[stephengillie]

Is the following distance adjustable? On my 2016 Camry Hybrid, it has 3 pre-set distances you can cycle through, as a button on the steering wheel. Normally, I use the Short distance, which is about 2 seconds behind the car ahead of me. It's about twice the distance I used before buying the car, yet barely too close for most cars to squeeze into.

Often, when I'm following a 1st car, and this 1st car changes to another lane - and there's a 2nd car ahead that the 1st car was following - I'll swap from the Short distance to the Long distance. This keeps me the same distance behind the 2nd car as I was when the 1st car was between us. Sometimes a 3rd car will swing in between me and the 2nd car - taking the place of the 1st car - and so I cycle through the distances back to Short. Like holding open a space, because a driver more aggressive than me will force their way into the gap anyway.

Other times, I'll use the Medium distance in bad weather, or on empty highways so I'm not pressuring the driver that I'm following.

[seanmcdirmid]

I think it is configurable but I haven’t bothered yet. Really, I want it to vary with traffic speed.

[stephengillie]

Mine varies with traffic speed. At 60 mph, it's about 2x-3x the distance as at 30mph. It defaults to Long, but Short is best for Seattle-area driving.

From the manual: Select a distance from the table below. Note that the distances shown correspond to a vehicle speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). Vehicle-to-vehicle distance increases/decreases in accordance with vehicle speed.

  Long   ~160 feet
  Medium ~130 feet
  Short  ~100 feet

(160 feet ought to be enough for anybody - almost every modern car and truck has a 60mph to 0mph braking distance under 160 feet on dry pavement. This car's braking distance is 125 feet, so Medium follow distance keeps you far enough behind a car that you could stop entirely in the gap.)