"cruise" Light On All The Time

[LexKid630]

When you use the cruise control, the green light in the gauge cluster that says "CRUISE" comes on. Is it ok to leave this light on all the time?

If i "cancel" it, the light still stays on but the cruise control doesn't hold the speed anymore. The only way to get the light off is to press the ON/OFF button. I just leave the green light on, and pull the lever down to set it to the speed i'm going, whenever i want it to work. When i want it off, i just hit cancel. It always worked fine...

So is it ok to leave the green "CRUISE" light on all the time?

[wwest]

That light is the most useless thing I know of in today's automotive marketplace. The only explaination I have ever heard it that it is a reminder to turn it off so you don't actiavate cruise control accidentally.

Some of the newer models have a light that tells you when it is actually active.

[bossman]

As wwest says, and the owner's manual confirms ... 'To avoid accidental cruise control engagement, keep the main switch off when not using the cruise control."

[LexKid630]

Ok, good; so it's just to let you know it's "ready" to be switched on.

Thanks. That's good to know.

[SW03ES]

The only fear would be accidental engagement. Say you were cruising at 70 and slowed down to traffic at 50, well it would be pretty abrupt if you bumped RESUME and had a surge of power. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that though...

[LexKid630]

The only fear would be accidental engagement. Say you were cruising at 70 and slowed down to traffic at 50, well it would be pretty abrupt if you bumped RESUME and had a surge of power. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that though...

←

I didn't think of that LOL. There have been times where i accidently hit it, but it's aways "down" so nothing bad happends.

I'm gonna keep it off now. Thanks ;)

[indiasfinest]

i dont think you would have a burst of power doesnt it reset the speed to your current one everytime you turn it on? and plus the cruise wont let the car accelerate that fast

[LexKid630]

i dont think you would have a burst of power doesnt it reset the speed to your current one everytime you turn it on? and plus the cruise wont let the car accelerate that fast

←

Yes, as soon as you "cancel" (when you press the side) that speed you were traveling is no longer saved. You have to pull the lever down to set the speed, and you must be traveling that speed. Pressing the brake is another way to cancel it.

It is possible to forget that you have it set. A few times i was driving with ti set to 70mph and when i would let go of the gas to gradually slow it down onto an exit it didn't slow down..then i remembered the cruise was set!

I think the cruise control saves you on gasmileage too, because it adds gas gradually to keep a certain speed, where you would have to go above the speed you want then go under it etc. It's hard to keep a constant speed w/o using cruise control.

[SW03ES]

Actually if the light is still on pressing resume will cause the car to speed back up to whatever the previous set speed was. The only way to reset it completely so you must select a new speed is to turn the system off and then back on again, or restart the car. Think about it, thats the purpose of resume. So you can "resume" the speed you were going after having to slow down. Hitting cancel or using the brakes leaves the light on, and keeps the speed you were travelling in memory.

Try it. Set the cruise at 70 then slow down to 50 once with the brakes and once by hitting cancel and select resume and see what happens. The car will downshift and speed up to 70 on its own. All cruise control systems that have a resume button work that way.

The only failsafe is if you slow down to a certain speed, 35 or so it will forget what speed you were travelling so that you dont accidentally engage it. 70-80 down to 50 though and it wont forget the speed.

[LexKid630]

Actually if the light is still on pressing resume will cause the car to speed back up to whatever the previous set speed was. The only way to reset it completely so you must select a new speed is to turn the system off and then back on again, or restart the car. Think about it, thats the purpose of resume. So you can "resume" the speed you were going after having to slow down. Hitting cancel or using the brakes leaves the light on, and keeps the speed you were travelling in memory.

Try it. Set the cruise at 70 then slow down to 50 once with the brakes and once by hitting cancel and select resume and see what happens. The car will downshift and speed up to 70 on its own. All cruise control systems that have a resume button work that way.

The only failsafe is if you slow down to a certain speed, 35 or so it will forget what speed you were travelling so that you dont accidentally engage it. 70-80 down to 50 though and it wont forget the speed.

←

Yikes, i have to be careful not to hit that. ;)