How does the Cruise hold....

[Outback Paul]

I've got another question. Car fever is just a ragin in me...

I currently have a big ole Dodge Pickup and it just doesn't hold it's speed even when going up a medium grade hill. :50cal: I'm talking about while it's on cruise. It can drop 5mph just like that and even up to around 10mph on big steep hills.

Anyway, how does the 4Runner do on hills with the cruise on? I'm wanting to know specifically about the V6's since that's what I'm getting.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[NoDak]

well depending on how old the dodge is, the CC is probably a bellows type unit and they tended to wildly vary in speed when going up or down hills or head winds since the rubber gaskets didnt react as fast as the newer ones. plus they tended to wear out alot easier due to strains on the rubber pushing back and forth. on newer cars they tend to use electrical stepping motors to adjust the CC cable. these would last longer and react alot better/faster. the CC on the 4th gen 4runners has a -5mph (i think or is it 10mph) before it will disengage. and at about 2-3 mph difference it will kick out of overdrive and at about 4-5 it will kick down a gear. on my v8 on a decent hill it will kick down a gear or with a good head wind. i imagine the v6 will not be as good as the v8 (torque is the main determination here) but not to much to worry about.

on slight hills the engine will kick out of overdrive and make up the speed. on bigger hills i usually will disengage the CC or help the CC by pressing on the gas pedal to compensate and add speed. funny thing is the CC will kick down but wont kick back up once it hits the preset speed and just linger about 10-20 sec before it goes back into overdrive. at 70+ this lag in going back into OD will run the engine at around 3k to 3.5k rpm and suck up some gas in the process. if your in a hilly area this can get annoying and ruin your mpg easily. mostly i just disengage the CC since it get really annoying for me.

YMMV

 

[Neech]

As a V6 owner and a frequent user of cruise I can say it works well. Downshifts smoothly, accelerates just as well and keeps the selected speed within a 2-3 mph on most grades.

Now I wish I had I-Cruise.