Does cruise control apply brakes or use regen when the car needs to slow down?

[theothertom]

When I drive on cruise control (actually autopilot) I notice the car will maintain the set speed when going down hill. as opposed to slightly increasing speed. Also, when it gets "too close" to the car in front of me, it will slow. Does the car actually put on brakes or use regen for these cases? I assume for an emergency (panic) stop, it will apply the brakes.

 

[DopeGhoti]

It will generally use regen when able. You can tell by the color of the line under the speedometer: Green is regen; black is friction braking.

 

[DirtyT3sla]

Both. AP is not as good at using regen as an experienced human, therefore it wastes more energy. It tends to wait later to slow down, meaning it needs more brake to get to the correct speed in time. Hopefully one of the many things the rewrite corrects.

 

[lUtriaNt]

^^^ cant agree more with this, and this is why i dont use AP much. i dont want the brake dust or the wear on the brake system. as a human, i can see that i need to stop soon, so i let regen come in early then "modulate" the accelerator pedal tp stop or slow down.

when i DO use AP on a longer drive, i put more distance on the AP screen (e.g. set distance to 5-7) so the car will let regen start then apply brakes if the situation dictates it...

 

[theothertom]

Thanks all!!