Hello everyone,

While this question doesn't relate to a specific make/model of car, the question arose in my girlfriend's 2004 Jetta 1.8T.

On her car (just like most vehicles), there is an on/off switch for the cruise control. It isn't the button to set it or resume, from what I can tell, it just turns the light on the dash on or off.
Whenever I drive her car or my X, I keep the cruise control off unless obviously I need to use it, but my girlfriend always keeps it on.
While I'm not an expert on the workings behind the cruise control, I don't think they'd manufacture a switch if the only thing it did was turn on the "cruise" light on the dash. But with cars these days, you never know!

So my question is: what does that switch do? Is it harmful to keep it on all the time?

Thanks for your input!

it activates the cruise control system itself....without the switch on, you can't use the cruise

it can stay on all the time...it should turn itself off once the key is turned off...

In our hondas we've always had them on and never and issue. I actually like it better instead of having to turn the x's on all the time cause i use my cruise a lot.

Thanks for the info. I too thought that it is turning on the system, but beyond using slightly more battery power, I wasn't sure if there is a negative effect.

i guess on some cars they can stay on constantly....i know on the X if you turn it on, then shut the truck down, then back on, it will have reset itself

either way, no adverse effects