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Unsafe Smart Cruise Control

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17K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  Crystalwind  
S
#1 ·
the 2021 Santa Fe smart cruise control cannot be disabled so that you can use regular cruise control. Let me share why this is a safety issue and ask other owners if you would chime in so something can be done about it.

I am in the left lane with cruise set at 75mph and 1 car distance. The distance between me and the car in front of me is very generous and invites other cars to get in front of me. My speed suddenly goes from 75mph to 54 mph. Before the car can automatically accelerate, other cars are getting in front of me, thinking i am a jerk driving in the wrong lane when in fact my speed is set over the speed limit. Not only does this impact cars pulling in front of me, but the sudden drop in speed causes near rear end collisions as there is no warning to the drivers behind me that my vehicle is slowing over 20mph instantly.
So far, i can only use this dangerous smart cruise when there are no other cars near me on the highway which is not very often.
Odd that a feature that was intended to promote safety has taken the control away from the driver who is ultimately in charge of that.

We have taken this issue to 2 dealerships, we have 2 case numbers with Hyundai Customer Service who fails to contact us back.
Next step I guess is to go to arbitration under the Lemon Law if Hyundai refuses to acknowledge and fix this problem.
 
S
#3 ·
I realize that by posting on the forum I open myself up to personally directed comments but know this is a safety issue with the 2021 Santa Fe that is not consistent with the other Hyundai vehicles and I was asked by my dealership to make this post to prompt a recall or software update.
 
Z
#5 ·
SusieQ said:
the 2021 Santa Fe smart cruise control cannot be disabled so that you can use regular cruise control. Let me share why this is a safety issue and ask other owners if you would chime in so something can be done about it.

I am in the left lane with cruise set at 75mph and 1 car distance. The distance between me and the car in front of me is very generous and invites other cars to get in front of me. My speed suddenly goes from 75mph to 54 mph. Before the car can automatically accelerate, other cars are getting in front of me, thinking i am a jerk driving in the wrong lane when in fact my speed is set over the speed limit. Not only does this impact cars pulling in front of me, but the sudden drop in speed causes near rear end collisions as there is no warning to the drivers behind me that my vehicle is slowing over 20mph instantly.
So far, i can only use this dangerous smart cruise when there are no other cars near me on the highway which is not very often.
Odd that a feature that was intended to promote safety has taken the control away from the driver who is ultimately in charge of that.

We have taken this issue to 2 dealerships, we have 2 case numbers with Hyundai Customer Service who fails to contact us back.
Next step I guess is to go to arbitration under the Lemon Law if Hyundai refuses to acknowledge and fix this problem.
Click to expand...
It's not a defect issue.....it's working as designed, albeit maybe a poor design. Why are you using cruise in congested driving?? Not a lemon law issue Hyundai...maybe update the distance calculations but don't cave.
 
M
#7 ·
I have a 2019 Ultimate and had the same situation arise a couple of times just last week on a long trip. I agree the sudden slow down when someone (inconsiderate, jerk driver) squeezes in front of you is dangerous. However you are the driver & you are in control. Cruise Control regardless of type is not a set & forget function, you are still the driver. If you were not on Cruise Control and someone did that to you, you would probably also brake to give yourself more room from that A**hole driver. If you do not like the quick slow down caused by the cruise control, you can always put your foot on the accelerator, thus overriding the cruise control and stay close to that driver in front of you. You can also put your foot on the accelerator to close the distance before someone does that to you, the car will allow you to do that, again you are in control and cruise control is still active but you are overriding it. You would then slow down at a more gradual pace that you are comfortable with, however would be in a tailgate situation with the car in front for a longer period of time.

All of that said, I am not sure why Hyundai did not allow the owner to disable the Adaptive function in your model, disabling it is allowed on my 2019 Ultimate.
 
S
#11 ·
mikeb62 said:
I have a 2019 Ultimate and had the same situation arise a couple of times just last week on a long trip. I agree the sudden slow down when someone (inconsiderate, jerk driver) squeezes in front of you is dangerous. However you are the driver & you are in control. Cruise Control regardless of type is not a set & forget function, you are still the driver. If you were not on Cruise Control and someone did that to you, you would probably also brake to give yourself more room from that A**hole driver. If you do not like the quick slow down caused by the cruise control, you can always put your foot on the accelerator, thus overriding the cruise control and stay close to that driver in front of you. You can also put your foot on the accelerator to close the distance before someone does that to you, the car will allow you to do that, again you are in control and cruise control is still active but you are overriding it. You would then slow down at a more gradual pace that you are comfortable with, however would be in a tailgate situation with the car in front for a longer period of time.

All of that said, I am not sure why Hyundai did not allow the owner to disable the Adaptive function in your model, disabling it is allowed on my 2019 Ultimate.
Click to expand...
That is the question since this is the first year it cannot be disabled.
 
G
#10 ·
Page 7-56 of the 2021 SF Owner's Manual confirms that pressing the Driving Assist button will turn off the Smart Cruise Control System. Then it states:
"If your vehicle is equipped with Manual Speed Limit Assist, press and hold the Driving Assist button to turn off Smart Cruise Control. However, Manual Speed Limit Assist will turn on."

I have not tried this but it's worth a try if the Smart Cruise Control system is not your "cup of tea"...
 
D
#14 ·
I got a chance to try out the highway driving assist on the expressway over the weekend and noted the following. I thought the following distance when set to 1 was too close and ended up settling on 2 for the following distance. When a car would cut ahead of me the car did not slow down at all if the car ahead was traveling at a faster rate of speed. The only time the car slowed down was when the car ahead was traveling slower. I guess for me it seemed to work perfectly and had no issues when a car merged in ahead of me.
 
S
#15 ·
I appreciate that you shared your experience. Maybe it's just in the Midwest that cars cut too closely in front of you and our vehicle drops from 75mph to 54 mph. That makes the distance you are following irrelevant. It's been driven on busy highways on Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Unless the highway is open, we are not able to safely use smart cruise control. But thanks for weighing in. We were told it could be disabled to a regular cruise at the time we bought the vehicle so we got a bum steer.
 
B
#17 ·
He isn't in traffic until those who are probably driving over the speed limit overtake him and cut in front of him. Or in my case I come upon someone driving under the posted limit and if the cruise were on the smart setting it would slow me and allow more cars to come in front of me. I am glad my 2020 has the override. I just got back from a 5000 mile, 10 state trip in which I was able to time it to allow cars to pass and move to the passing lane to then pass slower cars without canceling the cruise setting.
 
D
#18 ·
bronze2020$$ said:
He isn't in traffic until those who are probably driving over the speed limit overtake him and cut in front of him.
Click to expand...
I know that with the 2021 at least if the car that is overtaking you is moving faster than your set speed limit, which is usually the case, comes into your lane then the cruise control does not slow down at all. It seems to factor in the speed of the car when it merges in front of you.
 
L
#19 ·
I think you can control this by setting the response time to a slower setting. Your experience is the same as mine. The big issue is people entering from on ramps that do not speed up and enter your lane going slower and the next lane over is occupied and you can't move over. Hyundai can't teach people how to merge into traffic!
 
L
#20 ·
The smart cruise on the Santa Fe is not so smart and may give a false sense of security... "Smart" or otherwise cruise control should be reserved for 'wide open' highways with minimal traffic. It's not intended to be a 'self drive' feature on congested freeways, or even in "moderate' traffic !! I remember an advanced driving instructor's sage advice: " Turn off the cruise...leave adequate space, pay attention and stay awake!! "
 
#24 ·
I have experienced something like this too. My car is only 2 weeks old. I put the distance at 4 [i think], so there's A LOT of distance between the car in front when it slows down. And it did slow down a lot. I had to manually increase my speed to reset it to my desired speed. I don't normally use any cruise on a road that has potential traffic. And if I did, I would like to fully control it myself
 
C
#26 · (Edited)
SusieQ said:
Odd that a feature that was intended to promote safety has taken the control away from the driver who is ultimately in charge of that.
Click to expand...
How can a lazy button that YOU intentionally enable.... "take away control" ?? I call it a lazy feature, dont take offense....it is really.

By enabling their designed "lazy" feature....dont you freely GIVE control?? If unsatisfied, you simply need to disable it, and you have full control ....right?? (old school way)

As for traffic, Im in Chicagoland. I use it on the Interstates, hell I even use it on State Route roads.

Frankly I find ALL of these "safety" features to make us all lazier and less aware drivers whom become dependent on them....which in of itself creates WORSE drivers

Yes, it freaked me out the first time it braked hard. Turned that crap off REAL quick.....lmao
 
#27 ·
2019 Santa Fe SEL HTRAK. Dec 26 2021 on I40 E in NM (in the middle of nowhere)on SCC @ 70 MPH, no other vehicles or objects in sight, harsh braking automatically applied with dash "Emergency Braking Activated". Took it to dealer, no code, no fault found, has not done it since BUT now have 2 recent (Jan 10 2022 and Jan 17 2022) DTC's C136081 for SCC. Have it booked in For 02/14/2022, hopefully there will be mode of the same codes with more freeze frame data to view. I believe the FCC and SCC are related, both apply the brakes.
 
R
#28 ·
SusieQ said:
the 2021 Santa Fe smart cruise control cannot be disabled so that you can use regular cruise control. Let me share why this is a safety issue and ask other owners if you would chime in so something can be done about it.

I am in the left lane with cruise set at 75mph and 1 car distance. The distance between me and the car in front of me is very generous and invites other cars to get in front of me. My speed suddenly goes from 75mph to 54 mph. Before the car can automatically accelerate, other cars are getting in front of me, thinking i am a jerk driving in the wrong lane when in fact my speed is set over the speed limit. Not only does this impact cars pulling in front of me, but the sudden drop in speed causes near rear end collisions as there is no warning to the drivers behind me that my vehicle is slowing over 20mph instantly.
So far, i can only use this dangerous smart cruise when there are no other cars near me on the highway which is not very often.
Odd that a feature that was intended to promote safety has taken the control away from the driver who is ultimately in charge of that.

We have taken this issue to 2 dealerships, we have 2 case numbers with Hyundai Customer Service who fails to contact us back.
Next step I guess is to go to arbitration under the Lemon Law if Hyundai refuses to acknowledge and fix this problem.
Click to expand...
You may want to go into your settings, and under SCC reaction timing, set to slower. This way it will be a more gradual braking.
 
C
#29 ·
SusieQ said:
the 2021 Santa Fe smart cruise control cannot be disabled so that you can use regular cruise control. Let me share why this is a safety issue and ask other owners if you would chime in so something can be done about it.

I am in the left lane with cruise set at 75mph and 1 car distance. The distance between me and the car in front of me is very generous and invites other cars to get in front of me. My speed suddenly goes from 75mph to 54 mph. Before the car can automatically accelerate, other cars are getting in front of me, thinking i am a jerk driving in the wrong lane when in fact my speed is set over the speed limit. Not only does this impact cars pulling in front of me, but the sudden drop in speed causes near rear end collisions as there is no warning to the drivers behind me that my vehicle is slowing over 20mph instantly.
So far, i can only use this dangerous smart cruise when there are no other cars near me on the highway which is not very often.
Odd that a feature that was intended to promote safety has taken the control away from the driver who is ultimately in charge of that.

We have taken this issue to 2 dealerships, we have 2 case numbers with Hyundai Customer Service who fails to contact us back.
Next step I guess is to go to arbitration under the Lemon Law if Hyundai refuses to acknowledge and fix this problem.
Click to expand...
I have a more serious issue. In my 2021 Santa Fe, Limited, when I turn on Smart Cruise control, I get "Emminent Collusion" warnings in the dash board, "Front Radar turned off, "Front Collusion Disabled, "Side Safety Features disabled. So it disables all my safety features. I am trying to get an appointment to where I recently moved. Service dealers do not think it is serious issue. ????. But with smart off , there is not standard cruise control to fall back on.
 
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