New cruise control "feature" with 6spd maual

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maine
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'10 Jetta, '15 GSW SEL
Just bought 2015 Golf SW SEL TDI with 6 speed manual. Have read how some folks like the reversal of decades worth of industry standard behavior regarding what happens when you up or down shift a manual transmission while cruise control is active.

I, however, find it disconcerting to down shift to slow down for a quickly approaching corner only to have the cruise control re-engage and speed me through the corner at 10 to 20 mph faster then I intended!!!

I cannot be the only driver with four and a half decades worth of experience driving manual transmission cars with cruise controls that fully dis-engage when the clutch is depressed!! I can understand the benefit of down shifting on an uphill stretch of interstate highway and have CC maintain the preset speed.

But there are many miles of country roads with 45 to 55 mph speed limits along straight sections with occasional tight curves that require down shifting.

Anyone know if this new "feature" can be turned off and/or on? Perhaps with vagcom?
 

JSWTDI09

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Anyone know if this new "feature" can be turned off and/or on? Perhaps with vagcom?
Cruise control is not an auto-pilot. It is designed to maintain a constant vehicle speed. With a manual transmission, the cruise control has no way to know what gear you are in, so it tries to do what it was designed to do. The fix for this "feature" is in your brake pedal. Touch the brake pedal (you do not have to push it far) and the cruise control turns itself off. Then you can downshift (if you want) and it will work as expected. When you are no longer in traffic, you turn it back on. You are expecting the cruise control to maintain a constant rpm (not velocity) and that will never work because it would not be as safe. Vagcom cannot re-design the cruise control system. Sorry.

Have Fun!

Don
 
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I appreciate your explanation but differ with you about how CC has always functioned in the past and even today with other VW models equipped with manual transmissions. I never use CC on really twisty rural roads, but there are many non-interstate roads where you have 5 or 10 miles of fairly straight road then come upon a sharp curve that demands a quick downshift.

Changing the CC functionality is this case is as strange as resuming the set speed when you release the brake pedal, although even an old curmudgeon like me can envision some benefit to such a drastic change.��
 
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JSWTDI09

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I appreciate your explanation but differ with you about how CC has always in the past and even today with other VW models equipped with manual transmissions. I never use CC on really twisty rural roads, but there are many non-interstate roads where you have 5 or 10 miles of fairly straight road then come upon a sharp curve that demands a quick downshift.

Changing the CC functionality is this case is as strange as resuming the set speed when you release the brake pedal, although even an old curmudgeon like me can envision some benefit to such a drastic change.?
With a DSG TDI the transmission has a controller (computer) which can talk to the ECU (where CC lives). However, you (and I) are the controllers for our manual transmissions. The ECU has no way of knowing what gear we are in. I do not think that I have ever driven a manual transmission car where cruise control works differently. What kind of car did you have before this one? I am curious what cars work in the way you describe.

Have Fun!

Don
 

Vince Waldon

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Every car I've ever driven... including many VWs.. disengages the cruise control when you tap either the brakes OR the clutch.

If I understand the OP correctly the cruise is NOT being disengaged by the clutch when he downshifts... which, if by design, sounds strange.

If t'were my car I'd be checking out the clutch switch with VCDS... but perhaps this is as designed in 2015.
 

No More Buffalo

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It does disengage while the clutch is actually depressed, but once you come back up in the new gear it resumes.

Personally, this makes sense to me...if I drop from 6th down in to 5th going up a grade I wouldn't expect the cruise to disengage.
 

FlyTDI Guy

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I have to agree w/the OP, whole heartedly. The more the car tries to 'think' for you, the more likely it is to misinterpret what you actually want. I've never driven car where the cruise doesn't disengage when pressing the clutch, and stay that way. Much safer, IMO. How does the car know under what circumstances you pushed the clutch in? You could be heading for a brick wall for all it knows. Another example of a useless convenience feature which is actually stupid and, more importantly, dangerous. I'd check out Vortex for MK7 VCDS tricks. There's a ton of them over there.
 

TurnOne

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I think of this as a feature and love it.
Bragged to all my manual driving friends how my cool new car remembers the speed setting and resumes after the new gear is selected.

Your an adult you should be able to adapt. Hit the CC cancel button when you no longer want to go that set speed.

You've probably driven 4 speed, 5 speed and now 6 speed manuals.
I've owned manuals at the same time where the reverse was in the complete opposite direction (bottom right vs top left). Or how to engage reverse, push down vs pull up a ring on stick shift. Or a million other things you've adapted to.
Cars aren't all identical.
 

wanabe

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2009 Jetta Sportwagen, Laser Blue, manual transmission
Just bought 2015 Golf SW SEL TDI with 6 speed manual. Have read how some folks like the reversal of decades worth of industry standard behavior regarding what happens when you up or down shift a manual transmission while cruise control is active.
I, however, find it disconcerting to down shift to slow down for a quickly approaching corner only to have the cruise control re-engage and speed me through the corner at 10 to 20 mph faster then I intended!!!
I cannot be the only driver with four and a half decades worth of experience driving manual transmission cars with cruise controls that fully dis-engage when the clutch is depressed!! I can understand the benefit of down shifting on an uphill stretch of interstate highway and have CC maintain the preset speed.
But there are many miles of country roads with 45 to 55 mph speed limits along straight sections with occasional tight curves that require down shifting.
Anyone know if this new "feature" can be turned off and/or on? Perhaps with vagcom?
I've been driving for 60 years and I definitely expect the cruise control to turn off when I depress the clutch and not engage again until I press the set or resume button. I consider this a safety feature. I remember my 83 Saab had pedals a little to the right of where I instinctively put my feet and I would sometimes hit the clutch instead of the brake when on cruise control and both feet off of the pedals. (Better than hitting the accelerator.) It at least slowed the car giving me extra time to get my foot on the brake pedal.
And after I have dropped my speed, I usually wait until I have used the accelerator to get up to speed again because hitting resume makes the car accelerate faster than I want it to.
What does your owner's manual say? If it says that it is supposed to act like the resume button when you release the clutch, your might consider reporting this to the NHTSA. I am surprised that VW would expose themselves to lawsuits like this.
 

midntdi

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New London
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2015 Golf SE 6SP
This "feature" could be due to the fact that ROW cars have ACC which may require shifting to maintain in the power band and that VW is using the same control module as ROW for cost cutting.
 

workcar

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2003 JSW 5-speed, Custom 2" reciever
I can't wait until they add this feature to the brake pedal. Once you release the brake pedal the cruise would automatically kick back in taking you back up to your set speed.

Also, OP, what happens you are driving in 6th at 70 mph when you engage the clutch, and coast, (not hitting the brake) to a speed where you can shift into 1st or 2nd gear, then release the clutch? Does the car try to go back to the set speed of 70 mph in 1st gear? I surley hope not.

My MKIV Jetta wagon turns the cruise off when the clutch is pressed, and I like it. That's why we have a "resume" button.
 
Joined
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maine
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More musings

Don, I see you drive a 2009 JSW. I own a 2010 Jetta Tdi with maual transmission,.and when using CC and changing gear, the CC totally dis-engages. Must select resume or set to re-engage. The 2012 Passat I traded in works the same way, as did the 2015 Passat I tested before getting the Golf wagen.

A thorough reading of the owner's manual found one small sentence at the end of the cruise control section that tells you that a manual car will resume the set speed when you release the clutch.

I agree with the member who suggested reporting this non-standard behavior to the NHTSA. I have already done that. Most of the folks on this board love to drive their cars, many might have racing or rally experience like me. We can probably handle whatever is thrown at us most of the time.

But for normal non-enthusiasts, such as my wife, my son and my daughter such a change in standard operation of a vehicle could turn deadly.

If VW provides an update to turn off or on this new behavior everybody can be happy, especially if the factory default is off.

I appreciate all the comments, and do not mean to denigrate any opinion that differs from mine. Just trying to explain the potential consequences of the change VW has made in the 2015 Golf models that have maual transmissions.

By the way, most normal folks do not read the owner's manual.?
 

doctorkb

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I see this as an advancement in tech.

It used to be that the clutch disengaged the cruise, because the cruise function had no knowledge of gear or anything, really. It just knew two things: the speed you wanted and the speed you were. If the desired speed was lower, it would increase fuel delivery. If it was higher, it would cut it.

Now that our cars are smarter, this behaviour is not required. It knows when the clutch is fully engaged and also whether the new gear can be used for that speed.

You wouldn't expect an automatic to kick out of cruise just because it had to downshift... Why do you want that from your manual? For old-time's sake? Stick with an old car if you don't want the new stuff. Or don't use it.

Personally, I'll be right ticked if a few whiners get VW to "recall" this wonderful improvement.
 

warrior1677

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Sep 2, 2014
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Tampa
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2012 Jetta
either way it comes down to knowing your vehicle. I prefer the CC to disengage, if changing gears there's a reason and most of the time it's because I can not continue at that speed. That being said it's just a button push how ever it reacts to your input.
 

JSWTDI09

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either way it comes down to knowing your vehicle.
Herein lies the problem. As stated above very few people actually read the owner's manual, so they will never see that one little sentence in the section about cruise control. Every other car they have ever driven turns off CC when the clutch is depressed and they therefore expect the same behavior in their new car. They probably will not learn about this "feature" from their VW sales person. They will learn about it the first time they downshift for a corner and then the car mysteriously accelerates, they don't know why and they panic and they plow into a wall or a tree or a ditch. I fully suspect that there will be law suits in the future about this "feature".

This might prove to be a useful feature under some circumstances, but it needs to be carefully explained to every new car buyer. I believe that this is the biggest "fault" with this system.

Have Fun!

Don
 

Thunderstruck

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It is disconcerting if you are not expecting it. In the past I've used the clutch to turn CC off, both when I'm slowing down for an eventual stop, or when I need to reduce speed in a speed zone and it's safe to glide down to a lower speed (no cops ahead.) I paid money to get to that higher speed, and I'd rather glide that hit the brake pedal. I figured out what it was doing pretty quick, and now I just tap the brake pedal. My goal is to never engage the brakes, that just converts dollars into brake dust.
 

doctorkb

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This is only an issue for anyone who has driven a MT with CC in the past.

I suspect that is a shorter list than you might expect.

As for those bemoaning they need to tap the brakes now, you guys are also missing the new cancel button on the steering wheel...
 

Random_Vibration

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I've owned six VW/Audi cars all with manual transmissions before owning the 15 Golf TDI. Besides VAG cars, I've owned other CC/manual cars. None had this feature.

Personally, it's not disconcerting at all for the cruise control to resume after releasing the clutch. I view as a feature/benefit. There are three ways to cancel it out:

1) Apply the brakes.
2) Hit the cancel button.
3) Press in the clutch and hold.

If this is a safety problem for you, VCDS should kill it. If it is a big problem for you, make it a priority to get it deactivated by VCDS or by the dealer.

It doesn't affect my safe operation of the vehicle in the slightest.
 
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doctorkb

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Random: You forgot the fourth method: hit the cruise 1/0 (on/off) button.

Basically, if you're relying on the clutch to cancel cruise, it's really a matter of laziness.
 

nkgagne

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Basically, if you're relying on the clutch to cancel cruise, it's really a matter of laziness.

^^^ This. Tap the brake, hit Cancel, or switch the cruise off. Dabbing the clutch is not how you should cancel cruise control. If you really need to slow up, there's a pedal for that, and it's not the clutch pedal.
 

JASONP

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The cc will deactivate if the clutch is held in for more than 5 seconds.
 

FlyTDI Guy

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Speaking of lazy, is everyone too lazy to actually operate the 'go' pedal?
 

forhumans

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I can understand being caught off guard by this, as I was, but after discovering it you have no reason to complain. It's an improvement over the old, you now have more options available to you than before, and only if you were using it in an unsafe manner to begin with would it cause a safety issue.

Rather than complaining to the NHTSA, you should learn from your mistakes and teach your family about the dangers of not reading the operator's manual on a brand new motor vehicle. Cars are improving and innovating all the time, I'm not sure how you expect to learn this new information if you don't read the manual.
 

FlyTDI Guy

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I'm old school for sure. I've never been entirely comfortable relinquishing command of the accelerator over to the car. First ones were a mish-mash of cables, vacuum diaphragms and other bits... crude at best. Regardless, I use CC but only on long highway trips where traffic allows it.
 

fxk

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I've been driving manuals forever.

Touch the clutch, the CC disengages. This is true on my MOTORCYCLE, too.
Answer me this: If the OP were to shift to neutral, would the CC try to re-engage? Or would it "know" a gear was not selected?
That was the entire purpose - to prevent over reving of the engine during a shift.

As the op infers - it is a SAFETY issue - the CC should always DEFAULT to OFF unless SPECIFICALLY turned on.

Using some logic espoused here, once you shift gears, it should resume.
How about brakes? Once I'm through braking, it should resume?

frank

PS. The most frustrating car I've driven with CC was a rental Toyota Camery. If the vehicle stopped (i.e., a stop sign) the memory of the set speed was lost, and had to be reset. That was a PITA, and maybe something specific to it being a rental.
 
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No More Buffalo

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The CC disengages as soon as the clutch starts to go down...it doesn't rev the engine at all. There is zero issue of it overreving anything unless you moneyshift down into 2nd at highway speed or something.
 

ezshift5

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.....the concept of redundancy was - when I was serving at sea - alive and well.

if a boiler was non-functional, you could cross-connect.

My Supra Turbo clutch would supplement the brake, the handbrake, pause, and the on-off switch in disabling/cancel of the cruise control.

I recall thinking (at the time) that perhaps that their engineers bought into the concept
of redundancy.

Reckon all of us have preferences. Plus the owners manuals - having attorney input big time for job justification - are almost a joke. Let's hear it for simplification!

ez
 

forhumans

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Using some logic espoused here, once you shift gears, it should resume.
How about brakes? Once I'm through braking, it should resume?
Clutch is for driving, brakes are for stopping. :confused:
 

assorted

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My 6spd Honda CR-Z did the same thing, so there are other makes that does this too. Basically 'paused' the CC until the car was back in gear with the clutch engaged. The thing needed tons of shifting from its lack of any power. Always tapped the brake if I really wanted the CC off.
 
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