Stupid Car Features that Ruin Otherwise Good Cars

Okay, some of the door lock stuff reminded me of something from Japanese cars of the 70's and 80's. Having to hold the door handle up while closing the door, or it unlock. I assume this was a way of helping keep you from locking your keys in the car, but in reality, you'd get used to it after a while, and could still screw up and lock your keys inside. Not to mention, the timing on some cars was such that it was easy to screw up. There were multiple times I had to reopen, lock, and reclose the door on my parents' Corolla because it didn't work the first time.

GET OFF MY LAWN.

Man what a bunch of grumpy people you are.

I really love the electronics and what they bring- mostly because cars are WAY more reliable than they have been in the past- true, they are a major PITA to work on, but the benefit is that one barely works on them.

I bought a car specificaly FOR the auto climate control, as I set it to 72, and have not touched it in a year. Nothing to fiddle with- it'e AUTOMATIC.

I also was happy to upgrage my infotainment system- mostly because I can make calls hands-free- which was not possible on my Miata, since it was born before BT was common. But it also means that I can part from the radio easily by just saying "Bluetooth Audio" and my phone magically is controlling the music.

Today, I was reminded that ABS/Traction control is saving me $400 in tires plus storgage- as their abilities are enough + modern tires that I can get through winters just fine. No, not as quick as the Miata on snow tires, but easy to work with.

I wish that I had back up sensors. And a back up camera. I've come to really like those in the time they started to show up on test cars. Yes, I can look backward- but both allow me to get CLOSER to what I'm backing to before having to go foreward. Very cool. Let alone backing up to hitch up a trailer.

I also have liked the keyless features of cars, too. The only drawback when my wife forgot to take her purse on a short stop. oops.

Having the garage door opener integrated into the car- awesome.

All the emissions stuff- I may be very very biased, but I SO much like not having to smell my own car. May be cool once, or twice, but not every stinking (literally) day.

I've had cars that have had pretty good tracking cruise control. And REALLY liked it. Very very cool.

I was so ready to move on from my '99 Miata to a 2014 car.

But apparently, on this board, that's just me.

A CVT transmission that fakes gear changes for the luddite behind the wheel. I think it was a Nissan Sentra or possible the smaller Chrysler car. I put it into some sport mode or 'manual shift' mode and it pretended to shift. I was fine with the transmission until I found this... 'feature'.

alfadriver wrote: I also have liked the keyless features of cars, too.

Ehhh.... sorta. My traditional key has never run out of batteries. Ever!

This brings up something that drives me nuts.
I need another key for the Saturn or Miata (NA)? Go to home depot, pay $1, have new key.
NB? Go to dealer, pay many dollars, have fancy key with chip.
Prius? Same as above, or order fancy key for many dollars go through programming Shenanigans.

I lost a key for my fathers Pathfinder once. On a weekend, dealer was closed. Locksmith could get me into the car, but my parents had to drive me the other key 4 hours each way. On top of that, when they finally replaced it, it was $150.

Also, modern keyfobs are TOO berkeleyING BIG. I like to drop a key in my pocket. I can't when its the size of a pack of cigarettes.

Oh Eric...I like the company-man attitude, but lets be real: the minor conveniences that some of the gizmo-bloat options offer is not at all enough to offset the cost we the buying public incur. Touchscreens cost waaaay more than buttons. Cameras are not free. 37 different sensors between my cat and the muffler are expensive. Dual throttle position sensors are expensive. Tire monitoring systems are expensive. Heated seats are expensive. Not to mention, they all add weight and complexity thats not worth it in my book

And reliability? Why do I have to replace a 3 year old throttle body because one of the 2 throttle position sensors took a dump in my new car? My 1999 still has its original unit! Ask me how many times Ive had to pay for new tire monitoring sensors for my 99. Guess how many Emissions control problems Ive had with my "less reliable" older car. I bet you couldnt guess how many times Ive been unable to get into my trunk because the latch didnt work when the electric touch pad went belly up! All of these are problems we've had with our 2010 car.

All of these "conveniences" are added expense. Sure, the average soccer mom may want heated ear warmers in her 14 passenger luxo-bus, but it would be nice to have the option to do without, but I guess Im too st-st-stupid to think about what I want for myself...NHTSB has to do all my thinking for me, and Detroit/Japan/Germany etc are all too happy to comply. Toss in an added dash of "electronically controlled things are easier (cheaper) to install at the factory than mechanically controlled ones", and the bias towards letting the customer pay for the labor savings becomes even more apparent... if youre able to pull your dull cow eyes away from the twitterbook radiovision HUD in the dashboard and think about it.

I swear, a $10k small sedan stripper with a LCD radio display, manual locks, starter, throttle, seats, windows, and transmission, with a 4 banger would sell a million - think modern version of a Beetle. Every college kid, pizza driver, and recent parolee would buy em in pairs.

alfadriver wrote: GET OFF MY LAWN. Man what a bunch of grumpy people you are. I really love the electronics and what they bring- mostly because cars are WAY more reliable than they have been in the past- true, they are a major PITA to work on, but the benefit is that one barely works on them. I bought a car specificaly FOR the auto climate control, as I set it to 72, and have not touched it in a year. Nothing to fiddle with- it'e AUTOMATIC. I also was happy to upgrage my infotainment system- mostly because I can make calls hands-free- which was not possible on my Miata, since it was born before BT was common. But it also means that I can part from the radio easily by just saying "Bluetooth Audio" and my phone magically is controlling the music. Today, I was reminded that ABS/Traction control is saving me $400 in tires plus storgage- as their abilities are enough + modern tires that I can get through winters just fine. No, not as quick as the Miata on snow tires, but easy to work with. I wish that I had back up sensors. And a back up camera. I've come to really like those in the time they started to show up on test cars. Yes, I can look backward- but both allow me to get CLOSER to what I'm backing to before having to go foreward. Very cool. Let alone backing up to hitch up a trailer. I also have liked the keyless features of cars, too. The only drawback when my wife forgot to take her purse on a short stop. oops. Having the garage door opener integrated into the car- awesome. All the emissions stuff- I may be very very biased, but I SO much like not having to smell my own car. May be cool once, or twice, but not every stinking (literally) day. I've had cars that have had pretty good tracking cruise control. And REALLY liked it. Very very cool. I was so ready to move on from my '99 Miata to a 2014 car. But apparently, on this board, that's just me.

I'm not opposed to new features, but if the car has them, they better work correctly. I love my heated mirrors, my backup camera, my automatic climate control, and my bluetooth connection between my phone and radio.

I like my traction control in my F150 and my E46. It lets you spin a bit to get things done, and beyond that, pulls you back a bit as if to say "alright, enough, stop that". I HATED the traction control in my Tundra. A little slip, it pulls all power entirely, and makes you count to 3. The engineer doing the calibration didn't spend enough time or wasn't allowed by someone to spend enough time making it work correctly.

I like that the lights come on when I use the keyless entry in my vehicles. It's safe and it makes sense. However, I want to club baby seals when GM vehicles have it, because they also turn on the reverse lights. When the car is parked. In a parking lot. So, as an attentive and courteous driver, I notice the backup lights are lit on a vehicle, and I stop to avoid being hit by a reversing car. And then I wait, and wait, and wait, then realize it's a GM so the reverse lights are on because someone unlocked it.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

In spite of all of that, when adjusted for inflation, cars are no more expensive than they were 20 years ago. Moreso when you look at 1) all of the added features and 2) keep the relative size- so compare a 1994 Accord with an 2014 Civic- since they are very close in size. Heck, some directly compareable cars are almost the same price- a 94 Civic SI vs. a 2014 Fiesta.

As for the claim that stripper car will sell millions- no, they won't. It's been tried many times, and is a game that leads to financial ruin. The people you think will by the cars by the millions just don't buy new cars- they buy used.

Sure, I may be biased because I'm part of "the guy"- but I had plenty of dounbts of this new tech, too. My difference is that I've been able to use them on almost a daily basis, to the point that I wanted a new car with features that my Miata didn't.

Still, for every electronic throttle problem we pretend to have, there are actual cable problem cars out there. The throttle sensor on my '99 Miata failed, as did the coils (twice) and the alternator. The risk of the same failure on my '14 is much less, as the requirements are much more stringent to be better.

There are plenty of old simple cars out there to own. Go for it. It's not as if you can't fix your own problem. If all of this stuff really ruins cars, why do you continue to get them when you have so many options to not have them?

Never drove a Saab before yesterday.

Who's the idiot that decided where to put the ignition switch?

alfadriver wrote: If all of this stuff really ruins cars, why do you continue to get them when you have so many options to not have them?

The wedding ring on my left hand should tell you all you need to know about that.

And back to reliability, if the coil in my G20 fails, I can replace it with ease, as well as the throttle body for that matter. Ubertech has seen to it that replacing spark plugs requires a dealer to recalibrate my flux capacitor before I can drive my spacerocke...er..car again.

Like I said - maybe the unwashed masses want 7k lb cars that get the same fuel economy that pickup trucks in the 50s got, let em have it. But give me what I want too. Maybe youre looking at it wrong...maybe its not that you dont make the cars I want because I wont buy them if I do. Maybe its that I dont buy new cars because you dont make the ones I want. If you build it, they will come.

My old Suzuki Sidekick had anti-lock brakes OR AWD, but not both at the same time. When you put it into 4WD, the ABS would be disabled. I suppose there was some off-road benefit, but how many people (besides me) took their stock Sidekick offroad? Driving up a snowy hill you had to put it in 4WD, then shift out on the way down the hill to have ABS. Stupid.

I embrace a lot of the new, reliable tech. Its "convenience" stuff that adds much complexity and little to no value that I don't like. Stupid touchscreens that make it more difficult to operate controls. Poor visibility.

This is a thread where we get to be negative. If you want to hear some positive comments about newer cars, go to the other one.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

The problem with stripper cars is that people always want them super cheap and then want discounts on top of them. Still, they barely sell.

Cars like that are available from every manufacturer if you look.

It's so funny to read a blakent statement that people want heavy cars that get crappy gas mileage. You think it's true because that's what you chose to see. In fact, the best selling car is 3000-3500lb, and gets generally 30-35 mpg. Accord, Camry, and Fusion all do that. The best selling truck is MUCH bigger than the trucks of the 50's, yet get MUCH better gas milege, and can do massive amounts of stuff better, safer, and with less impact on the envoronment.

To me, abandonding the market you want the industry to serve was the best thing Ford ever did. Instead of selling bargain basement crappy DN101 Tauruses, we sell the same car as a Fusion for $10k more. Instead of losing money selling Tempos, we make money selling high content Fusions.

If a new Yugo comes along and tries to sell a $10k car, go for it. Whetever it is. I'm quite happy selling $22k cars.

As for reliablity- it's been so long since we've sold a car that needed plugs before 100k, I can't even remember what it was. It's also been at least 10 years since we sold a car with spark plug wires.

I'm sorry that your wife won't buy into your uuber simple car, but you can, can't you? You should.

ProDarwin wrote: I embrace a lot of the new, reliable tech. Its "convenience" stuff that adds much complexity and little to no value that I don't like. Stupid touchscreens that make it more difficult to operate controls. Poor visibility. This is a thread where we get to be negative. If you want to hear some positive comments about newer cars, go to the other one.

Ok, I'll stop posting after this.

But it reminds me when I found an old copy of Automotive Quarterly. Where someone wrote them a letter complaining of all the new tech and features in cars.

Back in 1960.

Some things never change.

You guys are being way too generous, you’ve missed so many annoying features that should be banned.

Electric starters just allow wimps to start and drive cars.

Moving the throttle from the steering wheel to a pedal on the floor, what the hell, it takes all the finesse out of it.

What about these new-fangled hydraulic shock absorbers? What was wrong with friction shocks, it allows any old Joe to drive a car at the limit.

Just don’t get me started on pneumatic tires!

Datsun1500 wrote:

Trans_Maro wrote: Never drove a Saab before yesterday. Who's the idiot that decided where to put the ignition switch?

It locks the transmission too, that is why it's there.

It was also an early safety feature so you didn't get impaled on a key sticking out of the dash in an accident. Saab engineers really used to go an look at cars that had been in accidents, both theirs and other manufacturers to see what happened and how they could protect the driver and passengers better.

Come on guys, there's obviously a middle ground with a nice bell curve but it's so much easier to paint us "complainers" as grumpy old men that long for chain drive and manual spark advance and solid rubber tires.

Some if us like to BE the traction control. We're healthy enough to turn our heads around to see what's back there and we don't need a NASA command panel for a dashboard... So sue us!

I'm not against new tech in cars. I like the stability control/traction control in my WRX. I like the heated seats. I even like the auto dimming rear view mirror. I dislike the automatic climate control system, not because it is automatic, but because it works like ass and would be improved if it were replaced with two simple knobs. I won't complain about the advances in emissions and mileage, even if they come hand in hand with goofy drive by wire throttles, as long as they are implemented correctly.

I'm not against new technology in cars, just poorly implemented new technology that offers no benefit.

RossD wrote: A CVT transmission that fakes gear changes for the luddite behind the wheel. I think it was a Nissan Sentra or possible the smaller Chrysler car. I put it into some sport mode or 'manual shift' mode and it pretended to shift. I was fine with the transmission until I found this... 'feature'.

I had a Sentra rental and it had the stupid fake shifting CVT. Terrible. It was ridiculous at some of the things that transmission did. Not sure who programmed it or what they were thinking, but man that thing is sucky to drive.

ebonyandivory wrote: Come on guys, there's obviously a middle ground with a nice bell curve but it's so much easier to paint us "complainers" as grumpy old men that long for chain drive and manual spark advance and solid rubber tires. Some if us like to BE the traction control. We're healthy enough to turn our heads around to see what's back there and we don't need a NASA command panel for a dashboard... So sue us!

Agreed, it just gets old when we bash the same features time after time after time when the public, you know those people that actually put money down for new cars, have shown they want them. The .0006% of the 17,000,000 million new car buys who want a stone age car can go and buy a new Caterham or similar.

Originally being a Brit I grew up parallel parking cars in spaces that would make most people on this continent cry, without bragging I'm flat out the best parker I know, yet I'll never buy another DD without reverse aid, thankfully that's not going to be an issue as rear view cameras will be mandated soon. I also wont buy anything for DD use without automatic climate control, heated seats, Bluetooth etc. And because unlike most people on here I can't put Hamilton, Alonso, Schumacher and Senna to shame with my reactions, concentration and spacial awareness, I also want stability control, air bags TPMS, ABS etc. Finally because I'm middle age I want AC and if not a convertible then at the very least a sun roof.

For toys all bets are off, but for DD's I'll take more more more on safety and comfort features.

I hate door locks that lock when you move and don't unlock when you stop. What is the point of the doors locking anyway? It is a pain when using a truck for work and you keep tools in the cab to keep them dry.

I hate automatic headlights that don't have an on position, just an override. There is also no way to tell if the headlights are on from the cab. You have to pull up to an object just to see if you are legal to drive in the rain.

I appreciate your input Alfa, I really do. I know you have a lot...A LOT of insider expertise and real world manufacturer knowledge that a vast majority of us will never have. I know youre a car guy at heart, I just cant help but poke the bear. I know that GRMers in general are outliers when it comes to the target audience the Automaking industry is focused on. But I still know what I want. Oddly enough, the Cruze Eco is is what I want...mostly. So, Im voting with my wallet: Turbo, manual trans, non power stuff inside (well, seats anyway). Info-tainment isnt avoidable, nor throttle-by-wire and the like, but its the closest that I can find that isnt hideous, or a zillion bucks, so its likely going to end up in the garage before long.

4cylndrfury wrote: non power stuff inside (well, seats anyway).

You just hit on another pet peeve of mine. Luckily, there are still many cars without power seats.

Power reclining seats are so berkeleying annoying. The spring recline mechanism is simpler, cheaper, lighter, and 20x faster. It doesn't even require any effort! Why make an electric motor drive it?!

In reply to ProDarwin:

So they can use it for an active safety system and to provide the ability to have memory positions.

A bit silly on a bottom rung car, but that's why I think they do that.

turboswede wrote: In reply to ProDarwin: So they can use it for an active safety system and to provide the ability to have memory positions. A bit silly on a bottom rung car, but that's why I think they do that.

Learn me about this active safety that involves seat recline. Do they sense position or something?

I guess I follow the position memory logic. I'm not all anti-power seats. I can understand why people like them on a luxury vehicle. I know there are some out there that are power adjustments for everything except recline. Those make the most sense to me.

Power recline just seems like a step backward.

The CVT in my sister's Nissan turns a boring but capable vehicle into a soul sucking appliance.

And not really a feature but it irks me when a design turns the interior of a hatch back or crossover thing into a claustrophobic dark space with little rear seat headroom or storage space.

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