Intelligent Cruise Control
 

I'm wondering if any G37 owners can give your experience with the intelligent cruise control. There is an editorial in this months Car & Driver about how much he hates the various intelligent cruise control systems.

He said the worst was in a Jaguar he was driving recently. The writer said that several times while driving on the freeway there would be a gentle bend in the road. The radar would sense a semi-truck several hundred yards ahead in a completely different lane. The main problem was that because the angle of the road made it appear that the truck was crossing in front of him, the intelligent cruise control actually slammed on the brakes. He said this was extremely dangerous while traveling 70 mph in the fast lane and happened on 5 different occasions.

Now, I understand that the system used in the G37 will not actually apply the brakes so this dangerous situation won't occur. But, how "intelligent" is the system used? In a similar situation as that described above, does it cause the system to slow the vehicle?

The editor also complained that many of these intelligent cruise control systems can not be disabled, reverting to just a standard cruise control system. Can it be disabled on the G37?

I use cruise control quite often and this was one thing I was looking forward to getting when I buy a G37 next year. However, if the system in the G37 also suffers from these flaws, and can't be disabled, I will likely decide not to get the Tech package.

From what I've read, only 20% maximum braking can be applied with this system. I'm considering the tech package for the active seat belts and adaptive lighting.
I, too, would like to hear some real world feedback on it.

I've got the tech package, but only because it came with the car I was looking for. After living with it for two months now, I can honestly say that I would not order it if given the choice.

Living in flat southern Louisiana, I have no winding mountain roads, so the headlights are of no use to me. The seat belt whatever will hopefully never be an issue.

As far as the adaptive cruise control goes, for me it's okay, but I'd actually refer to have the option of turning it off. You can adjust the sensitivity, but not turn it off.

I find that the car gradually slows down to match the speed of the car ahead, but when I switch lanes, it's a noticeable jerk as the car speeds back up, not smooth at all.

The one thing that I really don't like about the crusie control in general is that you must turn the main on everytime you start the car. My last three Acuras and one Honda allowed you to turn it on once and forget it. Not a big thing, just a surprising ommision on their part.

You can turn the ICC completely off and use normal cruise control. Just press and hold down the on/off button for the cruise. This toggles between ICC and normal cruise.

As far as my experience with ICC, I actually like it a lot. It doesn't sense cars in other lanes except if it is a really sharp curve. But if you are driving on a road like that, you shouldn't be using cruise anyway. I don't mind feeling that slight surge as the car gets back up to speed because that is how I drive normally. :D Overall, it's a great feature and very convenient when driving long distances.

I works really well when I remember to use it. That being said I probably could have done without the tech package.

I love the tech package. All of the extraordinarily cool items on the car are in this package. I wouldn't get one without it.

I live on top of a mountain and have windy roads and the performance of the lighting is amazing. We have deer here, and two nights ago I would have nailed the fawn that was following its mother, had I not had active lighting.

The ICC is perfect just like it is, except that you cannot cruise above 90mph.

There is just so much more to love about this car with the tech package.

You can turn off ICC, as noted above, but the laser still interferes with my laser detector. It is the "preview braking" at work, which cannot be turned off.

Wow, I din't know that! Thanks, I'll try it tonight on the way home.

And to think, I THOUGHT I had thoroughly read the manual.

The editor from Car&Driver doesn't know you can turn it off either. He thinks only Lexus lets you default back to regular cruise control.

All Infiniti vehicles that feature ICC revert to "classic" cruise control if you hold down the button.

Also, ICC does not work if the wipers are on, but classic CC does.

I think his specific complaint with the Infinity was with regards to it interferring with his radar detector. RedHerring seems to confirm that part of it at least. I was more interested in the overall behavior though. The comments seem to be pretty positive so far. And the fact that the ICC part of it can at least be disabled if necessary will probably lead me to getting the tech package when I get the car next year.

What happens if you're driving with the cruise control on and it starts raining? Does it shut off completely or revert to standard cruise control? Being in Seattle, it rains here quite often.

Also, can you set the following distance? If so, what kind of range does it have?

There are 3 preset distances you can choose. Not sure the exact distances, but I usually use the middle setting. The close setting is too close for my tastes, but the far setting is too far and people start cutting in all over the place. I've never used the ICC in rain because with rain, I don't even think of using cruise.

I thought the ICC doesn't engage with the wipers on.:dunno:

Like I said, I wouldn't know. I don't use cruise when its raining.

That is a bit odd I agree - even on my beater 2001 Honda Accord LX which is just a minimally equipped car, the cruise can be set to ON and it remains on till you turn it off. Like the window Lock button. Kinda whack that INF made us have to power it on each startup....

It was the same way in my other Infiniti/Nissan vehicles.

i LOVE ICC it will almost bring your car to a stop befor it beeps at you. (not htat you should do that i was just playing with it.) I think it is one of the bast options really really likeit.