Gen III Sticky Cruise Control

[wiaitchison]

The cruise control on my Model V operates differently than any other cruise control I've used. If I set the cruise control, say at 60, and want to manually decelerate, if I depress the cruise control lever constantly, the car does not immediately slow down. Instead, the cruise control seems to store the depressed lever as a series of individual commands to slow down, commands it will execute all at once. So, if I hold the lever down for a second or two, the cruise control will then slow the car WAY down, and quickly. Even more unnervingly, the same thing occurs when trying to accelerate using the cruise control lever.

The solution seems to be to tap the cruise control lever individually. Single light taps cause acceleration and deceleration in roughly 1 mph increments.

Can this really be the way the cruise control was designed? It seems quite dangerous.

[qbee42]

I like the way it works. Each tap is one mph. If you want to coast down to a new speed, pull the CC stem to disengage. Once you get down to your target speed, give it a quick downward tap to set the new target speed.

Tom

[dmvp]

Well, with the fact that you "set" the cruise control by tapping the lever down...it has to try to differentiate between being "set" and "reducing" speed.

You have the Adv. Tech. package, though, so I don't know if your controls are different with RCC.

[tumbleweed]

DRCC operation:

Once it's set if you hold the lever down or up for 1 second it will change the set speed by 5 MPH. If you hold it up or down longer than 1 second it will change by several 5 MPH increments! If you just tap it up or down it will change in 1 MPH increments. Be careful if you change by several 5 MPH increments because it will brake rather sharply to get the speed down or accelerate rather rapidly if you change it up.

I don't like the 5 MPH increment function so I usually cancel the speed (by pulling the lever toward me) and drive up or down to the new speed I want then reset it.

I am not sure the brake lights come on when you use the 5 MPH increments to slow down either, a couple of times I used it with cars behind me and they seemed surprised? Need to check this out.

Edit: I agree with Wiaitchison this feature needs to be redesigned. Also the owner's manual does not explain it properly. If others agree I think this may be a good candidate for the "Summary of Problems . . ." thread.

[ttait]

I totally disagree. I love the way the DRCC works and use it all the time on the freeway. Why would you change speeds with the cruise control? The Radar will precisely match the speed of traffic in front of you and will drastically slow the car should traffic conditions warrant, or somebody cuts in front of you, giving you plenty of time to manually brake. The brake lights do come on if the car applies the brakes. I have found that the car only 'lets up on the gas' if someone crosses in front of you traveling slightly faster on thier way to another lane.
I use the DRCC as pretty much a set and forget speed control and do not vary my speed manually, rather I let the car flow with the speed of traffic. On exiting the freeway, I pull the stalk and take manual control.
I have experimented to find out that the DRCC will slow the car to around 27 MPH before warning you to take control and dropping out.
Note that you can vary the following distance by changing the number of bars on the display, each bar corresponding to about 1 second of following distance. That means that the car increases following distance according to the speed that you are traveling and the number of bars set.
To me, this feature alone is worth the price of the ATP.

Tony

[tumbleweed]

Originally Posted by ttait

I totally disagree. I love the way the DRCC works and use it all the time on the freeway. Why would you change speeds with the cruise control? . . . . . . .

Maybe it depends on traffic conditions where you do most of your driving. I like to use the CC to change speeds without having to cancel and reset it. I don't always want to do what the guy in front of me does. When the speed limit changes with a normal CC you can simply drive up to the new speed and reset, or you can coast down to the new speed and release the lever and the new speed will be set. If you try to do that with this system you end up changing the set speed to something you do not want or applying the brakes when you would prefer to coast down to the slower speed which I think is what the OP was referring to. These added "features" could be changed without changing the basic function of the DRCC.

Yes you can get used to it. I have and don't have any problems whatever using it, I've been doing so for 8500 miles. But just because I have adapted to it doesn't mean I don't think there is room for improvement. I do like its other features, as you do, i.e. 1,2,or 3 second following distance, etc. This is not terribly important, just something that I think could be better, I would order the DRCC again as is because it is a good system.

Tony, have you actually observed the brake lights coming on when the CC slows you down and you don't have your foot on the brake? I don't drive the car much at night and I'm not sure I can tell from inside if the brake lights are on or not. I'll have to go out tonight and give it a try.

EDIT: I don't know if what we post here (on PC) has much effect on Toyota's design decisions or not, probably not. But in any case I would not think it should be added to the "problems thread" if most of the ATP owners agree with you.

[wiaitchison]

Thanks to everyone for the input. I'm just glad it's not operator error.

I've long been in the habit of using the cruise control to make minor adjustments in speed. With the new Prius, the DRCC takes care of most of those adjustments. However, there are times when the DRCC won't do the trick -- for example, when there's no traffic in front of you. It's then that too firm a touch on the cruise control lever will send you shooting ahead or start you sharply slowing. Unless you figure out what's going on, that's alarming.

Since drivers come in all stripes and with all degrees of experience, I worry about the safety implications of this feature. Not for all drivers, mind you, but for some. And isn't "some" enough?

[IraS]

I completely agree with ttait. I love the DRCC.

One of the reasons I bought the 2010 Prius V was the DRCC. My 2004 Prius had a standard cruise control, which is almost unuseable here in Austin. The traffic is constantly speeding up and slowing down, and other cars cut in front of you all the time. The DRCC sounded like the answer to this problem.

I can now set the DRCC to the speed limit (or slightly over) very easily. I accelerate up to some reasonable speed, activate the cruise control, then hold the lever up until the set speed on the MID matches the speed limit. The car then accelerates up to that speed and maintains it, automatically adjusting for the traffic. If the speed limit changes, I can reajust the set speed by either tapping the lever to increase or decrease by 1 MPH per tap or by holding the lever, which increases or decreases it by 5 MPH increments. I just glance at the MID to see the set speed.

I also love the way the DRCC doesn't cancel the set speed when I stop at a traffic signal. When the light turns green, I can accelerate up to around 30 MPH then move the lever up to resume my previous speed. The DRCC then accelerates up to that speed, either by itself or at the pace of the car in front of me.

I think it is wonderful, and was designed very well.

[Bobsprius]

Originally Posted by iras

i completely agree with ttait. I love the drcc.

One of the reasons i bought the 2010 prius v was the drcc. My 2004 prius had a standard cruise control, which is almost unuseable here in austin. The traffic is constantly speeding up and slowing down, and other cars cut in front of you all the time. The drcc sounded like the answer to this problem.

I can now set the drcc to the speed limit (or slightly over) very easily. I accelerate up to some reasonable speed, activate the cruise control, then hold the lever up until the set speed on the mid matches the speed limit. The car then accelerates up to that speed and maintains it, automatically adjusting for the traffic. If the speed limit changes, i can reajust the set speed by either tapping the lever to increase or decrease by 1 mph per tap or by holding the lever, which increases or decreases it by 5 mph increments. I just glance at the mid to see the set speed.

I also love the way the drcc doesn't cancel the set speed when i stop at a traffic signal. When the light turns green, i can accelerate up to around 30 mph then move the lever up to resume my previous speed. The drcc then accelerates up to that speed, either by itself or at the pace of the car in front of me.

I think it is wonderful, and was designed very well.

agreed!

[tumbleweed]

Originally Posted by ttait

. . . . . . .
The brake lights do come on if the car applies the brakes.
. . . . . . .

Agree, I was able to test this tonight.