Brand new TRD ORP nearly killed me

The radar cruise control system with TSS is straight trash. Doesn’t work when it’s raining, will slam on the brakes if bugs start blocking the sensor, there’s absolutely zero subtleness to the system at all.

It’s why I disabled all of my TSS nannies.

 

One shouldn't have cruise control on entering a curve, but the vehicle was coasting and it caught me by surprise when it took off at full throttle. There is no good reason to floor it to resume speed.

 

Not to be a dick - but in the situation you describe - probably should not be using radar cruise control. If you are on a road that curves enough that you need to slow down - and the curve is severe enough that when the car in front of you enters the curve the radar loses sight of them - no way should you be using even normal cruise control. Cruise control should only be used on limited access interstates/highways - and even then, only in good conditions with normal traffic flow.

 

It never requires full throttle to reach the set speed unless it is loaded as in a steep hill. It should be adjustable and maybe it is... I will read the manual.

 

You are right...mostly. However, if I were using normal cruise control it wouldn't resume set speed until I wanted it to. The freeway traffic slowed down to about 20mph and took turn to a detour. By then I was thinking about the delay. It is my bad and my reason for posting was to make some of less brilliant aware of the problem.

 

I completely agree, which is why it’s just best to appreciate when somebody calls out their own mistake. It benefits anybody that’s willing to acknowledge their own imperfection, if they think about why that mistake happened.

A lot of us older folks that learned to drive 30 or more years ago are naturally skeptical of any type of computer aided driving assistance. But I don’t think that will be as natural if you learned to drive in the age where you’re constantly hearing “driver assist” or “self-driving” features are necessary to for safe vehicle operation. That’s the worst thing to think if you are staring out, because it leads to an assumption a person cannot drive safely with just their own skills and judgement.

When the FAA or the NTSB describe the cause of an airplane crash in investigation reports, almost in every situation, the primary cause starts out with this statement. “failure of the pilot in command to”… then they insert the details like, …maintain control of the aircraft… avoid controlled flight into terrain…properly plan flight leading to fuel exhaustion…preflight the aircraft and notice a wing was loose…etc etc. It sounds like they are harsh conclusions, but it’s the physical reality of things. And properly identifying the cause is critical because that’s the best way to learn how to avoid something like that happening to other pilots.

Cars are exactly the same. Only one person makes the decisions and responds to the conditions. If a tire blows out, the driver failed to ensure the vehicle was roadworthy. If they they wiped out on ice, failure to account for road conditions. If a driver decides to delegate their driving authority to the likes of Tesla marketer’s “self-driving system and it runs you full speed into a stopped firetruck at an accident scene, then the error was made by the driver for delegating authority to something not capable of avoiding the crash. Sure, a secondary cause might be Tesla’s failure to design the system to respond appropriately to conditions, but that’s mostly useful for use in lawsuits later on. In order for other Tesla drivers to learn from a tragedy like that, they should learn that it’s not safe to delegate authority in situations like that because their system can be in error in some situations. The other option is to simply blame something else outside the driver, which totally wastes a learning opportunity for others.

 

Agreed. But with the 5 speed the 4Runner really only has full throttle or slow. lol

 

That’s literally how cruise control works for every car I have had.. going up an incline.. down shift and heavy throttle

 

lol fast into a tight turn. This classic motor week test drive maneuver comes to mind

hilarious https://youtu.be/QOahUuoXUkE?si=IB4WgPyLXjQMSDDZ&t=4m38s

 

Agreed

 

Look at adaptive cruise as a tool that is useful in the right circumstances, not as some kind of auto pilot.

 

I’m not a fan of the adaptive cruise, but my sister, who bought her 4Runner a week after I did, loves it. These trucks don’t have enough torque to hold speed on rolling hills. Constant downshifting going uphill to maintain speed kills the already not-great mpg. I wish someone would invent a cruise control system that slows down a little going uphill and speeds back up a little going downhill, to mimic what my foot does anyway with the cruise control off.

 

You're right, I'm being a bit of a prick because I hate the nanny stuff to begin with. I didn't want to say you're an idiot because I was trying to refrain from the name calling.

It's fine to use the system, as long as you use it in the way it was designed. The sudden acceleration was most likely because you had the cruise set to a much higher speed than you were traveling. The radar kept you at the lower speed because there was a vehicle going much slower than that in front of you. When the vehicle made a sharp turn, they system sees there is no longer an obstruction preventing you from traveling at the much higher speed you had it set to and tried to accelerate back to that speed. It can't see that you were heading into a sharp curve, which is why the manual recommends you do not use it on those type of roads. It was doing exactly what it was designed to do.

A card with a list of dos and don'ts would probably be 600 pages, which is why they put it in the manual. No, you don't have to read it before leaving the dealership, but you shouldn't use any technology the vehicle has available until you read and learn how to use it. You made the decision to learn through trial by fire and almost got burned. The reason I'm being a prick about it is because you jumped onto this forum and said the vehicle nearly killed you and inferred it was a design fault when really it all boils down to your personal incompetence. I like my 4runner and take offense to people dragging it through the mud... on the internet of course. Drag it through the mud on the trail all day long and I'd be happy - that's what it was designed for.

 

This is well said. I'm too much of a hardass most of the time but I also feel like "shaming" isn't necessarily a bad thing. If it results in the OP or others stopping to think next time a situation like this may arise, then job well done.

Also, OP is new to the forum and doesn't already know I'm an asshole. Let me use my manners and formally welcome @Ancient1. Stick around because I think this a great forum, even with people like me. It takes all kinds I guess.

The 4runner is an amazing vehicle when used as designed but it's not for everyone. Up through this year (and until the new one comes out and then we have to learn all over again) - it's about as basic and "rough and gruff" as you can get in a modern vehicle, and they just slapped that tech on it a few years ago without it really being part of the base design. But that's why I bought it and why I love it

 

It doesn’t work below 30 mph so you were going no less than that speed. If you were, then cruise control would have stopped and you’d be taking over control of the truck. Another thing that you should be aware before it happens and rear end someone. You really should look at the owners manual for your safety and others’

 

I wish you could lock your gear (like a manual transmission) so what you describe would be true

 

In the nearly four years that I had a 4Runner with radar cruise, I never knew this!

 

There are a number of hidden features and easter eggs that you may not know.

 

Idk what funnier, OP complaining about how radar cruise works without reading about, the fact he thinks it uses full throttle to get back up to speed, or the fact that he thinks full throttle on these things could be considered fast.

 

In spite of it being totally common sense, we all know 95% of new 4Runner owners aren't going to read the manual about the TSS features. They're going to get in, start the vehicle, drive down the road, and turn on the cruise control. They will discover the limitations pretty much exactly like the OP did. Then they might join the forum to find out why it happened.

 

I did the same thing.

 

Thank God I bought a 2019 before all this TSS garbage was installed.

And thank God I am old enough that I won't be around much longer to be on the freeway with such nubes...

 

RIP

 

Right, because all this technology is awesome bruh. It's going to be our savior. Except that some people think it nearly led to their death

 

Mine came with it but after using it a couple of times I'll never turn it on again.

 

This thread should have been locked immediately after this post. Well stated and respectful.

 

Try shifting the 'blame' somewhere else! You are typical of a driver that thinks since you paid for a vehicle, you'll automatically will be a better driver. It doesn't work that way. As far as your 'bout' with adaptive cruise control... Why would you have the cruise set approaching a sharp curve were other vehicles had to slow up that much? Or were you going to 'tailgate' the guy in front of you? You F'd up, admit it, we'll talk about it, and thankfully nobody got hurt.

 

Abs is crap. Seat belts are crap. Crumple zones are for the weak. Traction control is basically a cheat code for unqualified drivers…

 

This is a completely asinine comment trying to stir up shit. Crumple zones have zero effect on the driving experience of a vehicle. Seat belts arguably do not either, other than people complaining it restricts their quick movements.

As for ABS and traction control, they are great if you understand how they work and how to use them. Ever read a post about people complaining that they stomped on their brakes in the snow/ice and the ABS didn't stop them, it actually seemed to make it worse? How about people complaining that they hit a giant puddle at 60mph and the traction control felt like it caused them to fishtail? Driver assist aids have their uses and limitations that everyone need to understand to be a safe operator. I mean, in 4lo, both turn off by design.

But those things aren't what this thread is about. This thread was about adaptive cruise, which falls into the category of more intrusive drivers assist features that control throttle, braking, and steering (lane keeping assist). As others have pointed out, these safety and convenience features may eventually make vehicles "safer" statistically, but it also seems to be having the unintended consequence of producing less attentive and shittier drivers because they think cars can now drive themselves. Don't believe me?

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loc...ic-after-arrest-for-reckless-driving/2544875/

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/driver-texas-tesla-crash-moved-rear-seat

https://www.healthday.com/health-ne...hes-tied-to-self-driving-cars-2657513279.html

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/heres-why-people-still-crash-with-driver-assistance-systems/

I'm not saying that new technology is inherently bad. But it is expensive to develop, test, maintain, and takes training to operate safely. The expense is simply being passed on to the consumer - look at new car prices today. Yeah, inflation is also to blame, but it can't claim 100% of it. And for those of us who don't want them because we know how to be safe, attentive drivers, we are paying for it anyway. Company's started doing it to compete with each other as a trend and don't get me started on mandates. As for training, it's up to the driver to learn by reading manuals, which we can see is clearly not happening. These assistive driving features are having a clear negative impact on the driving skills of newer drivers.