2012 Mazda 3
I use cruise at every opportunity. I leave the system "on" permanently, then engage the accele/resume/cancel buttons as needed. Does leaving the system in the "ready" mode like this cause any harm?
1 Answer
This should be safe logically and based on personal experience. Most cruise control systems use engine vacuum to pull on the throttle cable and the vacuum is always there when the engine is on anyways, so there is nothing mechanical running behind your system switch.
2012 Mazda 3's have either electronic throttles or cable. The cruise control system with an electronic throttle is pure software and just uses the same throttle control hardware that is used when you mess with the accelerator. So you should be good to go either way.
I have left my system switch on for the last 9 years in my civic, and passed 312k miles this way with no problems to my cruise control system; or any electrical system problems for that matter.
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Thanks. I guess the only down-side is heavy use of the cruise control standy bulb on the dash so it may need to be replaced sooner. Jul 28, 2014 at 19:25
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Bummer, that's a drag. My cruise dummy light only comes on when cruise control is active so I didn't even consider that.– zerpsedJul 28, 2014 at 19:29
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I leave my switch in the "on" position almost exclusively. The light only shows up when it is engaged, so no worries about burning it out anytime soon. There should be absolutely no reason to turn it off if the owner doesn't want to.– Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦Jul 28, 2014 at 23:26
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2Cruise Control Master Switch is something like emergency off, if something goes wrong with the system. I had one car, that starts to accelerate by her own with turned cruise control on. That took a while, before I found what is wrong and turned the cruise control off.– WatscheJul 29, 2014 at 7:19