Whoa! WTF? Safety Hazard on Cascadia Cruise Control

[PapaDough]

Hello Mr. Giroux (Media Relations, Daimler Trucks North America)

I have recently driven the new Cascadia here in Canada and I am compelled to write you regarding my experience. Overall, it is a comfortable, well-made truck but there is a dire safety hazard that needs immediate attention.

When the cruise control is engaged and the engine brake is activated, the truck slows down very well, but surprisingly, the cruise control does not disengage automatically when the engine brake is shut off. Alarmingly this happened on an off ramp from highway speed to a local road intersection. After the engine brake decelerated the tractor-trailer from 60 mph to 40 mph, I was dumbfounded to discover the truck accelerating back up the exit ramp, with the engine brake shut off. I had to immediately hit the service brake hard, stomping it to make the vehicle halt at the stop light. All ended well but I was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Of all the trucks I have driven to date, and I have been driving for more than 13 years, this is the first time I have come across a cruise control that does not automatically and permanently deactivate when the engine brake is engaged. In my experience to date, including Freightliner Trucks, the cruise control must be manually re-engaged after the engine brake has been activated.

If this is a software glitch, or otherwise not the proper behaviour expected with this Cascadia and this is definitely a malfunction then you may want to contact me for further information on the truck and its location where it is in service. I believe this is a serious issue that merits further discussion. If I am incorrectly handling the electronic settings on this truck, please advise. I would be happy to upgrade my education.

Please share this email with those who can provide constructive feedback. I look forward to your reply.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

PapaDough

 

[patriciajnsn]

Hello Mr. Giroux (Media Relations, Daimler Trucks North America)

I have recently driven the new Cascadia here in Canada and I am compelled to write you regarding my experience. Overall, it is a comfortable, well-made truck but there is a dire safety hazard that needs immediate attention.

When the cruise control is engaged and the engine brake is activated, the truck slows down very well, but surprisingly, the cruise control does not disengage automatically when the engine brake is shut off. Alarmingly this happened on an off ramp from highway speed to a local road intersection. After the engine brake decelerated the tractor-trailer from 60 mph to 40 mph, I was dumbfounded to discover the truck accelerating back up the exit ramp, with the engine brake shut off. I had to immediately hit the service brake hard, stomping it to make the vehicle halt at the stop light. All ended well but I was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Of all the trucks I have driven to date, and I have been driving for more than 13 years, this is the first time I have come across a cruise control that does not automatically and permanently deactivate when the engine brake is engaged. In my experience to date, including Freightliner Trucks, the cruise control must be manually re-engaged after the engine brake has been activated.

If this is a software glitch, or otherwise not the proper behaviour expected with this Cascadia and this is definitely a malfunction then you may want to contact me for further information on the truck and its location where it is in service. I believe this is a serious issue that merits further discussion. If I am incorrectly handling the electronic settings on this truck, please advise. I would be happy to upgrade my education.

Please share this email with those who can provide constructive feedback. I look forward to your reply.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

PapaDough

Wouldn't it have been better to call this place?So what now are you going to leave it as is knowing you paid good money for this trk till the company gets back with you whenever that may be?

 

[Injun]

I've never had a truck that disengages the cruise control with use of the engine brake only. I've always had to step on the foot brake or just push the button to cancel or turn off the cruise control.

They're designed this way so that when you're on the open road and you start down a hill, the engine brake will maintain your downhill speed and then the cruise control will pick back up on the flat or next uphill at the end of the descent.

I don't run into this problem at off ramps because I turn my cruise control off when approaching my stop. I won't need it on surface streets.

If I'm understanding your complaint, anyway..

 

[GAnthony]

I've never had a truck that disengages the cruise control with use of the engine brake only. I've always had to step on the foot brake or just push the button to cancel or turn off the cruise control.

They're designed this way so that when you're on the open road and you start down a hill, the engine brake will maintain your downhill speed and then the cruise control will pick back up on the flat or next uphill at the end of the descent.

I don't run into this problem at off ramps because I turn my cruise control off when approaching my stop. I won't need it on surface streets.

If I'm understanding your complaint, anyway..

me too. (it does not disengage with the jake) meaning i don't have any problems, shut off or hit the brakes.

 

[Hammer166]

 

[Uncle Birchy]

I've never had a truck that disengages the cruise control with use of the engine brake only. I've always had to step on the foot brake or just push the button to cancel or turn off the cruise control.

They're designed this way so that when you're on the open road and you start down a hill, the engine brake will maintain your downhill speed and then the cruise control will pick back up on the flat or next uphill at the end of the descent.

I don't run into this problem at off ramps because I turn my cruise control off when approaching my stop. I won't need it on surface streets.

If I'm understanding your complaint, anyway..

It's called PAY ATTENTION....

Cruise Control is okay on Long Stretches of "Open Highway" but in Urban Areas or Heavy Traffic it's Better to shut the cruise off "Pay Attention" and actually DRIVE your Truck...

I've driven 2 Cascadias at previous carriers and honest 2 gosh if I hadda a "CHOICE" between my Volvo 780 or a Cascadia I'd take the Freightliner Cascadia Any Day...

Unfortunately all this company runs is Volvo's and ALL are AUTO-SHIFT...

WELL sure I suppose I could FIND another Carrier but that's a PAIN in The ass all in itself and generally I try to stay at a job for ATLEAST 18 months or a year "MINNIMUN"..

Also despite all my "COMPLAINING" from time to time I'm getting 43 cents per mile and usually atleast 22/25 hundred per week or 3200 on a Laredo "Turnaround"

 

[PapaDough]

......
They're designed this way so that when you're on the open road and you start down a hill, the engine brake will maintain your downhill speed and then the cruise control will pick back up on the flat or next uphill at the end of the descent........

No that is not the situation I'm describing. I understand what you're saying though: some engine brakes are designed to hold the speed of the truck at the cruise setting and will automatically kick in going downhill. That is a specifically designed feature of such an engine brake set up. Not all trucks are set up like that. In fact, most trucks I've driven are not like that at all.

My point is that when you manually activate an engine brake, you expect to slow down your truck then use your service brakes to bring the vehicle to a halt. You don't expect your vehicle to start speeding up!

Again, the point is that when a driver manually engages the engine brake his natural expectation is that the cruise be automatically deactivated until he manually re-activates the cruise.

 

[Tazz]

I am confused. On our Cascadia Evolutions if the cruise is set the jake will not engage until you reach 5 mph +/- over the set speed but will not engage at all below that now matter how many times you push the button until you turn off the cruise or apply your brakes.

Secondly why would you only be relying on a jake brake to stop you for an exit ramp?

 

[Inkeper]

When you manually turn the jakes on, the cruise goes into a standby mode. The way to disengage the cruise is exactly as has been stated above, tap the brake or the clutch, or press the cancel button. It's no big deal after you figure out how it works. Personally I like the way it's set up.

 

[Injun]

If my cruise is working, the only way the engine brake engages (except when speed is a certain mph over the set cruise speed without accelerator use) is by cancelling the cruise control somehow...either by stepping on the foot brake or by pushing the "cancel" or turning off the cruise. I don't know of any way to "manually" engage the jakes while the cruise is functioning.

So I'm a bit confused.

 

[Rigjockey]

I must not be understanding the situation, I have never had a truck that engaging the Jake would turn off the cruise.

 

[GAnthony]

I must not be understanding the situation, I have never had a truck that engaging the Jake would turn off the cruise.

mine never did.

step on brake

step on clutch

shut off

cancel

 

[Injun]

Cascadia smart wheel pod:

Is it possible the O/P bumped the cruise switch by accident? The "set" button is exactly opposite the "engine brake" button.

 

[GAnthony]

Cascadia smart wheel pod:

Is it possible the O/P bumped the cruise switch by accident? The "set" button is exactly opposite the "engine brake" button.

yeah, give me good old fashion dashboard toggle switches.

i had a truck with that set up, easy to engage the cruise.

 

[Rigjockey]

yeah, give me good old fashion dashboard toggle switches.

i had a truck with that set up, easy to engage the cruise.

Yeah! stupid Volvo airhorn on the wheel made me blast the horn on the safety lady as she passed in front of my truck

I like my switches on the dash where I can find them and not trying to find switches as I am turning the wheel

 

[GAnthony]

Yeah! stupid Volvo airhorn on the wheel made me blast the horn on the safety lady as she passed in front of my truck

I like my switches on the dash where I can find them and not trying to find switches as I am turning the wheel

my intertrashional had an "electric air horn" that was laughable, and the button was on the wheel, no lanyard hanging down from the ceiling like it should have been. city horn,was dead center where it belongs, was so muffled, it wouldn't eve be heard from 2 inches away.

 

[Sinister]

I drove a VN Volvo 100 years ago that had one of those pathetic electric horns.

And the city horn was two little buttons on either side or the wheel that went "meep meep" like a compact car. Pretty sad.

One of the W9 I drove had the KW Smartwheel, and the city horn was a lrge bar at the center portion of the steering wheel. I only accidentally bumped it and blew the city horn an average of 340934589034 times a week.

 

[ironpony]

 

[Gabriel Macmahon]

i think you are talking about this one

 

[Inkeper]

On the recent, 2016 and 2017, Cascadias with the automatic transmission, the jake is on the shifter, which is like a turn signal post but on the right side (where the johnson bar used to be on some trucks). The post has 4 positions, all the way up the jakes are off, all the way down is full jakes. On the very end of the post is a push button that you use to switch from auto to manual (a paddle type shifter, the post also moves towards you to upshift and away from you to downshift). Just to the inside of that is a 3 position twist knob that is either forward, reverse, and neutral in the middle. Whenever the cruise is on and engaged, the jake brake is on a setting that will only slow the truck if you go a certain amount over your set speed. If you move the jake control to any of the 3 on positions, the cruise goes to standby, you can use the foot throttle to speed up if you need to. If you then move the jake control back to the off position, the cruise will come back at the preset speed, unless you touched the brake pedal at some time to effectively cancel the cruise.