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i have a 2006 impreza and when i set the cruise control i works fine until i head downhill it then picks up speed about thirty miles per hour until i step on the brakes to prevent going too fast. is this normal? should i be worried? you would think there would be engine braking. it is an automatic with 170,000 on it.

Edited by soopsoop
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Cruise control on any motor vehicle is only meant to maintain the set speed, usually with an allowance of about 2 to 3 mph up or down from the set speed. The cruise control only operates the throttle. It does not provide engine braking. On vehicles with automatic transmissions there is little, if any compression braking because the torque converter does not provide a direct coupling between the engine and drivetrain.

 

Cruise control systems are purely a convince item, never a safety device.

Edited by RacerX69
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^New Subarus DO have adaptive cruise control.>>EyeSight<<..it's becoming a standard.

 

Your 2006 does not, and Yes it's normal for the speed to increase going downhill. Read your Owner's Manual.

 

 

And please don't Double-Post....just because you didn't get an immediate answer is not a reason to repost 2+ hours later.

 

GL,

TD

Edited by wtdash
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i have a 2006 impreza and when i set the cruise control i works fine until i head downhill it then picks up speed about thirty miles per hour until i step on the brakes to prevent going too fast. is this normal? should i be worried? you would think there would be engine braking. it is an automatic with 170,000 on it.

 

Yes this is normal. It is only recently that vehicles have begun to incorporate grade logic and have begun using engine braking to maintain set speed on the cruise.  Your vehicle still requires you pay attention to your speed in hilly conditions.

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some vehicles have adapted or regulated cruise control. That will kick down a gear or 2. But not all do.. And subarus dont

 

Mine is newer and does "downshift" to help maintain speed.  I can watch the revs pick up when the speed increases approximately 5 mph over set speed on a downhill grade.  I do not have eyesight. 

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Yeah, unlike semis which can automatically incorporate the Jake brake if it gets too fast, cars you really just need to watch it. As others pointed out, you can pull it out of OD and that'll add a minor amount of slowing. Then again, if we've become so lazy that we can't hit the brake anymore because it'd mean having to press resume, then we are doomed as a race at some point.

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What?!  Sloooow down (pun intended)....6 people think this is normal to gain thirty miles per hour down a hill? 

Am I misreading this?  Sounds way off to me, none of my automatic Subarus do that and I live in the mountains.

 

2002 H6 automatic, it holds fine down mountains at interstate speed....is it maybe slower speeds that don't cooperate?

How steep?

How fast?

Edited by grossgary
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The hills around here, where the car will overspend the cruise setpoint, will over speed zero throttle unless you downshift. Most of these are on secondary roads, not multilane highways. This is my experience in automatics. 01 and 09 forester mostly, but any other random car I've ever driven also.

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You're talking 40 or 50 mph?

 

At interstate speeds I can set cruise control at 70mph or 80 mph and it retains that speed.  Set it on the flat stretches though, setting on incline or decline is less consistent.

 

Secondary roads here are too winding (or unmarked, or gravel, or unmaintained, or potholes....LOL) for cruise control. 

 

I might get a chance Friday to drive our automatic, I'll try to find a stretch straight enough to run cruise at a low speed.

Edited by grossgary
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My 03 Forrester auto holds a pretty close to "set" speed.  As Gary said WV is very hilly yet mine wont go more then 5 mph over the set speed. There is something wrong if he hits 30 mph more then set speed down a hill. Unless the hill is a real steep grade it shouldn't do that.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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