[Norm201]

My 2014 Focus and most Fords in general have a cruise control standby switch which when the car is turned on is in the OFF mode as default. One must physically turn it on then enable it if you want to use it. As opposed to many GM cars such as my van that has the cruise control always in the standby mode if originally set. It stays in that mode even when car is turned off.

Is there a way to make my Focus stay in standby mode as the default?

 

[Elizabeth]

It is such a small effort to turn on cruise.. I guess i just an used to the Ford style.
Personally i am a little shy of having cruise control ready to jump into action.. mainly worried it would engage when i do not want it to.
Having had it do so once was MORE than enough to make me pretty leery of it being too easy to engage.

 

[Norm201]

Your cruise control can just as easily get stuck in the on position just as an accelerator does on occasion. But you still use your accelerator! []

Mechanical problems not withstanding, having to turn it on each time is a PIA. Especially when your other vehical does so as default. It's just one more thing in our daily lives that gets a bit more complicated.

 

[BetaDnB]

Did you really just saying pressing a button that's on the steering wheel is a PIA? OMG first world problems.

 

[ELCouz]

Your cruise control can just as easily get stuck in the on position just as an accelerator does on occasion. But you still use your accelerator! []

Mechanical problems not withstanding, having to turn it on each time is a PIA. Especially when your other vehical does so as default. It's just one more thing in our daily lives that gets a bit more complicated.

Why not hire someone that press the cruise control button for you and call it a day! []

 

[Norm201]

[]Chill out boys and girls, don't get your whities in a knot.[]

It's just one of those little annoyances that we all experience in form or another. I can pick out perhaps a dozen or so little things that I don't like about this or any other car. But that does not mean I don't like the car or it's features.

See my post at (http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6823602&highlight=#post6823602)

Now as far as reversing the default mode of the cruise control, it would be nice if it could be done. And that folks is my question. So far no one here that replied has said yes or no! Minor problem? Sure, but so is having to go to the bathroom just as you start to watch a good TV show.[]

Speaking of annoyances, my 2011 Fiesta had the USB and audio connections right out in the open for easy access. Not so with the Focus. I must now reach into the center console and dig to find the cord or the connection (yes, I know the cord can be left out hanging). And when it comes to utilizing one's phone and SYNC that my friends is a REAL PIA!

 

[TooOld]

Guess Sync won't let us "Set speed 63 miles per hour"?

 

[mmmfloorpie]

I barely even use my cruise control and 90% of my driving is on the highway.

I find using it requires more effort and thought than just using my foot.

 

[Elizabeth]

I barely even use my cruise control and 90% of my driving is on the highway.

I find using it requires more effort and thought than just using my foot.

I find the secret is to be driving a tiny bit slower than others. (in the Right Lane naturally)
Then the cruise allows one to just drive along. and only rarely have someone driving even slower annoy me!
I use cruise a lot, even on short freeway hops.

A cop stopped me once for speeding on a curvy two lane back road (not too fast) and let me go, but told me "If you just put it on cruise, then you will not start to speed up too much"
I thank him to this day. It is true. I mean yeah if I am in a super hurry I speed.... But normally it is just a bad habit. And driviing the speed limit is Ok too. So I use the cruise control.

 

[sailor]

Use the Cruise a lot on every vehicle driven, including the Cycle.

All have to be turned on, some will stay that way unless turned off. Anything that needs a momentary contact switch to turn on isn't an easy "hack" to keep on, since it's not an on/off switch you could bypass to an "on" position.

Find it handy anytime traffic isn't too heavy, pick my favorite speed for the road & see how it works out. Traffic makes it more work than it's worth, stop using it until it thins again.

Can't win on those plug ins, they were moved from the dash for convenience as folks didn't like everything hanging off the dash & the console location reduced wire clutter.

Cheers

 

[rebelx]

I find the secret is to be driving a tiny bit slower than others. (in the Right Lane naturally)
Then the cruise allows one to just drive along. and only rarely have someone driving even slower annoy me!
I use cruise a lot, even on short freeway hops.

I always use cruise on the highway (95% of my commute) but I never drive on the right lane. You have to deal with super slow people, trucks, people merging, and there always seems to be more potholes than elsewhere on the freeway.

I cruise at a constant 69mph (I don't want to go "5 over") when I can.

 

[dwardo]

I agree with the OP. Having the cruise turn itself off is a pain. That's a Ford thing. My new-to-me Gran Marquis has exactly the same arrangement and it is still a pain. I wouldn't think twice about it except my '94 Roadmaster wagon has the typical GM cruise on the turn signal stalk and it is much easier to operate and always ready to use unless I specifically turn it off. Still, it's a small thing. Like the fact that the fog lights turn themselves off if the car is turned off long enough. If I turned them on there was some reason I turned them on. What isn't small is the fact that you have to go through an interminable series of menus to turn the damn traction control off. Normally if you have some reason to turn that off you want it off right now. Who thought that was a good idea?

 

[Norm201]

Thanks Dwardo for the support.

Another stupid thing that I don't understand is the convoluted mechanism to reset the oil change minder. Why not just have a menu option buried perhaps 2 to 3 level down to say Reset Oil Minder: YES/NO

And I don't want to hear about how easy it could be to reset it by mistake if the oil wasn't changed. Anybody who does that should not operate any machinery.

 

[dwardo]

Another place where the Roadmaster shines. It has the oil reset button under a side panel on the dashboard that is impossible to remove without the door being open. Just snap it off and push the button. Oil reminder reset. Job done. I really like that car. If it weren't for the sketchy parts situation I would find a low mileage example and drive it as my regular car.

 

[sailor]

Buried menu for traction control off is def. a worse PITA. Can't disable it easily/quickly while driving.

I had to pop a large dash cover & pull the right fuse to disable it on a Volvo Truck to get unstuck & that was a PITA for sure.

BMW's were one of the first with an oil minder, and it took a Dealer visit or purchase of a special tool for reset. AFAIK they've changed that, but it was that way for years.

I could gripe & wish things were more standardized, but we'd prob. end up with the worst combination of features that way.

 

[1badgmc]

BMW's were one of the first with an oil minder, and it took a Dealer visit or purchase of a special tool for reset. AFAIK they've changed that, but it was that way for years.

You were SUPPOSED to visit the dealer who would use a special tool to reset it. I had a '91 525i. It's been nearly 15 years, so I can't remember exactly what I did, but there was a DIY reset that I used since I did my own oil changes. I think it involved a paper clip to jump a couple pins in the OBD connector and pushing a few buttons.

Incidentally, German engineering showed in basic maintenance on that car. Oil changes, brake jobs and a lot of other routine maintenance items were so much easier on that car than any other car I've ever owned.

 

[dwardo]

A friend of mine has a BMW 330 (I think). It's a really nice car, and didn't set him back much because it was several years old when he bought it. I would not own one unless I had stupid money simply due to the cost of maintenance. A mutual friend of ours is a professional mechanic and he does repairs for us when I'm too lazy. Whenever he does anything on that beemer it costs an arm and a leg for parts even after the discount he gets from the local parts stores. Unbelievable.