DRCC AND Full Speed DRCC

Full speed DRCC follows the car in front of you til they stop. Regular DRCC self cancels with 2 beeps when it slows down to 23mph. Full speed DRCC is on gen 4 Prius. Regular DRCC is on gen 3 Prius.

 

Gen 4, there is no DRCC which isn't full speed. So, if the car was a version with DRCC - then it's FULL SPEED.

Not sure where you are - if you're one of the Bellevues in Australia, then all Gen 4 Prius here have DRCC.

After a full stop, you need to press accelerator or resume on the Cruise Control stalk to get it started again.

 

Some 2016 Prius have regular cruise control. Some have full speed DRCC. All 2017 Prius have full speed DRCC. 2 ways to tell if 2016 has DRCC or not. From the outside, if the front emblem is all flat, it has DRCC. If the chrome oval outlines is raised against the background, then it doesn't have DRCC. From the inside, if the cruise control stock has "MODE" with arrow pointing toward the dash printed on it, it has DRCC. If there's no "MODE" printed on the stock, then it's regular DRCC. There's also a button on the steering wheel to control the following distance.

 

Some EU versions of Gen4 Prius do not have Full speed DRCC.

My question is, what is different between Gen4 models with "normal" DRCC and full speed DRCC hardware wise?
Or is this just a software setting feature for example based on the country where the car was sold due to some regulatory mumbo jumbo?

 

Well, Judging from where OP is located, I'd say that the US market is what he wants to know, not EU or AUS market.
The difference is non full speed DRCC cancels itself when it dips below 23mph or 37kph.

 

They say they're in "Bellevue" - which possibly is in Australia. Until they clarify, we can't answer their question.

 

Well, when I clicked on his location, it took me to Washington state. Majority of members here are from the States.

 

I thought the clue was in his has handle - Bob USA

 

Ah - I didn't make that connection - not being from that part of the world. And the space could have been anywhere. Bo Busa.

 

I don't have DRCC and am curious as to how it works. Practically - in real life - I know the tech behind it.

So let's say you're "cruising along" at 15 mph in stop and go traffic. how much distance does it keep between you and the car in front (I know there's an adjustable setting, but don't know what they translate to)?

What happens when the guy in front does a panic stop at the same time some jerk jumps in front of you with his brakes on? How well does it react? Is there an alarm? Does it hit the brakes, or just start slowing down? Do you feel safe with letting the car almost drive itself?

 

First of all, remember that YOU alone are driving the car!!!! DRCC will attempt to adjust your speed so that you don't get too close to a vehicle on front of you an my generally does it very well indeed. But, there is nothing preventing you from applying the brakes yourself if you see a danger before the car's detectors sense it.

Now, to answer the rest of your question directly, I think the DRCC would keep you from crashing by applying emergency braking if necessary. Remember that the effectiveness of the sensors can be reduced by precipitation or dirt, etc obscuring them. You must concentrate on the road conditions while in DRCC so that you can at any time take back control yourself for safety reasons.

A bit long winded, I'm afraid, but i hope that helped you.

 

Great thanks! Yes, absolutely I understand I need to be in control at all times. Was just curious because the other day I was watching a moron on a cell phone swerving at me on my left when a guy jumped me from the right with brakes on and I didnt see him until it was almost too late.

 

My experience with DRCC in the Gen 3 is it is very good at avoiding trouble. I've had idiots cut in front and it brakes hard AND emits panic warnings to me.
I'm so confident of it I use it all the time in the city. It seems to me it is actually more conservative than I, and I find myself hitting the throttle to get it going when it still thinks it might be dangerous. So yes, it's safe. It's fast to react when it detects a vehicle, but slow to react when it looses the vehicle (they change lanes or turn off). On rare occasions it will think a vehicle in the next lane is a collision possibility and will slow to their speed. Usually with large trucks.
It has on two occasions gone crazy. A quick off then back on solved that both times.

 

It's GREAT!!

I have DRCC which works well mostly, and, unlike some comments, almost never picks up a car in another lane, unless it has been tracking it and it has moved to, for example, an exit lane.

I find that with the closest setting, it is approx the distance I would keep myself in city traffic. It's good with watching for traffic moving in, but when cars are merging (say 2 lanes into 1), it's best to take over. My only gripe is that when it stops, it leaves a larger gap, about 8-10 foot, than I would (about 3-4 foot). Taking off, it starts with a jab of the throttle, but sometimes I think it's a bit tardy, and in tight traffic will stay on the throttle till it gets going a bit quicker. I generally use PWR mode as it's more responsive.

On Motorways, I use the middle distance adjustment, unless I'm following a truck and I want a bit more distance.

I suspect that it's an intermediate "quality" product. I've heard that some high-end cars work better (eg Merc S Class), but that's the same with lots of things. In 10 years time, we'll look back and talk about the 2016 DRCC as being "primitive" compared with the autonomous progression by then.