Kia Optima Cruise Control Cable Replacement at your home or office.

What is the Cruise Control Cable all about?

The cruise control on most new models is operated by the drive-by-wire system, or the electronic throttle actuator. Before that, cruise control systems utilized a cruise cable that ran from the cruise control servo to the throttle body on fuel injected vehicles or the carburetor on non-fuel injected designs. The cruise control cable is a multi-strand wire inside a rubber-coated flexible metal sheath. One end of the cable is connected directly to the cruise control servo, and the other hooks into the throttle body pivot with a small metal ball on the end of the cable. When a cruise control speed is set, the vacuum-operated or electric servo pulls the cruise control cable and maintains the set speed with minute adjustments. The cruise control cable is routed in a wide arcing pattern so it does not become kinked, which would restrict the cable’s movement inside the sheath. If the cruise control cable is seized or kinked, it will not move freely inside the metal sheath. It can cause the engine to race when the cruise control is deactivated at the cable and doesn’t return to its unset position, instead holding the throttle open. If the ball on the end of the cruise cable breaks off, the cable will no longer attach to the throttle body and the cruise will not set at all.