Cruise Control – How to Set on a Toyota Corolla

Welcome back! The following pictorial instructions are for setting the cruise control on a 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla.

The vehicle shown here is a 2004 Corolla.

If the cruise control in your vehicle appears to be broken, try these steps to see if it comes back to life.

These are the steps to set the cruise control in a Toyota:

1. Achieve the speed you would like to maintain and hold steady at that speed using the accelerator foot pedal.
2. Press the button on the end of the cruise control knob (a light on the panel will illuminate labeled “CRUISE”). This turns the cruise ON.
3. Press the knob downward and release it to SET the cruise.
4. Remove your foot from the accelerator.

Now in More Detail (With Pictures, Please!)

The first step is to accelerate to the speed you would like to maintain. Cruise seems to work best above about 30-45 mph. Your instrument panel will look something like the following (though at some speed).

When you have reached the speed that you want the cruise control to maintain for you hold that speed with your foot on the accelerator.

Now, on the cruise control knob near the steering wheel, press the button on the end labeled “CRUISE ON-OFF”.

Press the button in once and release it.

On the instrument panel, a light will come on labeled “CRUISE”.

Note: The cruise will not actually be activated yet!

The next step is to press the entire knob downward in a motion consistent with the arrow indicating “SET/COAST”.

Then release it. Now the cruise control is set. (Even though there is no further indication on the dashboard…!)

You should be able to take your foot off of the accelerator.

A couple of other notes.

• To accelerate, press the knob upward and release. This will increase your speed by about 1 mph.
• To decelerate,  press the knob downward and release. This will decrease your speed by about 1 mph.
• To cancel the cruise momentarily, pull the knob toward you and release. This will “CANCEL” the cruise until you press the knob up again to “RESUME”.

To turn the cruise off completely, press the button on the end of the knob in again and release it (the light on the dash will go out).

Alright! I hope this was helpful for someone!

For additional DIY maintenance articles for your 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla, check out these posts!

Thanks for reading.

Related posts:

How to Change Manual Transmission Fluid – Toyota Corolla How to Fix a Hood that Won’t Stay Closed – Toyota Corolla How to Make the Headlights Brighter on a Toyota Corolla