Greetings, all. Hope everyone is well and keeping safe. Have a bit of an odd issue here. It had been bitterly cold (for here) the last several days...was -22 Celsius (-8F) today. Went to use my Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC). Turned it on and got the "Radar Ready" message on display. Yet, when I go to set a speed is says "Cruise Controls Not Available". A little yellow exclamation point comes up. Toyota emblem is clear up front, so presumably there's no obstruction to the sensor. I also didn't get a clean sensor message as I have before when it was covered in slush/snow. So is this one of those cars where once the temp gets so low it determines this could be icy conditions and make the DRCC unavailable? Anyone run into this or something similar? Thanks!
Maybe a connector is defective or for some other reason not making contact in the low temp? A trip to the dealer is in order IMO. J
I have more rattles in the winter. The cold could have made something loose, or even break something.I'd have a dealer look at it. Until then, check the DRCC section of the manual, that should include the times the system won't work on purpose.
If you haven't tried to use the regular cruise control yet, you might want to double check that it is working even when the DRCC is unavailable. Hold the Cruise Control button for 5 seconds for the regular cruise control functions. This current weather situation sure is a learning experience for a lot of people, me included - I hope that goes without sayin.
Were you in Drive? (and not B) Was the windshield foggy in places (particularly near the camera in the top centre)? Normally it shouldn't (My Gen 3 wasn't bothered by temperature and even a light glazing of freezing rain on the Toyota emblem didn't disable PCS. It seems the newer system is more sensitive). Given that TSS-P is installed in a lot more Toyota vehicles (than the system in my Gen 3 Prius), I'd imagine there'll be more complaints from owners in cold climates if that was the case; unless people don't use cruise control as often as I think.
UPDATE: So I washed the car and inspected the emblem. No visible damage. Despite that, drcc still doesn't function. No warning on the dash about radar, just that cruise is not available. Pictures included. Pre Collision works! Set it as loosely as possible, then approached a couple of cars in the turning lane. Sure enough the "BRAKE" warning flashes on the dash. And I think that system uses the radar? This sure is perplexing. It almost feels like a condition in the car is preventing the radar cruise from working. For example, I used to get the EXACT same message in my Lexus LS when I tried to engage DRCC if the traction control switch was in "Snow" setting. Same message, same yellow exclamation mark. Is there a switch or setting in the car that could cause this as is did in my Lexus?
This is just a wild guess, but I think I notice your fog lights are ON in the pics. Could it be this locks out DRCC because it thinks it can't see reliably in fog?
I leave my fog lights on all the time. That's never prevented me from using DRCC. By the way, I'm guessing the "CA" in your location is for Canada, rather than California, correct? Maybe whatever function is preventing you from using DRCC is unique to Canadian cars, which is why we haven't seen it reported before in this forum, where most members are in the US. I should also mention that I've tried to use DRCC in heavy rain (even though I think there is a warning against that in the manual), and I've noticed the car edging dangerously close to the car in front, to the point where I have to brake, convincing me that the radar system is not functioning at that point. This is all without seeing any messages on the dash.
Which of the 3 distance setting for DRCC ? Does it make a difference if set to 1 or 3? I used DRCC for the first year or so, and it's OK most of the time. DRCC sure has some unique functions builtin. The one I thought was the most interesting was holding the cruise stick down for 5 seconds while traveling at highway speeds, then keep holding the cruise stick down until cruise shuts off at 28 mph. But you have to make sure there is nothing behind you when you do it.
On the highway, I generally use the middle setting, not trusting the system well enough to use the lowest setting (1), as I do when I'm in slower traffic. I'm quite sure I would have hit the car in front on those couple of occasions in heavy rain, if I was on setting 1. I was probably within a car length or 2, going 55 or 60 mph, when I hit the brakes. It was quite obvious the radar has lost its focus. I had been following at a speed considerably slower than the 65 I normally use when I set cruise control, and suddenly my car would begin to accelerate towards the car in front. Fortunately, each time the car in front was traveling at a constant speed. If it had also been braking, my car would not have escaped unscathed.
That's scary when the car accelerates towards an obstacle in front of it for no apparent reason. I only switched out of the default distance setting a few times and it was way to close following for my comfort level, while in cruise. I don't mind following at most distances current traffic dictates, but sometimes it just gets nuts during rush. Slushy roads and wet snow combination is another time DRCC messes up, but when it happened to me it gave me the warning on the MID.
