Runaway Cruise Control

[tiny4321]

Ok Im brand new to the forum after 9 years as a Ford F150 owner I traded in my 19 F150 5.0 4x4 Crew Cab for A 2021 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 5.7 etorque 2wd truck purchased with 35 miles on it two weeks ago. So on the third day after purchase I turned on the cruise and set the cruise just fine holds speed just fine. I entered a slower speed zone and pushed and held the set- button and released at the desired speed but it did not set itself at that speed just kept decelerating. I hit cancel and turned off the cruise and back on. I pushed and held the set+ to get back up to speed and released it at desired speed however it kept accelerating to 70 MPH until I tapped the brakes and shut cruise off. Somewhat concerned at this point and the wife was beside herself. Next day I took it out to a rural highway with a good straightaway with little traffic and tried to replicate the the issue. Cruise on, set speed just fine, held down set+ button for 3 seconds until acceleration started and released this time it accelerated to 80 mph and held that speed of 80. I began approaching traffic and braked deactivating the cruise set. I made a second attempt following the same scenario. On this 2nd attempt it accelerated to 90 mph and held there. I pushed and held the set - button and when released it kept decelerating down to 55 where it self set at the first speed I set it at at the onset of this test . As I entered town I came to a 45 zone and held the set- button again and released at 45 with no set it just kept on decelerating as if it had been turned off. The Icon was still showing as ready on the display. I have not had a chance to get it to a dealership yet. The cruise works as it should if you just push the set buttons for a moment and they will add or decrease speed in 1 mph increments if you just push either of the set buttons momentarily. I checked the manual and they are definitely not operating as the manual states they should. I am not looking for a solution I am just wondering if anyone else has had any similar issue. The area I test drove this truck in was congested and curvy so I did not use the cruise on the that test drive. Lesson learned, check Everything on the test drive before buying any vehicle.

 

[stembridge]

I was riding with a friend in his 2020 RAM 1500 yesterday and he told me about the exact same issue. Turns out if you hold the +/- button down, it will increment in 5 MPH jumps instead of 1 MPH, which, if you're not expecting that, will appear that the cruise is 'running away.' Apparently that's a recent "improvement" that made it work less, like so many other "improvements" these days.

es

 

[mikeru82]

I use that +/- 5 mph feature all the time. You definitely need to watch the "set" speed when doing that though. I haven't had any cruise control problems with any of the 5th gen Rams we've owned (3), with either normal or adaptive versions. My 12 year old Audi works the same way when you hold the + or - "button" down.

 

[Richard320]

I was riding with a friend in his 2020 RAM 1500 yesterday and he told me about the exact same issue. Turns out if you hold the +/- button down, it will increment in 5 MPH jumps instead of 1 MPH, which, if you're not expecting that, will appear that the cruise is 'running away.' Apparently that's a recent "improvement" that made it work less, like so many other "improvements" these days.

es

Excellent explanation!

 

[vincentw56]

I was riding with a friend in his 2020 RAM 1500 yesterday and he told me about the exact same issue. Turns out if you hold the +/- button down, it will increment in 5 MPH jumps instead of 1 MPH, which, if you're not expecting that, will appear that the cruise is 'running away.' Apparently that's a recent "improvement" that made it work less, like so many other "improvements" these days.

es

It's a great feature when you are using ACC. I hit set when I'm behind someone and then set it to my desired speed by holding it down.

 

[vincentw56]

Ok Im brand new to the forum after 9 years as a Ford F150 owner I traded in my 19 F150 5.0 4x4 Crew Cab for A 2021 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 5.7 etorque 2wd truck purchased with 35 miles on it two weeks ago. So on the third day after purchase I turned on the cruise and set the cruise just fine holds speed just fine. I entered a slower speed zone and pushed and held the set- button and released at the desired speed but it did not set itself at that speed just kept decelerating. I hit cancel and turned off the cruise and back on. I pushed and held the set+ to get back up to speed and released it at desired speed however it kept accelerating to 70 MPH until I tapped the brakes and shut cruise off. Somewhat concerned at this point and the wife was beside herself. Next day I took it out to a rural highway with a good straightaway with little traffic and tried to replicate the the issue. Cruise on, set speed just fine, held down set+ button for 3 seconds until acceleration started and released this time it accelerated to 80 mph and held that speed of 80. I began approaching traffic and braked deactivating the cruise set. I made a second attempt following the same scenario. On this 2nd attempt it accelerated to 90 mph and held there. I pushed and held the set - button and when released it kept decelerating down to 55 where it self set at the first speed I set it at at the onset of this test . As I entered town I came to a 45 zone and held the set- button again and released at 45 with no set it just kept on decelerating as if it had been turned off. The Icon was still showing as ready on the display. I have not had a chance to get it to a dealership yet. The cruise works as it should if you just push the set buttons for a moment and they will add or decrease speed in 1 mph increments if you just push either of the set buttons momentarily. I checked the manual and they are definitely not operating as the manual states they should. I am not looking for a solution I am just wondering if anyone else has had any similar issue. The area I test drove this truck in was congested and curvy so I did not use the cruise on the that test drive. Lesson learned, check Everything on the test drive before buying any vehicle.

One thing you never mentioned is what did you say it to while holding it down. On the right side above the cruise icon on the display is the set speed. You never said what it was set to.

 

[tsbbartholomew1]

As others said if you press and held the set+ button for say 2-3 seconds you would have increased your speed potentially 15-20 miles per hour. To change smaller increments single presses will increase only 1 mph at a time...saying that I love the 5 mile per hour increases when speed limits change as they usually change in increments of 5 anyways

 

[bucolic]

According to the manual, the +5 MPH adjustment is only using ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). The manual states for the non-adaptive cruise it will just accelerate to the desired speed. It also says if in ACC mode setting the cruise at speeds below 20MPH results in the cruise defaulting to 20MPH.

Another thing I noticed on the cruise is that if you press and hold the button to reduce the speed it will actually apply the brakes. I always use ACC so haven't tested to see if the same result on a regular cruise.

Sounds like the OP must have been using ACC.

Regular Cruise from manual:

TO VARY THE SPEED SETTING​

To Increase Or Decrease The Set Speed

When the Cruise Control is set, you can increase speed by pushing the SET (+) button, or decrease speed by pushing the SET (-) button.

U.S. Speed (mph)

• Pushing the SET (+), or SET (-) button once will result in a 1 mph speed adjustment. Each subsequent tap of the button results in an adjustment of 1 mph.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to adjust until the button is released, then the new set speed will be established.

Metric Speed (km/h)

• Pushing the SET (+), or SET (-) button once will result in a 1 km/h speed adjustment. Each subsequent tap of the button results in an adjustment of 1 km/h.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to adjust until the button is released, then the new set speed will be established.
  

ACC CRUISE FROM MANUAL:

TO VARY THE SPEED SETTING​

To Increase Or Decrease The Set Speed

After setting a speed, you can increase the set speed by pushing the SET (+) button, or decrease speed by pushing the SET (-) button.

U.S. Speed (mph)

• Pushing the SET (+), or SET (-) button once will result in a 1 mph speed adjustment. Each subsequent tap of the button results in an adjustment of 1 mph.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to adjust in 5 mph increments until the button is released. The new set speed is reflected in the instrument cluster display.

 

[SpeedyV]

• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to adjust until the button is released, then the new set speed will be established.

This statement is a little ambiguous. It likely means that the cruise control will 'remember' the speed you are traveling at the moment you release the button. But it could also be interpreted to mean that the set speed will continually increase as the button is held down, and it may count up faster than the vehicle is accelerating, such that the vehicle will continue to accelerate to reach that set speed even after the button is released.

I only use ACC, so I can't say that I've experienced this.

 

[mikeru82]

I see no difference when switching between the two. My "normal" cruise control and my ACC both behave the same way when you hold down the + or - buttons, the setting is incremented or decremented by 5 mph.

 

[Trooper4]

New truck, read the book?

 

[bucolic]

New truck, read the book?

If everyone read the book we wouldn't need the forum

I confirmed both cruise modes 5mph increments when holding down the button to increase speed.

Also, when holding down the button to decrease speed it appears to apply the brakes. My 2016 big horn did not do this and this behavior is not mentioned in the book unless I missed it.

 

[Richard320]

One thing you never mentioned is what did you say it to while holding it down. On the right side above the cruise icon on the display is the set speed. You never said what it was set to.

True! An excellent point, What did it say, @tiny4321?

 

[tiny4321]

First off my truck does not have adaptive cruise so that rules those features out .

Next about the what did it say question, It had been set at 55 when I pressed, held and released it. I had held it for maybe 3 seconds. The truck has a lag between the push of the cruise button and when it actually begins to accelerate so the vehicle speed at release might have been 56 to 57 when I let off. I did not actually note it at the time I did not think to look above the cruise icon but I will definitely try it again and will take note but I am doubtful that in three seconds that it should make a 25-35 increase or drop in the vehicle speed.

As for Reading the Manual Reply, I think I addressed that in my original post by saying that I had checked the manual and the buttons are not working as described in the manual.

I will report back soon.

 

[vincentw56]

First off my truck does not have adaptive cruise so that rules those features out .

Next about the what did it say question, It had been set at 55 when I pressed, held and released it. I had held it for maybe 3 seconds. The truck has a lag between the push of the cruise button and when it actually begins to accelerate so the vehicle speed at release might have been 56 to 57 when I let off. I did not actually note it at the time I did not think to look above the cruise icon but I will definitely try it again and will take note but I am doubtful that in three seconds that it should make a 25-35 increase or drop in the vehicle speed.

As for Reading the Manual Reply, I think I addressed that in my original post by saying that I had checked the manual and the buttons are not working as described in the manual.

I will report back soon.

Holding it down for 2 or 3 seconds will definitely make it increase that much. I use it all the time so I know. It works the same regardless of having normal cruise or adaptive cruise. That I know for a 100%.

 

[bucolic]

Holding it down for 2 or 3 seconds will definitely make it increase that much. I use it all the time so I know. It works the same regardless of having normal cruise or adaptive cruise. That I know for a 100%.

I tested in both regular cruise and adaptive cruise and confirmed both modes of cruise do accelerate in 5mph increments and 3 seconds will give you a 25 mph increase. Here is a YouTube clip I did to show the behavior. Test yours and let us know if you have the same results.

The manual IS NOT clear on this and if your cruise behaves as in the clip your truck is fine. The manual could use some work though

 

[Spinax]

Ok Im brand new to the forum after 9 years as a Ford F150 owner I traded in my 19 F150 5.0 4x4 Crew Cab for A 2021 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 5.7 etorque 2wd truck purchased with 35 miles on it two weeks ago. So on the third day after purchase I turned on the cruise and set the cruise just fine holds speed just fine. I entered a slower speed zone and pushed and held the set- button and released at the desired speed but it did not set itself at that speed just kept decelerating. I hit cancel and turned off the cruise and back on. I pushed and held the set+ to get back up to speed and released it at desired speed however it kept accelerating to 70 MPH until I tapped the brakes and shut cruise off. Somewhat concerned at this point and the wife was beside herself. Next day I took it out to a rural highway with a good straightaway with little traffic and tried to replicate the the issue. Cruise on, set speed just fine, held down set+ button for 3 seconds until acceleration started and released this time it accelerated to 80 mph and held that speed of 80. I began approaching traffic and braked deactivating the cruise set. I made a second attempt following the same scenario. On this 2nd attempt it accelerated to 90 mph and held there. I pushed and held the set - button and when released it kept decelerating down to 55 where it self set at the first speed I set it at at the onset of this test . As I entered town I came to a 45 zone and held the set- button again and released at 45 with no set it just kept on decelerating as if it had been turned off. The Icon was still showing as ready on the display. I have not had a chance to get it to a dealership yet. The cruise works as it should if you just push the set buttons for a moment and they will add or decrease speed in 1 mph increments if you just push either of the set buttons momentarily. I checked the manual and they are definitely not operating as the manual states they should. I am not looking for a solution I am just wondering if anyone else has had any similar issue. The area I test drove this truck in was congested and curvy so I did not use the cruise on the that test drive. Lesson learned, check Everything on the test drive before buying any vehicle.

 

[Spinax]

When you hold the button the setting changes in 5mph increments that's why your speed changed drastically. I personally like this feature although it does take some getting used to. If you touch and release the speed will change by 1mph.

 

[User_3336]

I tested in both regular cruise and adaptive cruise and confirmed both modes of cruise do accelerate in 5mph increments and 3 seconds will give you a 25 mph increase. Here is a YouTube clip I did to show the behavior. Test yours and let us know if you have the same results.

The manual IS NOT clear on this and if your cruise behaves as in the clip your truck is fine. The manual could use some work though

The truck never got up to 75 or 80 like you said.......

 

[bucolic]

The truck never got up to 75 or 80 like you said.......

You are 100% correct.

I canceled the cruise.

Had I not it would have accelerated to the cruise speed set above the cruise icon, therefore, risking a nice speeding ticket