DIY: Adjusting cruise control cable

gearbox · 07-10-2005

Okay I decided to find out why my cruise control was performing poorly after 3 years of having the car. It would take 3-4 seconds for the gas to press down after engaging cruise mode. Also, it would drop a few mph below what I set it at. Something is wrong.

Well I found out that there is a cruise control cable right next to the throttle cable most of you have tightened by now.

Okay lets get started. First locate the two cable assemblies. The one farther away from you is for the gas, and the one closer is for cruise. The basic idea is the same for loosening the bolt and adjusting the locknut. So just read the throttle cable diy and do the same thing for the cruise cable. Now you want it tight enough so that the cable pulls up the black plastic lever and aligns it with the metal brass throttle lever. Note in the pic how they are lined up after tightening. The cable adjuster is also boxed in blue for cruise control. After doing this mod, the pedal now responds within a second of pressing the set button and maintains that speed perfectly.

To remove this ad, register today for free or log in if already registered!

tinman · 07-11-2005

Good one! I would not have thought of that.

tacheon · 07-12-2005

I don't see how tightening the cable affects your cruise control speed. Your speed is regulated by the speed sensor. The cruise control is supposed to have 3.75mm of slack in the closed position. If you adjust the cruise control cable on early 2001 models LX and EX models, you need to do the cruise control learn procedure such that the actuator learns the amount of slack in the cable. If you're tightening the cable to take up the slack and it seems to fix your problem with the delay in cruise control engagement and speed loss, this is usually a sign your actuator is slowly starting to fail.

gearbox · 07-12-2005

i think the problem had to do with the cable being too loose, so when i pressed the set button at say 65, then let go of the gas, the speed would have dropped a few mph by the time it took to engage it. All I know is its perfect now, just like new. It engages in 1 sec and keeps speed so I'm happy. I didn't do any learn procedure. I still have a couple years extended warranty if it fails.