Run away acceleration

I find the Auto CC really easy to use and extremely accurate, foot brake cancels setting and accelerator will override setting. If you are in a 45 zone and it changes to 55, 10 upcklicks will do it. The car actually walks away from the traffic behind me. Always be aware that you know it's on or OFF. In OFF the car will not automatically keep distance or stop. So never assume it's ON.

 

I think almost every Toyota has had the unique cruise control stalk since the early 90s. They just changed it on the 2018 Camry. It's a bunch of buttons on the steering wheel.

 

Yes, I read about it - a local Motoring journalist did an overseas drive, and one of his most positive comments was that they'd finally ditched the C/C stalk!!!

 

I did the same as OP first time I used it, very disconcerting if you're not expecting it, that'll teach me to read the manual first. With old style CC you could use the stalk or switch as a hand operated accelerator, holding it until you reached the desired speed, with DRCC the stalk is basically a pre-selector for the desired speed, each flick is 5 mph on UK versions so it rises very quickly.

 

It's really simple when you think about it in terms of how DRCC works.

You are not setting the speed of your car. You are setting the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE speed the car can go up to. You can set that to 80 way faster than the car can achieve that speed. If you are following behind someone doing 30mph, you can hold the stalk until your maximum is 120mph, you will keep going as fast as the guy in front of you, up to the maximum you set, 120mph.

You can see this number as you change it. If the car in front of you is doing 50, and you hit the stalk and the little number shows 75, that is the max speed you could be doing if the car in front of you was going faster or didn't exist. You would have to see this number or else you wouldn't know what the car would accelerate to if the person in front of you moved.

 

Another thing that's a bit embarassing is when on a multi-lane road like the motorway (freeway) or a dual carriageway, the car in front of you is approaching a slower moving vehicle and another vehicle is overtaking you, the vehicle in front of you pulls out into the next lane to overtake the slower vehicle in front of him, the DRCC then decides, lets fill that gap in front and accelerates up to the slow moving vehicle, in the process illegally undertaking the vehicle that was passing you.

 

I think this all comes down to a more general issue.
Cars change. If you don't buy a new car for 10-15 years, the new car is very likely to behave differently than the old one.
Some of these changes are minor, some may be more significant.
Standards change, regulations may change, etc.

This is why it is important to get familiar with the manual.

 

Many of the cruse control in the past would set it to the car speed. And the gen 4 does that to with a new set command. But if you hold the accelerate up the desired speed ramps up fast to another new set speed.

 

We don't have that law here - wouldn't work because so many idiots sit at under the speed-limit in the "fast" lanes. In reality, the slow (left for us) lane is the quickest.

 

LOL! I started reading your post before I looked at who wrote it. I got this far and looked to see if it was someone in Florida.

 

My 59 Peugeot had stalks on both sides as many other European cars at the time. Of course no CC ....yet

 

I have serious doubts the car actually accelerated on its own. Please do not blame your own user error on the car. User error in people who do not understand how car tech works, was the very same cause in the "unintended acceleration" Toyota was sued for several years ago.

 

Your right it does not accelerate on its own, the driver accidently sets a higher speed than intended. I have done this a few times now. easily corrected tho, just tap the brake. and do a reset.

 

Run away acceleration in a Prius, not the scariest thing in the world. You've got some time to react, think of options, make a few phone calls if you have to.

 

true story.

 

If you moved the steering wheel left and right really quickly to slow the car down you'll probably never go above 40MPH. My gen 2 was "trying" to run away while stopped at a stoplight. I had my foot on the brake so it was just revving. Probably not good for the car, but restarting it fixed it. Hasn't happened since. The accelerator wasn't even stuck on the floor mat.

 

Should not hurt it, Brakes always override accelerator. Probably all that happened is a bit more charge.

 

Why is no one talking about unintended braking? The first time I drove the i3, it did just that and the BMW guy who was riding shotgun didn't know anything about and said he'll have the mechanic look at it. Later come to find out that it's a feature. Now that I know how it works, I wish all cars with electric drive of some sort have that. Don't blame the "that's how it works" on the car when it's clearly user error.

 

How is "unintended braking" a feature?

 

Single peddle driving. Release the accelerator peddle and the car brake it self to a stop so you don't ever have to touch the brake peddle under normal driving condition unless there's an emergency then you would have to slam on the brakes. For someone who has never driven the i3 like myself, this would qualify as unintended braking because I never intent for the car to brake itself when I release the peddle.