Cruise Control

[base11]

Hi

I'm not a real cruise control user, but have turned it on recently on my 2001 Venture and am surprised that there is absolutely no indicator on the dash that it is on. No lights?

Is this normal? You would think there would be some kind of indicator that you are driving under the power of the car and not the gas pedal.

[GregA]

I believe I have the same thing on my 2001. Now that you mention it, that is kind of strange - most of the other cars I have driven have some kind of indicator light on the dash when the cruise is on. Oh well. Maybe we can figure a way to put one in there?

Take care,

Greg A.

[hugaminivan]

The indication is the switch itself. On the stick, you have the inset button on the very end, which is the set/decel; and the tab-like button sticking out of the side of the stick on the end. The tab-like button has three positions: pushed all the way toward the end of the stick, in the middle, and pushed in toward the steering wheel. All the way toward the end of the stick indicates that the cruise is off. Placed in the milddle indicates that the cruise is on, and when you push it in and it bounces back, that is the resume/accel.
Therefore, you can tell if the cruise is on or off just by feeling the position of the button on the cruise control button.

[base11]

Hi

I agree you can figure out whether cruise control is on or not via the method you describe, but there really should be a light on the dash indicating cruise control is currently engaged. To my knowledge most vehicles have this kind of indicator including my other vehicle, a low priced import.

thanks for the input.

[hugaminivan]

True, but the ones I have seen with the indicator light on the dash are the ones with the buttons that give no indication by looking at it whether they are on or off. If there is already an indication as to the status of something, there is no point repeating iit somewhere else. Personally, I think it works out great for me. The fewer "idiot" lights that are on in my dash, the better for me.

[base11]

Well i guess we disagree on this one. How easy is it to see your "indicator" at night?

Personally I hardly ever use cruise control and would never purchase it as an option, but since it came with the van, i was surprised it had no idiot light with it. I think my 95 transport had a light on the dash when engaged, so i was surprised they had dropped this display.

['97ventureowner]

I agree with both your arguments concerning the indicator light for the cruise control, (or lack thereof.) I have owned many vehicles in the last 20 years ( about 19 give or take,) and I can say that a number of them did not have an indicator light on the dash, and I got used to not having one. Another way to see if you have the cruise on is to "feel" when the van accelerates or decelerates according to the road. I use my cruise all the time as I find it a good way to improve fuel economy, and I can feel when the cruise sppeds up or slows down, and when the cruise is engaged and you take your foot off the accelerator, the spped does not drop significantly. One problem with cruise control is that it can give the driver a false sense in which they may possibly let their guard down while driving, since you are not constantly stepping on the gas pedal. You may not pay as much attention as to what is going on around you. That is why it is reccomended to keep your feet near the pedals in case you have to brake suddenly, or slow down for something in the road or an upcoming turn, etc. I have talked to some people over the years that equate cruise control with a form of "auto-pilot" which it is not.