I have cruise control in my vehicle. With a touch of a button, the system is activated, and as soon as I reach my desired speed, I set it. Perfect for all the long highway driving I do.
But. Do I need to keep toggling the cruise control system on and off? Is it bad to be driving around the city to have the cruise control system on but not in use? Is this damaging on anything? Is the fact that the on/off button exists useless?
In: Other
Keeping the cruise control button On but without cruise control actually engaged is not going to be a problem mechanically speaking. It’s not doing anything to your car.
Typically it takes 2 actions to engage CC – one to switch it On, one to Set it to maintain your current speed. At least that’s how it is in the cars I’ve seen. Leaving it on constantly reduces that to one action which you might perform by accident. So you slightly increase your risk of accidentally engaging it. If your car only has one button that does both actions, it probably makes no difference to this risk. You’ll also have the light saying it’s on when it’s not which could be annoying.
> Is the fact that the on/off button exists useless?
When the cruise control system is turned on there is a button on your steering wheel that will cause your vehicle to lock to its current speed. That is exactly what you want when you are highway driving and want to use the cruise control, but what about when you don’t? What if you are driving in an area where you don’t expect to be using cruise control and you just accidentally nudge that button? Now when you let off the gas because someone is slowing down in front of you the car just keeps on going, unexpectedly and potentially dangerously.
Having a toggle to disable that function I think is pretty obviously a good idea.
[removed]
Older systems used to be touchy about thier use, but since all newer cars are all digital it not a big deal to have it on IF you think you are going to use it. CC should only be used when you anticipate long periods of sustained unchanging driving. This is not a Tesla cc.
Having it on but not using it is no big deal. You don’t want to use cruise for city driving when you constantly need to speed up or slow down.
NEVER use cruise control when roads are wet as it could lead to hydroplaning.
Latest Answers