Adaptive Cruise Control

[jimgironde]

Trying to get used to ACC, only had straight forward cruise control in the past.

Is there any way of switching off the "adaptive" bit? If there is I cannot figure it out.

In the past, if I was cruising on the motorway with cruise control, I could overtake a slower car in front at the moment of my choosing, sometimes this would be at the last moment if I was hemmed in. But with ACC it takes my judgement away by slowing me down!

[big_swede]

In my car (with the multifunctional steering wheel) there is a "Mode" button for the left thumb where I can toggle between regular cruise control and ACC. There should be something similar also in cars without the multi steering wheel.

/big_swede

[jimgironde]

big swede

which mode button is that? I have GT trim and the buttons on multi steering wheel are

o/I for on and off
mode for switching between ACC and speed limiter
plus/minus buttons for incremental speed change
set button
res button
and the centre button with image of a car that sets distance for ACC

none of these switch between regular cruise control and ACC as far as I can see.

Do you have a different button?

[big_swede]

Isn't the "mode for switching between ACC and speed limiter" the one you're looking for? "Speed limiter" being old fashioned cruise control?

/big_swede

[El-Cap]

The speed limiter stops you going over a maximum speed rather than fixes you at a set speed which is what the old fashioned cruise control is.

You either have ACC which will vary your speed automatically up to the limit set by you depending on traffic or you have a speed limiter that requires you to use the accelerator and which will stop you going over the set speed ( unless you engage kick down by flooring the throttle which will disable it).

Only way to get standard Cruise is to get a car without the ACC.

[YawnGumbo]

No speed limiter mode acts as just that - it won't let you accelerate past a set speed, but it doesn't maintain you at that speed - that is down to you to do that.

[jimgironde]

Okay guys, thanks, I have my answer!

I guess I will need to set "distance" to a minimum and overtake in time.

I prefer to travel at my speed and not the speed of the car in front who wants to go slower. Having said that I can see there will be advantages to ACC on occasions.

[YawnGumbo]

To be honest I have had similar reservations about ACC as you, but I do think it's just something you have to get used to and adapt your driving to suit the way it works. Once you get used to it, then it works really well. I find the speed limiter function of little use, as it dumbs down the acceleration and responsiveness of the car as it prepares to not let you go past a limit about 10mph before the limit, which can be really frustrating.

[jimgironde]

To be honest I have had similar reservations about ACC as you, but I do think it's just something you have to get used to and adapt your driving to suit the way it works. Once you get used to it, then it works really well. I find the speed limiter function of little use, as it dumbs down the acceleration and responsiveness of the car as it prepares to not let you go past a limit about 10mph before the limit, which can be really frustrating.

Completely agree with you. When I first had speed limiter some years back I thought it would be good for the 50mph average speed cameras, but when you get people travelling at 45mph, at which they are entitled to do, it renders it useless!

[gamichea]

For me this is the shortcoming with ACC. Even setting it to very close does not allow it to deal effectively with potential hemming in by slow overtakers.

However, if you apply your hoof gently to the accelerator just sufficiently to overcome the slight resistance you will see the ACC symbol greys out indicating it has been overidden. Lift off and the ACC symbol regains brightness indicating ACC has taken back control. By applying more force to the accelerator to overcome increased resistance you can get as much acceleration as you want at the cost of temporary loss of the ACC safety net (but AEB is still functional, I think). As soon as you lift off ACC takes back control. If you brake instead of lifting off you will have to resume ACC.

[jimgironde]

For me this is the shortcoming with ACC. Even setting it to very close does not allow it to deal effectively with potential hemming in by slow overtakers.

However, if you apply your hoof gently to the accelerator just sufficiently to overcome the slight resistance you will see the ACC symbol greys out indicating it has been overidden. Lift off and the ACC symbol regains brightness indicating ACC has taken back control. By applying more force to the accelerator to overcome increased resistance you can get as much acceleration as you want at the cost of temporary loss of the ACC safety net (but AEB is still functional, I think). As soon as you lift off ACC takes back control. If you brake instead of lifting off you will have to resume ACC.

Okay, need to experiment, I am sure I will adapt.

[gamichea]

Okay, need to experiment, I am sure I will adapt.

Pun intended or not intended? :D

[jimgironde]

Pun intended or not intended? :D

I would like to say intended, but it would not be true!!

[jmagee]

Is there nothing in the cars menus? Sure I've seen something about turning it off

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[fm_carv]

Yeah it's a major flaw of the VW system. For example in my old Volvo I could switch between ACC and regular cruise control. This is really handy when for example in extreme snow storms the ACC stops working due to bad visibility but the regular cruise control still works.

for overtaking I just accelerate and it overrides the ACC system when you take your foot off the accelerator it just goes back to the same speed and distance as before

[jmagee]

There's the speed limiter which is pretty good though

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[4NT]

I collected my SEB on Wednesday and I'm fairly disappointed with ACC, the shortest gap is way too large and you find people move into the gap slowing you down. I DO NOT want to tailgate other drivers but I want to ensure I maintain a decent flow. Maybe too soon for me to judge but initial impressions are not the best as yet. Otherwise really like the car.

[fm_carv]

There's the speed limiter which is pretty good though

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Does nothing for me unfortunately and never use it

[BenR]

The ACC is good but not as good as a human because it doesn't see the car two or three ahead slowing down and so it doesn't anticipate. It only reacts to the car in front, which makes it jerky and a little worrying. I wonder what would happen on a slippery road?

[fm_carv]

The ACC is good but not as good as a human because it doesn't see the car two or three ahead slowing down and so it doesn't anticipate. It only reacts to the car in front, which makes it jerky and a little worrying. I wonder what would happen on a slippery road?

The ACC will always react quicker than any of us ever will

[MattB247]

Set the bar to the bottom of the display, furthest away from the car icon in the display. Seems counter intuitive but this is actually the closest distance.

[jimgironde]

The ACC will always react quicker than any of us ever will

Exactly, ACC will only react, but it will never anticipate.

[gamichea]

Set the bar to the bottom of the display, furthest away from the car icon in the display. Seems counter intuitive but this is actually the closest distance.

That's right, although its not close enough for me. You can override it as I covered earlier in this thread but that reduces its value.

Overall, I'd rather have it than not and I use it in some circumstances VW advises against which I do not find problematic having read up on its limitations in the handbook. Its far from sufficiently developed for totally autonomous use though. On a couple of occasions I've been squawked at and "apply the brake" has come up on the MFD when there's been nothing else on the road and I've no idea what thinks its 'seen'; some foliage waving about maybe?

On one occasion it panicked when I was accelerating up a hill in France approaching a kink left with farm track going straight on with a vehicle parked on it and the ACC understandably assumed I was going straight on. If it was linked to the navigation and I had a route set I guess it should cope, but as the chance of me using the on board navigation in preference to Sygic on a 7" tablet is nix that would make no difference to its usefulness to me.

[jimgironde]

but as the chance of me using the on board navigation in preference to Sygic on a 7" tablet is nix that would make no difference to its usefulness to me.

I don't like the inbuilt satnav one little bit, but would be interested to know where you keep the tablet when in use. At least the satnav is built in and that makes it convenient to use.

[YawnGumbo]

I actually find the best time to use ACC is on long single carriageway roads. It's so relaxing being able to set it at 60mph, set the gap to quite large and let the car speed up and slow down according to the traffic (which inevitably doesn't travel at 60mph all the time). It makes it much less stressful. On motorways I still get a bit frustrated at times, but I just find I override it with the accelerator as required, almost treating it as normal cruise.

[gamichea]

I don't like the inbuilt satnav one little bit, but would be interested to know where you keep the tablet when in use. At least the satnav is built in and that makes it convenient to use.

I actually don't find the inbuilt satnav at all convenient as I have to be in the car to program it, its too low in the dash and the screen is landscape.These are longstanding issues for me and why I have used external devices since early 2006, starting with a Dell PDA and always using the Brodit mount system. Also I notice update difficulties reported on here whereas Sygic just updates automatically across all my devices from the Google Playstore.

On the B8 I am using this car specific Pro-clip http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=655068&pn=prod&brand=Volkswagen&model=Passat&year=2016
I have mounted it at the extreme left of the driver side central vent. Like all Pro-clips I have used it provides a solid vibration free foundation even for a seven inch tablet.

I am using this device specific holder for my gen.2 Nexus 7 http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=511560&pn=prod&brand=Google&model=Nexus%207%20(2013)
This is a passive holder. There is an active version (i.e incorporating charger).

I also incorporate their Move clip so I can easily remove the holder, mount different devices on the same Pro-clip and mount the devices in different vehicles similarly equipped.

I had my service dealer run a USB charge cable from a switched fuse box supply to exit in the steering column cowl from where it is a short run to the device. They also ran an unswitched supply for the dashcam at the same time.

Hope that helps.

[jimgironde]

I actually don't find the inbuilt satnav at all convenient as I have to be in the car to program it, its too low in the dash and the screen is landscape.These are longstanding issues for me and why I have used external devices since early 2006, starting with a Dell PDA and always using the Brodit mount system. Also I notice update difficulties reported on here whereas Sygic just updates automatically across all my devices from the Google Playstore.

On the B8 I am using this car specific Pro-clip http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=655068&pn=prod&brand=Volkswagen&model=Passat&year=2016
I have mounted it at the extreme left of the driver side central vent. Like all Pro-clips I have used it provides a solid vibration free foundation even for a seven inch tablet.

I am using this device specific holder for my gen.2 Nexus 7 http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=511560&pn=prod&brand=Google&model=Nexus%207%20(2013)
This is a passive holder. There is an active version (i.e incorporating charger).

I also incorporate their Move clip so I can easily remove the holder, mount different devices on the same Pro-clip and mount the devices in different vehicles similarly equipped.

I had my service dealer run a USB charge cable from a switched fuse box supply to exit in the steering column cowl from where it is a short run to the device. They also ran an unswitched supply for the dashcam at the same time.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that very informative post.

I would find it very difficult to ignore a built in Sat Nav due to its built in flexiblility although I wish the model was better.

You mention about having to be in the car to program it? If you set up CarNet correctly you can load your destinations from the comfort of your laptop indoors and when you are next in the car, and it detects your phone for wifi, it downloads them automatically into the sat nav unit.

I know you drive in Europe a lot and I found it infuriating with my Kenwood sat nav that whilst postcode search was easy for a UK destination, finding locations in France was tear your hair out time. However, searching through the carnet interface on my laptop is good, this is because it is highly predictive on the search function and seems to find everything straight away.

[MattB247]

You can always plug in an android phone, use Android Auto and display google maps navigation on the centre screen?

[gamichea]

Thanks for that very informative post.

I would find it very difficult to ignore a built in Sat Nav due to its built in flexiblility although I wish the model was better.

You mention about having to be in the car to program it? If you set up CarNet correctly you can load your destinations from the comfort of your laptop indoors and when you are next in the car, and it detects your phone for wifi, it downloads them automatically into the sat nav unit.

I know you drive in Europe a lot and I found it infuriating with my Kenwood sat nav that whilst postcode search was easy for a UK destination, finding locations in France was tear your hair out time. However, searching through the carnet interface on my laptop is good, this is because it is highly predictive on the search function and seems to find everything straight away.

This is the first car I have owned with built in Sat Nav. I did not want it at all but I did want the GT spec. of which it is a part.

I have not looked into Car Net at all as its brief description in the sales literature suggested to me it was just a load of POIs. I'll have a look. Destinations are not the issue. Its the routes that interest me. I think we all know Sat Navs produce some odd results at times. When we we go abroad I will have the routes for all the stages set up and stored as favourites so I don't get any nasty surprises and I am guided the way I want to go. I do my planning on a desktop using ViaMichelin's route planner which I like a lot. I only use navigation in the UK when covering unfamiliar territory. I will have CameraAlert running and maybe Sygic just for the map display.

French postcodes are useless for navigation because they cover such large areas.

[gamichea]

You can always plug in an android phone, use Android Auto and display google maps navigation on the centre screen?

Believe it or not I have never found a need to interface a phone with a car. I do not make or accept calls while actually driving under any circumstances.

Doesn't google maps just provide a moving atlas which means it does not provide turn by turn navigation?

[Eshrules]

The ACC is good but not as good as a human because it doesn't see the car two or three ahead slowing down and so it doesn't anticipate. It only reacts to the car in front, which makes it jerky and a little worrying. I wonder what would happen on a slippery road?

You'd reduce the maximum speed and drive to the conditions accordingly?


the shortest gap is way too large and you find people move into the gap slowing you down. I DO NOT want to tailgate other drivers but I want to ensure I maintain a decent flow.

If you're moving slowly enough with a gap large enough for another vehicle to safely move into it and overtake another vehicle, you're probably in the wrong lane?


Even setting it to very close does not allow it to deal effectively with potential hemming in by slow overtakers.

If you're approaching a slower moving vehicle and want to overtake it safely, how are you managing to get hemmed in by 'slow overtakers'? By that very logic, the vehicle overtaking you is moving faster than you?

[MattB247]

Believe it or not I have never found a need to interface a phone with a car. I do not make or accept calls while actually driving under any circumstances.

Doesn't google maps just provide a moving atlas which means it does not provide turn by turn navigation?


No, it has full navigation capabilities and is "live" too so it responds to traffic events.

[gamichea]

No, it has full navigation capabilities and is "live" too so it responds to traffic events.

Thanks for that. If the inbuilt screen happened to be higher up I might give it a try, but its too far out of line of sight for my liking. I guess I've just become so used over the last decade to having my navigation screen high up (but not impeding the view out) and portrait oriented that anything else does not seem to offer me an equally usable approach.

[Frank Bullitt]

Picked up my new (to me) Passat on Friday and was surprised to discover it didn’t have the option of ‘normal’ cruise along with ACC, I drove a Q2 courtesy car a couple of months back that definitely had both fitted along with the limiter.

In the main it won’t be an issue, the only time I suspect it will be is when towing our caravan on hills whilst maintaining momentum; people have a habit of cutting back in front of you at quite close proximity - however, it also maintains the set speed when changing gear which will be a definite bonus. I will have to get used to getting on the throttle as people pass me.

Got to say though, our new Passat is simply a wonderful piece of kit - very nice indeed.

[NATOuk]

Just a FYI that the adaptive cruise control has an 'undertaking restriction' which means if it detects a slower car in the lane to the right of you it will slow down and prevent you from undertaking it. You can override this by pressing the accelerator or pressing 'RES' on your steering wheel.

However, if this annoys you it can be turned off using VCDS.

[Frank Bullitt]

I noticed it does this which is a pain in flowing traffic but didn’t realise it could be overcome through hitting resume, thanks for that

It also notices that cars cutting in front of you are going quicker and doesn’t immediately increase the gap through braking, which is also a bonus when towing.