Cruise Control on steering wheel?

[CachacoF80]

Hi. My commute will be longish and I noticed the cruise control is operated via the stalk to the left of the steering wheel.

Is there any coding, different steering wheel or modifications that would allow me to increase/decease speed via the steering wheel controls?

Thanks.

[CachacoF80]

Any ideas?

[CachacoF80]

Originally Posted by Onesie

What problem are you trying to solve here?
The cruise control stalk is the most intuitive in the industry, requires no activation to start and you can control the speed with your finger without moving your hand from the wheel.
Just use your pinky if your hand is higher up.

But to your point, there’s no way to change the buttons on the wheel to control cruise, unless you somehow rewire everything, thus losing the stalk and the functions of the buttons themselves.

Thanks. I asked because I once had a GTI that had the cruise control on the stalk but nowadays my cars have it on the steering wheel. I commute quite bit on highways and I find the steering wheel controls more intuitive. But seems like I'll simply have to get used to it.

[JimD]

I have a truck with it on the wheel and my e88. I MUCH prefer the stalk on the bimmer. But my first trip I was calling it names. It does take a little getting used to. I cannot see it from my driving position. But I don't need to see it. I also do not have to push a button to turn on cruise. Just pull the lever back and your speed is set. Pull it again to reduce speed and push forward to increase the setting.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by CachacoF80

Any ideas?

Sell it and buy a 2-series that has the controls on the steering wheel?

I much prefer the stalk, having had an M235i in the past.

[BMWCCA1]

I don't use cruise control on any of my BMWs and never have. That's why I live in the country. But I am amused that the OP was so impatient as to repeat his question after just just eight-hours of not getting any response. Must really be aggravating to him!

[CachacoF80]

It is really aggravating! There is a reason why bmw moved this function to steering wheel in newer cars...

Anyway, I'm "dealing" with it and won't sell the car as someone rather unhelpful suggested.

Edit: not only on newer cars like my F80, also older ones like my E46! Hope the cruise control engineer for the E82 is no longer employed by BMW

[Lester]

'Cruse control' isn't really supposed to be a replacement for using the foot pedal in traffic that is changing speed a lot. It was always intended for cruising at a relative constant speed. As in freeway travel - set it for your desired speed, choose the lane that is appropriate and relax your foot. If you are in traffic that requires regular change of speed, then cruise control isn't really appropriate. I think perhaps your frustration is due to misaligned user expectations.

[CachacoF80]

Originally Posted by Lester

'Cruse control' isn't really supposed to be a replacement for using the foot pedal in traffic that is changing speed a lot. It was always intended for cruising at a relative constant speed. As in freeway travel - set it for your desired speed, choose the lane that is appropriate and relax your foot. If you are in traffic that requires regular change of speed, then cruise control isn't really appropriate. I think perhaps your frustration is due to misaligned user expectations.

My commute has little to no traffic. I could average 100 if I wanted to but cops would eventually get me. I'm doing 80-82mph with some adjustments here and there as CA drivers that pay their taxes feel entitled to their lane.

It has nothing to do with expectations. Some of
you may like the stalk but BMW did away with it and that should send a message of usability, function and convenience.

No need for further replies as the unhelpful crowd is out there for his morning.

[JimD]

It is probably possible to adapt a steering wheel from another BMW to a 1 series and tie in the cruse control signals but I have no idea what it would take. It would not be a simple coding exercise, the buttons are not on the wheel. I don't think the stalk is doing anything that steering wheel buttons could not do. But this sort of thing can be a lot of work. You'd have to figure out what each wire to the existing stalk is doing and then figure out which connection to the new wheel to use. The wires are also probably not long enough to reach the new wheel. Extending them would not be that hard but there is not much room in the column supporting the steering wheel. You might also be able to disable and reuse buttons of the existing steering wheel but it would not be a lot easier and it seems like it would be hard to remember what the repurposed buttons do.

I experienced frustration at first with the stalk but I quickly got used to it and now prefer it. I hope your experience is similar. I don't think it's impossible to change it but I think it will be difficult and costly.

[CachacoF80]

Originally Posted by JimD

It is probably possible to adapt a steering wheel from another BMW to a 1 series and tie in the cruse control signals but I have no idea what it would take. It would not be a simple coding exercise, the buttons are not on the wheel. I don't think the stalk is doing anything that steering wheel buttons could not do. But this sort of thing can be a lot of work. You'd have to figure out what each wire to the existing stalk is doing and then figure out which connection to the new wheel to use. The wires are also probably not long enough to reach the new wheel. Extending them would not be that hard but there is not much room in the column supporting the steering wheel. You might also be able to disable and reuse buttons of the existing steering wheel but it would not be a lot easier and it seems like it would be hard to remember what the repurposed buttons do.

I experienced frustration at first with the stalk but I quickly got used to it and now prefer it. I hope your experience is similar. I don't think it's impossible to change it but I think it will be difficult and costly.

Thanks. Sounds too involved indeed. I have adapted...

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by CachacoF80

My commute has little to no traffic. I could average 100 if I wanted to but cops would eventually get me. I'm doing 80-82mph with some adjustments here and there as CA drivers that pay their taxes feel entitled to their lane.

It has nothing to do with expectations. Some of
you may like the stalk but BMW did away with it and that should send a message of usability, function and convenience.

No need for further replies as the unhelpful crowd is out there for his morning.

More just another sign of BMW selling out to the lowest common denominator in search of more sales from the great unwashed. Along with low-feel electric steering and softer suspensions. Make it more like a Lexus so the lemmings will like it better.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by CachacoF80

...BMW did away with it and that should send a message of usability, function and convenience.

No need for further replies as the unhelpful crowd is out there for his morning.

You asked, we answered. BMW has done away with lots of stuff in appealing to the average US driver. As mentioned, the precise steering is one casualty. But, referencing standardization of controls and switches, the turn-signal function has become Americanized with the stalk switch staying in position and actually, physically, having to cancel. As opposed to our cars where one soft touch gets you triple-flash and a hard push gets you a constant blinker until a turn is made. That seemed to confuse a lot of Umerikans ever since it was introduced on the Bangle-butt 7-series. Having driven with it for decades now, it is a better design that disappeared for us with the current 5-series for no reason other than Customer Satisfaction surveys.

I'd bet you'd be totally confused on a pre-'74 2002 with the turn-signals on the right-hand stalk. Just get used to it. Call it an idiosyncrasy, if you must. Besides, cruise-control means you've already given up control of your vehicle, so why the need to make it more accessible (in your mind) if the point is not to have to do anything?

[dsocold]

get em boys

[AshwinLB]

I don't know too much about this so do further research but I'm pretty sure that if you swap an F series wheel onto your car with the retrofit wiring/adapter, the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel will indeed work.

You can start your research from this video:

[MParallel]

So adding to this.
Yesterday was my first drive with the 135i I imported last December, so first time I get to try out different functions, including - you guessed it- Cruise Control.

My first surprise was that no indication light is present in the gauge cluster. Even old E36 Compacts/Z3 had a green light to indicate the system is on. I didn’t expect this car not to have an indicator. Even if it was just shown in the lower dot matrix display, like the Auto Headlights. No light, but a symbol in the lower display.
I do have the indication in the upper display that shows the set speed, but only briefly. I checked NCS Expert to see if this was codeable, and while it is, unfortunately, the available options are either 0 or 3 seconds. Ok no problem, I’ll just add a new value, but then saw the mask for this parameter is 1-15, not the usual 1-255. So max value allowed is 15, which translates to 7,5 seconds max.
When cruise is on, it would’ve been nice if you could code this to be always on.

Than the stalk. It’s ok, even though I prefer steering wheel controls. I fitted E39/E38 multifunction control to my EU E36 M3 and the steering wheel buttons feel easier than the factory stalk. Which works the same as the setup on my E88. Feels like a step backwards.
But the whole steering wheel controls are. Only 8 buttons vs the 12 in my E36, one of which is a completely useless Recirc button. At least the earlier models had two programmable ones.

I might try a different model steering wheel in the future. I really like the sport wheel from the M135i (not the F10 wheel) although the stock M sport wheel itself is rather nice. Do wish it had heating as an option.

[JimD]

A good reason to "get used to it" is you can easily work the stalk without removing your hand from the steering wheel. That is not possible with steering wheel buttons. You have to take a hand off the wheel and probably your eyes off the road. It would be quite in line with BMW thinking to allow you to keep your hands in proper position on the wheel.

I do not use cruise in heavy traffic but I hate to do a long drive without it. I can make better time than most if not all "foot drivers" while my peak speed is at least 5 mph lower than theirs. Nobody controls their speed as closely as they think they do. I wish more people would use it. I get tired of passing the same car repeatedly.

[jdt10768]

Yes, the more recent cars have steering wheel controls. The 1 uses a stalk, which is pretty intuitive. I'll bet you could install a more recent steering wheel with control buttons for cruise, but how to make them work??

When I activate cruise, I definitely see an icon (a little speedo?) appear on the cluster, and an indication of my 'set speed in mph'. I seldom use it, but it's not difficult to get the hang of . . . fun! Keeps you engaged with The Drive

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by CachacoF80

My commute has little to no traffic. I could average 100 if I wanted to but cops would eventually get me. I'm doing 80-82mph with some adjustments here and there as CA drivers that pay their taxes feel entitled to their lane.

It has nothing to do with expectations. Some of
you may like the stalk but BMW did away with it and that should send a message of usability, function and convenience.

No need for further replies as the unhelpful crowd is out there for his morning.

You are getting a reply from me anyway.

BMW has done a lot of dumb crap of late to pander to the idiots who buy the cars these days. From bucky-beaver grilles and overwrought but incredibly cheap interiors to changing the perfection that was their monostable control stalks and how the cruise control was controlled.

My e88 is simply a better car in so many ways than my f22 was.

[JimD]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

You are getting a reply from me anyway.

BMW has done a lot of dumb crap of late to pander to the idiots who buy the cars these days. From bucky-beaver grilles and overwrought but incredibly cheap interiors to changing the perfection that was their monostable control stalks and how the cruise control was controlled.

My e88 is simply a better car in so many ways than my f22 was.

I agree with this. Deleting the stalk was "catering to the masses". It would be a hassle to learn this on a rental car or something but it is far better for our daily drivers. Anything the car maker can do that removes a reason to take our eyes off the road is a good thing. I cannot even see the stalk. No reason to look at it. I cannot work the buttons on the wheel of my truck without glancing at them. Controls in the wheel are not "better" for anybody except someone who is unfamilar with the car and unwilling to learn. A stalk should be on every car made for a serious driver. But BMWs are getting more and more a "luxury" car, not a drivers car.