Quirky Jeep

I have a '97 Jeep GC. The Cruise control will not activate until I’m doing at least 40 mph and if it drops below 40 (or any set speed) while the cruise is on, it drops down 2 gears to pick up speed. This usually sets the engine screaming. Can the cruise control be adjusted so I can set it to lower speeds and is there anything I can do to get it maintain the set speed without downshifting 2 gears???

Maybe not. It seems to be working the way it’s designed to work. You may need an alignment really bad unless this happens on hills and you are carrying a lot of weight. The cruise control may be getting old. It hasn’t had the best longevity of accessories. Cruise is one of the first things to wear out in most American cars.

First of all, it’s working as designed. Read the owner’s manual.

Also, it’s not downshifting 2 gears, only 1. The first thing you feel is the torque converter unlocking (it locks up in 4th gear at about 40 mph if you aren’t accelerating hard). The reason it downshifts is that you are running the engine a very low rpm at 40 mph so there isn’t much torque for acceleration or to maintain speed on an incline.