2001 Buick Century: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Dec 9, 2024 · Acceleration, Fuel system · GA

When I have cruise control on but not in use at that moment the car will engage cruise on its own. It does this at a high rate of acceleration with no Rhyme or Reason as to why. I have to be quick to get it to stop because of the high rate of speed. I do not use the cruise control anymore on my vehicle because of being unsafe. I have been lucky a couple of times I have not rammed into the vehicle in front of me through no fault of mine except for having cruise control on. No it has not been examined or inspected. The problem has not been confirmed by the dealership or and independent service center. It has been confirmed by various drivers of my car. None of them will use cruise control anymore.

Filed May 22, 2017 · Acceleration · 110,000 miles · MO

For almost the entire time of 16 years of owning this car, the set cruise control often times speeds uncontrollably. Have replaced the module twice but continues to happen. Local buick dealer tells me they have not heard of this before. I firmly believe they are untruthful.

Filed Oct 24, 2014 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 100,000 miles · KY

Had transmission replaced at authorized gmc dealership may 2006 .this came with a warranty. Several times over several summers since then have taken vehicle into dealership with concerns that happened after vehicle would be driven in high humidity high temperature days after traveling a minimum of 60 miles mostly on state highways that are quite rough and curvy, I.e. It would take about 90 minutes or more togo this distance. Then when in bumper to bumper traffic and trying to move forward or stopping the car's automatic transmission would cause the vehicle to shake like jumping into the wrong gear and in more than one time the car's engine would die. It always happened at low speeds so luckily we didn't loose control of the vehicle. But, the only way to stop this from continuing was to stop and park to let the engine and or cool down. We even put on the heater while driving to help reduce the temperature gauge to go below the halfway mark. This car was purchased in shelton, wa not in ky, so we never experienced this prior to transmission replacement. The service department has never been able to duplicate problem, now the cruise control has stopped working. We have dashboard warnings continually stating low oil, service engine soon (when just completed), etc.

Filed Sep 21, 2011 · Acceleration · 51,000 miles · NE

After setting cruise control it will take off and accelerate until you manually shut the cruise control switch off. I even tapped on brake and it would continue. This problem seems to be very random.

Filed Aug 19, 2010 · Acceleration · 98,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 buick century. The contact stated when driving 35 MPH or more, the cruise control would independently activate and would cause the accelerator pedal to seize in the open throttle position. He would then depress the brakes and the cruise control would deactivate. The failure would occur intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was advised that the failure was not common in his year, make and model. The dealer did not perform a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 98,000.

Filed May 25, 2010 · Acceleration · 89,000 miles · MN

The problem I'm experiencing is with the cruise control. Once engaged, if the car gets into a situation requiring acceleration (e.g. Going up a hill), the car goes into high acceleration mode and does not stop once the set speed is reached. After initial engagement, but not with the control set, virtually any movement of the turn signal level causes engagement of the cruise control in the acceleration mode. Tapping the lever, activating the turn signal or high beam control cause the car to go into cruise mode under acceleration. I have allowed it to go as fast as 85 MPH to see if it would disengage and it did not. I first thought it was intermittent, but now that I have been playing closer attention to what was going on when it runs away, I can cause it to happen on cue. This is especially dangerous since it goes into accelerate mode until the cruise control is either disengaged with the power switch or the brake pedal. I have not yet gotten it repaired. The initial visit to the shop was unsuccessful in determining the cause or replicating the problem. I have since established how to initiate the runaway acceleration.

Filed May 4, 2010 · Acceleration · 1,200 miles · SC

I purchased a 2001 buick century with lest than 1000 miles on it from the original order. In just a short time, it began to surge when the cruise control was on. It would keep accelerating until you turned it off. It still does this from time to time. I have checked with buick dealers, but they don't seem to know why. Sometimes it surges when you use the turning signal also.

Filed Feb 4, 2010 · Acceleration · 68,000 miles · VA

2001 buick century suddenly accelerates when cruise control is on but not engaged. This typically happens when hitting a bump or pot hole or putting on the turn signal. Also, the car has suddenly accelerated when driving on a smooth road with the cruise control engaged. I have be able to stop the acceleration by either tapping the brake or turning off the cruise control with the switch at the end of the stalk. I no longer drive with the cruise control turned; and have not experienced any problem as long as the cruise control is not turned on. This event has occurred several times over the past 12 months.

Filed Sep 21, 2006 · Acceleration · 64,500 miles · TN

This is serious. Cruise control just takes off. 1. Going 60 MPH with cruise on and when cruise opens throttle it just keeps on speeding up. 2. Come to a full stop at a red light and then drive without touching cruise control kicks in and runs away again- on a residential street. I got to reading and there are lots of reports about this including reports of dealers not being able to solve the problem.

Filed Mar 27, 2006 · Acceleration · 32,500 miles · AZ

Dt*: the contact stated while driving with the cruise control on, the vehicle accelerates out of control. The only way to stop the vehicle from accelerating is to manually turn off the cruise control. This happens intermittently and at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; the cruise control module was replaced. The vehicle was driven for a short period of time when the cruise control stopped working. It was taken back to the dealer; upon inspection the cruise control cable at the throttle body came loose. The cable was reconnected and the cruise control worked temporally. The vehicle is now having the same problem as before with the acceleration of the cruise control. Updated 04/11/06.

Filed Jan 18, 2006 · Acceleration · 30,000 miles · MO

Dt*: the contact stated after setting the cruise control the vehicle accelerates to unknown speeds. There is no pressure applied to the accelerator when the problem occurs. The problem continues until the cruise control button is turned off. Although the problem was intermittent at first it continues to worsen. The vehicle has not been inspected.

Filed Dec 29, 2004 · Acceleration · VA

While driving 50 MPH, the consumer engaged the cruise control and the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and pulled over. The cause has not been determined at this time. Please provide further details.