The Hidden Downsides of Using Cruise Control in Your Car

Cruise control can reduce driver workload on long, straight highways, but it carries notable disadvantages: it can dull attention and increase fatigue, perform poorly on slippery or hilly roads, react unpredictably in traffic (especially with adaptive systems), and sometimes hurts fuel efficiency while adding maintenance costs and complexity. Understanding these trade-offs helps drivers decide when to use it—and when to switch it off.

What Cruise Control Does—and What It Doesn’t

Conventional cruise control keeps your car at a set speed using the throttle. Adaptive cruise control (ACC) adds sensors to automatically adjust speed behind a lead vehicle, sometimes down to a stop-and-go crawl. Neither version makes the car autonomous: the driver remains responsible for steering, monitoring surroundings, and reacting to hazards, and both systems have operational limits—especially in poor weather, complex traffic, and on challenging terrain.

Main Disadvantages at a Glance

The following points outline the most common drawbacks drivers experience with both conventional and adaptive cruise control. They cover safety, performance, comfort, and cost considerations that may not be obvious on a test drive.

• Reduced vigilance and increased fatigue: By offloading speed control, drivers may become complacent or drowsy on monotonous roads, slowing reaction times.
• Slippery-surface risk: On rain, ice, snow, or gravel, cruise control can apply throttle to maintain speed, potentially breaking traction or worsening hydroplaning.
• Hilly and curvy-road limitations: Maintaining a fixed speed up steep grades can cause aggressive throttle inputs and gear hunting; downhill, some systems allow overspeed until braking or downshifting intervenes.
• Traffic inefficiency and safety trade-offs: In congested conditions, ACC can brake and accelerate frequently, increasing wear and sometimes surprising following drivers; conventional cruise is simply unsuitable in traffic.
• Longer reaction times: With your foot off the pedals, it can take longer to move to the brake in an emergency, especially if you’re not anticipating cut-ins or sudden stops.
• Fuel economy isn’t guaranteed: Cruise helps steady-speed efficiency on flat highways but can waste fuel on rolling terrain by insisting on exact speeds; ACC’s frequent braking/accelerating can also reduce efficiency. In EVs, extra regen-brake cycles may lower range compared with anticipatory driving.
• Adaptive system quirks: “Phantom braking” from misread shadows, bridges, or signs; abrupt braking for cut-ins; or failing to react to stationary objects at highway speed remain documented limitations in many systems.
• Weather and sensor dependence: Cameras/radars can be blinded by heavy rain, snow, fog, or a dirty sensor, leading to degraded performance or sudden disengagement that demands immediate driver takeover.
• Added component wear: Stop-and-go ACC can increase brake use and transmission shifting; aggressive hill control can raise powertrain heat, especially when towing.
• Speed-limit changes and tickets: Set-and-forget speed can mean drifting through lower limits, school zones, or work zones, raising enforcement and safety risks.
• Towing and heavy loads: Many manufacturers discourage cruise when towing or on grades, citing stability, cooling, and gear-hunting concerns.
• User-interface pitfalls: Misusing “Resume” or accidentally setting an overly high speed can trigger sudden acceleration; unfamiliar button layouts can distract.
• Cost and complexity: ACC adds purchase price and repair costs; sensor replacements and camera/radar recalibration after a minor collision or windshield swap can be expensive.

While these drawbacks don’t make cruise control unsafe by default, they show why it’s a tool best used in the right conditions—and with continuous driver supervision.

Safety Considerations

When Not to Use Cruise Control

Automakers and safety organizations generally advise avoiding cruise control in specific scenarios where traction, visibility, or rapid driver response is critical. The list below consolidates the most common no-go contexts.

• Wet, icy, snowy, or gravel surfaces; areas prone to standing water (hydroplaning risk).
• Twisty roads, steep hills, mountain passes, or sharp descents where speed must vary.
• Urban traffic, dense congestion, construction zones, or school zones with changing limits.
• When you’re tired or at risk of drowsiness, particularly late at night on monotonous routes.
• While towing or hauling heavy loads, unless your manual explicitly permits it and conditions are ideal.

Disengaging cruise in these situations preserves traction and keeps your attention and right foot ready for immediate control.

Adaptive Systems: Strengths and Pitfalls

Adaptive cruise control can reduce workload in light, steady traffic by smoothing following distance. Yet it’s not infallible: many systems may not reliably brake for stationary obstacles at highway speeds, can brake unexpectedly for harmless targets (overhead signs, shadows), and may struggle with aggressive cut-ins. Heavy precipitation or a dirty sensor can disable ACC without warning, and some “stop-and-go” features require driver input to move after a complete stop. Lane centering is a separate assist feature; even when paired with ACC, the combination remains driver-assist, not self-driving—hands, eyes, and attention must remain on the task of driving.

Fuel, Comfort, and Cost Trade-offs

On flat highways, cruise control often improves comfort and can help stabilize fuel use. On rolling terrain, however, human drivers anticipating hills can lift early and let speed vary slightly, which often saves more fuel than rigid cruise targets. In EVs and hybrids, ACC’s frequent speed corrections can add energy losses through extra regeneration and re-acceleration. Comfort-wise, abrupt ACC responses to cut-ins or curves can feel jerky. Financially, vehicles with radar-and-camera-based systems cost more to buy and repair; calibration after windshield or bumper work is now a routine line item on repair bills, and insurance claims can rise accordingly.

Practical Tips to Use Cruise Control More Safely

Used thoughtfully, cruise control can still be beneficial. These practical steps help minimize downsides while preserving the convenience drivers value.

1. Reserve cruise for dry, straight highways with light, predictable traffic; avoid it in cities, on twisty routes, or in poor weather.
2. Keep your foot poised to brake and your eyes far ahead; increase following distance to allow for cut-ins and sudden stops.
3. Use conservative set speeds and consider a speed limiter or intelligent speed assist where available to adapt to changing limits.
4. On hills, allow modest speed variation or use “eco” cruise modes if equipped; downshift early on descents to aid engine braking.
5. Stay engaged: hands on the wheel, frequent mirror checks, and be ready for sudden disengagements or phantom braking.
6. Turn cruise off when fatigued; take breaks rather than relying on automation to “help you push through.”
7. If towing or heavily loaded, follow the owner’s manual; when in doubt, avoid cruise to protect stability and the powertrain.

These habits keep cruise control in its lane—convenience without compromising situational awareness and safety.

Bottom Line

Cruise control is best viewed as a comfort feature with clear boundaries. It can ease long drives on clear, dry highways, but it also introduces risks—reduced alertness, traction challenges, unpredictable behavior in traffic, possible efficiency losses, and higher repair costs with adaptive systems. Know your car’s limitations, choose conditions carefully, and remain fully engaged at the wheel.

Summary

Cruise control’s disadvantages include dulled driver attention and increased fatigue, poor performance on slippery or hilly roads, inefficiency and abrupt responses in traffic (especially with ACC), potential phantom braking and sensor limitations, added component wear in stop-and-go use, exposure to speed-limit changes, towing constraints, user-interface missteps, and higher ownership costs for sensor-equipped systems. Use it selectively, supervise it constantly, and switch it off when conditions demand hands-on control.

Does cruise control damage a vehicle?

A common misconception is that cruise control is bad for your car. The top brands install this feature on new cars because they know that it can make a car last longer. The simple process of accelerating can do more damage than you might think.

When would you not want to use cruise control?

Do not use cruise control in heavy or stop-and-go traffic, on winding or hilly roads, during wet or icy conditions, or when you are tired. In these situations, your reaction time is crucial, and cruise control reduces your ability to respond quickly to changing conditions, which can increase the risk of an accident. 
Specific Scenarios to Avoid Cruise Control

• Heavy or Stop-and-Go Traffic: Frequent acceleration and deceleration are required, which cruise control handles poorly. 
• City Driving: The need for constant stops, starts, and lane changes makes cruise control more of a hindrance than a help. 
• Winding or Hilly Roads: The system struggles with sharp curves and elevation changes, potentially causing unexpected speed fluctuations or loss of control. 
• Adverse Weather Conditions: Wet, icy, or snowy roads reduce traction. Cruise control may not react fast enough to prevent a skid or hydroplaning, and you need your full attention. 
• When You Are Tired or Distracted: Cruise control can encourage passive driving and a false sense of security, lulling you into a state where you are not paying enough attention to the road. 

Why Avoid Cruise Control in These Situations?

• Reduced Control: Cruise control takes some control away from the driver, making it harder to react to unexpected events. 
• Slower Reaction Time: Your foot must leave the accelerator to disengage cruise control, which can delay your reaction to sudden obstacles or changes in traffic. 
• Poor System Performance: The system is designed for steady speeds on open roads and is not equipped to handle unpredictable conditions effectively. 

Instead of using cruise control, you should manually control your vehicle’s speed to maintain better awareness and control over your car.

Is cruise control good for long drives?

Conclusion: Using cruise control can be beneficial for fuel efficiency and reducing fatigue on long, straight drives, particularly on highways. However, it should be avoided in heavy traffic, adverse weather, or complex driving scenarios where constant speed adjustments are necessary.

What are the downsides of using cruise control?

Cons of Using Cruise Control

• Reduced situational awareness.
• Decrease in EEMG brain wave activity.
• Increased driver fatigue.
• Reduction in eye movement.
• Increase in distracted driving.
• Reduced reaction time.
• Increased stopping distances.
• Reduced directional control.