Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comNew technology may mean dangerous fumbling for shifter, ignition
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Goes to show, STUPID PEOPLE (let alone, irresponsible ones) should NOT buy Toyotas!!!! If you can't fathom the controls and gadgets, don't buy one-for Toyota's sake!!!! "Befuddled drivers" caused this ABSURD recall.
Whatever happened to good old fasioned clutch=1st, clutch=2nd, clutch3rd, etc. or even regular P,R,N,D,2,1? And drive by wire? U shi%#ing me? There is nothing like regular power steering and disc breaking. Its very simple to use, repair, and it still get the job done. To me all this fancy, expensive technology are made entirely for idiots that cant drive for sh%* and want the car to do it for them while they talk and text on their iphone.
kudos to snake09
Maybe stupid people should buy Toyotas. As for the other stupid design ideas on ignition buttons and shifters.....these are machines which can put lives at stake in emergencies.....not iPhones or game consoles. New designs should take into account intuitive controls that assist the driver in an emergency, not hamper them with cutesy operation and looks. It's kind of like redesigning standard aircraft controls for pilots. Not much reason for doing it unless it improves safety. It's apparent from the data that the redesigns do nothing for safety and are all based on design and marketing.
Here's an old saying. You have to be 10% smarter than the equipment you're working with.
With this case, don't get in and start going down the road before you decide to learn where all the controls are.
Sorry I have an 08 550i and the shifter is not complicated at all as they tried to show in the article. You can shift between manual and automatic without any delay and the park button is on the top, you push and the car parks rather than having to shift. To switch gears is a small tap. Snake09 I think it's annoying having to go through all the motions. The round thing is the I-drive and has nothing to do with the steering, it's a simplified method of controlling temp/radio/cd and checking the vehicle information.
Neg
+1 Neg
God Forbid people break out the manual if you don't completely understand your car. Thats always the first step for me even if I'm completely comfortable with how the car works, one of the perks of getting a new car is reading the manual before bed for a few nights...
True for new cars but the reality is that we all are put in situations where we don't have the opportunity to pour over the manual before getting behind the wheel. Want to take a guess how many people read the manual before getting behind the wheel of a rental car? You have to take reality into account when designing the controls of a piece of machinery. Everyone knows you don't put your fingers near the blade of a table saw, but they still have to put blade guards on them.
Ah, the Nanny State.
If you don't read the operator's manual, it's your own fault. The Prius shifter, the large photo used to gather attention to yet another Dan Carney piece of crap article (how did he get this job?) is incredibly easy to use and understand. Down for drive, up for reverse, middle for neutral. Was that too fast for you, Dan? Should we make the letters bigger for you?
Furthermore, even the PRND format took adjusting to when introduced in the 1960's--there were dashboard push buttons, different formats, etc. There are still different standard shift patterns---are there any lawsuits pending because of that? Has Dan the Shill written about that? Did anybody cry about "how difficult" it all was to re-learn in the 60's?? Oh the pain of having to think for a minute before you drive away in a new car.
Intuitive has absolutely nothing to do with it---READ THE F***ING MANUAL. That is your obligation.
Roger, you hit it! No pun intended.
Read the article again Roger, It clearly says that during the 60's Ralph Nader wrote about it, and the Department of Transportation wrote new rules about it. Apparently some people were crying over it, or rather, loved ones lost because of it.
That's the problem with reading the manual, some people, like you, can't read!
More pointedly, reading AND comprehending what you have read doesn't retrain instincts learned over years of experience. It is those instincts you depend on in emergency situations. That is why commercial and military pilots spend hours in simulators retraining for new control schemes in aircraft.
Bunch of big, tough car guys. Read the (expletive) manual. Well of course, read the manual. But when the emergency happens, what will be your natural, intuitive response? The accident that was cited in the article, that brought the Toyota issue to the headlines, happened to a police officer with many more road miles than most of us. He was disoriented in an emergency situation and died, along with his family, as a result. Like the old saying says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Rob Scan,
You have stated it perfectly. There are rental cars, people occasionally borrowing others' cars, people that work for companies that drive various different models of staff cars, etc., etc. Does anyone with any sense at all think a person should read a manual before driving? My 2010 Toyota Camry has a 536 page manual. 536 pages!!!!!
Only a few years ago virtually every car operated just about the same. And people weren't out killing themselves and others because this or that didn't work properly.
It seems crazy, but you almost have to believe the car companies are trying to kill off their customers, all in the name of being "cutesy" with all the computer-controlled do-dads.
Yet another case of something that was working perfectly (was not broke), but a bunch of cutesy engineers just HAD to "FIX" it. And of course they have screwed it all up.
Here is a mathematical formula that is fact. The more computer controls and other fancy do-dads are used on cars the more problems and deaths there will be, period.
leotieflower- It is the sticking accelerator pedals that caused the recalls, not "befuddled drivers." the article is pointing out that if your pedal is stuck, you're gonna panic. When you are in a panic, even common sense things go out the window, and its even worse if you are unfamilliar with the vehicle. OF COURSE people should understand their vehicle before they drive it! I have a keyless ignition in my car, and I LOVE it! However mine is the type like in the Escalade they mentioned, you actually turn the ignition, just no key in it. I can see how the stop/start button, hold for 3 seconds to ignition kill, might be problematic in an emergency. If your car is speeding out of control, you might not remember to hold the button for 3 seconds. Even MORE reason to be familliar with your vehicle, and practice what to do in an emergency. And DONT drive a vehicle if you don't understand how ALL the controls work.
If I want to read I will go to the library. Therefore, give me a car that can be driven by someone who has gone through drivers training and who has tested for a state drivers license-without reading each model manual.
take for example the horn . it used to be that pressing the centre of the steering wheel did it . now it could be anywhere at all , on the airbag pad somewhere in the rim , on the light stalk . people in emergency situations react INSTINCTIVELY
, that means pressing the centre of the steering wheel for the horn.
Speaking of rental cars, it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with stuff like turning on headlights, heat and air-conditioning, etc., before even moving the car an inch.
And don't forget to check for the location of the gas cap before pulling up to fill up for gas!
Driving shouldn't be difficult.
And, just because someone can afford a 100K car doesn't mean they have the IQ to drive it.
People haven't read their owner manual for years that is why so many drive with their headlamps and fog lights on. Because they don't know how to turn on the headlamps without the fogs being on. as far as car floor mats getting stuck in the accelerator being something new, PLEASE!, when have floor mats ever been stationary. To quote Ron White "you can't fix stupid".
TO INDEPENDENT THINKER: You probably don't have to read the part of the owners manual that details oil changes, maintenance schedules etc but the parts about operating the car is a good Idea. Maybe about 100 small pages.
Lack of industry standards are the problem. Being a heavy equiptment operator, I deal with this constantly. I make it a habit on new jobs to show up early and refuse to move the machine until I am proficient on the controls. It is my responsibility. Someones life WILL depend on it. BUT, in an emergency, will I react quick enough with awkard controls? Like I said, industry standards.
Can't say I buy into the shifters confusing people to the point they kill themselves and each other, but the part about the cop and his family dying because you have to hold down the stop/start button for 3 seconds is simply unacceptable. I do believe there should be a way to instantly shut down the engine. The standard rotational, keyed lock cylinder seems to work fine, even with microchipped keys or however some marketer wants to church up the keys (little Joe Dirte for you guys). Like most here are saying, intuitive to virtually every driver.
Yeah, Ken I'm with you on that one. As a CDL driver, when you climb into a truck, bus or whatever you familiarize yourself with the controls and the shift pattern for whatever tranny that particular truck has in it. Also being a "farmboy" if you get on any equipment that you have never used you "figure it out" before you begin working. I have to say the same for cars and other vehicles. I look it over and make sure I know how the thing works before I take off down the road.
WE need cars for retards,MOST people here seem to have a touch of down.
I was surprised the author didn't recommend an emergency stop button, known better by its initial E-stop ubiquitous on amusement rides, elevators, lifts and all sorts of industrial machinery. Especially with computer control becoming the norm rather than hard mechanical linkages, the e-stop could simultaneously shut down the engine, put the drive train in neutral, and safely brake to a stop while turning on the hazard lights.
Ill feel a lot more comfortable if Im the one in complete control of my car than an entire computer acting as a medium between me and my vehicle. Remember, electronics are more prone to failures than mechanical action.
Not true. Not even close.
And in defense of the designers, it's very difficult designing something idiot-proof, especially something new and/or advanced. In fact it's this lack of idiot-proofness (if that's a word) that holds back much technological progress.
People want to pilot automobiles, assemble their own furniture and operate computers several orders of magnitude more advanced than the ones that put a man on the moon but they refuse to spend 20 minutes reading the instructions and instead just wing it, then get upset when something bad happens.
That is correct checkerbattery....not even close. Especially when you take into account wear and tear and improper maintenance on mechanical parts.
First of all we want to know what MORON decided computer technology in a car could be a stable environment to the elements? Take basic mechanicals out of a car that has helped millions stay alive has now been tossed out the window for some MORON's computer technology for fancy gizmos. Hell even moisture on a keyboard shorts out the typing of most computers. It doesn't belong under the hood, it doesn't belong under vibration, and it certainly doesn't belong in humid climates. Figure that one out tech brilliance. geesh.
Hey Americans at War, if you don't like it, then drive your old cars and shut up about it. I personally like my cruise control, CVT transmission, keyless entry, keyless ignition. You should go hide out in a bunker somewhere where technology cant bother you.
I drive a Prius and love the car. Don't have to worry about locking keys in with keyless entry. To bad people don't listen to the sales person before they get in and drive the car off the lot. Guess they have to have someone to blame for being stupid.
Consumer grade items have a design life of ten years, or less. They are not produced to be used any more than that.
Cars today are a joke, and a bad one at that. Electronic assemblies that are included in consumer items will barely make it ten years before they begin to fail completely, or begin to have intemittent failures.
Then, you can add the idiot factor. This includes the yippie skippy design engineer who thinks of some new worthless function to change/add, too the dummied down operator that can't figure out the operation of a door handle, let alone what to do when a throttle peddle sticks.
You life control freaks mandate that teenagers have to have drivers education classes to get a license at the age of 16, yet don't bother to tell your own kids not to talk on their cell phone when driving. And what, no standards at all in vehical control formats. What the heck, we don't even have standard driving rules and laws state to state unless your on an interstate highway.
The only thing this country makes any more is rules, and 3/4 of them either don't work, or are just plain stupid. But, when it comes to something as important as standardizing a control platform for a 3000lb weapon not a peep at all from the control freaks that want to mandate how you unroll your toilet paper!
The more the merrier, keep confusing the confused. This is mother nature at her best - survival of the fittest. Those that can't figure out how to pour piss out of a boot, even when the directions to do so are print on the sole, deserve to be eliminated.
Statstically cars today are orders of magnitude more reliable than cars made even 20 years ago. They incredibly safer too. Watch this 2 minute video then tell me how much you love driving your old car.
I'm not sure I understand. You're complaining that teenages must take driving classes before being allowed to drive? And for cellphones, most parents tell their kids not to use them and drive, doesn't mean that 18 year old kid is going to listen. Yea, weird, I know.
Your right, you don't understand!
Well, AmericansatWar you don't know much about the technology. Being the farmboy, truck driver and a previous job working in a milk processing plant, I can tell you the electronics for harsh environments are there and in perfect working order. Circuit boards and devices are and can be made to withstand the elements and vibration. Also did a little stint in the 90's with an oilfield service company. This is when I discovered this type of electronics.
The auto makers are finally ruling the days, they are becoming so smart it's going to cost them BIG TIME, well the BUCK then is stopping in the right place....well pay the billions to get things back to normal.....wise guys...
Note to Leotieflower: Then all the pilots in our military branches must be stupid! The military had this sort of problem, with pilots being confused by a multitude of controls and gauges. They dictated that essential functions all be laid out the same, just because of the kind of problems we are talking about here. I had a bad moment in a rental car, came out of an airport and was hit by a splash on the windshield. For a couple of seconds, was scary trying to find the wash function. Now multiply that by having a car uncontrollably accelerating.
The US DOT or whichever agency is controlling should mandate that after some date, all cars sold in the US should have similar layout for major functions. Does anyone remember cars in the 1950's and 60's? You had automatic transmission function on the right of the steering column, turn signal on the left. Headlights were a simple ROUND pull out button at the left of steering column, Wipers were hexagonal button next to headlight control. Was same for almost all cars until Chrysler got the "bright" idea to put transmission control on the dash, then Edsel put pushbuttons in the middle of steering wheel. What was problem with having simple obvious functions? Designing major safety and operating functions to be obscure isn't "cute" or innovative - it is a potential safety hazard.
One year Ford had the brilliant idea to move the horn from the steering wheel to a button on the end of the turn signal lever. I guess that the figured that in an emergency people instinctively push the turn signal shaft towards the steering column.
You should have seen the confusion one place that I worked when you had to dial 8 to get an outside line when the entire workforce was trained for many, many years to dial 9 everywhere else in the USA.
I agree, if everyone is already indoctrinated with something, leave it alone.
WychDoctor George
Yeah see Wych you probably should have found all of those necessary controls BEFORE you put the car in drive...
Standard means STANDARD! If you want to drive a space shuttle, work for NASA. Cars should not require an engineering degree to drive!
Ski- Cars don't require an engineering degree, just an elementary reading level. Hell, you don't even have to be out of Jr. High to be able to READ THE OWNERS MANUAL! Every car, no matter how old or new is going to have SOMETHING unfamilliar about it. If cars are too complicated for you, ride the bus.
I have never had an owners manual in any car that I have ever rented. I travel frequent and I have rented hundreds of different cars over the last few years. I have been refusing more cars recently because of uniquely different or vastly complicated controls that even the employees at the rental car lots don't know how to operate. Anything that is not rudimentary simple and diverts the drivers attention away from driving is unsafe.
I am really glad that Honda is bucking the trend of making new cars have odd ways of functioning. I just picked up a 2010 Honda Insight-II. Despite the fact that it's a hybrid, it really does drive just like a regular car. You insert the key, turn it, put the car in drive, hit the gas. The only difference is that I was getting about 25 MPG in my Accord but I got 51 MPG cruising around last night in the Insight.
I rented a Camry Hybrid once. It was a really nice car, but I felt that it was more suited to a shuttlecraft pilot from Star Trek. I really hated the controls.
Ditto Indigo with a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. Normal car. It has a small "hybrid" badge on the trunk and other than that you'd never know without being inside or looking under the hood.
I too, commend Honda for not having to make a statement car, just a more efficient one that quietly goes about its business.
What a silly idea is this report suggesting. So just to yield to few ignorant we have to keep the status quo, abandoning innovation and progress?. If that is the case we would never have had HDTVs because image looks so real that silly people may attempt to go through the TV? ..... I saw it and is not confusing, learn to use it. This is just another way to attempt to bash Toyota.
Everyday we are getting lazier and lazier and we want everything serve in silver plate in front of us.
I agree but I don't think this is anything new. Old people hate things that are different than what they're used to because they done it the same way for 40 years (I'm an old person btw) and it's too late to change that. Young people on the other hand are always the ones to adopt new and better advancements, then bring that acceptance along as they age. It's just human nature and has been going on for centuries.
I had an incident the other day with my HDTV....it started racing around the living room at 120 mph.....luckily I found the owners manual in time to get it shut down before it destroyed all the furniture and seriously hurt someone.
Rob, which brand?
I'm in the market, and I don't think I want to buy one like yours.
THANKS!
Hi checkerbattery, I understand what you say and don't give me wrong, I am not talking about elder people. However the idea of this article that new things are unsafe, complicated and the only option is not the right message. In the United States if there is a market for it, corporations will make products adapted to that poll of consumers. If elder people want cars that operates like 40 years ago, I bet that a company will tap on it.
You may be an old person, but you was able to adapt to the computer and get here and post your comments. I am around the 20's reaching 30's and as of today is not mandatory to dress and look like an EMO :) haha! .. bottom line as I get older there will be new things that I am not going to like, but I do not think is the end of the world.
A buddy loaned me his Prius last year...I sat in the parking lot for almost 15 minutes pushing buttons, stepping on pedals and playing with the knobs guessing how to make it run. I even ended up reading the manual in the glovebox to try to figure it out; and it took another 5 minutes reading the manual to find it. He tells me that he almost always has problems with valet parking; they can park it fine but he usually has to walk into the lot with the valet and start it for them so that they can bring it to the door...kinda defeats the whole concept of valet parking.
That's precisely why I like the US hybrids...at least all of the controls on their hybrids work exactly the same way that they do on the gas-burners.
Read. The. Manual. BEFORE YOU USE IT.
And put down the cannabis before you hurt someone.
The Prius comes with free cannabis??
And those 18 year old valet's appreciate that little added item(cannabis), while they are reading the manuals for all 52 vehical types in the parking lot.
Come on people, we have standards for screwdrivers, why not vehicles?
Because I did not paid 30K or more for a screwdriver.
Well if you did, I would bet you couldn't operate it correctly either!
Not for the things you would use it for...
  Everyone should remember the VCR that was getting too complex.   All machines should have easy to learn and use controls.  Not everything can be Idiot Proof but nothing should be so complicated that you can not learn the basic controls in a short time.
That's what I love to hate about Consumer Reports, how they praised this car to no end a must buy and now there telling the public of issues that should have been RED Tagged in there article that it should be a cautious buy.
Read the manual and practice before you take it out in traffic. It would be great if all auto manufacturers standardized essential controls but that isn't going to happen.
When I bought my current car--I sat in the dealer lot and read the manual after I signed the papers. I checked out the functions of the controls on the stem. I practiced shifting it through all 5 gears and reverse. I played with the headlights and I even played with the power mirrors (first car with that luxury).
I drove it to an empty parking lot and drove around in it--getting familiar with how it braked and handled. When the first snowfall came--I took it back to that parking lot and practiced handling it in slippery conditions. It was fun doing doughnuts and sliding sideways across the lot--but I learned how to get it back under control if that happened. Every winter I repeat that activity--so I am prepared.
NOBODY should just get in an unfamiliar car without getting familiar with the controls. The last time I rented a car--the rental agent came out to the parking lot and asked me if I was okay because I had been sitting there for while I guess. When I told him I was reading the manual and getting familiar with the controls--he looked at me strangely, and wandered back to his office. I guess I am an exception to the rule.
That is what people should do with any unfamiliar car, in my opinion. I am sure that the newer cars are a little confusing, but like anything else, with practice it becomes rote.
If you don't want a car with all the crazy stuff, buy a simpler car. There's a LOT of them out there. If you're given a rental that you cannot drive, or cannot understand, ask for a different one.
I agree that it would probably be "easier" if they had the controls all the same, all the time. But since that's not the case, and probably will never be the case again, it's time we all wise up and learn about our cars BEFORE we take them on the road. Learn where neutral is and practice getting into it quickly if it confuses you. Learn where the horn is. Learn where the e-brake is, and how to turn off the car in a hurry. Learn where the wipers are. I mean, I just cannot imagine getting into a car and driving off without doing all of that first.
Yes, you can sit in the parking lot reading the manual of a rental car. But still you can't remember everything that was in the manual. There are two many controls, icons, knobs, etc to remember everything. When you are out in traffic, you can't look at the manual. Heck, it not even safe to take your eyes off the road tol look for the controls.
There should be some basic standards that are common in all cars, like headligh controls, windshield wiper controls, gear shift pattern, turn signals actuation and horn.
How about all the little computer icons they dream up to label everything ( Not just cars, cameras, tv, etc ) . Sometimes I have to sit and think for a long time before I figure out what a stick figure with one foot down, one habd up, and a finger in the nose means ! Every different manufacturer likes to dream up different icons rather than just labeling the control. They claim that they are "universal", I read that as meaning that no one can understand them.
I worry more about the drivers of SUVs that can't see over the steering wheel, the drivers I can't see in the car in front of me because of dark film on the windows, the traffic I can't see because of the HUGE SUV in front of me blocking any hope I might have of seeing the traffic ahead and driving defensively, drivers using cell phones, texting, reading, looking at maps, talking with their hands........... These are the dangers on the road right now.
Though I also agree that technology has become a marketing tool, and not a driving necessity. And cars are coming with more and more essentially useless or unused features. I love the push button starter - my key works very well. The automatic headlights on - I really can tell when it's getting dark and it is very simple to turn the lights on. The automatic wipers on - I also know when it's raining. Or the iPod connection or the DVD player - more things to distract you from the actual act of driving the car safely. I would guess that 90% of the technology isn't even used once the driver gets acclimated to the car and what needs to be done to support daily use. And on the occassions where one of the wonderful technology features would be useful, you have to stop and pull the manual out to figure out how to use it. Most of it is lost on the driver in daily use, and simply not needed.
I'll take simple and to the point every time.
While I agree that the familiarity of controls is important for safety's sake, we shouldn't stifle innovation because certain people are too lazy to spend 15 minutes with the manual, or minimally getting a training session from a dealer or previous owner. It is true that some cars are very poorly designed, with simple tasks becoming overly complicated- oddly enough, in the name of automation. Yet, people still purchase these vehicles, despite the poor layouts. A car's control features are as important as its gas mileage and reliability. If it's too confusing to operate, don't buy it, get buyer's remorse and later blame the manufacturer for false advertising. There's a reason why you take a test drive.
Would you attempt to run a chain saw without figuring out how to turn it off in an emergency? Cars are potentially far more hazardous to operate than a simple chain saw, yet people adopt a "just get in and drive" mentality with their 2-ton, 250 hp+ missiles. Once again we've taken personal responsibility out of the blame equation. Manufacturers should have to maintain a high level of safety standards and be subject to constant product testing. Toyota's problems are worrisome, and owners have a right to be angry. But this article takes a wrong turn when it suggests that newer control systems are at fault, rather than the end-users for not learning those controls.
Yep!
You should work with most people who still find the cd tray as a cup holder, cars are way to complicated for most people!
This has been a problem that I have had with the Automotive Industry for years... This type of thing should be told to Purchasers by the salesman,But the salesman are only trained in selling,and even that is very sketchy, Every model year there is some new wizardry attached to vehicles,and majority of it revoles around Creature Comfort,It like ABS systems, How many people know how the ABS System works? maybe 2 out of a 100 might,But my point is,People are not told of "How and What" on their Vehicle Purchase,and there are too many Frivolous Creature Comfort features,that are NOT needed,Like the Push Button No Key Start,If the Remote you have ,has a Dead battery,You can't start the car,Because the Car can't pick up the Signal from the Sensor,Which makes in real nice,if you would have an Emergency.
The Marketing KoolAide is working..heck it worked so good Congress adopted it along with the Pres trying to push through the health bill.
The author says that people should not have read their owner's manual. Really? This is going to make things safer?
People should practice shifting to neutral when there is no emergency. That way, they will be practiced and prepared in case of an emergency.
Why because people are lazy and do not think, that is why it needs to go back in time and make it more simple. I love tech but most can not deal with it!
Again the article is full of inaccuracies . Officer Saylor MUST have been familiar with Lexus controls as their policy is to give you Lexus vehicles when your car is serviced .
The car driven was the same or similar to his in the Lexus shop. He is also a person who should be able to handle emergencies as he is trained in his job to be ,he was not a librarian he was a highway patrol officer . The Model he was driving a friend of mine has and it is so easy to slide it into neutral and almost identical to most Toyotas of the past few years . Again it appears to be a smear campaign as each day this "news service" prints it's biased diatribes to slant peoples opinions against Asian automakers . Anybody heard of the Ford Fusion recalls ? Oh I wonder why . MSNBC you are becoming the Fox network for the American car makers ,just shameful.....
I know the exact spot where the family died in the Lexus, drive it every day, and I can only imagine who frightening it would be on that stretch of road going 120 mph! They died because of a faulty accelerator pedal, not because of complex technological thingamabobs, goofy shifters, not being familliar with the controls, whatever. The damn pedal STUCK! If that is a common problem, Toyota should fix it! If even a highway patrol officer couldn't get the vehicle stopped, what chance do regular drivers have? How do you know what car he was having serviced? Maybe his loaner is a newer or different model than what he owned. A family died, and you want to blame them? Their damn PEDAL STUCK! Stop trying to make this into a political argument, it is about FAULTY AUTO EQUIPMENT, you ass
I drive that stretch of road almost every day too and it would definently be a scary thing to go down it at 120mph especially in traffic.
The accelerator pedal sticking may have been one symptom, but I don't believe for a second that it was totally at fault. Shifting the tranny in to neutral would have worked IF the computer in the car had allowed the tranny to shift. (I remember another story about a woman in Tenn(?) who stated that she tried to shift her car into neutral and it wouldn't shift.)
A while back I had an issue with a faulty accelerator sensor on my truck and in that case the computer reduced power to the engine. That's what is supposed to happen when the computer gets screwy signals. It didn't happen with the toyotas/lexus and they tried to cover it up by blaming the floor mats. That is my only issue with them, they tried to cover it up and are still trying to cover it up even though the situation has been reproduced by independent people.
I'm all for new technology on vehicles and in a lot of cases they help in the efficiency and ease of driving. Reading the manual on a car that you own can be a good thing. But I do agree that there should be some better standard for the driver controls.
(And if you have a teenaged driver and you DON'T think they are using their cell phones in the car, you might want to look at the cell phone bill sometime. Look at when they make calls and see if there are call times listed on it when you know they were in the car driving. You might be surprised.)
Well you are the one and only, the idrive is horrible, just all the critics for years who have blasted it, including users! Car makers are much more concerned with sales than safety and using smart designs, so until there is a law it will not change.
PRIUS = Please Rememeber I am Unable to Stop
PRIUS Oh What A Feeling LMAO
chuckle!!!
FORD = Found On Road Dead
Make up your mind..you want to go or not? lol
READ THE MANUAL! That way you can find out about all the options you could have gotten. Basic controls should be standardized, they aren't so get over it. Another way is the old stay with the same manufacturer. Typically, they don't change all of the controls over a 5 year period. If you don't like the controls in your car, learn how to make them the way you want them. That is what I had to do. I didn't like the front wheel drive, the drivers seat was too close to the dash, or the automatic transmission. I just liked the looks of the car. I made it rear wheel drive, moved the seat back a foot, and put in a 5 speed standard trans. It gets 26 mpg, has gone 150 mph, 0-60 times of 4 seconds.
As a Mechanical Design Engineer myself, it never ceases to amaze me what the Industrial Engineers come up with. If they didn't change things around, they wouldn't have a job!
Modern technology is the main reason why most automobiles are now around $40,000, which is just ludicrous. We don't need all of these "advances" just because the electronics industry packs them into their products.
A great example that I have seen using today's technology in simple to use products is Swylite Corporation. They make digital wall switch timers (light switches) that have simple to use controls, no more than (2) ON/OFF operations per day and have the familiar large ON/OFF switch that we have all used our entire lives. Their competitors make products with over 200 - 300 programming configurations, which, like the car makers, is utterly confusing, not to mention how to turn the bloody things OFF!
Why can't the automobile industry just make an affordable, easy to use, comfortable, mode of transportation?? I don't need a mobile kitchen, entertainment center, bedroom or dare I say, bathroom in a car!! I just need to get from Point A to Point B safely and affordably....... I was always taught, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
We have two Mercury Milans. We chose them after test driving 8 other brands, and finding fault with all of the others from driving position to the controls. But most maddening was the controls for the little things like the radio and clock. The clincher for the Milan was the clock. One button forward and one for reverse. What a concept! Also, the pedals for brake and gas were far enough apart for a human foot. Try that in a tin can from Japan.
I think more people need to learn how to drive manual ("stick shift"). No more worrying about stuck accelerator pedals, or not knowing how to shift into neutral on these new automatic transmission shifters. More personal control of the car is good.
Shhh the Gubermint will hear you...they got plans...
I have an 06 F150 and I like it and enjoy driving it. But the only thing that would make it better would be a manual tranny. But it just wasn't offerred. More and more vehicles don't have a standard shift as an option. And unlike Pete (#19), I don't have the time or money to have a manual tranny installed in my truck (kudo's to you for being able to do it, I'm jealous)
If you are not smarter than the car turn in your license.
I think the tone and comments in this report were ridiculous. People need to learn to read the very simple instructions, and technology needs to advance. To say that all cars should be setup the same as they have always been so that current generations are familiar with the controls is crazy. Per the Model-T reference we would still have the same controls as the Model-T if we held this belief. I drive a Prius, I expect the controls to be advanced - it took me all of 5 minutes to figure out the controls (not all the GPS, etc, just the core driving controls). I love the push button start and stop - works just like me computer, if I want to shut my computer off with out going through my normal procedure, I hold the power until it shuts down.
I think with most changes, it takes a new generation of people for the change to become the norm. If new drivers are taught to get in each new car and look at the instructions before throwing themselves into traffic, then whatever the controls are, will work. That being said, I doubt that steering wheels and accelerator pedals will be the norm, for very long, the newest drivers have grown up with joy stick and game controllers, steering wheels and accelerator pedals are the strange devices for controlling action.
Its called a owners manual....read it!
My Toyota Camry owners manual has 536 pages. I have read them all. Some over and over because sometimes things aren't explained well (perhaps due to the translation Japanese to English).
I simply cannot find a single page that tells what to do when the computer f**ks up.
bmas, can you provide some of the words in YOUR owners manual that will cover this eventuality?
TAKE it to a shop you moron.
oh yeah, when you are screaming down the road at 100+ mph because the computer @!$%#s up, I'm sure that will be your first thought right?