Cruise control on the cheap!

[Kingsway]

I just added cruise control to my 2014 Icon Hybrid - cost me all of £16.99 for the switch and about 5 minutes of my time!   This has made me wonder if there are any other upgrades it is possible to do via DIY means?

I'd love to be able to add keyless entry, for example.  Is that feasible, or can this only be done during the original car build?  Does anyone know?  TIA

 

 

[Mike J.]

Excellent work - well worth the money. This sort of thing can be done on Vauxhalls, but the ECU has to be programmed to suit.

What I would like would be heated seats, but I couldn't see any usable wiring for any switches I might buy -  not forgetting the seat parts.

[xebast!an]

good morning , im new to TOC im happy to be here and glad to found out exactly what im looking for, which is adding a cruise control 

do you think i can buy one for a toyota estima hybrid 2007?

 

 

[bathtub tom]

I'm intrigued, I've a '14 reg (pre uplift) Icon petrol and I can't see where it would fit on the steering column binnacle. Does it go somewhere else?

[mickburkesnr]

15 hours ago, Mike J. said:

Excellent work - well worth the money. This sort of thing can be done on Vauxhalls, but the ECU has to be programmed to suit.

What I would like would be heated seats, but I couldn't see any usable wiring for any switches I might buy -  not forgetting the seat parts.

You can buy a kit from eBay for about £20, and it comes with four pads (2 for the back of the seat, 2 for the bottom of the seat) and it's wired up to a 12v power supply and comes with two switches. I'm contemplating buying them for my Corolla and 107, they look easy enough to install. Obviously you'd need to take the material of the seat off, fit them, and then refit it.

But £20 is £20!

[Mike J.]

7 minutes ago, mickburkesnr said:

You can buy a kit from eBay for about £20

I was hoping for:

1. buy the Toyota switches
2. connect to existing wiring (I couldn't find any 'unused')
3. buy some eBay kit
4. use existing wiring under seat (I couldn't find any 'unused')
5. get kit fitted with suitable connectors

The main reason for this is to do what the EV guys do to extend range (increase mpg for us) and that is try and keep the heater use as low as possible during the winter.

[Mick F]

19 hours ago, bathtub tom said:

I'm intrigued, I've a '14 reg (pre uplift) Icon petrol and I can't see where it would fit on the steering column binnacle. Does it go somewhere else?

It doesn't go on the binnacle, but on the steering wheel back to the right.  It turns when the wheel is turned because it's fixed to the wheel.

I reckon it's not best placed there.  I find it brushes against my right knee when I turn the wheel to the right and I inadvertently switch it on.

Mick.

[davekench]

What do you have to do to the car apart fitting the control, or does the vehicle recognise it like adding something on a pc?

 

Dave

[Kingsway]

6 hours ago, davekench said:

What do you have to do to the car apart fitting the control, or does the vehicle recognise it like adding something on a pc?

 

Dave

I just installed the switch, plugged it in and it worked perfectly.

[YarisHybrid2016]

From what I've read here previously, only Icon and higher models can just add the switch - there is something missing on lower models that means the wiring isn't even present to the steering column, but I don't know what it is.

[bathtub tom]

I don't think I'm interested in a cruise control arm that revolves with the steering wheel. It would appear a de-activate switch would be required to be fitted to the clutch pedal on manual gearbox cars for it to operate safely. ie. disconnect the cruise control when the clutch pedal's operated.

[Kingsway]

Just now, bathtub tom said:

I don't think I'm interested in a cruise control arm that revolves with the steering wheel. It would appear a de-activate switch would be required to be fitted to the clutch pedal on manual gearbox cars for it to operate safely. ie. disconnect the cruise control when the clutch pedal's operated.

It's not the ideal spot, but works reasonably well.  I have a manual diesel Golf Estate car which, like the Yaris, is already setup with all the wiring and the firmware. When you pay several hundred for the cruise control option, the dealer is simply taking a few minutes to install a switch!

[YarisHybrid2016]

1 hour ago, bathtub tom said:

I don't think I'm interested in a cruise control arm that revolves with the steering wheel. It would appear a de-activate switch would be required to be fitted to the clutch pedal on manual gearbox cars for it to operate safely. ie. disconnect the cruise control when the clutch pedal's operated.

Don't quote me, but AFAIK even manual cars with cruise have it linked to the BRAKE pedal, not the clutch. Specifically, when the brake lights come on, it disengages the cruise control.

I don't find it an issue having it on the steering wheel. If you need to turn the steering wheel that far that it is not reachable, then should you be using cruise in the first place?

It probably isn't such a problem on the manual version, but on the hybrid, I have found cruise control is quite aggressive at maintaining speed, and burns more fuel as a result. It nails the speed though, so no problem there.

[bathtub tom]

8 hours ago, YarisHybrid2016 said:

Don't quote me, but AFAIK even manual cars with cruise have it linked to the BRAKE pedal, not the clutch. Specifically, when the brake lights come on, it disengages the cruise control.

 

Sorry for quoting you. I understand the cruise control is disengaged when the clutch is operated to prevent the cruise from increasing engine revs if the car slows. similarly it is linked to brake pedal operation.

Perhaps someone with a manual with cruise could clarify?

[Mick F]

It's also connected to the throttle pedal.

Manually alter the speed of the car from the set speed, and CC disengages.  You then have to press Resume to carry on in CC.

Mick.

[mickburkesnr]

Fairly sure the cruise control on my hateful Peugeot is linked to the clutch pedal too.

[YarisHybrid2016]

2 hours ago, Mick F said:

It's also connected to the throttle pedal.

Manually alter the speed of the car from the set speed, and CC disengages.  You then have to press Resume to carry on in CC.

Mick.

?

On mine, I can accelerate and cruise remains engaged. If I lift off, the car slows back down to the set speed. This is in addition to changing cruise speed with the cruise control.

[Mick F]

I'll check next time I can.

Last time I was playing with it, it seemed to disable.  I needed to click Resume to get it going again, but I'm a complete newbie about CC as it's the first car I've owned with it, despite driving since 1970.

Mick.

[Gerg]

I haven't properly checked this on the Auris, but on other cars (e.g. VW), if you exceed the cruise control speed on the throttle for over a set time (5 minutes?), then the cruise disengages.  Also, if the car drops below 25 mph on cruise then it will disengage it.  It seems to vary by make and model as to what a 'dab' on the increase control does; on the Auris it is a small increase, VW is the same, the Mazda we had, incremented the speed by 1 mph, so, say, 5 quick control presses would gradually bring the speed up by exactly 5mph.

[Conrod]

I’m going to add more questions to this thread now  I’ve been looking to upgrade my daughter’s Aygo to a 2011 or younger Yaris 1.33 Auto (cvt ) and was also keen to have one with cruise control and happy to retro fit it myself if needed, observations on cars on auto Trader site..Yaris models with steering wheel paddle shifts don’t come with cruise control .

question is why ?.....is it to do wth the paddle shift linkage in the steering wheel or not enough spare wires to add cruise control ?

other options are buy a steering wheel off eBay for a Yaris with cruise switch fitted and not the paddle shift which I feel is a bit of a  gimmick , as let’s face it if your bought an automatic why would you want to change the gears yourself !

       If I was keen for cruise control seems I’d have to look at t-spirit spec on a 2011-12 model .

 

[Parts-King]

Aygo do not have cruise control, they have a speed limiter, not the same thing. You can set say a maximum speed of 70 MPH and not matter how much you accelerate you will not go above 70 MPH, if you take your foot off the pedal, you will decelerate. Cruise on the other hand you set a speed and you will stay at that speed until you brake, accelerate, or change the cruise speed

Kingo

 

[Mick F]

17 minutes ago, Parts-King said:

.......... Cruise on the other hand you set a speed and you will stay at that speed until you brake, accelerate, or change the cruise speed

Kingo

 

Or until you go down a steep hill.

[Parts-King]

6 minutes ago, Mick F said:

Or until you go down a steep hill.

Well obvs, it will hold the car back but it can only do engine braking, it does not apply brakes  

[Mike J.]

34 minutes ago, Parts-King said:

Well obvs, it will hold the car back but it can only do engine braking, it does not apply brakes  

The hybrid and also EVs will hold the fixed speed downhill as long as:

• the Battery is not 'full'
• the regenerated energy is lower than the maximum allowed

[Mick F]

2 hours ago, Mike J. said:

The hybrid and also EVs will hold the fixed speed downhill as long as:

• the battery is not 'full'
• the regenerated energy is lower than the maximum allowed

Tried it. Not true.  I experimented as a result of another thread on here.  The car increases speed even thought the Battery isn't full.

Read the handbook.