ACC and Cruise Control

[MASKO]

Just returned from the first long journey in my Mark III Superb and used ACC. It's an ok feature but I think I prefer plain old cruise control! Thing is my car doesn't seem to have it? The handbook shows a stalk for ACC and a slightly different one for cruise control and my car only has the ACC stalk so I presume I don't have cruise control, or am I missing something?

[john999boy]

The ACC stalk is below the indicator stalk whereas the CC operation is part of the indicator stalk. Maybe show us a photo?

Edit.

I didn't read the post correctly and agree with the following post.

Have you adjusted the 'follow distance'?

Edited 28 July, 2020 by john999boy
Reading with closed eyes

[Nick_H]

If your car has ACC it wont have standard cruise as well. I believe it's one or the other. You will get used to it. It's 'Superb' 🙂

[MartiniB]

6 hours ago, Nick_H said:

it's one or the other.

Last ~two years models comes with both, they have small mode switch under stalk

 

My MY16 has only ACC, and in wintertime it's often disables 😞

[MartiniB]

And another case when ACC/CC is disabled is installed stock, different diameter, spare wheel

 

[john999boy]

22 minutes ago, MartiniB said:

Last ~two years models comes with both, they have small mode switch under stalk 😞

Isn't that for the Speed Limiting function?

[MASKO]

Thanks all. Seems like I only have ACC and I'll have to get used to it.

 

The main issue for me was that the car slowed down sooner than I liked as I approached the car in front ready to overtake it. As was mentioned above, I will have to reduce the "follow distance".

[JR RS]

8 hours ago, MASKO said:

Thanks all. Seems like I only have ACC and I'll have to get used to it.

 

The main issue for me was that the car slowed down sooner than I liked as I approached the car in front ready to overtake it. As was mentioned above, I will have to reduce the "follow distance".

 

disable (using vcds or obdeleven) the "under-taking feature" and the car will ignore traffic in adjacent lanes, and hence won't slow u down uncessarily.
also, change the distance/gap to "short".

[MASKO]

3 hours ago, JR RS said:

 

disable (using vcds or obdeleven) the "under-taking feature" and the car will ignore traffic in adjacent lanes, and hence won't slow u down uncessarily.
also, change the distance/gap to "short".

 Thanks JR but don't have VCDS or OBDeleven so will stick to reducing the distance gap.

 

Ps Wasn't that a great result for England yesterday in the Test series win against West Indies!

[facet edge]

20 hours ago, MASKO said:

Thanks all. Seems like I only have ACC and I'll have to get used to it.

 

The main issue for me was that the car slowed down sooner than I liked as I approached the car in front ready to overtake it. As was mentioned above, I will have to reduce the "follow distance".

Also if you indicate you will find the car will accelerate even if you don't immediately pull out.

I find that you get to know the distance that the car will start to slow and can anticipate it.

As others have said you can reduce the distance and the car will remember the last setting.

[LordTyrion]

When I first got my Superb I thought ACC would be like the second coming and revolutionise my driving. I soon realised its limitations but that is fine. It is not all singing and dancing, it does some things very well, it does others poorly. I now know when to use it and when not to bother. 

 

It is a suck it and see job until you get used to it. I'll give you one tip for free 😉, it's brilliant in a 50mph contraflow 👍

[numskull]

I’m really getting used to ACC now and I have to say it’s brilliant. It’s bloody scary initially, to let it brake on its own as you come up behind a stationary traffic, but you get used to it. 

[Nick_H]

44 minutes ago, numskull said:

I’m really getting used to ACC now and I have to say it’s brilliant. It’s bloody scary initially, to let it brake on its own as you come up behind a stationary traffic, but you get used to it. 

 

 I'm sure some techy will correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the car could not see stationary traffic .... I've never put it to the test !

[IJWS15]

Have had standard cruise since 2004 and ACC for three years, I don't want to go back to standard CC.

 

No - the ACC doesn't see stationary objects but in traffic you can just set the speed and gap and relax.  If you object to how soon it slows you down then you should be indicating and pulling out to overtake.  If you indicate it doesn't slow you.

 

Had hire cars with standard cruise in the last three years and you forget that it won't react to the car in front slowing.

[numskull]

I’m no technician, well. not for this type of thing anyway, but it does recognise stationery traffic on mine

Edited 30 July, 2020 by numskull

[LordTyrion]

23 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

 

 I'm sure some techy will correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the car could not see stationary traffic .... I've never put it to the test !

It will see it but not until you reach the distance set between you and the car in front. As you are moving at speed and they are stationary that means an emergency stop is coming your way 😲. I have not tested this fully, you would have to be some kind of special idiot to do that, but I have got close enough before realising what was about to happen and took over manually.

 

The same applies to traffic merging on slip roads, tractors doing 20mph on an A road where you are going 60 etc. It's vision is very narrow and restricted. I spoke to someone briefly regarding this recently, they have a Tesla. That seems to be more sophisticated with its scanning but that brings its own problems, it is continuously slowing down like a nervous learner driver.

[Nick_H]

14 minutes ago, numskull said:

I’m no technician, well. not for this type of thing anyway, but it does recognise stationery traffic on mine

 

 OK Just saying if you are travelling at speed and see a traffic jam in the distance thats not moving have your foot over the brake !

Edited 30 July, 2020 by Nick_H

[MASKO]

This is an extract from my handbook:

 

WARNING
■ The general information relating to the use of assistance systems must be
observed » page 216, in section Introduction.
■ The driver must always be ready to take over the operation of the accelerator
and brake pedal.
■ The ACC does not react when approaching a stationary obstacle, such as
traffic jams, vehicle breakdowns or vehicles waiting at a traffic light.
■ The ACC does not respond to crossing or oncoming objects.
■ If the ACC does not decelerate fast enough, immediately apply the vehicle's
foot brake.

[SuperbTWM]

A nice feature on Our Ford S-max is that you can choose if you want adaptive cruise control or normal cruise, seems strange that VAG do not let you choose, not sure if any other manufacturers let you do the same

[ERIK99]

Part of using the ACC (or the new Predictive ACC) is to aware that it's not perfect, hence the warning from Skoda.

 

It takes time to learn what you can trust or not.

 

When approaching slow moving traffic when you are going quite fast (above 50 mph) I would suggest that you simply set the ACCC to a slower speed in anticipation of stopping, you can easily increase the speed again if the traffic starts going faster.

 

If you check the small speedo icon on the dash display (at the bottom in green when its active) you can see when the car has detected something in front, if it has, then there is no need to change the ACC speed since it already has full control to slow you down.

 

I've notice on 3 different superbs that sometimes the ACC does not start if you going too slow, or you are already too close to the car in front, which creates a risk if you wait too long to slow down by braking with the pedal.

 

I do not believe that the ACC will react to anything that is not moving, so don't expect it to.  You should however get the emergency brake warning (red) but by then it may be too late for the car to stop you hitting something.

 

 

[SkudMissile21]

On 29/07/2020 at 08:42, MASKO said:

 Thanks JR but don't have VCDS or OBDeleven so will stick to reducing the distance gap.

 

Ps Wasn't that a great result for England yesterday in the Test series win against West Indies!

This mod can also be done with the Carista Bluetooth dongle (requires the beta version app at the moment but it’s free and easy to get access for a month), I did mine last week and have confirmed it no longer slows me down when undertaking the middle lane hoggers on an empty section of 50 limit camera infested M5 motorway!

[SkudMissile21]

On 30/07/2020 at 08:33, Nick_H said:

 

 I'm sure some techy will correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the car could not see stationary traffic .... I've never put it to the test !

Seems to be a bit hit and miss for me, first time I tested it in a 30 I would’ve rearranged the back of the stationary car at some traffic lights if I hadn’t braked yet other times it does seem to pick up the stopped traffic and slow me down accordingly. Obviously when everyone is moving along nicely it works scarily well that I rarely actually need to brake myself just hover my foot over it in case.

coming from the last two cars standard cruise it is a revelation for me certainly. 

[Nick_H]

3 minutes ago, SkudMissile21 said:

Seems to be a bit hit and miss for me, first time I tested it in a 30 I would’ve rearranged the back of the stationary car at some traffic lights if I hadn’t braked yet other times it does seem to pick up the stopped traffic and slow me down accordingly. Obviously when everyone is moving along nicely it works scarily well that I rarely actually need to brake myself just hover my foot over it in case.

coming from the last two cars standard cruise it is a revelation for me certainly. 

 

Yeah I usually just knock it off with a quick tap of the brake which allows for a smoother more passenger pleasing braking action.

[budster]

On 01/10/2020 at 20:10, SkudMissile21 said:

Seems to be a bit hit and miss for me, first time I tested it in a 30 I would’ve rearranged the back of the stationary car at some traffic lights if I hadn’t braked yet other times it does seem to pick up the stopped traffic and slow me down accordingly. Obviously when everyone is moving along nicely it works scarily well that I rarely actually need to brake myself just hover my foot over it in case.

coming from the last two cars standard cruise it is a revelation for me certainly. 

The manual makes it clear that it will not see stationary traffic and also that it is intended for use on the motorway, not in a 30 limit:

 

"ACC does not respond to stationary objects or to crossing or oncoming objects.

ACC is intended primarily for use on motorways."

 

It's using a radar sensor so can only detect objects that are moving. 

[D402]

23 minutes ago, budster said:

It's using a radar sensor so can only detect objects that are moving. 

To add to this, radar does detect stationary objects but the signal processing filters them out; a moving object that subsequently stops continues to be tracked which is why it sometimes does pick up stopped traffic.

 

The ACC also tries to build a model of the road curvature ahead to determine whether an object is in your path or not but can only do this by plotting the paths of moving vehicles ahead.  This often goes wrong if you are following a single vehicle that pulls into a lay-by or filter lane then stops while you intend to drive past in a parallel lane - the ACC can only assume that you will follow the same path as the leading vehicle and will slow you down. If another vehicle in front has passed the stopped vehicle then it will usually follow that OK having detected the alternative path.

 

This junction near Redditch gets mine every time if there's only one car in front of me and it turns right:

Google Streetview link - A435 near Redditch