VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM

A turning mechanism of a vehicle turns a wheel and is coupled to a steering wheel through a steering shaft. A torque sensor detects a torque applied to a first position of the steering shaft, as a sensor-detected torque. An upper friction torque is an absolute value of the sensor-detected torque that is caused by a friction force acting on the steering shaft between the first position and the steering wheel when the steering shaft is rotated. A vehicle control system repeatedly estimates the upper friction torque and variably sets a determination threshold to the estimated upper friction torque or more. The vehicle control system determines whether a driver state is a hands-on state or a hands-off state based on a comparison between the absolute value of the sensor-detected torque and the determination threshold.