Self-explanatory title. Which vehicle you drove had the worst cruise, and why?
Please also note: Can be auto or manual trans.
Please also note: Can be auto or manual trans.
Car with worst cruise control you had?
- Thread starter MalfunctionProne
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1991 Pontiac bonneville
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
ls1mike
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My 02 Jetta TDI. Auto.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2022
I had a 93' S-10 Blazer with the 4.3 multiport (spider injector set up) injected engine. Randomly for no known reason , I would set the cruise and it would floor the accelerator and not let up. Of course I could cancel it , but it always had me worried that one day it wouldn't cancel. So I wouldn't use it.
Our Saturn doesn't even have cruise control, which I don't understand because it has pretty much every other option you could get on a 2000 Saturn...power windows/locks, A/C, CD player, fog lights, spoiler, 3rd door, even the power sunroof, but no cruise control.
Then there was the 95 F-150 I had that had no options... crank windows, manual locks, plastic floor, no A/C, plain bench seat...but it did have cruise control.
Then there was the 95 F-150 I had that had no options... crank windows, manual locks, plastic floor, no A/C, plain bench seat...but it did have cruise control.
My '06 GMC Sierra. If it's not within 0.5 MPH of the setting it's not content. At speeds between 45 and 60, the smallest and most gentle of dips or rise in the road cause it to go in and out of lockup. Very annoying to be cruising along and hear/feel the torque converter constantly locking and unlocking. Seems a simple increase in the dead-band to 1 MPH or so would cure it.
Originally Posted By: brandini
1991 Pontiac bonneville
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
1983 Oldsmobile 98 Regency.
I thought the transducer was bad. No, it was just slow. It didn't really set a speed as much as it would struggle to stay around that speed on the slightest up or downhill grade.
1991 Pontiac bonneville
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
I thought the transducer was bad. No, it was just slow. It didn't really set a speed as much as it would struggle to stay around that speed on the slightest up or downhill grade.
My 2014 Prius C rental from last week didn't even have cruise control. That alone was ridiculous given that the car is all about fuel efficiency (and cruise control can greatly help with that).
Originally Posted By: tmus2122
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
Worst car ever, or worst cruise ever?
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
Worst car ever, or worst cruise ever?
Originally Posted By: tmus2122
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
So bad, it bares repeating.
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
So bad, it bares repeating.
How about cars with simple and easy to use cruise control ? I think most Honda have very simple and easy to use cruise control, it is located on the steering wheel at 3:00 O'clock position, the design they had since early-mid '80.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
How about cars with simple and easy to use cruise control ? I think most Honda have very simple and easy to use cruise control, it is located on the steering wheel at 3:00 O'clock position, the design they had since early-mid '80.
That's how my 530i is set up as well, and I do like it, but maybe I just got used to it over the years. I find it more intuitive than the little stalk behind the steering wheel like in some other German cars (Audi, MB).
How about cars with simple and easy to use cruise control ? I think most Honda have very simple and easy to use cruise control, it is located on the steering wheel at 3:00 O'clock position, the design they had since early-mid '80.
That's how my 530i is set up as well, and I do like it, but maybe I just got used to it over the years. I find it more intuitive than the little stalk behind the steering wheel like in some other German cars (Audi, MB).
I put aftermarket cruise into my wife's saturn SL. It was an audiovox unit and would run off the tach signal or tach plus VSS. Being lazy, I hooked up only the tach. It wouldn't exceed 58 MPH without VSS!
It ran off vacuum but couldn't find anywhere under the hood to mount it. So I put it on the passenger floorboard. I cut up a dishpan to cover things. When it changed throttle position the solenoids and what not made a chug, chug, pfft, pfft noise of allowing more or less vacuum in.
There were dip switches for if your engine was powerful or not and it kept up well. I had a stick shift and it would dutifully floor it.
My 07 HHR automatic cruise will drop from 4th to 2nd on a hill. IDK why they put 3rd gear in the trans. It's throttle-by-wire and an electronically controlled trans so there's no excuse. Thankfully there's little torque steer but it's still a shock on wet roads. If it were up to me I'd have it try 3rd for 5 seconds before getting more desperate.
It ran off vacuum but couldn't find anywhere under the hood to mount it. So I put it on the passenger floorboard. I cut up a dishpan to cover things. When it changed throttle position the solenoids and what not made a chug, chug, pfft, pfft noise of allowing more or less vacuum in.
There were dip switches for if your engine was powerful or not and it kept up well. I had a stick shift and it would dutifully floor it.
My 07 HHR automatic cruise will drop from 4th to 2nd on a hill. IDK why they put 3rd gear in the trans. It's throttle-by-wire and an electronically controlled trans so there's no excuse. Thankfully there's little torque steer but it's still a shock on wet roads. If it were up to me I'd have it try 3rd for 5 seconds before getting more desperate.
Originally Posted By: brandini
1991 Pontiac bonneville
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
really? my 89 was awesome! Also had a 3.8 in it. Sweet car until about 250000km and all the electrical gave up. The car had some balls that's for sure. comfy to.
1991 Pontiac bonneville
Horrid controls, had to be a contortionist to use that stalk, and didn't have enough gain so it reacted too slowly and with a never-locking torque converter it'd coast way over speed.
really? my 89 was awesome! Also had a 3.8 in it. Sweet car until about 250000km and all the electrical gave up. The car had some balls that's for sure. comfy to.
Our 2008 Equinox is friggin terrible! Any little hill and it's flooring it to catch up. I drove it 1,000 miles through the TN and VA mountains a couple months ago; drove me bonkers.
As a sidenote, I'm spoiled in the Jetta. It can't exactly change gears being a stick.
As a sidenote, I'm spoiled in the Jetta. It can't exactly change gears being a stick.
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: tmus2122
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
Worst car ever, or worst cruise ever?
Both...
Originally Posted By: tmus2122
1981 Olds diesel. Set and would drop 5 mph on a hill.
Worst car ever, or worst cruise ever?
Both...
My '84 Cutlass. Not because of the stalk (though it really was bad) or because of response (it did okay with the 307 V-8 and 3-speed transmission). It was bad because of the design of the cruise control bail. The lever would drag along the intake manifold and the throttle would occasionally stick.
Here's a great picture of that. The large vacuum-controlled cruise control servo is at the bottom of the picture, and the black contorted throttle control rod lays along the floor of the intake manifold. GM recalled it and they installed a special washer at the front of the rod that "clocked" the rod up so it wouldn't drag on the manifold.
Folks complain about DBW. I owned an '84 Cutlass whose engine looked like that above.
I love DBW!
Here's a great picture of that. The large vacuum-controlled cruise control servo is at the bottom of the picture, and the black contorted throttle control rod lays along the floor of the intake manifold. GM recalled it and they installed a special washer at the front of the rod that "clocked" the rod up so it wouldn't drag on the manifold.
Folks complain about DBW. I owned an '84 Cutlass whose engine looked like that above.
I love DBW!
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