Inadvertent cruise control at slow speeds while turning

[MightyMike]

I have had this happen to me multiple times. It is definitely frightening if you come in to a parking spot a little hot AND are using 1 pedal drive. If you are doing 2 pedal, you expect to press the brake. Pressing the brake turns off cruise control, so no problem.

But in one pedal drive, you are lifting your foot to brake, and suddenly the car "lurches forward" unexpectedly. You need to then jam on the brake to prevent hitting the car in front of you.

So the moral of the story is (1) go slower, or (2) don't use 1 pedal drive, or (3) be careful when turning the steering wheel that your large forearm muscles don't press on the cruise control

Sponsored

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

If one grips the wheel just above the button cluster, it can be easy for the heel of the thumb to press in and hit the button as you turn the wheel.

I haven't done it in the Mach-E, but our Bronco Sport has a similar steering wheel and my right hand heel activates the MENU button when turning sometimes.

This.

I’ve moved my hands from the 10-2 or 9-3 positions down to 4-8 since getting this car. Not only does it tend to avoid inadvertently pressing cruise control buttons but it also reduces the chance of injury brought in by airbag deployment. Learning to make a proper turn with your hands in the 8-4 positions takes a fair bit of conscious effort though. Unlearning decades old habits doesn’t occur quickly.

 

[Jimrpa]

So, normally, I'd be all over this thread with lots of snarky comments. However, a good friend of mine has a recent vintage ranger. He apparently slept through the "10 and 2" part of driver's ed, and has all kinds of whacky ways of gripping the steering wheel. ALL of them involve "inadvertently" activating one or more steering wheel controls (his "favorite" seems to be the voice control button) followed by long and bitter complaints about how lousy Ford's ergonomics are and how crappy the position of their controls on the steering wheel are. So, I can understand where the OP is coming from.

Be glad Ford doesn't adopt the Audi solution - I just had a new Audi A3 in Italy, and the speed control was on a little turn signal-like stalk. Of course, the stalk was completely obscured by the steering wheel, and there were numerous different motions you moved the stalk through to perform different cruise control functions. Oh, and did I mention that there was at least one switch embedded in the stalk?

At least Ford cruise control controls are easily located where they are clearly visible, with relatively simple to understand markings.

 

[TheSteelRider]

Seems like a malfunction on the interface between the seat and the steering wheel

It's definitely a PEBKAC issue

 

[ChehRob]

If I am in a parking lot, or a pedestrian is crossing the street, I have my foot ready to brake - even when I am in 1 pedal mode (which is almost always)

 

[hackworth]

It's definitely a PEBKAC issue

That seems to be much of the problem with the neckbeards on this forum. Thanks for chiming in and making this such an unwelcoming place. You must be very proud of yourself.

 

[SonicBlue]

I have had this happen to me multiple times. It is definitely frightening if you come in to a parking spot a little hot AND are using 1 pedal drive. If you are doing 2 pedal, you expect to press the brake. Pressing the brake turns off cruise control, so no problem.

But in one pedal drive, you are lifting your foot to brake, and suddenly the car "lurches forward" unexpectedly. You need to then jam on the brake to prevent hitting the car in front of you.

Same for me, word for word. It’s rare, but it’s an issue. And I’m pretty confident it is to blame for the rare reports of accidents due to unprompted “acceleration.”

 

[DeusEx]

I was trying to figure out how my hands were positioned when I saw your picture. Now that I had a chance to get in my car, 1. I think I have small hands and 2. my grip is different. Maybe others aren't having this problem as frequently or at all because of these differences?

That said, not sure what Ford can do for you right away. Perhaps you have to change how you hold the wheel until there's a solution?

 

[devmach-e]

That seems to be much of the problem with the neckbeards on this forum. Thanks for chiming in and making this such an unwelcoming place. You must be very proud of yourself.

Not to throw more gasoline on this fire, but you joined 3.5+ years ago and aside from a posting 3.5+ years about ordering the car, this is your first posting since then.

The issue is your hands placement. Sounds like your Mach-E is also not up to date because apparently there is an OTA fix for it. I've encountered the problem once. And I quickly figured out what the issue was and no longer put my hands there. Problem solved.

Ford can't anticipate every way the car will be used or abused. It's not like they deliberately designed the car this way to cause this specific problem. But they have taken steps to fix it. Perhaps a trip to the dealer is in store for you.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

The 10 and 2 are no longer the recommended positions for hand placement and haven't been since airbags became common. Do a search for "airbag degloving" to understand why. The recommended position is now 9 and 3, which is about where the controls are positioned.

The defacto standard for cruise control minimum speed has been 20-25 mph for a long time. The issue that's been introduced is the pseudo "self-driving" capabilities of EVs. Allowing vehicles to control their speed even during stop-and-go traffic creates new issues such as the possibility to engage "self-driving" when in a parking lot. Another part of the problem is how Ford has decided to allow engagement of the adaptive cruise control. If you're following a vehicle below 15 mph and you engage ACC, it sets the speed to no less than 15 mph. Which means if it detects a vehicle in front of you, for example in a parking lot, and you accidentally engage ACC, it may engage ACC and could speed up.

From the 2023 Manual:

Switching Adaptive Cruise Control On: Press the button to activate the system. When the system activates, the set speed is equal to whichever is greater, the current vehicle speed, or 15 mph when in imperial units or 20 km/h when in metric units. If the speed is too low, or other conditions are not correct for adaptive cruise control activation, the system enters standby mode. When you are below 15 mph when in imperial units or 20 km/h when in metric units, adaptive cruise control does not activate unless you are following another vehicle. The indicator, current gap setting and set speed appear in the instrument cluster display.

 

[AliRafiee]

Very funny! I'm sure it'll be even funnier to you when someone is seriously injured or dies as a result of this design flaw!

You want to know what’s more dangerous that needs more urgent work.
I’m going down the highway at 65MPH in BCHF, it’s all clear until a slowdown about a 1/2 mile ahead, with a clear view of them. It does not slow down on its own until it has rammed in the back of the last car. I have to brake every time that happens.
Someone on the forum actually slammed into someone’s car that was broken down on the highway.

 

[AliRafiee]

I was trying to figure out how my hands were positioned when I saw your picture. Now that I had a chance to get in my car, 1. I think I have small hands and 2. my grip is different. Maybe others aren't having this problem as frequently or at all because of these differences?

That said, not sure what Ford can do for you right away. Perhaps you have to change how you hold the wheel until there's a solution?

I have been driving cars with buttons on the wheel for 30+ years. I subconsciously put my hand on either 10 or 2 depending on which hand I’m using.

 

[Mache_Nor]

OP: You have my sympathy and understanding . There are several topics about this issue, and regardless of the users that either try to be sarcastic / funny or defend Ford no matter what it is if an issue. Try searching for topics with tags such as unwanted / uncontrolled acceleration and they will show up.

To sum up a similar issue that highlights the problematic very shortly: In very rare occasions the cruise control activates from a standstill on parking lots, with one click (you just started the car and activate it to make it idle, instead it does not idle but activates at speed and ignores the fact that you are standing still even with auto hold on). It also is worth noting that sometimes it is 20kmh, other times it is 32kmh, it’s not behaving the same in the instances of unwanted acceleration.

As others have pointed out, most often it is activated by accidents of the driver and hand location in a place where the speed is above threshold, yet, combined that it behaves differently from situation to situation (parking lots seems to be a place where randomness can occurs) makes it dangerous. While the driver is legally responsible, the car does not help when it behaves different from time to time, and my guess is that the users I pointed at won’t be laughing when the car at some point behaves unexpectedly. To sum it up even shorter; the issue is consistency of a function. How would people react if 1% of the times they payed a bill, the money was transferred out of your account but not received at the other end? Would you say “too bad, happens, money lost - pay again”?

 

[AliRafiee]

OP: You have my sympathy and understanding . There are several topics about this issue, and regardless of the users that either try to be sarcastic / funny or defend Ford no matter what it is if an issue. Try searching for topics with tags such as unwanted / uncontrolled acceleration and they will show up.

To sum up a similar issue that highlights the problematic very shortly: In very rare occasions the cruise control activates from a standstill on parking lots, with one click (you just started the car and activate it to make it idle, instead it does not idle but activates at speed and ignores the fact that you are standing still even with auto hold on). It also is worth noting that sometimes it is 20kmh, other times it is 32kmh, it’s not behaving the same in the instances of unwanted acceleration.

As others have pointed out, most often it is activated by accidents of the driver and hand location in a place where the speed is above threshold, yet, combined that it behaves differently from situation to situation (parking lots seems to be a place where randomness can occurs) makes it dangerous. While the driver is legally responsible, the car does not help when it behaves different from time to time, and my guess is that the users I pointed at won’t be laughing when the car at some point behaves unexpectedly. To sum it up even shorter; the issue is consistency of a function. How would people react if 1% of the times they payed a bill, the money was transferred out of your account but not received at the other end? Would you say “too bad, happens, money lost - pay again”?

I guess you have never had your computer running windows crash.
People who program these things are human. We can never get it 100% right.
But the OP is complaining about accidentally hitting the button with his palm. The only solution I see there is to remove the buttons if you’re not willing to adapt.

 

[Jimrpa]

The 10 and 2 are no longer the recommended positions for hand placement and haven't been since airbags became common. Do a search for "airbag degloving" to understand why. The recommended position is now 9 and 3, which is about where the controls are positioned.

The defacto standard for cruise control minimum speed has been 20-25 mph for a long time. The issue that's been introduced is the pseudo "self-driving" capabilities of EVs. Allowing vehicles to control their speed even during stop-and-go traffic creates new issues such as the possibility to engage "self-driving" when in a parking lot. Another part of the problem is how Ford has decided to allow engagement of the adaptive cruise control. If you're following a vehicle below 15 mph and you engage ACC, it sets the speed to no less than 15 mph. Which means if it detects a vehicle in front of you, for example in a parking lot, and you accidentally engage ACC, it may engage ACC and could speed up.

From the 2023 Manual:

I wonder why ford places the thumb rests on all their steering wheels at a perfect location for 10-2 hand positioning? ?

Sponsored