WJM

I took my '06 530xiT in to get the mp3 programming on the in-dash cd done and the dealership put me in a Alpine White '08 528iA. Nice car. I had the loaner for about a week.

I was on my way to church with my family one Saturday and noticed that I could not get cruise control to activate. It would temporarily show the speed as if was going to turn on cruise control but it never came on. I was used to activating CC in my '06 so I was surprised and thought BMW changed the Cruise Control engagement process for '08.

On our way home I forgot to disengage DSC and activated Cruise Control the way I am used to in the '06 530xiT and it came on without a problem. I then held down the DSC button to deactivate it and the car disengaged Cruise Control as soon as DSC was turned off. I went through the sequence again with the same results each time. With DSC on Cruise Control is allowed but with DSC off you are not allowed to use CC on the '08 528iA I was driving.

Anyone with a similar experience? I guess it's something programmed into the newer BMW's for saftey reasons.

Ricracing

The cruise control deactivates itself if the DSC has to kick in.

In the winter time on slippery roads this happens often.

A safety feature that I can understand very well.

gwf545

I never noticed it being disabled with DSC off, but it makes sense. I've had DSC drop me out of cruise in a tight curve and it was probably correct to do so. If DSC is off, you are probably driving aggressively, so then why would you want cruise control on anyway? If you want to "cruise" you need DSC to make it safe.

craigm1841

i have noticed that too.

Phantom Mark

I can just quickly confirm the CC works fine with the DSC manually turned off at least.

WJM

I wonder when BMW made that change? Probably 2008 Model Year with the new "joystick" like shifters.
Anyone with an '08 xi model care to try this and report back. My '06 is an xi model and I wanted to see if there was a difference between '08 xi and non-xi models regarding DSC off and Cruise Control.

I personally prefer the setup that allows Cruise Control active after I have disabled DSC manually. However, I do understand the extra level of saftey for the average driver. Many people still do not understand the dangers of activating Cruise Control in rainy situations with slippery surfaces and standing water. So for the safety of the majority of BMW owners I see the wisdom in requiring DSC to be active before engaging CC.

Phantom Mark

Not sure why its an issue at all TBH, I know my car works with CC and DSC off but from what I read here the later cars dont, I wonder why, I see your explanations and they make perfect sense but logic should surely rule here ??

Even if the system is fully turned off the sensors can still sense when a wheel is slipping, and infact DO still sense for the ABS control, as the sensors are partially shared between ABS and DSC, so with that in mind what should it matter even with the above summary of explanation ?