Cruise Control Operation: Notes

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2019 Ford F-550 Super Duty, 2019 Ford F-450 Super Duty, 2019 Ford F-350 Super Duty, and 2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The cruise control functions include:

turning on the cruise control system.
setting and maintaining the desired vehicle speed.
accelerating the vehicle speed.
coasting down to a lower speed.
resuming the prior vehicle speed.
turning off the cruise control system.

The cruise control system maintains a selected vehicle speed within a range between 32 km/h (20 mph), or 30 km/h (18 mph) if equipped with a metric cluster, and the maximum limited vehicle speed. When a MyKey® restricted key is in use, the vehicle speed will not exceed the MyKey® maximum limited speed. During normal driving conditions, the vehicle speed can fluctuate slightly from the selected set speed due to road conditions. The vehicle speed can fluctuate more noticably when driving up and down steep hills.

Certain conditions cause the cruise control system to deactivate:

Application of the parking brake
Transmission gear selector is placed into a position other than D or OD
Cruise control set speed is overridden with the accelerator pedal for a period longer than 5 minutes
Cruise control switch is pressed or stuck longer than 2 minutes
NOTE: For vehicles equipped with a 6.8L engine, cruise control may not disengage if the vehicle speed decreases to 16 km/h (10 mph) below the set speed, as long as there are no ABS events or faults occurring. This allows the system to remain active if the vehicle is towing a heavy load with greater speed fluctuations.

Vehicle speed decreases more than 16 km/h (10 mph) below the set speed
ABS fault

The BPP switch assembly (contains the stoplamp switch and cruise control deactivator switch) and APP sensor are hardwired inputs to the PCM.

Electronic Throttle Body (ETB) command is a hardwired output of the PCM.

The vehicle speed is controlled by the PCM through the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) subsystem.

The cruise control system provides self-diagnostics. Cruise control is disabled anytime an error is detected in the system. No IPC indicator or message center messages are displayed when faults occur. Fault codes are logged by the PCM, SCCM or SECM (vehicles equipped with adaptive steering).

An Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system fault also causes the cruise control system to be disabled. In this case, an Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system powertrain malfunction (wrench) warning indicator is displayed.