A Better Cruise Control...

[hihihi]

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[Bluesman]

Its not that bad. I dont mind doing a little input when I am out in Lexie. Mike

[jpjsavage]

I've never realised that. I will have to find a hill here in Cheshire to that out. Very other car we have owned with cruise control has controlled the speed whether you are going up or down hill.

[black400]

I thaught it was me , in cruisecontrol the car would get faster , not cool, on my old BMW740 this didnt happen, can be unsettling

[bigjap]

i dunno whats best ,a trip i do alot involves alot of hills going down and up,iknow you might be breaking speed limit going down,but in the bmw 530d s i driven in the last six years before i retired ,it would slow you down,but when you started the climb up it would drop a gear or two and catapult you up the hill fast as poss till it hit the set speed,im not a lover of cc i like to have some input,its like a lot of things on cars now like parking sensors ,lane alerts ,cars that park thereselves, dont encourage good driving habits,

[Titch LS]

Sorry Eff, but have to disagree. My Mk4's cruise control works great uphill, on the level AND downhill. Absolutely NO speeding up, even down a long hill. Never had a problem with it.

[Bassman]

Same here. Just back from a week in Scotland and approx 1000 miles and lots on cruise control. It keeps the speed I set it at, no matter how steep the hills up and down.

By the way, the car was an absolute pleasure, and after 7 hours driving not even an ache. Brilliant long distance cars.

[hihihi]

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[Malc]

When i did my near 3000 mile tour of Scotland last September ( from Kent ) I felt the same as you ..... brilliant Grand Touring car.

But I don't think I got to use the Cruise Control at all !!!! and if memory serves me well I think I averaged a tad over 30mpg too.

Malc

[steve2006]

Mine also works fine you can actually feel a breaking effect when going downhill but hard to determine if it is the brakes being applied or the transmission doing it.

[Rupert Dubreaux]

Mine also works fine up or down hill , long trips are much more relaxed with the car driving itself .

[brendangeorge]

I have had 400s and now a 430 and the cruise control does not stop the car speeding up when rolling down hill - the cruise control only operates the accelerator not the brakes. If your car slows down when descending a hill it is because of engine braking caused by the ECU cutting off the fuel.

Who knows I may be wrong or have been on drugs for the last 20 years or so :)

If I am wrong I need to get my car fixed because I have to roll down a 30mph hill to get to my drive and have to knock it into third to keep to 30 - I have been doing that since 1999 in a 400 and 430 :(

Good luck.

Bren

[steve2006]

"If your car slows down when descending a hill it is because of engine braking caused by the ECU cutting off the fuel."

Arr that's what it feels like,never considered that is what happens.

[plastic orange]

Cruise contol on my LS is the best I've experienced on any car. I recently averaged 31.9 mpg on a trip to York and back - cruise used most of the way.

Pete

[mikeyv]

Mine's a 99T, and cruise works fine when set at 80, keeping constant 76 mph according to tomtom, regardless of up, down or flat.

Also maintains a steady 50 in road works if set to 53.

[hihihi]

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[Titch LS]

Brendan, When you descend your hill to your drive you are probably going too slow for the cruise control to work. According to the handbook it will only work above 25 mph. You could be just on the threshold of the lower limit when you hold it in 3rd gear at 30mph. I am still surprised it won't work properly at 30 though.

[brendangeorge]

Brendan, When you descend your hill to your drive you are probably going too slow for the cruise control to work. According to the handbook it will only work above 25 mph. You could be just on the threshold of the lower limit when you hold it in 3rd gear at 30mph. I am still surprised it won't work properly at 30 though.

To be clear the lane I live on is a hill that has a 30 limit so at the 30 limit sign in D (in a 2002 LS430 so no ACC) I make sure I am doing 30 indicated on the clock (really 28 on the GPS and local radar) - then I engage CC and the car will roll faster than 30 so I have to brake or drop it into third to keep to 30. This is not specific to the "twilight zone" that is Banbury Lane - it is the same at 70 on a motorway hill - the car will speed up under the influence on gravity even on CC - going up a hill the or on the flat the CC works well and as indicated does not operate below 25.

I am not ****** up this evening and work as an engineering consultant so am good at testing things - if the facelift 430 ACC maintains your speed going down hill that sounds really good.

Happy Cruising - I use mine a lot.

Bren

[ColinBarber]

"If your car slows down when descending a hill it is because of engine braking caused by the ECU cutting off the fuel."

Arr that's what it feels like,never considered that is what happens.

yes the CC won't activate the brakes. Saying that you would have to be going down a pretty steep hill at motorway speeds to get an increase in speed against the engine load and wind resistance. Maybe the rolling resistance is that much lower on the LS but you certainly wouldn't experience speed increases in a GS.

[hihihi]

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[ambermarine]

Cruise control is what it says.When cruising which is not the same as proactive or reactive driving is usually best used on Motorways or roads with a reasonable stretch of road without hazards or slow moving traffic.

The Ecu works in tandem with the engine ECu but does nor extend to changing gears as that would fall outside its design remit on the Lexus and most other luxury cruising sedans.

If used properly it can save a bundle in fuel consumption but one as to anticipate when to disengage to slow down rather than using the brakes.I have found the biggest headache is when you have set the cc at 70 on the motorway in the inside lane and some knobhead in one of those suzuki or the like goes over seventy to pass you then because they are speeding pull in front of you and slow down below seventy making me reset the whole thing.

It is not a reliable aid to keeping within the speed limit as the car will exceed the set speed through sheer gravity on downward slopes,in contrast on upward slopes it will stick to the set speed.

[brendangeorge]

Cruise control is what it says.When cruising which is not the same as proactive or reactive driving is usually best used on Motorways or roads with a reasonable stretch of road without hazards or slow moving traffic.

The Ecu works in tandem with the engine ECu but does nor extend to changing gears as that would fall outside its design remit on the Lexus and most other luxury cruising sedans.

If used properly it can save a bundle in fuel consumption but one as to anticipate when to disengage to slow down rather than using the brakes.I have found the biggest headache is when you have set the cc at 70 on the motorway in the inside lane and some knobhead in one of those suzuki or the like goes over seventy to pass you then because they are speeding pull in front of you and slow down below seventy making me reset the whole thing.

It is not a reliable aid to keeping within the speed limit as the car will exceed the set speed through sheer gravity on downward slopes,in contrast on upward slopes it will stick to the set speed.

Hi Ambermarine - I think you meant the CC will not change down to slow you down - it will certainly change gear down or up the box to maintain speed. My 430 will kick down when going up hill then change back up appropriately.

The adaptive CC will try and maintain distance to a car in front by speed control without the brakes.

My pal works for VAG and their new models (as I assume do Lexus) have plenty of speed control gadgets - below 18 MPH it is not possible to run into the back of another car, in your Passat because it will bang the brakes on. Not pleasant but will save you a lot of trouble :)

Bren

[ambermarine]

Hi Brendan

Yes you are correct I stand corrected the box will change up or down to maintain the set speed on acceleration but not to gear brake for de-acceleration.

If I started to drive with the adaptive cc putting my nerves on the edge of a blade with a system that protected me from running in the back of a vehicle I personally would switch it off.There is a difference between driving for pleasure and being at the behest of a computer.