I was driving on cruse control and came up on a heavy squall. (Central FL tropical storm Debby). I felt the car start to hydro plane, nothing serious, but the cruse control shut off.

Do you think this is a safety function of the cruse control feature? I didn't want to fool around trying to duplicate the event.

 

Geez, I certainly hope so! (I'm sure you know that you're not supposed to drive with cruise control on in the rain.) It probably shut off when traction control tried to kick in while you were hydroplaning. Glad it ended well! (I hydroplaned in my Porsche during a heavy squall -- spun around and hit a guard rail at just 35 mph. The car was totaled. I had a broken nose.)

 

I was recently driving in heavy rain and got the following message a few times with a yellow triangle:

"Radar sensor blocked"

I did not have my active cruise control engaged, but I'm assuming that it would have deactivated had it been on. In heavy rain I would not have it on, but never really thought about that.

 

"Radar sensor blocked" is a common issue, and can happen on the nicest of days. I'm still fighting this one myself...

As for Jag to deliberately disable the cruise due to rain is probably giving them more credit than they deserve. No other company does this, and Jags adaptive system is already known to be less that perfect.

It would be my guess that it just started getting enough erroneous reflections or Scatter that it simply went into an error mode.

@ rscultho - I doubt you would get a error if your sensor was not in use. Most likly you had your "forward alert" on, which uses the same components.

IMHO of course,
Vince

 

I guess I should have mentioned that my cruse control system is non adaptive a la base model. No radar antenna.

I'm so ashamed to admit that in front of all you high roller dudes with the high tech packages, on your cars that is.

 

lol,
I didn't even know Jag offered a "normal" cruise control... I'm probably more envious of YOU!
When our adaptive fails, it will not revert to being a normal cruise control... it just shuts down the system completely..... I wish it would just fail over to a standard controller with warning light to show partial failure, but nooOOoooo.


V

 

My message doesn't really help answer your question but I did want to chime in on the safety feature my 2008 Infiniti G35x had, which was if you had the wipers on fast you could not set the adaptive cruise. Simple logic really. Now i dont recall if it switched it off when you were already cruising and heavy rain came along. I too only have the manual cruise and much prefer it over the adaptive. The wheel control is so simple and intuitive it puts stalk systems a la lexus and bmw to shame.


Steve

 

I've had this happen on other cars, I assumed it was a safety feature. I figured the car sensed a loss of traction and shut off cruise accordingly.

 

That's the only time I've ever seen the warning. It was very heavy rain - what Tommy Tuberville calls a toad strangler. I don't know what forward alert is...didn't know I had forward alert!

Forward Alert?! Hmmm...will have to investigate this.

 

Anytime I'm driving in Atlanta my "forward alert" goes off and I don't even have it on my car! Of course it goes off right around the I-285/400 interchange.

 

Yeah, I think it's part of the traction control programming. I'm 99% sure that even my old '95 will kick out the cruise control if wheelspin is detected....which is certainly plausible if the car is hydro-planing. I normally don't use the cruise in heavy rain so it's not something I have lots of experience with

Cheers
DD

 

+1

 

Living in Louisiana I have experienced the "Radar Blocked" fault 5 times in the 6 months I've owned my car! Each time was in heavy rain and it cleared once the rain lighted up / stopped. Longest time it stayed in was about 15 miles of driving after rain had stopped.

Now as for the CC shutting off I can say for sure ANY time the Traction Control system sees a difference in rear wheel speed verse front it shuts off CC. With the rough roads (yes even parts of the interstate I-10) mine shuts off whenever the car bounces over any buckle in the road even when dry! And that’s at the 70 mph speed limit.

 

My 350Z shuts off it's cruise control if the traction control goes on. I'm totally fine with the cruise deactivating if the car is starting to lose grip. I think it's a fantastic idea.

 

I do see in my reference material that the adaptive will fail and throw a DTC code C1A67-97 indicating "Speed control sensor - reduced visibility" error.

This code is self clearing when conditions change, so I guess they do anticipate rain or other things...

Also interesting to note reference to incorrect wheel diameters causing Adaptive Cruse failures. (It sees objects that mathematically should be standing still as "in motion" by a few MPH). Just though that was an interesting and often un-thought of side effect if tire changes!

Vince

 

Um, yeah, what I said

 

I didn't get the adaptive cruise control on my '11 XJ and didn't order it on the '13 XKR I have coming in. Nothing to do with saving money, I just don't like the way they work. Now with these issues, I'm convinced I made the right decision.

 

I opted out as well. After researching how they worked, I decided against it.

 

NUMBER: JTB00086
(ISSUE 1)
MODEL: XK
DATE: 06 MAY 2008
SECTION: 419
'Radar Sensor Blocked' Message Displayed - Repair Procedure
AFFECTED VEHICLE RANGE:
XK (X150) VIN: B000001 - B26216
Model Year: 2007 - 2008
CONDITION SUMMARY:
'RADAR SENSOR BLOCKED' MESSAGE DISPLAYED
Situation:
While attempting to use Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), the message 'Radar Sensor Blocked' may be displayed in the instrument cluster display with the possibility of Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) C1A67-97 and other DTCs being stored.
NOTE: If a blockage occurs while the ACC is already in use, 'Driver Intervene' will be shown followed by 'Radar Sensor Blocked.'
This could be caused by the calibration setting of the ACC system for certain environmental conditions.
Action:
Should a customer express the above concern, follow the Repair Procedure outlined in this bulletin below to check for obstructions and reconfigure the speed control module.
PARTS:
No parts required
TOOLS:
Latest IDS DVD; software first available on IDS DVD111 Patch File 1 Midtronics PSC-550 Vehicle Power Supply

WARRANTY:
NOTE: Repair procedures are under constant review, and therefore times are subject to change; those quoted here must be taken as guidance only. Always refer to DDW to obtain the latest repair time. DDW requires the use of causal part numbers. Labor only claims must show the causal part number with a quantity of zero.
REPAIR PROCEDURE
INSPECT FOR RADAR SENSOR OBSTRUCTIONS


1. Inspect for obstruction (badges, license plates, etc) in front of the radar sensor. (Figure 1).
^ Clear any obstruction found.
RECONFIGURING THE SPEED CONTROL MODULE
CAUTION: A Midtronics PSC-550 Vehicle Power Supply must be connected to the vehicle battery during diagnosis.
1. Connect the Midtronics PSC-550 Vehicle Power Supply to the vehicle battery.
NOTE: IDS must be loaded with software release DVD111 Patch File 1 or later.
2. Connect the IDS to the vehicle and begin a new diagnostic session by entering the correct VIN for the current vehicle.
3. Follow the IDS prompts to read the vehicle configuration.
4. Select 'Yes' when prompted 'Do you wish to read diagnostic trouble codes?'
5. Select 'tick' to continue, following all on-screen instructions to complete this task.
6. Select the 'Vehicle Configuration' tab when Content Model is displayed.
7. From the Vehicle Configuration menu, configure the 'Speed control module' by selecting from the drop-down menu:
^ 'Module programming' > 'Configure existing module' > 'Speed control module'.
8. Select 'tick' to continue, following all on-screen instructions to complete this task.
^ IDS will return to the Vehicle Configuration menu when completed.
9. Exit the current session.
10. Disconnect IDS and the Midtronics PSC-550 Vehicle Power Supply from the vehicle.

 

I would check your tires if the car went hyrdoplaning.