Kijug

I got my 2014 ES UL/ML/EveryOption back in July ’14. I really wanted the Dynamic Cruise Control (DCC) which is part of the PCS option. I thought I’d report on my experience for those interested in buying—or those who have PCS but haven't used the DCC yet…shame on you! =)

First off, let me tell you all about the “Pre-Collision System” features of the PCS option package.

If you are approaching the car ahead of you at an unsafe [too fast] speed, the dashboard lights up an orange rectangle and BEEPs to alert you to brake and slow down.
If you are approaching the car ahead of you at a high rate and the car is very close, the dashboard lights up with a red “BRAKE” and BEEPs you to brake hard to slow down—hard to see because your eyes are on the road by then (better be!)
In both these cases the brakes are primed so that when you press the pedal you only need to press a few millimeters and the brakes are working, instead of mushing a few centimeters before the brakes are applied. This gives you a few milliseconds more of braking. Kinda cool, but takes getting use to.
Now, if a crash is “immanent” (not sure the algorithm) an explosive charge will go off to cinch the seat belts to hold you in when the air bags go off—I haven’t tested this feature yet…knock on wood! =)

For the DCC, which I’ve been wanting for many years, it works well and I use it a lot. You can set DCC to stay behind vehicles for three “distances”: short, medium, and long. All three modes work well. The car slows down and speeds up to maintain the distance (which varies slightly depending on speed). Short is too short, I think. You really have to pay attention because if the car ahead of you slows down quickly, you need to be ready for action. Long is great for vacation/Interstate driving where there isn’t heavy traffic. You just sit back and steer. You have time to turn your head away for something because you’ll feel the car reduce speed slowly—since you are far away—and that gives you time to get your attention back on the road. Medium works best for in-city use. I don’t use DCC on surface streets unless there is little traffic—you just go a mile and have to stop for traffic lights, what’s the point. For rush hour, so long as the traffic is moving constantly and at least 30 MPH, DCC works just fine, and that’s where I use it day to day.

DCC stops working below 25 MPH. When the ES slows down and reaches 25 MPH, it goes BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, and disengages and you need to take over—typically that means more braking. So if you are going 50 MPH and the car ahead slows down a lot, the ES will slow down fast and safe and when it reaches 25 MPH it disengages, goes BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, and you need to continue braking—which is reasonable. DCC doesn’t drive the car itself and you should be paying attention to the road anyway.

Normally, the ES will speed up rather well to max speed you’ve set. However, sometimes it seems to accelerate slowly (doesn’t matter if you’re in ECO or SPORT). This annoys rush hour traffic, so I usually step on the pedal to speed up, let go, and let DCC take over again. I haven’t quite figured out the algorithm the ES uses when it decides it wants to speed up normally or slowly. That’s my only gripe—but really it impacts other drivers, not me. Ha! But I know I don’t like [unusually] slow drivers so I keep focus if I need to speed up myself. This doesn’t happen too often.

Overall, during the last nine months, I’ve averaged about 24.5 MPH (gasoline) during normal driving. However, I just tested a full tank of gas and using DCC as much as I could. I get 30+ MPH often and actually up to 40 MPH during rush hour so long as traffic moves fairly constant; slow and fast is OK, but starting and stopping isn’t good. So, I got about 15% more miles out of one take of gas using DCC than if I used the pedal myself. That was unexpected.

Well, there ya have it…for what it’s worth. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

jollick

That is exactly how I feel about DCC and use it the same way you do. It is a wonderful addition that really takes a lot of stress out of driving.

Steve9R

The one complaint i have with DCC is when you are following a vehicle and it decides to turn off down a street or something.. it brakes and slowly turns and the DCC hits the brakes thinking you are going to run into it, however the car has turned and there was always a lot of room on the road to clear it..

i dont mind the 'short' distance to other vehicles, and it tends to stop people pushing in.. and works well for me..

Steve