[ImperialCrown]

I see a part # 68171868AB for a sensor and module, but I don't think this is the whole kit.
You need a hole in the grill for the 'radar', a wiring harness and reconfigure the TIPM to accept the option. I would contact the dealer to see if it can even be added. I'm not positive that it can be.

http://www.mopar.com/part/68171868AB?s=353071&i=2266467&b=dodge

 

[Bob Lincoln]

What is the 'adaptive' in adaptive cruise control? How does it differ from any other cruise control?

 

[valiant67]

It cuts speed to help maintain a "safe" distance using distance sensors on the front of the car when you approach slower traffic.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Nice. Does away with manual intervention.

 

[ImperialCrown]

It is passive safety and forward crash avoidance. If the ACC senses a car ahead slowing down or speeding up, it will adjust speed to maintain a safe distance ahead. Basically all you have to do is watch and steer.

 

[crouchta]

Thank you for the information. I assumed as much, but it sounds like my best option is to take the whippin' and just not have ACC....

 

[Christopher]

That was one of the reasons I got my Charger. A salesman let me take one home overnight that was equipped with it. I didn't think I'd like it, but after using it, it was a must-have feature for me. It is nice when you come up behind someone going slower than you, but if they brake suddenly or you slow for an on/off ramp you still instinctively go for the brake pedal. You can adjust the distance at which you follow someone to one of three settings, and I seem to recall reading that it varied by speed.

It is also pretty responsive to accelerating when going to pass. If I hit the blinker and the lane next to me is clear the car is already starting to accelerate by the time I'm starting my lane change.

It also is occasionally prone to...I don't know what to call it...lag... time at times. On more than one occasion, I have had an oncoming car turn left and cross in front of me into a driveway. The car will clear my path and be out of the flow of traffic and the Charger will apply the brakes, slowing rapidly and sound the FCW. This has happened when there is no imminent threat of collision. It doesn't happen regularly or very often in fact, but it has happened more than once and in other situations. But I guess I'd rather it be a bit 'cautious' instead of plowing into something.

I won't actually stop the car if the car in front of you stops, but it will sound the Forward Collision Warning and slow you to around 20mph. I've had the FCW go off because of a rise in the road and because it thought I was going to hit the guardrail I was next to. Least, that's the only reason I can figure it went off based on my environment. I also had a warning that the sensor was obscured and needed to be cleaned. I flicked a bug off of it and it worked fine.

One thing I've noticed with the cruise on the Charger is that it actively manages your speed. That is, with the cruise on my Stratus, if I'm going down a steep grade, the car can exceed your set speed. The Charger will actively slow you to your set speed, or if you choose a lower speed, will slow the car rather than letting the speed drift down to the new setting. I don't know how long they've been doing that, but this is the first car I've driven that does it.

You also have the option of using CC as normal.

An excellent option and one I miss when I'm driving my Stratus.

 

[ImperialCrown]

Thanks for the robot-throttle review. I've driven them, but never lived with them on a day-to-day basis and never had the car long enough to think that it was a 'must-have' option.
I believe that this ACC technology came from Daimler. The Mercedes-Benz will slow to a stop if necessary and if the driver physically can't for some reason.
Next when they embed the wire in the pavement, then we can let the Guidance robot steer the car and ask the dash computer to wake us up when we get there!
The Automated highway has been thought of for awhile. Many of us would forget how to drive, but it would reduce accidents. Maybe texting and cellphones would then be legal and I could watch movies, powder my nose and clip my nails while driving. :lol:

http://archive.cspo.org/documents/article_Wetmore-DrivingTheDream.pdf

 

[peterjon1]

My '06 Stratus will downshift to reduce over speed on hills. I have never tried it on a steep hill to see how far down it will go. I think it kicks in when set speed is exceeded by 3mph.

 

[Dave Z]

GM had the auto-stop feature years and years ago. Works nicely. The one Chrysler has only hits the brakes up to 20%, it won't stop you, so stay awake!

PS> It isn't standard on 300C, it's part of the safety package. The forward collision warning, imminent crash preparation system (moves brakes closer to the discs, moves headrests forward, pretensions seat belts I think, etc), adaptive cruise, and forward parking sensors are all the same system. I don't actually like the adaptive cruise most of the time (handy sometimes) but I enjoy the front sensors, on a car with a body color bumper.

 

[Doug D]

One thing I've noticed with the cruise on the Charger is that it actively manages your speed. That is, with the cruise on my Stratus, if I'm going down a steep grade, the car can exceed your set speed. The Charger will actively slow you to your set speed, or if you choose a lower speed, will slow the car rather than letting the speed drift down to the new setting. I don't know how long they've been doing that, but this is the first car I've driven that does it.

The active speed management has been around for a while. Our previous vehicle, a 2000 T&C Ltd, would downshift on downhill/uphill slopes to help maintain the proper speed. My '06 Ram and '10 Journey have this feature as well.

While I wouldn't mind adaptive cruise control, a car that can drive itself is not something I'm ready for (yet). I actually enjoy driving most of the time.

 

[Christopher]

I've driven an Intrepid over some of the same roads. The Intrepid would downshift in an attempt to maintain the set speed, but it would continue to accelerate down the hill if it was steep enough and seldom slowed back down to the set speed. The Charger will actively slow to the selected speed and maintained a speed about 1 mph above what it was set at.

Yeah, I wouldn't want a car that drove itself either.

 

[Dave Z]

The downhill kickdown is different from adaptive cruise. Downhill kickdown just uses engine braking to try to stay closer to the set speed. I'd shut it off if I could.

Adaptive cruise (which I first experienced in an early-2000s Toyota or Lexus, I think, maybe an early Prius) uses distance from the next car. Sometimes it's fooled by parked cars especially when you go around a turn. The collision detection system is well tuned on the Chryslers and has few false warnings.