Cruise control

[Smeghead]

Odd one.  Just got back from a long trip to the Pyrenees (1600 miles round trip) so was pleased to have the cruise control (standard version, not ACC) for the first 2 hours or so..... and then it cancelled itself.  I thought maybe I'd accidentally touched the brake pedal as the white CC light was still on but the green 'active' light was not lit.

 

After another hour or so it happened again about 4 times within a few minutes, then it was fine again for the next 3 - 4 hours until we were closing in on Toulouse where it happened several more times.  

 

On the way back via Bordeaux where we had a clear 120 miles of open road it did it twice more then again as we approached Nantes for an overnight stop. The following day on the way up to St Malo it was fine apart from a 5 minute period heading towards Rennes when it happened twice.

 

Each time it happened I am sure my feet were nowhere near the brake so it wasn't that and the road was smooth so it wasn't a bump that caused it.

 

I will be taking it into the dealer but I suspect they will struggle to find the problem on a small island with a 35mph limit and no roads longer than 3 miles without having to stop.

 

So my question is 'has anyone else had this problem and had it solved?' 

 

 

[Smeghead]

Nope. No-one?  Looks like I'm special then

[longmynd]

I picked my Vrs up on Monday from Wolverhamptton. The first time I used my cruise control it cancelled itself after 5 minutes.I have not had chance to use it again since. 

Going for a good run Sunday will try it again

[Smeghead]

Interesting.  I would be interested you hear if it happens again.  On mine it can be 2 minutes or 2 hours.  There's no obvious pattern to it or reason why it does it.

 

Mine's  vRS TDI with DSG by the way.  What's yours?

Edited 6 March, 2014 by Smeghead

[Colin1961]

My old mk2 used to loss the c/c and I would have to stop and switch the engine of then back on again to reactivate the c/c but with 1300 miles on the clock of my mk3 no proplems.

Colin

[Black_Sheep]

It states in the manual that cruise may be switched off if ESC cuts in. What were the weather / road conditions like? Also do you have front assist?

[Smeghead]

Did it completely switch off or just cancel (as if you'd hit the brake)? Mine starts working again as soon as I hit the resume button and goes back to the speed setting it was at before it cancelled.

[Smeghead]

It states in the manual that cruise may be switched off if ESC cuts in. What were the weather / road conditions like? Also do you have front assist?

Yeah I saw that too.  No front assist, it happened mainly on French Autororoutes, dry and still conditions, about 10 - 12 degrees C, flat smooth surface and minimal traffic around and between 50 and 85MPH. There was nothing obvious to cause it. 

[Black_Sheep]

Did it completely switch off or just cancel (as if you'd hit the brake)? Mine starts working again as soon as I hit the resume button and goes back to the speed setting it was at before it cancelled.

Hence my question above. If ESC cuts in it will provide a braking input and cancel cruise. Also not too sure if front assist does this too when proximity to car in front is triggered.

[Smeghead]

Hence my question above. If ESC cuts in it will provide a braking input and cancel cruise. Also not too sure if front assist does this too when proximity to car in front is triggered.

The conditions were good and there was no reason on any occasion for ESC to cut in as I was cruising mainly at 90, 110 or 130KMH on perfectly good roads.  No front assist on my car, but even if it had been fitted there was nothing in the way to set it off.

[Black_Sheep]

Numerous sensors in the ESC system that could have received a rougue / error reading from a sensor. Possibility error may have logged in the ecu, but not visible in the car display. No harm in getting the dealer to plug it in whilst under warranty.

[C4miles]

Perhaps Skoda central assumed you would never leave Guernsey?

[skovirg]

I've had quite a few issues with mine.  It sometimes cancels itself, then will not resume.  Sometimes I get the cruise control logo in the maxidot with an exclamation mark by it and it doesn't work at all.  What should be a standard item on any decent new car is proving to be a problematic extra.  To be honest, I think it's a ball ache anyway, such a cumbersome system.  Lost count of the number of times I've indicated, knocked that daft little switch and the car tries to shoot off to 70.

 

Before the Skoda fan club's blood pressure rises and they say it's the best system ever designed, let me just stress that I like the car very much, but having used lots of cruise control systems I personally find this the least intuitive and by far the fiddliest. 

 

The dealer can have mine back and check it out when I'm in the area.  I'm sure they'll get it sorted.

[GaSelle]

If it cuts out by itself, and you´re not able to use CC again before you do a restart, it´s most likely a faulte CC switch.

[Neily03]

Never had any issue's with mine, nor did I in my mkII.

 

Another thing to watch for is if you increase the speed with the throttle pedal for 2 minutes the CC will auto cancel.

[Smeghead]

I'm going to take it to the dealer.  There was no apparent reason why it should cancel on a long steady cruise so it must be something erroneous causing it to happen.  If it was a well known problem then it would be easier for them to find rather that taking a 'poke and hope' approach.  There may well be something logged in the ECU so we can start there I guess.

[freddyg]

I took delivery of my new vRS this week.

 

I also agree that it's the most counter intuitive cruise control system I've come across.

 

 My biggest gripe is disengaging it.  Every other system I've used will disengage as soon as you dip the clutch, for example to slow down using engine braking.  I discovered last night that the vRS doesn't do this.  Instead, when I dipped the clutch and selected a lower gear instead of slowing down, it accelerated!  As for flicking the switch; this is fine if I drive with my chest close to the steering wheel.  I am 6'2" though, and drive with my arms slightly bent - not quite fully extended.  Flicking the switch involved lifting my back off the seat to lean forward so I can rotate my wrist to get to it.

 

Other than that, I'm really chuffed with the car.

[Neily03]

To disengage I just lay my index finger flat on the top of the stalk (as if pointing to the steering column) and push the switch to cancel, easier than cancelling the indicator.

[theloudbloke]

FYI - Using the cruise control before the engine is fully run in is not recommended, as it could lead to glazed bores due to the constant engine speed. Even on the motorway the minor variations in engine speed under manual control are a benefit to the engines running in process.

Ted

[old newbie2]

I took delivery of my new vRS this week.

 

I also agree that it's the most counter intuitive cruise control system I've come across.

 

 My biggest gripe is disengaging it.  Every other system I've used will disengage as soon as you dip the clutch, for example to slow down using engine braking.  I discovered last night that the vRS doesn't do this.  Instead, when I dipped the clutch and selected a lower gear instead of slowing down, it accelerated!  As for flicking the switch; this is fine if I drive with my chest close to the steering wheel.  I am 6'2" though, and drive with my arms slightly bent - not quite fully extended.  Flicking the switch involved lifting my back off the seat to lean forward so I can rotate my wrist to get to it.

 

Other than that, I'm really chuffed with the car.

 

Q?

Which type of cruise control system do you have?

The basic one is a common VAG fitment & has the controls built into the indicator / flasher stalk & should be easy / simple to operate but there is also another version with a separate L/H stalk under the steering wheel.

 

I find the basic version quite easy to use, but it's been standard on our last 4 cars, so we should be quite used to it!

I've been using my Mondeo recently & the cruise on that is operated with unlit buttons on the spokes of the wheel, + different control logic, & not especially easy to use.

 

 

DC 

.

[Rob123]

I found the mondeo's controls, on the steering wheel, very easy to use. Once i was used to it anyway. My hands were already where the buttons are and was easy to switch on and off for varying traffic without ACC. I think i'll be able to get used to the Octavia's system fairly quick but i think its probably bestter suited to having ACC so you dont have to keep turning it off an on.

FYI, Old Newbie 2, its an extra stalk just behind the left indicator stalk

[Rob123]

cant edit above post, but my mistake, sorry, the cruise control is on the indicator stalk, not a separate one. oops

[skovirg]

cant edit above post, but my mistake, sorry, the cruise control is on the indicator stalk, not a separate one. oops

 

For any new users of this system, the control button is indeed on the end of the indicator stalk. You can't miss it, it's the one you'll  knock accidentally each time you indicate.  To be fair, I don't do that so much now but I do miss the steering wheel buttons on my old Citroën's fixed central hub. Soooo much simpler to use and more advanced... integrated speed limiter, one button to increase or decrease by 1 or 10 mph, clear display of status on the instrument panel. Oh, and it's standard fit too. Come on Skoda, sort it out.

[thekidfromkensington]

I have to agree the cruise control on my old mondeo with buttons on the steering wheel was much easier and more intuitive than the stalk mounted control on my vrs 

[J4BXW]

Having had the same cruise retrofitted to my old golf, I knew what to expect. There are better systems out there but his does the job just fine too.