braking with cruise control
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Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Barrington IL
2015 E 250, 1999 BMW M Roadster, 1939 International Harvester, 2023 GLC
braking with cruise control
Interesting feature of E class cruise control. Press decel on cruise lever and car will brake fairly agressively down to about 25 mph. Wonder if this a unique function of the E class with SBC unit?
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From: Louisiana
03 E500 and Corvette
I turn it off as I don't want to brake going down unless the speed begins to build then I prefer to downshift.
Using power to climb and brake on going down seems inefficient to me.
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From: Barrington IL
2015 E 250, 1999 BMW M Roadster, 1939 International Harvester, 2023 GLC
Agree on the hill decent. I have not tried any other car to see if this same thing happens. It is a nice feature
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From: San Diego
2009 E350 Arctic White AMG Sport package W/ P2 option, 2002 C230 kompressor Coupe
My 2007 E350 appears to apply the brakes when holding the cruise stick down for deceleration. On my 2002 C230, it does not do this *** aggressively as the E350.
I believe my 350 does not have SBC brakes.
I believe my 350 does not have SBC brakes.
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From: Glendale, AZ
07 E63. 07 STi limited #606/800
i use this if i spot a cop, as for him not to see my brake lights to see that "im slowing down"
it uses engine braking basically giving less fuel to the motor and that brings your rpm's down.
so i spot the cop ill hammer on the decel stick and i slow it down to under 73 and no brake lights to basically help him saying, yea i was speeding, until i seen you!
it uses engine braking basically giving less fuel to the motor and that brings your rpm's down.
so i spot the cop ill hammer on the decel stick and i slow it down to under 73 and no brake lights to basically help him saying, yea i was speeding, until i seen you!
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i use this if i spot a cop, as for him not to see my brake lights to see that "im slowing down"
it uses engine braking basically giving less fuel to the motor and that brings your rpm's down.
so i spot the cop ill hammer on the decel stick and i slow it down to under 73 and no brake lights to basically help him saying, yea i was speeding, until i seen you!
it uses engine braking basically giving less fuel to the motor and that brings your rpm's down.
so i spot the cop ill hammer on the decel stick and i slow it down to under 73 and no brake lights to basically help him saying, yea i was speeding, until i seen you!
If you slow down by reducing gears only, the brake lights would not light up. If you brake with CC on a facelift, at some point it would use brakes and then the brake lights light up even if you are not pressing the brake pedal (but you can feel the brake pedal moving on a facelift car).
Even on a pre-facelift the engine braking is quite strong (may depend on th engine too), can feel like the car was using brakes.
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W221 S600, W220 S55 AMG Kompressor, W124 300E, W140 S320, W210 E3204M W164 ML320 Bluetec
Is your car a face lift 211? My understanding is that the face lift is using brakes for CC purposes when necessary but the pre-facelift would not do (even if the car with SBC brakes could easily do it).
If you slow down by reducing gears only, the brake lights would not light up. If you brake with CC on a facelift, at some point it would use brakes and then the brake lights light up even if you are not pressing the brake pedal (but you can feel the brake pedal moving on a facelift car).
Even on a pre-facelift the engine braking is quite strong (may depend on th engine too), can feel like the car was using brakes.
If you slow down by reducing gears only, the brake lights would not light up. If you brake with CC on a facelift, at some point it would use brakes and then the brake lights light up even if you are not pressing the brake pedal (but you can feel the brake pedal moving on a facelift car).
Even on a pre-facelift the engine braking is quite strong (may depend on th engine too), can feel like the car was using brakes.
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Thread Starter
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From: Barrington IL
2015 E 250, 1999 BMW M Roadster, 1939 International Harvester, 2023 GLC
cruise braking
My 2005 CDI brakes going down hill. Not an engine brake as teh RPM's do not seem to change. Not sure about the brake lights going on ? I do not think they would light since this a cruise control decel.
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From: USA
2005 E320
However, if the deceleration is more severe and requires automatic activation of the brakes, the brake lights will illuminate.
I recently noticed this little fact while driving on a very dark mountain road with my cruise control set. As I began my decent down the mountain the cruise control applied the brakes to maintain my set speed. Because it was so dark outside I could look at my driver's side mirror and see my brake lights illuminate the roadway each time the brakes were applied.
I was quite surprised because I, too, had thought that the brake lights were not used in conjunction with the cruise control. I decided to test it one step further by using the cruise control stick on my steering column to reduce my cruise control setting by 10 MPH at once. Sure enough, the brakes were applied and the brake lights came on.
So, if you're using your cruise control to slow down from 85 to 70 thinking that the cop won't see your brake lights, you might be in for a surprise.
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From: Orange County, CA
E350
I'm pretty sure it's ILLEGAL for car manufacturers to allow their cars to brake WITHOUT lighting up the brake lights. Imagine how easy it would be to get rear-ended by using CC to brake from 90 to 65 in a few seconds when you're begin tailed by a car going the same speed! I'd imagine from a safety standpoint, brake lights are required to illuminate anytime the car's brakes are used. 
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From: Albuquerque
'10 CL550, '12 GL550
It does light the brake lights and it is NOT a function of SBC.
Don't know about W211 newer than our 2006, but our 2007 GL has a cruise control lever with 1 mph change and 5 mph change detents, and it's really easy to drop 10 mph in a hurry with just a couple taps. It's actually not exactly 5 mph unless you're currently running on a 0 or 5 speed, i.e. it drops or increases to the next 5 or 0 speed. That is, for example, it's 75 to 70 or 73 to 70 and same going up. You can obviously "preplan" how many taps it is to get back to the speed limit. (!)
Don't know about W211 newer than our 2006, but our 2007 GL has a cruise control lever with 1 mph change and 5 mph change detents, and it's really easy to drop 10 mph in a hurry with just a couple taps. It's actually not exactly 5 mph unless you're currently running on a 0 or 5 speed, i.e. it drops or increases to the next 5 or 0 speed. That is, for example, it's 75 to 70 or 73 to 70 and same going up. You can obviously "preplan" how many taps it is to get back to the speed limit. (!)
Last edited by lkchris; Feb 15, 2010 at 06:34 PM.
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From: USA
C240
cruise's speed maintenance
I think it is across for all/most cars.
I have tried this w/ Nissan Quest minivans, seems the same approach.
With Toyota RAV4 also the same.
But in general - any car, if driving on steep grade (both up or down) for any length of time *steadily going up/down* more than 10 seconds it is better to temporarily override the cruise with pedal(s). Otherwise puts way too much pressure on the engine. This is in part b/c The cruise does not sense the up/down hill as quickly as your eye sees it, and reacts to it "late". In doing so, it tries to cut of too much gas & air, or supply too much specially in its initial reaction.
I have tried this w/ Nissan Quest minivans, seems the same approach.
With Toyota RAV4 also the same.
But in general - any car, if driving on steep grade (both up or down) for any length of time *steadily going up/down* more than 10 seconds it is better to temporarily override the cruise with pedal(s). Otherwise puts way too much pressure on the engine. This is in part b/c The cruise does not sense the up/down hill as quickly as your eye sees it, and reacts to it "late". In doing so, it tries to cut of too much gas & air, or supply too much specially in its initial reaction.
