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Newer car features that aggravate me

Jonk67

Jonk67

Well-Known Member
Ok, time to get on my old codger soapbox :soapboxrant

Having driven and reading up on newer cars some of the 'convenience' features car makers are putting in aren't convenient to me at all and down right aggravating. I can't wait to drive my '67 again as it doesn't make any decisions for me.

Examples:
1. Day time running lights - these aggravate me to no end, especially when they are driving behind me in the daytime, I got a headache yesterday on a slow long road with one behind me. If i can help it I will not own a vehicle with DRL, plus you can't turn them off in most cars if you want to. How are you supposed to turn your lights on/off to signal another driver at night that they don't have their lights on? I can only hope that I will be able to disable these on the next newer car we get as it seems to be getting standard, less so on the Fords it seems but the better optioned models seem to have it now.

2. Auto dimming mirrors - had this on the inlaws '04 Caddy. There are hills everywhere here in TN, everytime I crested a hill at night the mirror would go full bright, then as soon as the car behind me crested the hill I'd be blinded while the mirror slowly dimmed. Next hill repeat, again I can't turn it off.

3. Auto locking doors - wife's '09 Mustang - 30 seconds after putting the car in R or D the doors lock so if I drop her off at the store and circle to pick her up - doors are locked again and she tugging on the handle. I had the dog in the car for the first time (not a choice), stopped and walked around with the car running to let her out - locked, walk around car and hope that it didn't auto lock the drivers door...Hit unlock switch, run around car to open door before it locks again... If I want my doors locked, I will lock them!

4. Features that reset on every on/off - This is where imports have it over domestic for me, I wish Ford would catch on. Everytime I get in the Escape or newer Mustang I have to turn the cruise master back on, everytime I stop on a trip for coffee, etc. I have to turn the cruise back on, I use it 75% of the time living off the interstate. My Miata has an on/off master, once on it's always on, twist of the wiper stalk and cruise is engaged. Same goes for trip meter and other features, everytime I get in the Fords it auto resets to odo when I prefer to watch trip meter. I must push half-dozen switches when I get in the fords before I start driving. I've driven some cars with traction lock (mustangs) and it defaults to 'on', I would prefer it be off and I choose when I want it on - another button to press IF you are given the choice.

Missing features - interior trunk release, I could not comprehend that the '09 Mustang has no trunk release in the car!? Everytime I detail the wife's car I have to go back inside and get the keys to pop the trunk, I guess when the remote goes out whatevers in the trunk stays in the trunk? Again, standard issue on imports.

Now I see that they are getting to the point that the car applies the brakes for you if it thinks you going to rearend someone, just what I need, a malfunctioning computer to hit the brakes when I"m crossing an intersection...

Pile on if you like, I'm going to holler at these kids to 'get off my lawn!' :rant
Really I'm not that bad yet... wait til I hit 50.

Jon
 
Let me add something to your list. I hate the windshield wiper wash function at the end of the turn signal lever. My windshield is clean for the most part, go to use the turn signal hit the end of the lever and the wipers take a swipe. Now I have a streaky windshield. :rant

DSL DRL whatever you call them. Yes I agree, I want to be able to turn them on and off.

The auto locking doors; not sure but on a Ford I thought there was a way to change that in programming. IIRC that is standard on automatic cars, my 07 Mustang with a manual trans does not autolock.

The trunk release or should I say no trunk release in the interior of my 07 Mustang is retarded. I thought that I read of a fix on mustangforums. Just have not taken the time to make the mod.

fd
 
I can't stand stickers on fruit! They should be illegal! I wish some tree hugger would take up the ink and sticker being a litter thing and get them banned!

Our new Durrango has a little button on the front door handles that unlocks or locks the doors, so the auto locks are OK with me. In your scenarios all the wife has to do is push the button and the locks open.

The other issues you speak of I don't have an issue with on our Dodge. The dimming side mirror and rear view are nice and work well even in the hills here in the rockies. Our daytime running lights are no issue even my F350 has them. If I need to flash another driver I just flash. I don't seem to have a headache issue with them. I like that when the lighting is bad in the early AM or late in the day the other guy can see me on the 2 lane roads. In my work truck I drive up to Zion in early AM and have the sun right in my eyes and when someone with DRL drives up I can see them!

The Odo on the Dodge doesn't reset, it stays where we had it when we parked. The seats and mirrors have 2 saved presets on them so that is not an issue.

The cruise that stays in the on position after you shut the car off??? Never had that on any car import or domestic. Don't think I would like it! Even the Buses I drove that were imported didn't have that feature.

Features I love, heated steering wheel, heated and cooled leather seats, the buttons for the radio on the back side of the steering wheel, the buttons for the cruise and odo menu on the wheel. The dual zone heater and AC. The side mirrors tilt down in reverse!

Bluetooth for the phone! Maybe these dumbasses will get the @#$% off the phone when they are driving!

The list just goes on an on for this car.

Mel
 
"guruatbol" said:
Our new Durrango has a little button on the front door handles that unlocks or locks the doors, so the auto locks are OK with me. In your scenarios all the wife has to do is push the button and the locks open.
Maybe they'll stay unlocked IF i hit unlock 30 seconds after driving everytime I drive, that's the aggravation, another thing to press to UNDO what the car has done on it's own that I didn't want in the first place

The other issues you speak of I don't have an issue with on our Dodge. The dimming side mirror and rear view are nice and work well even in the hills here in the rockies. Our daytime running lights are no issue even my F350 has them. If I need to flash another driver I just flash.
Flashing high beams just means 'hey you've got your brights on', I can't remember the last time I tried this and someone turned their lights on, they just flashed their highs at me if they did anything at all
I don't seem to have a headache issue with them. I like that when the lighting is bad in the early AM or late in the day the other guy can see me on the 2 lane roads. In my work truck I drive up to Zion in early AM and have the sun right in my eyes and when someone with DRL drives up I can see them!
You've got the DRL's and therefore they don't bother you, they bother me when you're behind me. If I drove everywhere with my brights on it wouldn't bother me, right?

The cruise that stays in the on position after you shut the car off??? Never had that on any car import or domestic. Don't think I would like it! Even the Buses I drove that were imported didn't have that feature.
There are 2 switches on every cruise I've got or had, a master switch and then an activate/coast,etc. switch usually on the stalk. The master switch on both Fords is a momentary switch that resets to master off, if I hit the cruise set on the stalk it does nothing unless I first turn on the master on everytime I start the car. On my Mazda and every import I've owned it is a push on switch that stays on even when the cars off so when I start the car and drive all I have to do is twist the cruise set, nothing else to push first.

Mel
Click to expand...

I understand you like these features, some I don't, I just want the ability to turn them off or override them but the manufacturers have decided to take that option away from me, that aggravates me.
Jon
 
I get what you mean about the cruise. The buses had a switch you turned on then other switches to use it. The GMs I have owned had the cruise on the turn signal stalk.

I hate the cruise on the turn stalk. I much prefer the controls on the steering wheel. Even on the buses that had the controls on the wheel were awesome.

On our Dodge the cruise is on the wheel and yes I have to turn it on after the power is turned on. It is merely a move of my thumb to turn it on and then down to the set button. I love the active cruise which automatically slows down when you get too close. You set how far away you want and then just go. When traffic slows you slow, when you are clear, you speed back up.

At first I thought I would hate it since I like control, but after using it on long trips it is very nice.

As for the DRL they are much safer and I thought when I got the F350 I would hate them and was looking for a way to turn them off, but I do like them. On the F350 they are just the right height that people see me coming up on them and most of the time move over. As for not liking other people to have them when coming up behind me or coming at me, I don't mind it. what pisses me off is the dumbasses that have their brights on day or night!

In the Dodge the DRLs are not very bright and you have to turn them on in the computer they do not come on standard. They are small LEDs in the headlight assembly. Just enough to let you be seen!

I do turn off the auto bright lights many times since I don't like that.

I do like the auto sensing windshield wipers.

Mel
 
Both our Fords have the master on switch on the steering wheel but I can't tell you how many times I've hit 'set' on the right side of the wheel only to realize I'm slowing down because I didn't first hit 'on' on the left side of the wheel first. I agree, the 'set' on the wheel is easier to activate w/o removing my hand from the wheel than the stalk twist but if I had my choice of an always on switch and twist on the stalk I prefer that over turning it on/off everytime first on the wheel and 'set' on the wheel.

I feel the same about DRL's coming up behind me in the day as you do with brights behind you day or night. The ride ht. of your F350 is right in my eyes in the Miata, headlights or LED's (which are more focused/intense light). There are brighter and dimmer DRL's (mostly brighter at this time) but they all distract me to look into the rearview more often meaning that my eyes are less often on the road in front of me whenever there are DRL's behind me. So for me they are less safe. Just like when someone coming towards you has brights on, you are distracted to stare at the brights.

I'm hesitant to buy any new electronics as everything has these glaring LED's you can't turn off now. We have a Wii in the bedroom so we can watch Netflix, the power LED is on whether the unit is on or off, just a diffeerent color (which I can't descern anyway being colorblind). Why doesn't the LED go off when the units off? I have to put something over the light every night so I can sleep without the LED glaring in my eyes. Oh, I only have to get out of bed when I'm ready to fall asleep so I guess it's no inconvenience...

Jon
 
I have to agree with the auto door lock thing. My Expedition has them. I hate when trying to hook up the trailer, I jump out to hitch it up, if I want to grab anything out of the back, the dang doors are locked. My kids also hate that they can't open the back doors from the inside until I hit the unlock feature or open the drivers door.
If I lived in the south side of Chicago I might like that feature to keep the stalkers from jumping in and car jacking me but I don't live there. I wish I could disable this feature most of all.
My Taurus company car has daytime running lights but I have seen Taurii without them so it must be able to change but I haven't found that yet.
I hate those when I'm camping and come into a campsite at night. I can see at 5 mph with my parking lights and hate blinding other campers with the headlights I can't turn off!!!

I never thought about the master on/off stuff but I have to agree, if I turn on the cruise while on a road trip. stop to pee or something, then hit the road again, I have to turn the cruise back on. Why does the car care if it's on or off. It should always be as far as I'm concerned because until you hit set or resume it doesn't do anything anyway!

On the other hand, I did rent a Caddy that had auto wipers. In drizzle and light on/off rain it was nice to let the car turn on and off the wipers. I didn't check to see if I had control of that or not but I did like that.

One thing I really hate is my Taurus telling my it's time to change the oil. It's a rather complicated process of hitting and holding reset buttons for 2 seconds and so on to clear the message. I wish I could disable that too!!!
 
Sometimes there is information in the owner's manual on how to disable features. I hated the seatbelt alarm when backing up my trailer and I can't have the belt on when I'm doing that. It was a complicated series of clicking and unclicking the driver's belt and turning the power on and off that had to be done in something like 15 seconds, but I nailed it on the first try.
 
For the auto door lock try this:

http://www.fordf150.net/howto/autolocks.php

Note: Manual transmission vehicles have this feature disabled at the factory. This procedure applies to most newer Ford vehicles, not just Ford trucks.

The enable/disable mode allows the autolock feature to be turned off and on. On manual transmission vehicles, when replacing the remote anti-theft personality (RAP) module, the autolock feature must be turned off by using the enable/disable mode.

The enable/disable mode is entered when the following series of steps is performed:

1. Confirm that the perimeter alarm is disarmed.

2. Close all doors.

3. Confirm that the ignition switch is in the OFF position.

Note: Steps 4 through 8 must be performed within 30 seconds.

4. Turn the ignition switch from OFF to RUN.

5. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button three times.

6. Turn the ignition switch from RUN to OFF.

7. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button three times.

8. Turn the ignition switch from OFF to RUN.

9. Verify that the RAP module chirps the horn. This indicates that the RAP module is now in the enable/disable mode and ready to accept program changes.

10. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button one time to command the RAP module to toggle the autolock/relock feature ON or OFF.

11. Press the power door lock LOCK button once to enter the command.

12. Verify that the vehicle horn chirps one time to signal the RAP module confirmation of the command. There should only be one chirp indicating that the autolock/relock feature has been disabled. If one chirp is heard, followed by a longer honk, the autolock/relock feature has just been enabled. Return to step 10.

13. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position to exit the enable/disable mode.

14. Verify that the RAP module chirps the horn once to indicate that a feature has been changed.

The autolock and the appropriate alarm configuration are turned on at the factory on vehicles with automatic transmissions. Vehicles with manual transmissions have the autolock turned off at the factory. The RAP module returns to the prior setting any time battery power is interrupted.

fd
 
They gave us a Chevy Malibu ( :barf1 ) as a rent a car. My wife has not figured out how to turn the lights or off for that matter I can't find the switch wither, who knows, it may not even have one. I rode with her to our illustrious walmart to do some shopping and get mooned. I hate the damn thing. My head hits the top, my ass has to drag across the door like crossing a rail fence, the wipers clear the windshield going one way and then apply a even coat of water when going back the other. On the plus side, it has a decent stereo and we only have to ride about a week. No wonder Chevy went broke building shit like this. Anybody know where the headlight switch is on the damn thing or is one of the newer car features? Hell, maybe there's a little button to push for the trunk monkey to pop out and run up front and twist a couple of wires together.
 
"67 evil eleanor" said:
Anybody know where the headlight switch is on the damn thing or is one of the newer car features? Hell, maybe there's a little button to push for the trunk monkey to pop out and run up front and twist a couple of wires together.
Click to expand...

Looks like the control is on the blinker stalk for the 2012 Malibu but there's an auto setting, section 6-1,6-2 under lighting:
http://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Ch ... malibu.pdf

Thanks for the instructions FordDude, soon as I pass my Mensa test I'll try it :peter
Jon
 
"FordDude" said:
For the auto door lock try this:

http://www.fordf150.net/howto/autolocks.php

Note: Manual transmission vehicles have this feature disabled at the factory. This procedure applies to most newer Ford vehicles, not just Ford trucks.

The enable/disable mode allows the autolock feature to be turned off and on. On manual transmission vehicles, when replacing the remote anti-theft personality (RAP) module, the autolock feature must be turned off by using the enable/disable mode.

The enable/disable mode is entered when the following series of steps is performed:

1. Confirm that the perimeter alarm is disarmed.

2. Close all doors.

3. Confirm that the ignition switch is in the OFF position.

Note: Steps 4 through 8 must be performed within 30 seconds.

4. Turn the ignition switch from OFF to RUN.

5. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button three times.

6. Turn the ignition switch from RUN to OFF.

7. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button three times.

8. Turn the ignition switch from OFF to RUN.

9. Verify that the RAP module chirps the horn. This indicates that the RAP module is now in the enable/disable mode and ready to accept program changes.

10. Press the power door lock UNLOCK button one time to command the RAP module to toggle the autolock/relock feature ON or OFF.

11. Press the power door lock LOCK button once to enter the command.

12. Verify that the vehicle horn chirps one time to signal the RAP module confirmation of the command. There should only be one chirp indicating that the autolock/relock feature has been disabled. If one chirp is heard, followed by a longer honk, the autolock/relock feature has just been enabled. Return to step 10.

13. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position to exit the enable/disable mode.

14. Verify that the RAP module chirps the horn once to indicate that a feature has been changed.

The autolock and the appropriate alarm configuration are turned on at the factory on vehicles with automatic transmissions. Vehicles with manual transmissions have the autolock turned off at the factory. The RAP module returns to the prior setting any time battery power is interrupted.

fd
Click to expand...

Just went and did this on Deb's 07 Fucos, now the auto lock for idiots is disabled :thu The trick was to use the door controls, NOT the key fobs!


Next trick is turn the 4 banger into a V8.
 
"silverblueBP" said:
Just went and did this on Deb's 07 Fucos, now the auto lock for idiots is disabled :thu The trick was to use the door controls, NOT the key fobs!


Next trick is turn the 4 banger into a V8.
Click to expand...

No such aminal in my Fucos, it's all manual - door locks, windows, speed control, mirrors, etc.....
 
"opentrackerSteve" said:
No such aminal in my Fucos, it's all manual - door locks, windows, speed control, mirrors, etc.....
Click to expand...

Same with our older 04 Fucos, but was glad to fix it in the 07 that Deb drives.
 
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