Cruise Control and Lane Changes

[ChristopherWatson]

First issue/question - So I just drove round trip from Atlanta to Savannah (2022, XLT, MAX), about 350 miles each way - 20-21 MPG. I had cruise control on most of the time. If I approached a car in front of me, going slower than my cruise control setting, my speed would drop to match the car in front until they moved over a lane, and then my speed would pick up to the setting. I never had to reduce speed, the car seemed to do it by itself. Is this normal? I'm not complaining, but I've never experienced this kind of performance from cruise control before.

Second issue/question - While driving under cruise control, the lane warning would "shake" the steering wheel just like normal if I strayed in my lane a little bit. BUT, the steering wheel seemed to want to turn to stay in lane. But the car wouldn't actually adjust. I felt pressure against my hands that the car want to move the steering wheel, (I kept getting a 'warning to keep my hands on the steering wheel' - they were) but I resisted and felt resistance, as if the car wanted to slightly change. I even had to slightly forcibly move the steering wheel against pressure from the car. Is this performance normal? This is my 3rd (2017, 2020) Expedition (I love the cars) and have never experienced this if cruise control was activated with either of my previous Expeditions.

 

[nationalgallery]

1st: adaptive cruise control
2nd: lane-keeping assist

 

[m3olsen]

1st: adaptive cruise control
2nd: lane-keeping assist

@ChristopherWatson if you're not familiar, it's worth reading up in the manual. There are a number of settings you can adjust to tailor how you want them to work to your liking. Lane keeping assist has separate settings for when cruise is enabled vs disabled as well. You also have a defeat button on your steering wheel.

 

[Mr Big]

First issue/question - So I just drove round trip from Atlanta to Savannah (2022, XLT, MAX), about 350 miles each way - 20-21 MPG. I had cruise control on most of the time. If I approached a car in front of me, going slower than my cruise control setting, my speed would drop to match the car in front until they moved over a lane, and then my speed would pick up to the setting. I never had to reduce speed, the car seemed to do it by itself. Is this normal? I'm not complaining, but I've never experienced this kind of performance from cruise control before.

Second issue/question - While driving under cruise control, the lane warning would "shake" the steering wheel just like normal if I strayed in my lane a little bit. BUT, the steering wheel seemed to want to turn to stay in lane. But the car wouldn't actually adjust. I felt pressure against my hands that the car want to move the steering wheel, (I kept getting a 'warning to keep my hands on the steering wheel' - they were) but I resisted and felt resistance, as if the car wanted to slightly change. I even had to slightly forcibly move the steering wheel against pressure from the car. Is this performance normal? This is my 3rd (2017, 2020) Expedition (I love the cars) and have never experienced this if cruise control was activated with either of my previous Expeditions.

So what you have is adaptive cruise control:
With Adaptive Cruise Control, you can adjust the distance to keep from the vehicle in front. I like the furthest setting as I don't like to be too close to the vehicle in front of me. It is a great feature, especially on highways where the person in front keeps slowing down and speeding up.

You have lane assist: The lane assist is set to vibrate the steering wheel to alert you, you are drifting. When changing lanes, if you turn on the turn signal before changing lanes, it defeats the vibration and allows you to change lanes without fighting you.

 

[JohnSC]

But it is nice to adjust that distance lower when you get into metro areas where everyone suddenly wants to cut you off if you are leaving too much space there.

 

[Samantha1]

On my 2023 XLT, 202A, Special Edition pkg., with lane assist on, the steering wheel doesn't vibrate, but it will steer the vehicle to keep it in the lane if I don't resist it. It will also follow curves if I don't resist it - I do have to keep my hands on the wheel to avoid a warning. Also, on the cruise control, if the vehicle reads speed limit signs it can be set to a certain speed based on the speed limit sign. On the highway I have my cruise set to 8 mph over the speed limit, so if the signs go from 70 to 60, the cruise control will drop it from 78 to 68 mph.
Samantha

 

[nationalgallery]

it will steer the vehicle to keep it in the lane if I don't resist it. It will also follow curves if I don't resist it - I do have to keep my hands on the wheel to avoid a warning.

That's BlueCruise, not lane keeping. Only the Platinum has hands-free mode for BlueCruise, so you have to keep a small resistance pressure on the wheel periodically to keep it from dropping out of BlueCruise.

 

[Samantha1]

That's BlueCruise, not lane keeping. Only the Platinum has hands-free mode for BlueCruise, so you have to keep a small resistance pressure on the wheel periodically to keep it from dropping out of BlueCruise.

Thank you, I did not know it was BlueCruise!
Samantha

 

[nationalgallery]

Thank you, I did not know it was BlueCruise!
Samantha

When BlueCruise is engaged you'll see an icon like this (not black and white) on the dash.

 

[AJ82]

Thank you, I did not know it was BlueCruise!
Samantha

You do not have BlueCruise on an XLT. That is lane centering assist. It will keep the vehicle in the center of the lane as long as it has resistance (your hands) on the wheel. There is also lane keep assist that you have where it nudges you away from the lines on the road if you get too close. BlueCruise is a hands off the wheel system that has eye tracking to make sure you are paying attention. It is only on the top model at this time.

 

[nationalgallery]

You do not have BlueCruise on an XLT. That is lane centering assist. It will keep the vehicle in the center of the lane as long as it has resistance (your hands) on the wheel. There is also lane keep assist that you have where it nudges you away from the lines on the road if you get too close. BlueCruise is a hands off the wheel system that has eye tracking to make sure you are paying attention. It is only on the top model at this time.

Lane centering assist does not steer around curves and does not issue warnings if your hands are not on the wheel — that is BlueCruise. BlueCruise also has a hands-free mode which uses the eye-tracking cameras, and that is only available on Platinum models.

 

[AJ82]

No offense but you are incorrect in this case. I use lane centering all the time on my 22 and it keeps you in the center of the lane even around curves as long as it can see the lane markings on each side. Now there are limits and sharp curves are probably too much for it but I haven't encountered that situation on the highway yet. It also yells at you for not having your hands on the wheel when you aren't giving enough input for it to detect your hands there. I know because it has yelled at me several times when I wasn't giving it enough input. Perhaps you are thinking of lane keeping assist which has you acting more like a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth between the lines with no lane centering.

 

[nationalgallery]

No offense but you are incorrect in this case. I use lane centering all the time on my 22 and it keeps you in the center of the lane even around curves as long as it can see the lane markings on each side. Now there are limits and sharp curves are probably too much for it but I haven't encountered that situation on the highway yet. It also yells at you for not having your hands on the wheel when you aren't giving enough input for it to detect your hands there. I know because it has yelled at me several times when I wasn't giving it enough input. Perhaps you are thinking of lane keeping assist which has you acting more like a ping pong ball bouncing back and forth between the lines with no lane centering.

This Platinum is my first Expedition, so I don't have any experience with other models. The way the manual describes lane centering, I didn't really see how it differentiates it from how late keeping operates — it doesn't explicitly state that lane centering essentially takes over steering for you, which is what BluecCuise non-hands-free mode does (as long as you periodically apply some resistance to the steering wheel).

 

[mdecillis]

Also, on the cruise control, if the vehicle reads speed limit signs it can be set to a certain speed based on the speed limit sign. On the highway I have my cruise set to 8 mph over the speed limit, so if the signs go from 70 to 60, the cruise control will drop it from 78 to 68 mph.
Samantha

The only issue with this is if it suddenly goes from 65 to 45 the vehicle slows down suddenly (not slowly). So I turned it off.

 

[mdecillis]

That's BlueCruise, not lane keeping. Only the Platinum has hands-free mode for BlueCruise, so you have to keep a small resistance pressure on the wheel periodically to keep it from dropping out of BlueCruise.

What she is describing is lane keeping/centering. It will absolutely follow curves almost flawlessly with no hands on the wheel (for a small period of time before a warning) and keep you centered in the lane.

 

[AJ82]

This Platinum is my first Expedition, so I don't have any experience with other models. The way the manual describes lane centering, I didn't really see how it differentiates it from how late keeping operates — it doesn't explicitly state that lane centering essentially takes over steering for you, which is what BluecCuise non-hands-free mode does (as long as you periodically apply some resistance to the steering wheel).

I agree that the manual is lacking in explaining the differences. I believe Ford has some videos on their website that do a better job explaining.

 

[mwar99]

This Platinum is my first Expedition, so I don't have any experience with other models. The way the manual describes lane centering, I didn't really see how it differentiates it from how late keeping operates — it doesn't explicitly state that lane centering essentially takes over steering for you, which is what BluecCuise non-hands-free mode does (as long as you periodically apply some resistance to the steering wheel).

The lane keep will adjust steering when using the adaptive cruise at the same time. If the adaptive cruise is off it will not "steer" but will only vibrate/make noise. You do not get a hands free notification on the dash and it will shut off and warn you if it doesn't sense the pressure on the wheel. No model other than Platinum has Blue Cruise. I've seen so many people think they have Blue Cruise when all they have is the adaptive and lane keep/centering it's scary.

 

[Old Dog]

I own a 2022 with Blue Cruise. So far no complaints plus it updates over Wi Fi at night parked in garage. Have had 3 updates so far adding extra features. I was unaware that the platinum was the only model with Blue Cruise. Hands free is great on long trips. Just have to keep your eyes on the road straight ahead or it will require you to hold the steering wheel.

 

[Old Dog]

This Platinum is my first Expedition, so I don't have any experience with other models. The way the manual describes lane centering, I didn't really see how it differentiates it from how late keeping operates — it doesn't explicitly state that lane centering essentially takes over steering for you, which is what BluecCuise non-hands-free mode does (as long as you periodically apply some resistance to the steering wheel).

I haven’t experienced the apply some resistance to the steering wheel. The only thing I have noticed is a warning will show up sating put hands on steering wheel. Usually at interstate exits or on a sharp S curve.

 

[GregTu]

I own a 2022 with Blue Cruise. So far no complaints plus it updates over Wi Fi at night parked in garage. Have had 3 updates so far adding extra features. I was unaware that the platinum was the only model with Blue Cruise. Hands free is great on long trips. Just have to keep your eyes on the road straight ahead or it will require you to hold the steering wheel.

Is there a way to see what version of Blue Cruise is installed? We have a new ‘24 that we picked up the first week of October. So no OTA updates so far. I assume we were current at delivery. I think we have version 1.0 as it insists on being in the center of the lane and has a tendency to behave like a new driver constantly correcting if it thinks it’s off center an inch or two. It’s not bad but it makes the vehicle feel a little nervous.

I understand that versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 add things like lane change with a turn signal, will stay closer to the lane lines when passing or being passed. This would be a huge confidence boost for me as I like to put the outside tire on, or next to the lane line when next to another vehicle, especially a semi.

If my understanding is correct 1.1 makes the car less nervous.

Any guesses on when we might these in the Expedition?

Thanks,
Greg