A cruise control system for a vehicle includes a controller configured to maintain a speed of the vehicle about a setpoint, and in response to predicted brake capacity falling below a threshold based on predicted brake fade, reduce the setpoint and downshift a transmission of the vehicle to increase negative torque to reduce brake fade. Also, a powertrain of a vehicle includes an engine, an automatic transmission coupled with the engine, and a controller. The controller is configured to maintain a speed of the vehicle about a setpoint, and in response to a predicted brake capacity falling below a threshold based on predicted brake fade, reduce the setpoint and downshift the transmission to increase a negative torque.