[DP]

Can anybody explain me why we need Cruise Control button on the dash? When it's ON, the cruise control doesn't do anything until you activate it by the wheel buttons.
Why not to have it ON all the time and eliminate the button? If something wrong with that, or there is some difference between ON and OFF positions (with the cruise control NOT actually activated), in terms of driveability, etc. - why the manual says nothing about that?

 

[Jerry O1]

I think it was Phord which had some "unintended" issues with cruise control and it was thought that you should turn it off when you were not using it in order to preclude any "unintended" deployment. In their case, I think the system was going to full throttle when the driver was not expecting it. Not good. I have always left mine in the "on" position all the time, but............

Jerry O.
2001 GG LX

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jerry O:
I think it was Phord which had some "unintended" issues with cruise control and it was thought that you should turn it off when you were not using it in order to preclude any "unintended" deployment. In their case, I think the system was going to full throttle when the driver was not expecting it. Not good. I have always left mine in the "on" position all the time, but............

Jerry O.
2001 GG LX</font>

Hi DP,

I think Jerry is right here although I don't know if it's a Phord issue. This could apply to just about anyone. If you do have a problem with the cruise control, that on/off button gives you a way to disable it without shutting down the entire car.

OTOH, Honda couldn't have picked a worse place to put the darn thing. It's not readily visible because of the steering colume, at least for me, and it's definitely not easy to get to. Like Jerry, I just leave mine "on" all the time and don't worry about it.

FWIW,
Drive Safe,
Steve

 

[jamescanine]

I don't know for sure, but I think the on/off switch on the dash completely turns off the cruise. In other words, I think if it is left in the on position that the cruise is running in a type of standby mode. I used to keep mine on all the time as I thought it was stupid to have two switches. However, on my 1990 Acura Integra the cruise control unit went bad at about 60,000 miles and had to be replaced at about $400-500 repair cost. Fortunately, I had bought the extended warranty, which was a good purchase between this cruise problem and an a/c problem that occured after the original warranty had expired. Anyhow, I still have that same 1990 Integra with about 145,000 miles now and the cruise still works. Ever since the first replacement, I have kept the dash switch in the off position unless I'm going to use it. The mechanic said that this helps extend their longevity. Therefore, I leave it off. I tend to keep cars a while and I do have the 7yr/100k warranty on the odyssey, but I hate taking cars into the shop even if its still under warranty. Hope this helps. I would be interested if others have also heard that leaving the dash cruise switch off until needed helps extend the cruise control longevity.

------------------
Jamescanine's 01 LX

(see gallery photos)

[This message has been edited by jamescanine (edited 09-02-2001).]

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jamescanine:
I don't know for sure, but I think the on/off switch on the dash completely turns off the cruise. In other words, I think if it is left in the on position that the cruise is running in a type of standby mode. I used to keep mine on all the time as I thought it was stupid to have two switches. However, on my 1990 Acura Integra the cruise control unit went bad at about 60,000 miles and had to be replaced at about $400-500 repair cost. Fortunately, I had bought the extended warranty, which was a good purchase between this cruise problem and an a/c problem that occured after the original warranty had expired. Anyhow, I still have that same 1990 Integra with about 145,000 miles now and the cruise still works. Ever since the first replacement, I have kept the dash switch in the off position unless I'm going to use it. The mechanic said that this helps extend their longevity. Therefore, I leave it off. I tend to keep cars a while and I do have the 7yr/100k warranty on the odyssey, but I hate taking cars into the shop even if its still under warranty. Hope this helps. I would be interested if others have also heard that leaving the dash cruise switch off until needed helps extend the cruise control longevity.

</font>

Hi Jamescanine,

The "guts" of the cruise control is an electronic module just like virtually everything else that's computer controlled on the Odyssey or any other modern car. I leave my cruise control "on" 100% of the time and have done so on every vehicle I've owned for the past 25+ years. To date (knock on wood) I've never had a failure. Maybe that's just the luck of the draw but I don't see there being any more of a "wear and tear" issue here than there is with the ignition control, transmission control, or any other electronic device on the vehicle.

If Honda had put that switch in a more accessible spot, I might consider turning the thing off every once in a while but it's not worth it to me at this time. I've got the 7/100/0 extended service plan so I'm not going to worry about it. Of course, the thing will probably blow up on me at 101k miles or 7 years + 2 months!

That's just life, I guess.

FWIW,
Drive Safe,
Steve

 

[Mel]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Intrepid175:

OTOH, Honda couldn't have picked a worse place to put the darn thing...

Steve</font>

Since you really don't need to access the Cruise Control or TCS switches very often, I think their current location is fine, although they take up too much dashboard real estate that we modders might like to use for other purposes. Smaller switches would work just as well.

Now the Fog Light switch, that's another issue

. The gear shift knob blocks my view of it while driving

.

Mel

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mel:
Since you really don't need to access the Cruise Control or TCS switches very often, I think their current location is fine, although they take up too much dashboard real estate that we modders might like to use for other purposes. Smaller switches would work just as well.

Now the Fog Light switch, that's another issue

. The gear shift knob blocks my view of it while driving

.

Mel

</font>

Honda does seem to be consistent about that, don't they!

I've got the same problem (?) with the fog light switch. I don't remember owning a car that had so many controls covered up by "other" controls. Like you said, it's not that big a deal since none of these are switches that I need to access with any regularity. I can't imagine a time when I'd "want" to disable the TCS. As I said before, I leave the cruise control "on" all the time and the same goes for the fog lights so, who cares!

If this is the worst thing on the Ody that I can find to complain about, I really don't have a complaint!

Drive Safe,
Steve

 

[Mel]

You should disable the TCS if you are using the compact spare, certainly if the spare is the front although maybe not necessary if on the rear.

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mel:
You should disable the TCS if you are using the compact spare, certainly if the spare is the front although maybe not necessary if on the rear.</font>

Oh yeah!!

VERY good point Mel. I hadn't thought of that and sure didn't catch it in the owners manual when I read through it. Thanks for pointing that out!

Drive Safe,
Steve

 

[Jerry O1]

While on the subject of the spare tire, one should not drive very far or fast (the 50mph/50mile rule is good), especially if the tire is used on the front. The difference in diameter between the spare and the real tire will cause the differential to work a lot and, especially in hot weather, to eventually to overheat and cause problems. Just thinkin'.....

Jerry O.
2001 GG LX

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jerry O:
While on the subject of the spare tire, one should not drive very far or fast (the 50mph/50mile rule is good), especially if the tire is used on the front. The difference in diameter between the spare and the real tire will cause the differential to work a lot and, especially in hot weather, to eventually to overheat and cause problems. Just thinkin'.....

Jerry O.
2001 GG LX</font>

Also correct, Jerry! I think that if I were out of town on vacation and had a flat on the front, I'd probably take the time to mount the compact spare on a rear wheel and then rotate the full size to the flat tires position. If I've "got" to run the little spare tire, I'd much rather it be on a non-driving wheel, not to mention that it'll be a lot easier on the differential, as you pointed out.

FWIW,
Drive Safe,
Steve