does ANYONE have radar cruise control?
 

hmm?

I'm curious as to how good it is...

If it is similar to the one in my Avalon it works very well, plus you can click it off for regular ole cruise control. The only issue I've every had with it was in the desert with the bright sunrise over a very flat horizon. It gave an error code and turned itself off. The code checked out to; very bright light shinning directly into the lens.

how "active" or "dynamic" is this radar cruise control?

Does it only maintain the distance (e.g. if someone cuts in or the guy in front slows down) or does it go further and brake to a standstil (like the one on the Crown Majesta).

If you gradually approach someone it will slow and pace the car ahead, this is so smooth I usually don't even notice it. When someone cuts you off but is pulling away from you it will usually coast a ways then resume. If someone pulls out in front of you and is going much slower it will apply the brakes and very hard if needed. Once the car begins to hard brake I usually change lanes to go around the slow polk. I do not know if it would actually bring my car to a stop but that would be a dangerous situation that I would not want to remain in to findout.

The only way I can think of is a hang a soft object out of a window in an open parking lot so that if it does it, it's soft (sponge or styrofoam?). Thanks for the explanation.

I'm more interested in the original question--does anyone here have one or know of someone who has the radar cruise control/collision option on their ES350? I've yet to actually see one w/ that option, and was told by the fleet manager at my local dealership that supposedly Lexus decided not to actually offer it on the ES350 at this time (maybe a few early releases might have had it, but none since then), contrary to what was/is stated on the various printed/electronic ES350 literature.

I thought it was a special order option?

That's what my local dealer told me, although in the same breath he offered that even then, it still might not be possible to actually get it at this time.

Could all those who special ordered the radar cruise and PCS post their experience here? There seems to be an influx of cars with this option, or at least people now are ordering it.

I ordered my 350 June 19th and I picked it up (with every option) on Monday October 2nd. My wife insisted we get this option. (She thinks that I follow to close.) It has worked flawlessly, even better than I expected. It will keep you at 3 different distances. A car pulled across in front of me as I was driving down a two-lane road. It applied the breaks very hard. I had the cruse set on 60mph. If you approach another car too fast it will start applying the breaks and if you don’t put on the breaks it will start beeping. I have not tried to see if it will stop the car completely but I am reasonably sure that I will. If there were any down side it would be for the car following to close behind you. It reacts very fast.

Works Great!!
 

Yes, for us it was only available with a special order. We ordered on June 2nd and took delivery on September 15th.

It was worth the wait! Took an eight hour drive from San Diego to San Francisco two days ago, and used the radar cruise on I-5 in the central valley. It took all the "work" out of driving - speeding up or slowing down as needed, with some dramatic braking when someone pulls into the lane you are in and is too close. I didn't trust it at first, so I set it for the maximum distance between me and the guy ahead of me, but as I got used to it and found how well it worked, I cranked it down a step and then finally to the closest distance. All three settings worked great, but leaving too much space in front of me just invited people (mostly the big semis) to pull into my lane to pass other trucks or slow cars.

The salesmen at the dealer "pooh-pooh"-ed the radar cruise control, saying it wasn't really that wonderful. I held my ground, waited 15 weeks to get exactly the car I wanted, and couldn't be more pleased.

Did you have to order the UL Edition to get this option?

I don't think so, but then I had already decided on the UL package before looking at the other options. We ended up "checking all the boxes" except for the spoiler and the XM radio.

Same system that I had in my 2005 Sienna Limited. IMHO the system works great except on twisty roads where there are turns tight enough that the sensor will pick up cars or large trucks in adjacent lanes. Especially annoying when going uphill because it will sense something in an adjacent lane, brake hard, and then accelerate hard to speed up again. All for a false alarm! Also, the system will gently apply the brakes when you approach another vehicle or a vehicle enters your lane. It will even go so far as to brake fairly hard up to a certain point. If the situation calls for braking hard enough that it goes beyond it's ability to safely modulate brake pressure, it will beep to tell you that it needs your immediate assistance. The system will NOT stop the car and it only operates above 35-40 mph. The only system that will completely stop your car and operate at low speeds is the Mercedes system in the new S550.

I always wondered though, do the tail lights light up when the system brakes for you?

The difference is that your Sienna is using the Laser Cruise Control and hence it can get confused if you're going uphill and there's an overpass ahead or around a right bend (oncoming traffic). I know that system will not slow you down to a stop and will beep if the braking required is more than the system was programmed to provide.

Toyota does have the milli-meter wave radar that will bring the car to a halt just like the Distronic Plus system.