I must admit that this whole cruise control situation is a bit disappointing to me. I have a honda civic that does this very same thing. It is SO annoying. This was one of the issues I wanted to avoid with my next car purchase. Makes me wish I would have tested the cruise control better. I may have to take the TCH I order out for an extended test drive when it arrives in the next week or so. We'll see...

Let me clarify, I am not flaming you nor am I arguing with you.

I feel the cruise control must be fixed from a functional stand point. I have had many other cars, and they have ALL had much better cruise controls that could hold a target speed within 1 miles per hour. heck, my dad's '87 Dodge Maxi-wagon (long wheelbase passenger van) held speed better than the TCH does, and it did a horrible job of holding speed.

I am in Houston, so I know all to well how people tailgate with no one elese on the road. I was on the beltway a few years back at 5:00 AM and it was a weekday. There was no one around for about 1/4 mile in front of me and 1/4 mile behind me with the exception of one car behind me. They were 5' off my bumper. I was also in the right lane and even after I slowed to 15 under the speed limit they stayed there.

Now I notice that almost all drivers who tailgate in very light traffic also have a phone glued to their ear. They then flip you off as they pass you, when they have a nice safe area to pass in. I guess they expect you to get over to the left so they can pass you on the right.

Either way, I have just decided my car does not have cruise control, and just live with it. I might complain, but then it is not that big a deal that i would want the service people driving my car or even deal with getting it into the shop for them to try.

There are so many things right with the TCH that this annoyance is minor. My posting was to show that us little guys can help BIG corporations listen to us if we follow the 'process'. I believe eventually that enough folks will be annoyed and Toyota will adjust the parameter of the CC to have a narrower variance from the target speed.

Again, I really enjoy this car (this is our first Toyota and won't be our last). It has many strengths from safety to fuel economy to positive environmental contributions and plain can be fun to drive. I continue to have fun at the car washes when the employees have no clue what a hybrid is and why the engine isn't making any noise but yet is on. Finally with the custom tires/wheels and the cars great looks we continue to get many compliments.

Now lets see if that Camry in the Daytona 500 can win!

Big Al
Georgetown, TX

Trust me I don't believe you are plus if anybody does I'm thick skinned enough to brush it off.

That phenomenon of TX drivers to tailgate even when no other traffic is around makes me think they are are 'autopilot' using our cars as a pace car. This is even more scary because you have to believe they are not concentrating on the road or safety!

We're all good and I appreciate all the comments; dialog is progress.

Big Al
Georgetown, TX

I agree with both of you! I've had a few cars in my day and I've never seen cc with such loose tolerances. And as Big Al pointed out this is just a minor little thing that we should bring to Toyotas attention. I love my TCH and really have absolutely no complaints. The only things that irk me a little are the cc and that darn center console squeak! IMO this just shows how well the TCH is built - we are talking about little features and minor noises in the cabin. And this is the first year of production! **** good car IMO.

I apologize to anyone if I came off a little strong in my first post above.

and here I thought I had a problem with my CC - I find out here that it is a common occurance!

It's on my list for the next visit to the dealer. The dealers all log these complaints as well and it is the compilation of those complaints that create TSB (Technical Service Buletins) in many cases..

The other thing is that you seem to have to press the brake pedal more than just enought to turn on the brake-lights to disengaged the CC. I can ride my brake pedal lightly and see the third brake light come on while my CC is keeping me at speed..

Regards - Randy




If there's one thing I've learned in online forums its this:
Never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

I wonder if the CC issues has to do with the CVT? I have an 06 CRV that has a 2.4L and it can maintain it's CC speed going up and down the hills around here. The HP for each ICE is almost the same. I think the CRV has about 9 more HP. If I have the CC on in the CRV and we hit an incline it will downshift to maintain speed. since the CVT can't downshift I wonder if that is why it has a problem maintaining speed? Any thoughts?

TXVTX - I understood the reason for your post. My disappointment was more so based on the fact that this CC problem exists and I had started a thread a while back asking this very question 'how does the CC perform at maintaining speed while going up inclines'. If I recall no one chimed in about it losing speed while going up inclines. Most everyone said it does fine. Anyway...I'm sure the pros will outweigh the cons. Like I said I'll have to take it for an extended test drive when it arrives and see how it performs around here..

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if we could "adjust" the cc settings?

I was driving to work yesterday, and the center console started to rattle. I really got worried as it has never made a sound. Well I pushed on it a bit and pulled, etc.. Still rattling. I removed my cup of water and it stopped. I then messed with the divider then replaced the cup. No rattle, then after driving a bit more, it started again. Fuss with the divider more, it is gone. Then it comes back again. It turned out that as I had drunk all the water, and only had ice in the cup (yes I still drink ice water even though it is 30 degrees outside) the ice was rattling in the cup. Man was I worried after all I have heard about rattles.

So far the only rattle my car has made is when the passenger side seat belt is turned wrong and rattles against the pillar. Just reach over and give it a flip, then it stops rattling and the car is silent again.

Now that I have posted this, I am sure it will start rattling on the way home from work. BTW, I have 13,600 miles on the car.

My TCH CC works great. Easily stays within 1 miles per hour except on rather steep grades, from under 40 to 75 MPH. If mine did what has been reported here, I would be complaining loudly, starting with the dealer and working up from there.

-- Alan