I have a 95 Legacy L. I bought it five years ago and never questioned the jumpiness of the cruise control. I live in a hilly area and on slight hills with the cruise control set (on highways) the car will slow down about 4 MPH then downshift like an Apollo rocket at take off. It literally launches you into the seat backrest and the RPM's jump up to 4000 or so. It is not so noticable if you set the cruise at 70-75 but from 55-70 it is "wicked-bad".

 

I always said, "man this car has a sucky cruise control" but it recently occurred to me that maybe it's not supposed to be that way. It's always done it and since it came from a dealer I didn't question it (silly me!). Is this common for the Legacy in these middle years or might I be able to fix it?

Actually my 97 and 98 was like that. I leaned in really hilly country at highway speeds to use D3 and the issue went away, the car was happier, I was happier, and I actually picked up 2mpg snce the car didnt have to hunt around for a gear.

 

 

nipper

My 05 LW does something similar. On long shallow downhills the slowing/accelerating can kind of get in a quick rythm to where my head will sway back and forth slightly. After a few cycles of this it can get a bit sickening like being on a boat in choppy water.

It's important to keep the c.c. throttle cable adjusted for free play. Or if the controller adapts to slack like on some other makes, the speed has to be set before lifting foot off the pedal: otherwise the c.c. will act as if there was slack and pull the cable fast.

Here's a tip I found in another thread about CC:

 

Distance Commuter,

 

Depending on the car and the motor, every situation will be different when it comes to hill climbing using cruise at the same time. Three of my cars have cruise, but where I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, it is sooooo flat, that the only hills are overpasses on the highways. My wife's Lexus and my 300ZX have enough ponies under the hood, that there usually is no tranny downshifting needed to get up and over. The 02 OBW (auto) will downshift one, and then 2 gears if necessary, just because it just doesn't have enough oomph like the other 2 cars. But in all three cars, as I get into a hill, I add my foot pressure to the accelerator to help the cruise out to the top of the hill and then remove it. It invariably will make the drive much smoother, because it doesn't let the revs drop back too far, causing the downshifts, or make them as abrupt when it does shift down.

Likewise, before I turn the cruise off, I take up the pedal pressure with my foot on the accelerator, then hit the button. You don't get that jerk in the driveline that way. Call me old fashioned, call me anal attentive, but it works for me, and makes my driving experience much more rewarding.

Good suggestions all around. Thanks. I guess it is just an underpowered Subaru thing. It can handle the first down shift, but it is that second one that just kills you.

 

Actually my 97 and 98 was like that. I leaned in really hilly country at highway speeds to use D3 and the issue went away, the car was happier, I was happier, and I actually picked up 2mpg snce the car didnt have to hunt around for a gear.

By the way, I assume not, but does shifting like this on the fly tweak the tranny in any way?

Doesnt hurt it at all, in fact the owners manual teels you how to use the gears in hilly terrane ect, thats why you have other gears. You are still the smartest thing in the car, no matter how much computer power is there. (hehe though the way some people drive .. thats a a scary thought). In fact in hilly terrane i think they suggest drive 3 to keep the car from hunting. you can always drive an automatic tranny manually if you want.

 

nipper

Here's a tip I found in another thread about CC:

 

That was an excellent idea. I personally don't use CC in hilly are. Some people claim you get worst MPG with CC in these circumstances (frequent downshifts, high RPM). I believe it.