Modern car niggles.

danforth

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Mainly about things that don't really help, but do distract and irritate me:-

Trip "computers" with enough processing power to handle simultanous moon landings. Assuming I've read (and can remember) how to work it,
apart from assisting me towards my next collision, what does it actually do?:err:

Electric windows, what was wrong with a handle? Reliable, precise, and you could feel for it without looking, or switching other things on (or off) in the process.
I've got an array of switches in my door armrest, 4 for windows, 2 for mirrors, and 2 for central locking. Find the right switch, then up or down? It makes sense if you look at it, but shouldn't I be looking where I'm going!:err:

Electric sunroofs, you test it before you buy the car. You test it before you sell the car. In the meantime, when tempted, you just look at the manual winding handle supplied with the car, mmm..... why do they give you that..... and leave it alone!:)

Over complex column stalks that control too many things, not necessarily in the right order........... Rev counters, a family car needs one?
Air conditioning/climate control, I only use mine when the windows don't work (for whatever reason), and then need to read the manual, or just fiddle with the controls to see what happens! I use a sat nav on occasion, when I want something to shout at, but don't really need it!:Biggrin2:

Engine management systems, that "think", they "might" push an extra molecule or two of something toxic into the atmosphere, so give an error code and just sit and sulk.
I bought a code reader, just in case. All very interesting, but the error codes guess at problems, sometimes in the management system itself, not the engine.
Have to wait and see, no problems yet. A lot of the troublesome excessive gubbins now sit under a dash which protrudes ever further inside the car,
no longer accessible from the ever decreasing bonnet, or scattered about wherever it can be fitted. Not design as I understand it.:Angryfire

Then we have passenger entertainment in various forms. Comfort is fine, but isn't part of the journey experience looking out of the window at the world?
Or conversation, read a book, or walk if you're not careful. Yes, I know young children need toys, but the adult toys just annoy me. A car is not a mobile disco,
a mobile office, or video game arcade, but it can be a dangerous weapon with a distracted driver.:Angryfire

Before anyone starts, I'm all for head restraints, safety belts and air bags, but if drivers could spend more time looking out through the windscreen, I think that might help as well. As for the environment, toys add weight, makes cars bigger outside, or smaller inside, and less economical. Increased engine efficiency is wasted supporting more toys, mainly for commercial turnover. Bigger cars, more congestion, more traffic jams, more stop start, more fuel wasted!

So, I've got my expensive car full of unnecessary gadgets, paid for insurance, road tax, fuel (and more tax) servicing and an MOT test, and I've got past speed bumps, limits, cameras and radar traps, pedestrian zones, traffic lights and any other obstruction they can invent.
I'm down to tractors and lorry convoys, but at least I've got all my toys to play with.:Angryfire
An en suite would be more useful, or are high tech commodes coming next! Perhaps air conditioning is the foundation.

This is what happens when I "get out more".:LOL:
 
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Having spent most of Sunday brandishing my code reader! I keep getting "H02S heater circuit failure, bank 1, sensor 1". It's taken me a while to figure what it is and how it works.

Basically, the O2 sensors (one before, one after the cat) measure oxygen in the exhaust gases, they're calibrated to read correctly at around 750 degrees so there's a heater for when they're colder. They feed the ECU which adjusts the fuel/air mixture to reduce the microscopically small emissions even further during the short time before the engine warms up.

Unfortunately, the fault brings the MIL light on, this is now an MOT failure.

I think I'll go buy a classic car and revert to 'sensible mode'. All parts were different sizes, you could pretty much tell which bit was bust by the noise it made when it fell off and you only needed a handful of spanners to bolt a new one on!

In summary, I agree :)
 
I know b*gger-all about car mechanics, but there were plenty of things I could do in the good/bad old days. Replaced radiators, heater radiators and alternators; changed plugs points and oil. I could even stand inside the engine bay of my old Triumph Spitfire... and all you needed was a Haynes manual and a few basic tools.

Nowadays I would only venture under the bonnet to fill the windscreen reservoir. :grayno:
 
My problem is not with how much stuff they cram in but the placement of it. I have never and would never buy a new car so I've had a lot of used ones and for most part the switches seem in the same places. But the car I have now, a SAAB 95, they threw the book out of the window. The window switches are behind the hand brake in the central arm rest, the ignition is by the hand brake and the central locking switch is next to the gear shift. It has 2 sun visors per side (which is actually a nice touch because you have one for the windscreen and one for the side window).

A bit of standardisation would be nice. I've had the car over a year and still try to put the key in the dash, which was weird enough in my last car, as most cars have them in the steering column.
 
Unfortunately, the fault brings the MIL light on, this is now an MOT failure.

Now, this is where interpretation comes into it.
The "new" MOT standards were introduced on 20th March 2013 ( *** Guess What........ATOS are in charge of this !!!!! Yes, that same Medical Assessments Fiasco ATOS and for a bit more information they are also responsible for NS&I National Savings & Investments, just a warning !! **** ) and many garages vary in their understanding of the new regulations, because the VOSA Catergorisation of Defects [Part 2 for Passenger Cars and Light Goods Vehicles] which is the MOT Standards and Regulations, does not actually mention anything about an Engine Management Light or MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) or Check Engine Light and so there should not be a failure issued for this light being on.
There are Malfunction Lights that if lit do qualify an MOT failure, and these are :-
(i) Brake Warning Systems (Which includes things like HandBrake Light, Brake Servo Light, Brake Adjustment Lights, Brake Warning Buzzer, ABS, ESC, ESP, etc)
.ii) Speedometer.
(iii) SRS Supplementary Restraint Systems (Which covers Seat Belt and Air Bag Lights, etc).
(iv) Lighting Indicators (Such as HeadLights/Full Beam, Fog Lights, Direction Indicators and Hazard Warning Indictaors, etc.)

So this light :: check_engine_light.gif IS NOT A FAILURE !!!

However these lights are FAILURES :: abs_indicator_us.gif brake_fluid_low.gif electronically_controlled_brake_warning.gif

psteering-warning-icon.png SRS_air_bag_indicator.gif
 
A bit of standardisation would be nice. I've had the car over a year and still try to put the key in the dash, which was weird enough in my last car, as most cars have them in the steering column.

Another niggle I didn't mention, thinking it was just a peculiarity with my current car.

The column switches do roughly the "conventional" things, but are on the opposite sides to convention.
I'm almost used to it now, but when distracted I do what feels "natural".

Every now and again, I indicate by waving my front or rear wipers, some times with a quick wash for good measure! :Biggrin2:
 
@D 8 RCS Sometimes, I get a vague feeling you're just a tad miffed at ATOS.

Are they in charge of the search for the missing airliner?:LOL:
 
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Re. @him her's MIL light- can't you just take the bulb out? Probably easier than arguing with a jobsworth MOT monkey.

And yes, some standardisation would be nice- I drive two cars (alternately!)- and although the wiper stalks are both on the same side, on the Citroen it's UP for off, on the Hyundai, it's down. Or maybe it's the other way around?

That Saab sounds a bit of a nightmare, but they always liked to be a bit different, didn't they? So did Citroen once upon a time, then marketing got in the way of 'flare' and they became all boring and 'standard'. Oh look, I've just contradicted myself!!
 
Re. @[URL="http://www.digitalworldz.co.uk/members/him.html?quot;=]him[/URL] her's MIL light- can't you just take the bulb out? Probably easier than arguing with a jobsworth MOT monkey.

And yes, some standardisation would be nice- I drive two cars (alternately!)- and although the wiper stalks are both on the same side, on the Citroen it's UP for off, on the Hyundai, it's down. Or maybe it's the other way around?

That Saab sounds a bit of a nightmare, but they always liked to be a bit different, didn't they? So did Citroen once upon a time, then marketing got in the way of 'flare' and they became all boring and 'standard'. Oh look, I've just contradicted myself!!

I've got a Hyundai Getz, that's what I was complaining about! Seems they can't even standardize across their own range.

Unless the Citroen is non standard as well.:Biggrin2:

My indicator stalk is on the RHS, all my other cars were the LHS, apart from a Toyota Carina way back.
 
good thing you dont have the gear shift on the steering wheel and a rotating dial for the drive, reverse, park selectors. That is soooo weird!
The handbreak buttons came in a few years ago....no more handbrake turns lol
 
you know i have just read this thread and some things are so automatic i cant remember which stalk is indicators...i drive 50,000 miles a year :)

left stalk, god that was hard.

i sort of agree all the gadgets are well gadgets....however what i will say when you get in a car that doesn't have them you realize what you miss.

there is nothing worse than driving for an hour or two in hot weather to see a customer to turn up all sweaty .... turn on air con/climate and the cold air seat ... perfect :)

more to go wrong of course.
 
more to go wrong of course.

Yep, a friend's 4 year-old Megane caught fire a few months ago, and it was caused by a wiring fault in... the air-con. Did Renault want to know? Nope. Even the 'comp' insurance tried to wriggle out of it by saying it wasn't caused by a road accident. Still cost the poor bloke over 1000€- retired fireman too....

But I agree, once you've had the gadgets, it's hard to go without.
 
One of the older "gadgets" that I would never want to be without again would be power steering, an almost unheard of luxury when I learnt to drive !
You had to be Popeye to drive some cars !
 
One of the older "gadgets" that I would never want to be without again would be power steering, an almost unheard of luxury when I learnt to drive !
You had to be Popeye to drive some cars !

What about remote central locking?

Remember when you had to unlock your door,jump in,reach over and unlock the front passenger door,then twist yourself in half to unlock the back doors :(
 
And buses! I had a wee shot of a Routemaster once upon a time, no wonder women preferred to be conductors!

One of the older "gadgets" that I would never want to be without again would be power steering, an almost unheard of luxury when I learnt to drive !
You had to be Popeye to drive some cars !
 
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