STARTING AND DRIVING
332To change to the vehicle
−to−vehicle distance control mode
from the conventional (fixed speed) cruise control mode, push
the lever in the “MODE” dire ction for longer than about 1
second.
CAUTION
In the conventional (fixed speed) cruise control mode,
a warning tone does not sound to warn you if you are too
close to the vehicle ahead, as neither the presence of
the vehicle ahead nor the vehicle to vehicle distance is
detected. Pay special attention to the distance between
your vehicle and the vehicle ahead. Always confirm the
setting in the multi information display.
For the vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode, see the
following description. For the conventional (fixed speed)
cruise control mode, see page 355.
Vehicle to vehicle distance control mode
Dynamic radar cruise control—
The millimeter wave radar sensor in this system primarily
detects the reflected wave from the rear end of the vehicle
ahead of you to determine the presence of the vehicle
ahead as well as measuring the vehicle to vehicle
distance. The detection range of the sensor is about 120
m (400 ft.) ahead.
When the dynamic radar cruise control is on, the driving
pattern (power, normal) of the automatic transmission is fixed
in the normal position, regardless of the position of the selector
switch.
CAUTION
The dynamic radar cruise control is not a
collision avoidance system and will not prevent
accidents. The dynamic radar cruise control is a vehicle
speed control device that is intended for use only on
freeways or roads where the traffic is light or moderate.
To avoid serious injury, you must use caution and be
attentive to road and traffic conditions while using
dynamic radar cruise control.
STARTING AND DRIVING
338
Dynamic laser cruise control should not be used in the
following conditions, to avoid serious injury or death.
In bad weather (such as rain, fog, snow, sandstorms
or direct sunlight, or when raindrops or snowflakes
get in the laser radar sensor glass), the
vehicle to vehicle distance will not be measured
accurately.
If the wipers are operated at high or low speeds
(including the high and low speed operation with the
wiper lever in the “AUTO” position), dynamic laser
cruise control is automatically cancelled. (In the case
of intermittent wiper operation, it is not cancelled.)
Dynamic laser cruise control is automatically
cancelled when the measurement is extremely
unstable due to bad weather.
On the roads in heavy traffic or at sharp bends:
As an appropriate speed cannot be maintained,
serious injury or death could result.
On slippery road surfaces (icy or snow covered road
surfaces):
The tires will race and you will be unable to control.On steep downhill slopes:
If there is no vehicle detected ahead, the preset speed
will be easily exceeded because of inefficient engine
braking, resulting in serious injury or death. (In this
case, automatic braking will not work.) If there is a
vehicle detected ahead, the delay in deceleration
timing could cause serious injury or death.
When the warning tone sounds frequently (because
acceleration or deceleration was repeated or
sufficient vehicle to vehicle distance was not
maintained), an appropriate vehicle speed cannot be
attained, resulting in serious injury or death.
On roads with steep and short inclines and declines,
failure to detect the vehicle ahead will shorten the
distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead,
resulting in serious injury or death.
STARTING AND DRIVING
341
After bringing the vehicle to
the desired speed, press the
control lever downward in the “– SET” direction and release it.
This sets the vehicle at that speed. At this time, the
multi−information display indicates settings such as the preset
vehicle speed, whether a vehicle is present ahead and
selected vehicle −to−vehicle distance. If there is no vehicle
detected ahead, the dynamic radar/laser cruise control screen
does not display the vehicle ahead. At this time, you may take
your foot off the accelerator pedal. If you need to accelerate
− for example, when passing − depress the accelerator pedal
enough for the vehicle to exceed the preset speed. When you
release the accelerator pedal, the vehicle will return to the
control prior to acceleration.
You cannot set a desired speed if the master warning light
comes on, the warning tone sounds and the multi− information
display indicates a warning me ssage such as “Cruise not
Available”, “Clean Radar Sensor” or “Check Cruise System”.
If any of the above messages appears on the display, see
“Vehicle −to−vehicle distance control mode failure warning” on
page 352.
If you turn off the “ON−OFF” button while the warning message
is displayed, the warning message turns off and the
multi−information display switches to another screen. If no
warning message appears on the display, when you turn the
“ON−OFF” button on again, the setting can be made.
You can change the dynamic radar/laser cruise control screen
to another screen even while the warning message is
displayed.
2 Cancelling the preset speed
You can cancel the preset speed by doing any of the following:
a. Pulling the control lever toward you, in the ”CANCEL”
direction.
b. Depressing the brake pedal.
c. Pushing the “ON −OFF” button at the end of the cruise
control lever.
If cancelled by a. or b., the multi−information display shows
“RADAR READY” and the dynamic radar/laser cruise control
enters the ready mode.
If cancelled by c., the “CRUISE” indicator light goes off in the
instrument panel and the multi −information display shows
“CRUISE OFF”. In this case, the preset speed data is cleared,
and you must set the speed from the beginning.