Jerky Cruise Control?

[eflyguy]

TLDR - no surging or jerkiness here.

We have a mix of regular and smart cruise control answers here, but I would expect SCC to function like "regular" when not following another vehicle. I've used SCC extensively, I've got 1100 miles in my first week of owning her, obviously much of that freeway. I also use SCC around town in "normal driving conditions" and it works exactly as I would expect. The Stop and Go feature is freaking awesome for Atlanta traffic!

The settings that can be adjusted also work well for me - I've played with all combinations and you can certainly get situations where it works like a bad driver (!), for me having the following distance fairly low and sensitivity on medium works nicely, and even in heavy traffic with people braking late, it does a nice job of applying the brakes progressively.

 

[only1harry]

Does anyone find their gas pedal a little hard? I don't own a Stinger but test drove a 2019 GT AWD a couple of times, and I could not get used to the accelerator pedal. I drove about 15 miles in this car. The pedal was a bit hard to engage initially (a bit too much force), and once I was on it the car took off faster than I wanted. On the highway it seemed to go faster than I wanted and if I eased off the accelerator it slowed down too much. I bet this has something to do with the reported CC issues. If I can't keep the car from going the same/steady speed with my foot, I don't think the CC/computer can either. The issue I believe is with the gas pedal and the wire it is connected to. Hard to explain but the accelerator is not smooth and accurate to maintain speed.

 

[Schpok]

Have you tried adjusting the sensitivity of the SCC?
View attachment 14158

A Little late to the Party but anyway,

maybe it's my lack of english skills but I don't understand those sentence at all.

can some one explan simple, what chnages? I could't figure it out by testing.

 

[Karl Davlin]

Cruise surge - I have noticed the cruise control does surge slightly when going up hills. It isn't much, I probably would have even noticed, but thanks to this thread, I do!!!

BTW: GT2, AWD - Surges ever so slightly more in ECO vs Comfort.

 

[WildBill]

Does anyone find their gas pedal a little hard? I don't own a Stinger but test drove a 2019 GT AWD a couple of times, and I could not get used to the accelerator pedal. I drove about 15 miles in this car. The pedal was a bit hard to engage initially (a bit too much force), and once I was on it the car took off faster than I wanted. On the highway it seemed to go faster than I wanted and if I eased off the accelerator it slowed down too much. I bet this has something to do with the reported CC issues. If I can't keep the car from going the same/steady speed with my foot, I don't think the CC/computer can either. The issue I believe is with the gas pedal and the wire it is connected to. Hard to explain but the accelerator is not smooth and accurate to maintain speed.

I do not have any issues with maintaining a desired speed. In Sport mode the accelerator pedal is more sensitive than more pedestrian vehicles but that is kind of the point.

Have you test driven different Stingers to see if it is the specific car or a general characteristic?

The vehicle is throttle by wire. The pedal is attached to a sensor, not a cable. Your experience with the pedal shouldn't really carryover to the cruise control.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Hard to explain but the accelerator is not smooth and accurate to maintain speed.

Only at first: the car is enormously more powerful and responsive than ANYTHING I have ever driven. So I was simply getting used to that. It took awhile. The "stiffness" of the pedal is more firm than resistant; that's how I feel. It is a very firm pedal. Once I got used to how much speed accompanied how much push I adopted a feather touch with my ankle. I use the top of the pedal, thus giving me the most extended moment arm; this reduces the firmness of the pedal to a minimum. (This plays into why I feel more in control and comfortable using "auto hold" to do my dead stop accelerations instead of LC.)

 

[MerlintheMad]

A Little late to the Party but anyway,

maybe it's my lack of english skills but I don't understand those sentence at all.

can some one explan simple, what chnages? I could't figure it out by testing.

@QuantumPion appears to have bailed; probably couldn't stop barfing. (JK)

The changes involved two things; response distance to the front vehicle, and sensitivity of applying the brake. I don't have either system on my GT1, so I can't speak to personal experience. But the complaint by @QuantumPion was that coming to a stop or almost complete stop involved the car applying the brake too late and too suddenly/forcefully; more than would be done by the driver himself. Adjusting the setting for both did not eliminate the problem of the SCC being too harsh in responding to surrounding traffic ahead.

As for understanding the manual, don't you have a German equivalent? Just find the same section and don't try to grok the English cut and paste.

 

[QuantumPion]

@QuantumPion appears to have bailed; probably couldn't stop barfing. (JK)

The changes involved two things; response distance to the front vehicle, and sensitivity of applying the brake. I don't have either system on my GT1, so I can't speak to personal experience. But the complaint by @QuantumPion was that coming to a stop or almost complete stop involved the car applying the brake too late and too suddenly/forcefully; more than would be done by the driver himself. Adjusting the setting for both did not eliminate the problem of the SCC being too harsh in responding to surrounding traffic ahead.

As for understanding the manual, don't you have a German equivalent? Just find the same section and don't try to grok the English cut and paste.

I'm still here! And yes you summed up my experience correctly.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Is there an iphone app that can record gforces vs. time as a plot? I would like to record accelerometer readings along with dashcam footage to show what is going on.

So, what was the upshot? Did you get somebody to look at your situation? Did you adapt your driving style to what the SCC does? I was thinking that in those stop and go situations, you'd just take over the driving yourself. Then when you are in moving traffic, turn the speed adjusting and brakes over to SCC again.

 

[QuantumPion]

I have not had it looked at yet, I will mention it at my first oil change. I have not found a good g-force recording app.

 

[JeffAsfbay]

I have had a 2018 Subaru Legacy for about a year, and recently bought a 2018 Stinger Premium as a second car. I only have 1500 miles on the Stinger, so I can't speak with authority about it's camera / radar system, but while noticing differences between the two cars, I have no complaints about the Stinger adaptive CC.

I'm a big fan of adaptive CC and use the system a lot in both cars. Subaru's Eyesight system works very well and I find it's only real flaw is a lag in accelerating after a vehicle in front has moved out of my lane. However, it's Lane Assist system sucks and I never use it; it makes the car pinball between the travel lane and I'm sure to other drivers it looks like I'm drunk. The Stinger's Lane Assist is far better, with almost no wandering within the lane.

I haven't found fault with the Stinger's adaptive CC system, except sometimes it is a little late in braking, and it can take an act of faith to let it continue to drive itself when it seems like you're about to slam into the car in front of you. But so far it has stopped in time. Between a very smooth Lane Assist system and a smooth and reliably smart CC, I find driving on the highway to be a real joy in the Stinger, and I like it more than the Subaru's Eyesight system, by more than a little bit.

Oh, one other small thing; in the Subaru, when the car comes to a stop, you have to press the accelerator or flick the crusie set switch to get the car moving again; in the Stinger, it gives you a few seconds of complete stop before that becomes necessary, so that in stop-and-go conditions, the Stinger will actually stop and go on its own.

I'm glad to hear that, compared to your 2018 Legacy w/EyeSight, you like the Stinger's SCC better! That's very encouraging, as I have a '15 Outback and it performs so flawlessly (it doesn't have lane-keep assist ) that I am wary of switching to anyone else's system. (I'll agree with your exception for EyeSight regarding waiting too long to accelerate after a vehicle in front moves out of the way - and I'll add another one - EyeSight puts the brakes on pretty hard if someone in front of me is making a right-hand turn but is making it a bit too slowly).

Your comments regarding the Stinger seeming to wait a bit too long to start applying the brakes is troubling to me though. I've never had that happen in the Subaru *unless* EyeSight doesn't have a lead vehicle displayed; if EyeSight doesn't see a lead Vehicle (even though there is one), then it definitely waits too long to brake, so long in fact that I've never had to faith to wait and see if EyeSight will stop the car in time!

Being disabled with (among other issues) considerable nerve pain in my right foot, I rely on Adaptive Cruise systems to relieve me of a lot of pain (it just so happens that with my foot on the gas a lot, or moving back & forth between brake & gas will very frequently generate severe pain levels). I absolutely *have* to have Adaptive Cruise on any car I drive. Toyota does a really stupid thing in case anyone is interested. They have their own adaptive cruise control, but, they (very sneakily in my opinion) have two flavors - one that operates at any speed range (they call this something like "Full Speed Range"), and then they have the system they put in their 2nd largest SUV, the Highlander, which stops working below 28 mph. They do this with the 2018 and below Avalon as well. Yet they've had it in the Prius for quite awhile and the new 2018 Camry gets it too.

Last comment - how does the Stinger do going down hills? The CVT in the Subaru adjusts itself such that it will hold the set speed properly. And I just read something in the last week saying some other new vehicle with a 10-speed auto trans does the same thing. But in every other car I've driven, with or without smart cruise, the car runs away when going down hills. So I like the Subaru system a lot (it's extra-helpful when driving down curvy mountain roads).

If you go this far in my post, thank you
Jeff

 

[MerlintheMad]

Last comment - how does the Stinger do going down hills?

I don't have adaptive, SCC, just regular CC. I've noticed variability; sometimes CC holds the set speed going downhill, and other times the car runs away. I don't think that SCC will be any different. It seems to be a function of grade, with steeper grades causing the run away. Time to apply the brakes. Fortunately these kinds of situations never last very long.

 

[MikeysGT]

how does the Stinger do going down hills?

Like Merlin said, it does seem to vary.. Small declines it holds speed pretty well. If the hill is slightly steeper it starts running away at times, but, I've had a couple instances where it began to run away enough that it down shifted and used engine braking to slow itself

 

[MerlintheMad]

Like Merlin said, it does seem to vary.. Small declines it holds speed pretty well. If the hill is slightly steeper it starts running away at times, but, I've had a couple instances where it began to run away enough that it down shifted and used engine braking to slow itself

And on those occasions, the (S)CC takes precedence and you cannot shift. Each time my car has downshifted to maintain the set cruise speed, it has been into 5th gear; the RPMs go up to around 4K (iirc) and any using of the paddle shifters is ignored by the CC (No, idiot hairless biped, I am driving this, and you don't know what you're doing).

 

[ScottE]

With the ASCC, the Stinger will apply brakes and maintain it's speed - it will never coast downhill.

As far as the system's responsiveness, the system works well once you learn how to use it and where to balance the distance setting - it's never going to be as smooth as a human driver, but I think it's great under most cruising conditions. And remember the distance setting is not absolute - it varies with vehicle speed, and I like to think of it as a bubble. The system's goal is to keep that bubble within a certain min and max size. When the car in front slows down, the bubble compresses until it reaches the minimum size and the system takes action. When the car speeds up, it let's the bubble expand until it reaches the max size before accelerating. When a car merges in front of you suddenly, it bursts the bubble and has to take evasive action.

 

[eflyguy]

With the ASCC (Advanced Smart Cruise Control), the Stinger will apply brakes and maintain it's speed - it will never coast downhill.

As far as the system's responsiveness, the system works well once you learn how to use it and where to balance the distance setting - it's never going to be as smooth as a human driver, but I think it's great under most cruising conditions. And remember the distance setting is not absolute - it varies with vehicle speed, and I like to think of it as a bubble. The system's goal is to keep that bubble within a certain min and max size. When the car in front slows down, the bubble compresses until it reaches the minimum size and the system takes action. When the car speeds up, it let's the bubble expand until it reaches the max size before accelerating. When a car merges in front of you suddenly, it bursts the bubble and has to take evasive action.

I agree with everything stated here. Once set to my preferences for distance and responsiveness, it works pretty much as well as I would drive myself. Even the collision warning/avoidance - it alerts when vehicles are slow to turn out of my path, but it's never actually needed to take evasive action (I assume braking) because I was still a long way from really needing to, and a minor steering adjustment would remove any risk at all.

 

[Collybus]

Toyota does a really stupid thing in case anyone is interested. They have their own adaptive cruise control, but, they (very sneakily in my opinion) have two flavors - one that operates at any speed range (they call this something like "Full Speed Range"), and then they have the system they put in their 2nd largest SUV, the Highlander, which stops working below 28 mph. They do this with the 2018 and below Avalon as well. Yet they've had it in the Prius for quite awhile and the new 2018 Camry gets it too.

Jeff

Sorry you have that foot issue, Jeff. The new technology in automobiles is a real boon for you! I may be wrong, I don't have a lot of miles in the Stinger yet - and the last four weeks it's been in the auto body shop getting repaired from being rear-ended - but I believe there are some parameters that have to be met before you can activate the adaptive CC, one of them being a minimum speed. Once met, it'll work down to a stop though, and continue to work regardless of speed.

 

[Sara Reynolds]

I didn't read all the pages but it doesn't look like anyone had any answers anyway and the thread kind of goes off topic at the end. But at any rate, I feel the surge. I felt it on my first trip (home from the dealership) and noticed that the mpg gauge was surging or jumping along. It's not always noticeable, especially to passengers but sometimes it's very obvious. It seems to happen on fairly flat roads as far as I can tell (maybe slight inclines). I chalked it up to a quirk but came here to see if it was something I should worry about or could fix. Anyone have any updates?

 

[Ozstung]

I didn't read all the pages but it doesn't look like anyone had any answers anyway and the thread kind of goes off topic at the end. But at any rate, I feel the surge. I felt it on my first trip (home from the dealership) and noticed that the mpg gauge was surging or jumping along. It's not always noticeable, especially to passengers but sometimes it's very obvious. It seems to happen on fairly flat roads as far as I can tell (maybe slight inclines). I chalked it up to a quirk but came here to see if it was something I should worry about or could fix. Anyone have any updates?

100% have concerns it certainly isn't normal. Take it to Kia they may have it listed on there system as a bulletin. Meaning others have had issues and logged this. Tell Kia you wanted it fixed.

 

[JeffAsfbay]

I too am interested to hear from those who posted about this last Fall. As I've said, I rely *heavily* on SCC because of substantial (sometimes severe) pain in the top right of my right foot. I very much like Subaru's EyeSight (ES), but admit that it's not perfect but it's never jerky like I'm hearing people report here.

[Subaru EyeSight, or ES for short, is not perfect (see previous posts in this thread). In my opinion, these are the flaws:
(1) ES is slower than I'd like to resume the set-speed when someone driving slower than my set speed moves out of the way (too bad there is no adjustment for the delay time to re-apply throttle, and/or the amount of throttle to add to get back up to the set-speed.)
(2) ES is way too conservative when someone in front of me slows down as it turns right onto a side street. Let's say the speed limit is 35 mph. When ES detects this slow-down, it puts on the brakes pretty hard, and even once the car has finished its right turn, ES is slow to start to get back up to the set-speed. Even when I know that the right-turning car in front of me will clearly be out of my way before I get there, ES is overly aggressive to make sure that I don't hit that car in front of me. I guess it's being conservative just in case the car in front of me suddenly slows down mid-right-turn.
(3) Lastly, it will not work below 25 mph, and our city has recently lowered the school zone speed limit to 15 mph so now I have to use my foot to drive for 3/4 of a mile at 15 mph because there are 2 school zones back to back. The only system I have tried that works (that will allow me to select a set-speed of 15 mph) was the Mazda CX-5, I think 2016 or 2017 model year. If anyone knows of any other brand vehicle that allows a set-speed below 25 mph, please let me know - thank you!]

If the Stinger can't operate smoothly, this is a total and complete deal-breaker for me. One theory I might propose since at least one person has said that the Stinger gas pedal is "drive-by-wire": maybe the positional sensor on the gas pedal doesn't have enough steps to operate smoothly? If the system uses A/D and D/A conversion (and/or vice-versa) and the speed range is being divided into, say, 2 mph increments, then the system could "hunt" as it tries to hold to a speed that is in between an increment. Or perhaps the part that reads the car's speed is the problem in the same sort of way. If this is the case, then it would require a hardware change and no software update could help the problem. This is of course just hypothetical, and I've been disabled and out of my engineering position for a decade now so I'm getting rusty on my system engineering...

Also - is there any difference between the 2018 and 2019 Stinger model year Smart Cruise Control works? Perhaps Stinger made a change to fix this sometime during a model year?