When Should You Use Cruise Control?

Cash For Cars BC has been a professional used car buying service that buys vehicles throughout the Lower Mainland. And as such, we’ve become a valuable place of knowledge for anything and everything that is car related. People from all over the globe read our blogs to answer various car related questions, including today’s blog focus, “When should you use cruise control on a car?”.

First off, some people are familiar with the cruise control feature. However, despite the fact that they have used it before, and maybe use it often, they may not be using it in the best possible way. Using cruise control in optimal conditions and in specific situations not only makes driving more comfortable for the driver, it can also help you conserve gas and reduce brake wear and tear.

In today’s blog post we’ll cover when to use cruise control and when not to. But we will also cover all the things cruise control can do for your drive, and for your vehicle, overall.

You’ll typically see two different options, and usually, if it’s on your steering wheel, you’ll see 3 separate buttons in total. One will say “Set” or ACC, and one will say “Res” or “Resume”. Some actually say “accelerate” and “decelerate” on it, helping to discern what each button actually does. The best way to know what each button does is to consult your vehicle’s owner’s manual. If you don’t still have it, you can usually find them online for free.

When you want to set your cruise control feature, push the cruise control button. Then, select the speed you desire by speeding up or slowly down to the specific speed that you want to do. Once you reach that speed, push the “set” button, and take your foot off the gas. If your car maintains the speed, you’ve done it!

When you want to stop using cruise control, simply apply the brakes at any time. If you cancel cruise control by braking, but then want initiate it again, simply get your car back up to speed, and push the “res” or “resume” button. This will set your car back the speed it was at when you first selected it.

What Does Cruise Control Do?

One of the things that helps us better utilize any accessory or function on a vehicle is knowing exactly what it does and why it does it. The same applies to the cruise control feature on your vehicle.

The main purpose of cruise control on a vehicle is to keep the vehicle at a specific and steady speed over longer periods of time. This helps enhance the driver’s ride essentially when going on long road trips. However, it is also helpful when you live in a more rural area, like many parts of the Fraser Valley, and have a bit of a distance to drive into town for work or shopping.

Using cruise control in the best possible way can do several good things for both you and your vehicle. Thus, enhancing the overall comfort of your travel throughout Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and any other part of British Columbia or Canada.

What is the Proper Way to Use Cruise Control on a Car?

Knowing when and where to use cruise control is vital in getting the most out of the feature itself. Not only that, using cruise control improperly can pose a serious safety risk to yourself and other road users around you. Below are the best and worst times to use cruise control when driving on Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley roadways.

The Best Times to Use Cruise Control Are:

• On the flattest and straightest roadways
• When the speed limit stays the same for long periods of time (like on Highway 1, Highway 3, and Highway 5)
• When there is minimal traffic
• When there are very infrequent traffic lights or controlled intersections
• When the weather is optimal
• When there is good-great visibility
• When your vehicle is properly maintained and you’re certain your cruise control feature is functioning properly

The Worse Times to Use Cruise Control Are:

• On narrow and/or winding roads
• Up hills or mountains
• When visibility is reduced (dense fog, heavy cloud cover, extreme rainfall, hail, or in a snowstorm)
• When weather is bad (just after the rain, when raining or hailing, when snowing, just after the rain or snow has fallen)
• In heavy traffic
• In areas where there is construction or road hazards
• When you’re feeling drowsy or too tired to drive

Ensuring that you are safe on the road is good for you, your passengers, other drivers, and of course, your vehicle. We buy more collision cars in the Lower Mainland that are the result of a simple mistake or split-second lapse in judgment than any other car buyers around.

When we say that we buy vehicles from $100 – $100,000 +, we mean it. From scrap cars to Supercars, we buy them all! And when you’re selling a collision car, you won’t need to wait for an in-person appraisal. When we buy scrap cars, we provide our customers with instant cash offers right over the phone.

What Does Using Cruise Control Do on a Car?

When you live in a city as busy as Vancouver (or virtually any city in Metro Vancouver nowadays), you can easily get caught up in the very act of trying to navigate traffic. Moreover, thanks to the invention of cell phones and hands-free calling, focusing on the road is harder than ever.

Amongst all of that, taking the time to try out different features and functions that our vehicle offers can quite easily be completely forgotten about. However, taking a few minutes when you aren’t driving the kids to soccer practice at Carnarvon Park, or racing away to Squamish or Whistler for some early season skiing can be extremely beneficial to how you get the most out of your vehicle. This includes learning how to use cruise control, as well as what it can do for your travels, and your car itself.

Using Cruise Control Properly Can:

1.Help Improve Overall Fuel-Economy

When you’re considering buying a new vehicle, one of the first thing many of us ask is what kind of fuel-economy it gets. We look at the numbers closely for both highway and city driving. That’s because driving in the city uses a lot more gas than driving on the highway. The frequent starts and stops that you experience throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley all worsen your overall gas mileage.

Every time you accelerate from a stopped position, your vehicle uses more gas to get your car in motion. And every time you stop, you use more gas because braking ultimately causes drag, which worsens fuel-economy. Hence, the very act of braking; drag.

By using cruise control when it’s appropriate, you’re helping to keep your vehicle at a steady speed, which helps to promote optimal gas consumption. Furthermore, many newer vehicles have an option to use cruise control tandemly with eco-boost. The two functions together help reduce gas usage and help to reduce your overall emissions. Thus, reducing your carbon footprint a little bit.

2. Helps Reduce Wear & Tear on Your Vehicle’s Engine

You might think that a vehicle is designed to be driven, so it doesn’t matter how you drive it as long as you don’t hit things and aren’t peeling out every time a light turns green. However, driving a vehicle in the gentlest way possible is essential in extending its life span.

Using cruise control is great for your vehicle’s engine because everything the feature does, does so in an effort to create the smoothest ride possible. When you go up slight inclines and down slight inclines, cruise control automatically adjusts the speed to help ensure as little drag as possible, and to help reduce “hammering” the gas pedal going uphill.

Using cruise control on a flatter surface is the best way to get optimal gas mileage and the least amount of strain on your engine. However, in the Lower Mainland, we are famous for our hills and mountains. So, if you want to reduce the strain on your engine and all its moving parts, use cruise control when you can (safely), and use it when you’re not headed up the Coquihalla for the weekend.

3. Eases Effort for the Driver

Cruise control may seem like all it does is make you have to put your foot on the gas. And while this is true, it can help lessen driver fatigue over long periods of time.

When you live in the Lower Mainland, but your family lives in the East Kootenays or Okanagan area, the 4–8-hour drive can really take its toll on a driver. Doing something simple like using cruise control helps to take a few things off of your plate during extended periods of driving.

When you use cruise control on long trips, you don’t have to constantly watch your speed. You also don’t have to worry about that pesky foot cramp that we sometimes get on lengthy road trips. Plus, you can reserve some of that brain power to help reduce brain fog that comes with long periods of driving later.

4. Helps Reduce the Risk of Getting a Speeding Ticket

In a time where gas prices, grocery bills, and even rent and mortgages are at an astonishing all-time high, who wants to be paying a speeding ticket just because you zoned out for a few minutes? No one. Which is where the cruise control feature can help.

Once again, when driving for long periods of time, you can easily lose track of how fast you are going. Furthermore, when you’re driving across the province, or even across the Lower Mainland, it can be easy to lose focus on what the speed limit is in any given town, on any given roadway. Using cruise control helps keep you at a steady speed, based off of whatever the last speed sign you saw was (if you’re setting the speed to the suggested speed limit).

Do All vehicles Have Cruise Control?

No, definitely not. Some older model vehicles only have cruise control as an added option. While others have it come stock on every model they sell. It all depends on what type of vehicle you own, how old it is, and whether or not it was an elective option.

Cruise control was first invented in 1948. However, it didn’t become an available option on vehicles until 1951. Additionally, it never became all that popular until the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Moreover, many of the older vehicles that we buy don’t have the cruise control features.

Fortunately, for Lower Mainland residents, it doesn’t’ matter how old your vehicle is to sell it to Cash For Cars BC. It also doesn’t matter what available features it comes with, or whether it’s stacked with all the latest technology. We are the most diverse and adaptable car buying you will find in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and on Vancouver Island.

What If My Vehicle Doesn’t Have Cruise Control?

Simple; sell it for the MOST cash to Cash For Cars BC! If cruise control is a feature you want and don’t have, sell your car to Cash For Cars BC. Because if you sell your outdated or aging vehicle to us, you’ll get more cash for cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and motorcycles than if you sell to a new car dealership, online car buyer, or even privately.

Cash For Cars BC has been buying used vehicles throughout the Lower Mainland since 1998. No one knows more about the true value that many used cars and trucks still have in them. Even if your current vehicle has mechanical issues, electrical problems, or is a base model that doesn’t have power windows, locks, or features like cruise control, we’ll buy it.

Plus, when you sell your car to Cash For Cars BC, you can sell your car quicker than any other alternative. From start to finish, we can typically buy vehicles in under 30 minutes. Plus, we handle all the paperwork, we come to you, and NOBODY Pays More!

Sell Your Car to Cash For Cars BC Today!

If you’d like to find out what your car, truck, SUV, van, or motorcycle is worth, give our car buying team here at Cash For Cars BC a quick call today. Many times, we can provide you with a rough idea over the phone of what your vehicle is worth. However, we prefer to view vehicles in person for any non-scrap vehicle purchases.

Provide our car buying team with the make, model, year, condition, mileage, and location of your vehicle. Then, we’ll book an in-person appraisal. This can be done any day of the week as our dedicated team of used car buyers work 7 days a week, from 8:00 AM-10:00 PM. Plus, our car buyers come to you, not you to them. And they will happily come to your home, school, or work.

Once we see your car in person, we’ll make you an instant cash offer on it. If you accept our offer, we’ll fill out the paperwork, hand over your payment, then leave with your vehicle. If you’re looking for the best way to sell your car in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, or Vancouver Island for the MOST cash, sell it to Cash For Cars BC. NOBODY Pays More!