06 LGT cruise control - NOT!!

I have to travel on mountain roads a lot & I use my cruise control to keep me from getting to far past posted speed limits to protect my pocket book!! I am frustrated that the cruise does not down shift to keep my speed near the set limit when going down hill. I thought I was just imagining it this weekend I set it for 62 (posted is 55) and I let it go. At 80 I finally decided I couldn't let it go any higher since the ticket would be outrageous! When I took it to the dealer today they said the cruise is working as designed.... Some control!!! I had a Jeep Liberty before my LGT and it had no problem keeping me within 5 miles of my set speed. Guess Subaru just doesn't understand.....

Mine keeps me at my speed up or downhill. MT here...but I don't think that's relevant.

MT may have a lot to do with it. The auto may slow the engine but the torque converter may just disengage. I would think at highway speeds the lockout would keep the engine/trans tied together. Definately does not sound right.

 

What was your engine speed?

 

Peace,

 

Greg

If you mean RPM's it was around 3 by the time it was up to 80!

I've never had this problem with either of my Legacies (AT and MT). In fact, I'm suprised at how well it holds its speed through the mountains.

 

My Trailblazer on the other hand has absolutely worthless cruise control. It varies over 15 MPH away from the set speed on every hill... it's like it never even backs off the gas when going down hills.

I sure hope that Subaru didn't do a major cruise control change from 05 to 06. We are going to pick up the car on the way home from work and my husband is primed to let the service department have it!!

hmm mine stays pretty well with the set speed, about 2-3 mph variance if that. I'd like to have your cruise control because I hate it when it slows down on the downhills.. I'd rather just let it coast and creep up the speed.

hmm mine stays pretty well with the set speed, about 2-3 mph variance if that. I'd like to have your cruise control because I hate it when it slows down on the downhills.. I'd rather just let it coast and creep up the speed.

 

could you have bumped the accelerator up? I know for a fact an auto LGT holds the speed well. I was in the mountains in Lake Tahoe with the cruise set and it held with no issues... In fact... My mom's lawyer rented an Outback (after he initially took it back because it was stuck in gear because he didn't realize it was in manual mode.) The main thing he commented on was how great the cruise was for going up and down the mountains and held the speed perfectly. He owns an Audi A6. I wonder what's going on in your situation

I have tested this several times/days/temps - so no I didn't bump up the accelerator. It does the same when I set the speed at different speeds and start down Mt. Vernon Canyon (near Evergreen). I am so upset with our dealship - I was told that my cruise control is operating as designed!! So with that I am offically posting stay away from John Elway Subaru Dealerships in Colorado - Their service techs' are a bunch of crooks - that treat the customer like crap if your car is under warranty and if it's out like my husbands Forrester XT they come up with huge $$ items that need fixing for minor things!!! Anyone know an honest tech that does warranty work in Colorado I am interested!!

I'm not sure what could go wrong with the cruise control on our cars, and your dealership probably doesn't know either. As far as I know, cruise control is controlled completely by the ECU software... there aren't many parts to diagnose.

 

 

Just how steep are these mountains?

The signs that are posted for the truckers says 6% grade - not all that steep but it doesn't take much downhill to go right on past what I set the cruise for. On flats or going up hill it works like a dream.

 

I would appreciate if any other owners who have a 05/06 LGT- AT could let me know if theirs downshifts when cruise is on to slow the car down to maintain speed going downhill. My Jeep did this and so did my 98 Malibu.

 

It would just be great if the dealership would own up to a possiblity that something is wrong - take it for a drive - don't just hook the 'meter' up to it and say it's operating as designed!!!

MT transmission here, so can't help you wrt the Legacy. However my '95 Camry's cruise control (AT) does not downshift.

My wife has a 06 Legacy AT that is 2 months old. She is complaining of the same thing. Set cruise at 60 when she's going down hill the speed will get up to 80 MPH. The Altima she had before this was lucky to 3 or 4 MPH faster. She asked the service tech. about this and he said he did not know of a problem. He said that was normal. B.S. He said to bring it in and they will check it. I bet I know what the outcome will be. Other that that the Legacy is an awesome machine.

i never tried cruise too much, but it seems to hold speed on mine. the problem is that if the speed is set and i try to touch the gas pedal it won't respond until i have 1/2 of pedal travel, then the car would jerk so bad i thought it would send me in another dimension

No cruise control system that I'm aware of will brake a car to maintain the cruise control set speed. It's just not how they work. They can add throttle to maintain speed but cannot brake to reduce it. Cruise is not integrated into the transmission controller to downshift to slow, nor should it be.

 

The plain truth is in situations like this, you should not be using cruise. It says so right there in the manual. It is meant for flatter terrain with mild curves. If you're on such demanding roads I would hope that you are driving your car rather than riding in it.

 

If you want something fancier you'll need a car with the laser cruise control. It can accelerate and brake automatically but you'll need a $70k+ car to wrap it in.

^^^i could have sworn my accord and my integra will brake down to avoid speeding up. i could even see the brake pedal moving down when the car was going downhill.

+1

I have an MT...I would never downshift to slow down at highway speed unless I wanted it for control reasons...turns, upcoming exits etc.

I would not expect or want the trans to downshift for this reason...now...if they fitted the engine with a Jakes Brake...that would be effective.

I have to travel on mountain roads a lot....

 

i'm not sure that using cruise control is very safe around lots of mountain road.

The only other car that I had which gained to much speed going down a hill was a 93 Tauras. But eveen that did not pick up as much as our Legacy. The 5 Nissans we had never gained that much and you always felt that you had control. I am not saying that the car downshifted or the barks were applied, I'am saying that it did not increase more than 4 to 5 MPH.

you should have gotten a MT ... lol much more control over the car.

You know, The cruise just applies throttle. Once it is off throttle then all you have is what you would when you take your foot off the gas. Decelerating is not so much a function of the cruise control as it is a function of the car's engine braking and gearing.

 

So....maybe these engines just don't provide quite as much engine braking as some other's. I would think that a V6, or other larger engine would have more friction and more volume to compress. That would make them brake more.

 

The counter point is that my last car was a 90 Talon AWD TSI. That was a lighter car (which I would think matters!) but I felt like there was more engine braking in that car then the Outback and that motor was smaller.

 

Maybe Boxers don't engine brake as much as I or V engines...I really can't imagine why; any comments?

Maybe Boxers don't engine brake as much as I or V engines...I really can't imagine why; any comments?

 

When i first got my car about 4 months ago, i did notice that they engine doesnt brake the car as much as say a V6 i have driven.

Huh, I thought that this thread would be over by now. My OBXT is MT, so no help there, but my '97 Dodge Intrepid does indeed downshift under CC to maintain speed. I don't use it that way most of the time, but the car likes to go fast even on very gradual downhills and sometimes I catch it downshifting under CC.

Turbo engines also have lower compression, therefore less engine braking.

No cruise control system that I'm aware of will brake a car to maintain the cruise control set speed. It's just not how they work. They can add throttle to maintain speed but cannot brake to reduce it. Cruise is not integrated into the transmission controller to downshift to slow, nor should it be.

 

The plain truth is in situations like this, you should not be using cruise. It says so right there in the manual. It is meant for flatter terrain with mild curves. If you're on such demanding roads I would hope that you are driving your car rather than riding in it.

 

If you want something fancier you'll need a car with the laser cruise control. It can accelerate and brake automatically but you'll need a $70k+ car to wrap it in.

 

Finally, a rational post. The thread started expects his criuse control to downshift!

 

This kind of crap makes me feel sorry for dealers and service writers!.

 

"My new Subaru's cruise control won't hold a 6% grade! Waaaaa!"

 

READ THE FRICKIN' MANUAL.