake or touch the accelerator or press the button.
My one I can accelerate, and then it just falls back to the set speed.
I find it awesome for sitting behind wagons (not too close!) and making nigh on 10mpg difference
I think the theory behind the Toyota unintended acceleration (aside from confused drivers hitting the wrong pedal) was because of the brake switch. Normally when you press the brake the cruise control will disengage. In some cars the brake switch was faulty so the ECU only registered that the car was slowing down, so it gave some more throttle. Press the brakes harder, it accelerates harder.