How do I turn Smart Cruise Control on?

[Piz]

@Slowerthanslow, you beat me to it. Finished skimming this thread and was going to add that just this morning I did what you're asking. I merged onto the parkway, slowing down to join traffic, as soon as I let off the brake, I hit set and it activated just fine while I was going 3 mph. The speed set point defaults to 20 mph minimum, but that doesn't matter, SCC does it's thing.

I'm a big fan of the SCC, which I never used in my 2008 Infiniti because I was worried the guy behind me would think I didn't know how to drive. However, there are situations where the traffic is moving just perfectly so that I keep getting up to a decent speed then SCC slams on the brakes. I turn it off or actively brake in those situations mainly because I don't want to invite a rear end. Tesla fan boys tell me their auto pilot takes into account the speed of the car two in front to better handle this scenario.

 

[Slowerthanslow]

@Slowerthanslow, you beat me to it. Finished skimming this thread and was going to add that just this morning I did what you're asking. I merged onto the parkway, slowing down to join traffic, as soon as I let off the brake, I hit set and it activated just fine while I was going 3 mph. The speed set point defaults to 20 mph minimum, but that doesn't matter, SCC does it's thing.

I'm a big fan of the SCC, which I never used in my 2008 Infiniti because I was worried the guy behind me would think I didn't know how to drive. However, there are situations where the traffic is moving just perfectly so that I keep getting up to a decent speed then SCC slams on the brakes. I turn it off or actively brake in those situations mainly because I don't want to invite a rear end. Tesla fan boys tell me their auto pilot takes into account the speed of the car two in front to better handle this scenario.

Interesting. What do you think is causing that situation where SCC slams on the brakes? I’d like to avoid that

 

[Piz]

Typical example is if I'm stopped in traffic, we start moving, I'm still accelerating to say 30 mph. I see everyone ahead stopping again, but the algo wants to smooth out speed changes and since I was still accelerating to reach my one car length setting, it tries to slow down slowly until it runs out of road and has to switch to the more urgent braking mode. Changing the SCC setting from slow to normal or even fast seems to support my theory (by reducing follow lag) and help make this happen less often, but I'm not sure. Would need to play with it more.

One time SCC stopped so short the forward collision warning went off and the brakes crunched loudly as I came to a stop. That was tense and hopefully a one off...

 

[EdP]

Interesting. What do you think is causing that situation where SCC slams on the brakes? I’d like to avoid that

With thousands of miles of driving, the SCC has only stopped hard when the car in front stopped hard. Same as you would do if you were not using SCC. If a car cut in front of you it may stop hard, but you would too. I find it to be a very reliable system at highway speeds and in crawling traffic.

One exception. If you are on the highway at 70 mph and no one in front for a long distance, it will maintain speed. If you suddenly come up on a car doing 50, it will sense it at the distance set and slow down, hard if necessary, to match speeds. Remember, it is a computer and has to meet certain parameters to function. The human brain sees the tail lights going on at a distance you from experience you probably let up on the gas and start to slow. The computer cannot sense that. It won't slow until is sees the car ahead slowing.

 

[Piz]

^ don't disagree. But there are definitely certain times when the car ahead of me slows (quickly) with the flow of traffic and I'm the one that rushes up to him then stabs the brake. To be clear, this happens a minority of the time, but enough that I am on the lookout. Overall I like and use SCC often. And there are times when it does a better job than me - like when I see brake lights ahead that I would have slowed down for, but SCC knows the car ahead hasn't slowed (much or at all) and just keeps on following smoothly.

 

[Slowerthanslow]

You guys make an excellent point.

I realize what freaked me out today in my little 20 minute test wasn't the car taking over. Of course I had my foot hovering over the brake and I was watching carefully.

What's freaky about it is: the car doesn't drive the way you would, so you're left wondering what logic exactly it's using.

Because it works with a set distance, if you've come to a full stop just a few feet from the car in front, when that car ahead starts rolling again, your car "waits" until that car reaches the set distance, then starts accelerating.

In tense LA traffic, of course, I do it differently. When the car ahead starts rolling, I start rolling too, and I let the distance between us stretch out gradually. After all, there's somebody behind me getting increasingly mad if I just sit there when traffic ahead is moving.

To be fair to the car I gave it a test -- complex city traffic -- it's probably not really designed for. It should be more comfortable to use on the freeway, without so much cross traffic and lane changing and so forth.

I think it's a matter of using it enough to start understanding and having an intuitive feel for the logic it uses.

Genesis really ought to do a real-world video explaining some of this stuff. (Maybe they are. As I noted above, so far as I could tell, there's currently a G90 video for this system, but none for the G70.)

 

[RTK]

Although this video is for a Kia Stinger, I think our cruise control works the same way.

 

[Slowerthanslow]

Although this video is for a Kia Stinger, I think our cruise control works the same way.

Yeah, as I mentioned above, I watched at least 20 videos on "smart cruise control" from Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, and a bunch of dealers and car owners... and none of them -- including this one -- explains how to use the system when you are stuck in traffic. Since that's one of the key selling points -- so much so that it's even in the name "Smart Cruise Control with Stop and Go" -- I'm surprised that Genesis/Hyundai doesn't have their act together to explain it.

That's why I'm here to help, so here's my simple guide to starting the system when you are in traffic (as opposed to on the open highway with cars NOT stopping and going, but rather traveling at high speeds). This is a repeat of what I explained before, but here I'm hitting the essentials.

1) Make sure your car actually has "Smart Cruise Control" not just "Cruise Control". From what I can tell, ALL G70s in the US do have "Smart Cruise Control". It is listed as a feature for the base model of both the 2.0T and the 3.3T.

2) Okay, let's assume you are at a stoplight, completely stopped, with a car in front of you; or in a traffic jam on a freeway/highway, also completely stopped. Your speed is 0.

3) Press the "Cruise" button to prepare the system. As with "cruise control" in cars you may have used before, the logic is: first you turn the system on, then you push another button to tell the system what speed you want to maintain. This system is similar: turn it on, then indicate the speed.

When you press "Cruise" you will see an indication in the dashboard, something like "Cruise --- mph". Despite the fact that it says "Cruise" you are (by default) in fact in "Smart Cruise" mode (Note to Genesis: fix this, it should say "Smart Cruise"). The system is now ready for you to tell it the maximum speed you want.

The system will NOT work (by which I mean, start for the first time) when you are stopped (despite the fact you may have read in the manual that the system can be "set" at speed 0; this is incorrect). You have to wait until you are rolling, even at a very low speed, to start the system actually functioning.

4) When the car ahead of you starts moving, press the gas pedal so your car is also moving. NOW you can engage the Smart Cruise Control system and let it accelerate and brake for you.

5) On the steering wheel, press the "Resume/Set" button down toward "Set" to start the Smart Cruise Control system actually operating.

On the dashboard screen you will see the "---" change to a speed indication. The minimum speed you will see is "20 mph" but in fact, the system is following the car ahead of you and adjusting your speed to match. In other words, if the car ahead of you is going 10 mph, the Smart Cruise Control will adjust your speed to 10 mph. However, if the car ahead of you is going 30 mph, Smart Cruise Control will limit YOUR speed to 20 mph. Thus, you should set the speed (by pushing the Resume/Set button up or down) to the maximum speed you are comfortable with on that particular road. The system will either a) if it detects a car ahead of you, match that car's speed, up to the speed you have set or b) if it detects NO car ahead of you, it will accelerate the car to the maximum speed you have set.

Well, that was more complicated than I was hoping for. Would really like to see Genesis do a video that explains how to use the system in the G70, but at least for now, I feel like I understand the basic operation myself.

TL;DR: Restating for maximum simplicity (I hope):

-- Press "Cruise" on the steering wheel. This turns the system "on" and it is now waiting for you to indicate the maximum speed you want.

-- Press the "Resume/Set" button on the steering wheel down toward "Set" to start Smart Cruise Control actually working and accelerating and braking your car. Your car must be moving for the system to engage; if you are stopped, at a standstill, you cannot start the system. It will follow the car ahead of you (if it detects one -- this is indicated on the dashboard), up to the speed you have set using the "Resume/Set" button.

-- Set the distance you want the system to maintain between your car and the car ahead of you with the "Distance" button on the steering wheel.

-- Press "Cruise" on the steering wheel to turn the system off, if that's what you want to do.

 

[Beefer]

^ everything is starting to make sense now...thanks. Can’t wait to go try it. Haven’t even used the cruise yet...was never a fan.

 

[Piz]

Thanks for the write up @Slowerthanslow.

Are you sure your car doesn't immediately start rolling from a stop? Once the car ahead of me starts moving, I flick up for resume and start rolling right away. Car behind me won't get pissed.

I'm not following your focus on how and when to activate SCC. I'd recommend not waiting to merge onto the freeway. At any point after you start driving enable SCC by flicking down (set). Now it's "on" with whatever speed you were at. Drive as normal, ignore SCC. Once you're on the freeway, stuck in that famous LA traffic, and the cars start moving, flick up (resume) and you're in business. If the speed was set to 35 mph and traffic starts moving faster, just hold the button up and speed will increase by 5 mph intervals. I immediately move the speed up to 70 mph even if I'm going 10 mph because there are points along my commute that we get moving again. Basically I'm saying once you have SCC enabled at 70 mph, the only thing you need to do is drive normally and flick up anytime you want SCC to take over.

SCC remembers the car length distance you previously set, so you shouldn't have to fiddle with that at all.

Coasting in Eco: If SCC is on it disables coasting, even if it's not active. There are a few local roads I use that have long stretches of gentle decline and I can coast for a long time. This is the only time I deliberately turn off SCC.

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[Piz]

Oh, and the first few days I used SCC I also held my breath as I approached slow downs, but I got comfortable with the tech very quickly and now trust it. On those rare occasions when I'm distracted (fumbling with my phone), I prefer to use SCC.

You've probably seen this video. It's cheesy but worked as far as reassuring me:

 

[danygenesis]

I've been using the Hyundai/Genesis Smart Cruise control for more than 3 years and is not as complicated as it seems.
Engage the Cruise Control at any moment you like. Accelerate and press the set button, at this moment the car will set this speed as the Max speed the Cruise control would go but when you are at less than 20 MPH, in this case it will set the Max to 20 MPH (not less than that). You want to change your speed, press set/resume once and it will add/subtract 1 MPH each time. If the car in front of you decelerate/accelerate, your car will do the same until you reach the Max speed you already set. If the front car stops and start rolling in less than 3 secs your car will stop and start rolling by itself but if the stop is longer than 3 secs you need to accelerate or press the resume button and you car will follow the car in the front at the same speed until your car reach the Max speed you already set.

 

[Beefer]

^ that’s awesome!!! I’m gonna try that in my neighborhood...is that bad? LOL

 

[danygenesis]

After all this years I'm telling you that I DON’T like to use the Smart Cruise Control on a heavy stop and go traffic. I prefer the old method gas/brake when need it. When driving in almost constant speed traffic it is helpful, enjoyable and less stressful.

 

[tarhoosier]

These are all excellent and educational posts. Thanks to all. Accumulated wisdom is the best learning.

 

[Mcc]

when that car ahead starts rolling again, your car "waits" until that car reaches the set distance, then starts accelerating.

Actually that is not exactly true. The distance between car is speed dependent. If you set it for “two cars” that is a different number of feet if you are stopped than if you are going 65mph. I have used it for over two years in LA traffic and it works very well, particularly in stop and go jams.

Here it a tip. Instead of waiting for the car in front of you to start moving, flip the resume when the car that is in front of the car in front of you starts moving. There is almost always less than 3 seconds and when the car in front of you does start rolling your car will also after a very short moment.

 

[PMCErnie]

Well, I gave it a test this afternoon on my 3 mile drive to, and then back from, the gym. This is in city traffic on one straight road the whole way. Stoplights every quarter mile at least.

First off, reading the manual (by the way, it's in the very first sentence of my first post that I had read the manual; so don't tell me to read the manual, okay? How about, read the post? ) is useless, mostly. The manual is at best confusing, and at worst, quite wrong.

Obviously, this is only based on a little bit of testing, and I'll have to play with it more, but this is how I think it works.

Press the "Cruise" button. (By the way, one of the hilarious problems with the manual is that it first takes you through "Cruise Control", then through "Smart Cruise Control", and only THEN tells you that "Smart Cruise Control" is on by default, and you have to do some jiujitsu [look it up if you're interested] to get it into "Cruise Control"). And also by the way, it goes back to "Smart Cruise Control" with a shut down/start up cycle.

Okay, so, I was stopped behind a car at a stoplight. Tried to turn it on to see if it would work at speed 0, as stated clearly in the manual.

Warning chime: conditions for Smart Cruise not achieved (or something like that).

My conclusion: No, it doesn't work from a standstill.

Start rolling, speed only a few miles an hour, car in front of me. Press Cruise again.

Now it says something like "Cruise Control engaged". Or maybe it says "Press Set or Resume up or down to start". I forget which.

Now you press that speed set button up or down (I think) and now the system is on and working.

Now you can push the distance button to set the following distance.

It seems the minimum speed you can set for it is 20 mph. (I tried setting a speed lower than 20 but it wouldn't let me set it below that.) There's a cruise speed indication in the dashboard. (Once again, manual is confusing or wrong based on your perspective; manual says it works from 0-120 mph with a car in front. I think I understand what this means now, but it's worded in a way that's... bad.)

However, the thing to understand -- of course -- is that if the car ahead of you is going 10 mph, then it follows that car, at your set distance, at 10 mph. (This is what is meant, I think, by the manual's statement that Smart Cruise works from 0-120).

The system successfully brought me to a full stop a couple of times behind the car in front of me. I'm not saying I wasn't scared and freaked out, because I was. But it worked.

As the manual says, if the car is stopped for more than 3 seconds, then you need to tap the gas pedal or push the speed set button up to make the car move again and continue following the car in front of you.

So there you go, for those of you interested in driving this car very slowly in a lot of traffic.

It might be time to consider a move if your commute is so stressful. What exactly did you plan to do instead of driving? Shave? Newspaper? Surf?

 

[Slowerthanslow]

After all this years I'm telling you that I DON’T like to use the Smart Cruise Control on a heavy stop and go traffic. I prefer the old method gas/brake when need it. When driving in almost constant speed traffic it is helpful, enjoyable and less stressful.

I pretty much agree. Auto Hold is the lifesaver for bumper to bumper hell.

 

[danygenesis]

I pretty much agree. Auto Hold is the lifesaver for bumper to bumper hell.

And I agree with you about the Auto Hold

 

[Piz]

I like auto hold but often forget to enable. Any downside to auto hold? Wonder why it's not the default or at least doesn't persist after you restart.