Cruise control allows a car to travel at set speeds with minimal input from the driver. Adaptive cruise control can even use lasers to adjust a car’s speed based on surrounding vehicles. However, some rumours using this driving feature results in more maintenance for your car.
Many cruise control systems share the same sensor inputs as the car’s transmission. This leads some people to believe using the features too much affects the engine. But is the cruise control safety feature bad for car engines?
Does Adaptive Cruise Control Save Gas?
A study found that a car could use 20 per cent less fuel by engaging cruise control. Other studies have shown that cruise control reduces your vehicle’s fuel consumption by only single-digit percentages. It saves the most gas on level ground and long stretches of downhill or uphill roads.
According to this study, gas mileage drops quickly once your car reaches over 50 mph. This is because braking and accelerating too quickly while driving wastes a lot of fuel in the long run. Some people also develop a lead foot when caught in heavy traffic. Such conditions can make drivers feel claustrophobic and irritated, causing aggressive driving.
On the other hand, obeying the speed limit can improve fuel economy by up to 30 per cent on the highway. Cruise control can help drivers stay at the correct speed limit without worrying about frequent adjustments. It could even get drivers out of costly speeding tickets due to the inattentiveness of changing speed limits on long trips.
Is Adaptive Cruise Control Truly Bad for Car Engines?
This review counters that cruise control benefits your car by cutting back on manual acceleration. In addition to straining the driver on extended trips, manual acceleration can also wear down the engine over time. Sudden acceleration from a dead stop can make the engine and transmission work harder than usual.
However, the review cautions that you should never use cruise control in heavy rain weather. Cruise control systems can’t adjust for slippery road conditions, so you may need to brake if your wheels slip. This could cause you to either understeer or oversteer and potentially get into an accident.
Essential Safety Tips When Using Adaptive Cruise Control Feature
Cruise control benefits your car, but it’s important to remember that it’s not a hands-free driving feature. Experts warn that relying too heavily on cruise control can lead to distracted driving. While using this feature, your eyes should always be on the road, not your phone or stereo.
If you get too comfortable with an automated system, you run the risk of reducing your reaction times to dangerous situations. This could lead to a collision where the system is turned off. This feature doesn’t completely protect you from accidents even while enabled, so always remain alert.
Always be mindful of the weather. If dark clouds are rolling in, take complete control of the vehicle in anticipation of rainfall. This feature can also cause your car to be less efficient if activated over rolling hills.
It’s also best to turn off the feature in work zones or other traffic-congested areas. These areas are prone to accidents, and automated devices can’t constantly adjust lightning-fast. Even with adaptive systems, you can’t always be sure how other drivers will behave on the road.
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