Any chance "dumb" cruise control will come back as an option?

[Lorilin]

Hi guys,
Please don't hate on me...I love the TACC and autosteering (brand new 2019 MS LR), but we do a LOT of driving on narrow country roads with oncoming traffic, speed limits between 30km and 80km...and it's totally not usable in those conditions.

My partner has orthopedic problems in his foot and really needs "dumb" cruise control for these driving situations, but there is no option to disable the "traffic aware" part of the CC.

We're in our 7-day return period. If there is no chance of dumb cruise ever coming back, I think it's going to be a deal breaker for my partner. The sales rep we talked to before we bought said that it had "regular cruise control" so we didn't realize that was an option you couldn't switch on/off. I mean, it seems like something you'd so obviously be able to do, since there are so many roads where the TACC is just not usable, but dumb cruise works fine.

It will break my heart to have to return it, but if there is no dumb cruise option on the horizon I think I will have to. So bummed, because I absolutely love the LRMS.

Any ideas if we can look forward to a "traffic aware" toggle being an option?

 

[Matt L]

I’m really having a hard time trying to see your issue. If nothing else, just set the follow distance to 1 car length and be as “dumb” as you want with it.

Do you just want the ability to rear end another car?

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Oncoming traffic, even on twisty turny roads, shouldn’t affect the traffic-aware cruise control. I’m still failing to understand a hypothetical scenario in which “dumb” cruise control works but TACC doesn’t.

 

[Twiglett]

errr - not trying to be funny here.
But if your partner has a problem with foot controls he really shouldn't be driving at all
Being unable to effectively control a car is irresponsible at best.

 

[RFernatt]

Oncoming traffic, even on twisty turny roads, shouldn’t affect the traffic-aware cruise control. I’m still failing to understand a hypothetical scenario in which “dumb” cruise control works but TACC doesn’t.

Off camber rises and dips, especially in curves, with oncoming traffic can get it confused. If someone is walking beside the road, it can also brake check the guy behind. If the road is relatively flat and straight or with gentle curves and wide enough so there aren't people and other objects close to the edge it works well enough, but if the OP is not driving in those conditions I could see TACC being annoying. I just don't use it in my immediate area on two lane roads.

Different software versions also vary and it can be better or worse.

 

[MP3Mike]

The only Tesla currently available with "dumb" cruise control is the off-menu Model 3 SR.

 

[Gwgan]

My early Model 3 without AP has dumb cruise, which I think is dangerous and should not be available (said the guy who modded his manual Honda with dumb cruise 30 years ago) but maybe less so than TACC in the OP’s conditions. Will be up for sale when I can get a Y.

 

[arghx7]

TACC is great except for it brake checking sometimes,

 

[ewoodrick]

I would say that if foot control was a problem, then TACC would be advantageous. FSD as well.

 

[bitmanEV]

I must say that I'm not that impressed with the TACC of the Model 3. I'm driving vehicles with Cruise Control since 1987 so I'm not unknown with Cruise Control. Also have driven a Lexus GS with Adaptive Cruise Control what did a better job (less aggressive braking for noting).
In town with lots of traffic TACC is way to aggressive in braking and acceleration IMHO (Lots of times it brakes for what?).
So for now not using it anymore in those circumstances while I would use the 'dumb' Cruise Control of my 2013 Leaf on the same roads.
So yes I wish that was a setting for 'dumb' Cruise Control to use for certain circumstances (give me a choice).
And for all the Tesla fan boys; Yes I fully understand the limitations of 'dumb' Cruise Control thank you

 

[Twiglett]

elephant in the room - if someone can't use the go pedal what is supposed to happen when it comes to stopping

 

[Kirbster]

Dumb cruise control would be a nice fall back in situations where the sensors are dirty/obstructed.

 

[Lorilin]

I’m really having a hard time trying to see your issue. If nothing else, just set the follow distance to 1 car length and be as “dumb” as you want with it.

Do you just want the ability to rear end another car?

Thanks for helping, Matt. The problem isn't with traffic in front of us in our lane; it's with oncoming traffic on the very narrow country roads here...roads often with not even a line down the center. Car totally freaks out when cars pass us going the other direction, even when there's totally no actual danger. If the road is wide enough and fairly straight, car does OK. But any curves really send it for a loop. Dumb cruise would ignore the oncoming traffic. If you haven't done driving in our surroundings I can imagine it would be hard to understand. Talked to my neighbor who is also a Tesla driver and he feels the same way. Until the tech is able to handle all situations reliably, it would be nice to be able to toggle it off and use dumb cruise when needed.

 

[Lorilin]

Oncoming traffic, even on twisty turny roads, shouldn’t affect the traffic-aware cruise control. I’m still failing to understand a hypothetical scenario in which “dumb” cruise control works but TACC doesn’t.

Thanks for chiming in. Perhaps there is a setting I can disable, because I promise you...TACC is unusable on the small country roads here. We're talking very narrow roads, with curves, no center painted line of any kind, and oncoming traffic coming that passes very, very close. It does fine with the traffic ahead of us in our lane, but oncoming traffic is another story altogether. The car assumes it's an imminent collision and brakes VERY hard (thankfully I was smart enough to check for traffic behind me while doing my test drives, or it could have been à bad scene). For the record, it feels perfectly safe using dumb cruise in our old car because there actually is no imminent danger.

 

[Lorilin]

errr - not trying to be funny here.
But if your partner has a problem with foot controls he really shouldn't be driving at all
Being unable to effectively control a car is irresponsible at best.

Awww, I appreciate your safety concerns...so sweet! But in the interest of brevity I didn't really explain the situation well. He can work the controls perfectly fine. He just has a painful spot on his right foot that gets aggravated from pressure. So it's nice for him to use cruise when possible to give the foot a break from the pressure. And again, the TACC works great in the conditions it was designed for. It's just that dumb cruise would be nice to have available in conditions where it's not suitable.

 

[Lorilin]

Off camber rises and dips, especially in curves, with oncoming traffic can get it confused. If someone is walking beside the road, it can also brake check the guy behind. If the road is relatively flat and straight or with gentle curves and wide enough so there aren't people and other objects close to the edge it works well enough, but if the OP is not driving in those conditions I could see TACC being annoying. I just don't use it in my immediate area on two lane roads.

Different software versions also vary and it can be better or worse.

You're describing the problem exactly. I did more experimenting yesterday (always checking for traffic behind me just in case) and if the road is wide and straight enough, it seems to do OK. A bit of hesitation sometimes when an oncoming car passes, but nothing that felt unsafe. But on the very narrow, curvy stretches, it's unusable with regards to how it interprets oncoming traffic...I mean, like seriously not safe for anyone following us. But dumb cruise works great in those situations...basically just preventing us from speeding and giving the right foot a bit of relief from having to apply constant pressure. To me it seems perfectly reasonable to want that as an user-selectable option until the tech can reliably handle even those situations

 

[Lorilin]

I would say that if foot control was a problem, then TACC would be advantageous. FSD as well.

I was trying to be brief in my original post...the problem isn't control at all...he's perfectly fine! It's a discomfort issue...long periods of having to keep the pressure on the accelerator get uncomfortable after a while. Not agonizing or unsafe, just annoying. We love the TACC on the roads it's designed to work for. But it's just not ready to interpret oncoming traffic correctly on many of the small, narrow, windy roads we have to drive on. And CC also helps with speed control...driving through a longish 30kph zone without speeding takes a lot of self control ;-)

 

[Lorilin]

elephant in the room - if someone can't use the go pedal what is supposed to happen when it comes to stopping

Oh, you are so sweet to be concerned! In the interest of brevity I didn't explain things very well...he is perfectly normal and can use the pedals just fine. He just has some trouble with pain in his right foot, which is aggravated by having to keep pressure on the accelerator pedal for long periods. Nothing major, but over time I can see that it would be really annoying for him. A lot of our driving is done on roads where dumb cruise works perfectly for a careful and attentive driver, but the TACC is not up to the task of correctly interpreting oncoming traffic. Many, many years of driving perfectly safely and comfortably with dumb cruise in these same conditions. Just seems a shame that there is no option to opt out of the Traffic Aware part when in conditions where it's not up to the task. And realizing that this aspect of the tech in our 19-year-old Mercedes works better for us our beautiful Tesla kinda hurts too ;-)

 

[Lorilin]

The only Tesla currently available with "dumb" cruise control is the off-menu Model 3 SR.

Trading the car isn't an option for us, but thanks anyway for the tip!

 

[Lorilin]

I must say that I'm not that impressed with the TACC of the Model 3. I'm driving vehicles with Cruise Control since 1987 so I'm not unknown with Cruise Control. Also have driven a Lexus GS with Adaptive Cruise Control what did a better job (less aggressive braking for noting).
In town with lots of traffic TACC is way to aggressive in braking and acceleration IMHO (Lots of times it brakes for what?).
So for now not using it anymore in those circumstances while I would use the 'dumb' Cruise Control of my 2013 Leaf on the same roads.
So yes I wish that was a setting for 'dumb' Cruise Control to use for certain circumstances (give me a choice).
And for all the Tesla fan boys; Yes I fully understand the limitations of 'dumb' Cruise Control thank you

Hey there! It sounds like you understand what I mean. So great if it were added as toggle option in the controls, at least so there would be some form of adjustable speed-control available when TACC is not up to the task
If you're a careful, attentive driver, dumb cruise works a charm in the narrow country road conditions where we use it here (well, it has for the past 20 years, anyway).