A recent survey from AutoPacific has suggested that drivers aren’t terribly pleased with some of the technology that’s being installed into modern vehicles, particularly the features that are designed to police behavior.
A recent survey from AutoPacific has suggested that drivers aren’t terribly pleased with some of the technology that’s being installed into modern vehicles, particularly the features that are designed to police behavior.
I used to wish I could afford a new car. Now I wish I could afford an old one.
Isn’t that the truth. So much easier to repair.
We are careening into a world where private vehicle ownership will be limited to bicycles only.
Think of the savings …
Driving my wife’s late model Honda CRV on a particularly windy day. A coffee cup icon shows up on the display about an hour later. I honestly didn’t know I was tired and needed a rest from the rigors of driving.
Told her that’s just a little too much nannyism for me. This vehicle is all yours.
Burton …. the car needs an F U icon to send to the cars nanny computer!!
Driving a 12-year-old vehicle at the moment, which we’ve been dumping maintenance money into. We plan on driving this SUV until the wheels fall off. Not sure what we’ll do when that awful day comes, but hopefully some sanity will have been restored to the vehicle market by that time.
Fingers crossed.
18 year old truck I’ve had for 15 years is the current daily driver here. Not a single thing on the market interests me, not least of all the $50,000+ sticker prices.
I haven’t yet gotten the dash apart to de-solder the LED behind the tire pressure warning idiot light but it’s coming and that’s the only nannying tech in there.
The idea of the CAR having an opinion on your driving AND can start steering itself because there’s no physical connection between the steering wheel and the rack is so off putting I can hardly put it into words.
Hahahaha … OMG! That’s the tech I HATE most on my 2011 BMW 335i. If the weather turns cold … the tire pressure drops by 2psi and the warning light comes on making my wife stop the car, and make me go pump up the tire. I tell her the tires are run-flat tires so you don’t need to panic – EVER. But she isn’t the one to pump them up seeing that the tires are at 39 psi instead of the 41 psi per specs. Sheesh.
But what I really HATE the most is the ABS system. Dear auto computer; I know how to brake my car and deal with a skid with the quick release and reapplication of the pedal. There are times I NEED a hard stop … and not a slow application of the brake pedal as I slowly hit the car in front of me. Ugggh.
But … the tech I dearly love is that I have NEVER “tuned” my car in the 12 years I’ve owned it. NEVER. The car’s brain keeps the car running smoothly. As a longtime backyard mechanic … that’s an amazing feature. The early DME’s weren’t quite so good … but this 2011 model is absolutely fantastic. And the ability to plug-in my fault code reader and see EXACTLY what the car needs repaired/refreshed is absolutely amazing. Love the computers … but … when they tell me I’m driving too fast and reports that to some mother-computer… then I’ll go back to a 1968 351 fastback Mustang.
I’m waiting for the day they introduce the idiot light’s idiot light – an indicator that indicates your idiot light is making a false reading. I recently bought a 2012 LR4 and I think I’ve had 4 days where one of the idiot lights wasn’t on. The tire indicator came on and I checked the tire pressure on all 4 tires twice for each tire. No issue. The next time I turned the vehicle on the tire indicator was off and the low coolant indicator came on. I think they take turns. There must be a DEI policy on idiot lights.
The idiot light is on because you bought a Land Rover.
Simple test, does it go off when you get out?
/s(emi)
Hey Kenji – Depending on the surface that you are skidding on, the ‘Anti-skid’ brakes can increase your braking distance right into the Honda in front of you! Dang, eh!!
precisely. youre skidding and maybe the trajectory is suffering, but hey better to bump the curb going sideways than bump the vehicle in front.
and not quite as slow as bumping the curb.
sideways.
lots of stuff going sideways these days so l think the comparison is apt.
I’m old enough to have owned and maintained cars from the 60s through to now. Modern cars are a lot better in many ways. Like you say, no tune ups, no adjusting anything, and if something it wrong it will tell you what’s wrong then you just have to replace some sensor. The only problem is that without a hoist, said sensor can be sometimes hard to get at.
My truck is a 2009. I have a permanent check engine light, check brakes light, check tire pressure light and rear right door ajar light on. I have had that truck into four different mechanics and all of them say the same thing. “It’s sensors, I can’t fix it, there’s nothing wrong with the truck. Just ignore them.” Fortunately the truck is old enough it doesn’t actually use the sensors to change how the truck itself runs and it can’t drive me to a service station to get checked by itself.
Give me a plain old fashioned truck with no sensors, WIFI, rear back up camera, satellite radio or any other gadgetry and I’ll pay extra!
Well Justin … because I drive the ultimate driving machine (MADE in Mexico) … there is a way in which I can reset and cancel EVERY annoying idiot light on my dash. All I have to do is follow the BMW procedure: … turn the key to the accessory setting, tap the accelerator pedal twice (but do not push to the floor), turn the windshield wipers to the intermittent setting, turn on the cruise control and set it to 65mph, press and hold the time setting … oh screw it … too complicated.
Lightweight. My trucks are 29 and 34 years old. O.k., my motorcycle is only 13, but it has a carburetor.
Auto parts have never been easier to source. I enjoy working on my own vehicles now. Started with oil changes and recently rebuilt the engine on a Ford Explorer last year.
BUT, many of these parts come from China.
Reliability is not job one from China. After I had to replace (3) starters from them. Yuck!
I wouldn’t say that is true. Parts come from all over the world. Just recently bought some Tie Rod ends made by Lockheed Martin in Germany. Bushings made in Russia, Ignition Coils made in Poland. Had an OEM hose and check valve from Ford made in India. Tons of parts from Japan, Korea and Mexico and USA, usually never see Canadian parts.
I’ve seen parts made in everywhere. Try not to buy parts from China ever.
As a mechanic, sometimes the chinese parts are better than the alternatives: Parts from India!
A lot of manufacturers that used to be dependable like Raybestos and Mevotech are moving manufacturing to India.
I have ball joints from china in service, where the exact same part number from the same company, now made in india, failed in 4 months! Even a 6 pack of ignition coils from NGK, 4 out of 6 failed in a year’s time.
I look for parts from north america first, Can/USA/Mexico, then branch out from there. European parts from Poland and others are usu ok, Japan, same, india is at bottom of the list, unless no other options, i’ll hand those back to the parts man and tell them no thanks and WHY..
It’s gotten to the point where repair parts are drastically dropping in quality. i’m sure it’s intentional.
Was going to buy a new truck this year. Between the cost and all of the mandatory monitoring tech (including the infamous “kill switch”) I decided to do a frame off restoration on a 1970 Chevy pickup, including putting in a new LM drive train. Will end up with a cherry truck that is appreciating in value and save 10s of thousands of dollars.
You can build a Factory Five Shelby Cobra Coupe for ~$40K, including the engine/trans etc. Crate motor and matching trans plus rear end. Brand new everything.
That’s tens of thousands cheaper than a new pickup truck, and you get a Cobra Coupe. If you put a turbocharged 6 in it instead of the fire breathing 427 big block, it would give you some dandy fuel mileage, daily-driver reliability, and it would still be insanely fast.
One of the reasons that parking is so difficult is that car designs have lower driving seats than the back windows, small back windows and head rests that obscure a driver’s view.
Screens are definitely distracting, as eyes are off the road, reducing situational awareness. Controls should be easy to reach and have no menus. Even GPS’s can cause confusion if they are wrong or did not expect a diversion and the voice direction is annoying. Apparently, no one reads a map before leaving anymore. Screens can be as distracting as cell phones, which we know cause accidents due to inattention.
Also symbols vs. words are annoying. Are people allergic to words such aircon, heat, lights?
Governments should adjust speed limits. BC did this a few years
Keep or buy older cars without new features that you do not even know about.
No one wants a nanny car. This in itself is distracting.
The problem is in Canada, most of the Governments are lowering speed limits, not raising them, especially those advocates of Vision Zero, who do everything they can to impede the flow of traffic. Their new favorite tactic seems to be reducing the speed on a road designed for 50kph to 40 or 30 and then sticking Speed Tax Cameras on them.
What is the effect of a 3W laser on those cameras? Asking for a friend.
L wrote in part: “Also symbols vs. words are annoying. Are people allergic to words such aircon, heat, lights?”
In some cases where cars are sold in multiple countries, it’s a cost issue. The symbols eliminate the need for additional identical versions of a part where the only difference would be the language.
I know that’s true in some cases, but I don’t think it’s true in all cases. That’s where you’d have a legitimate beef.
“Also symbols vs. words are annoying. Are people allergic to words such aircon, heat, lights? ”
My pet peeve as well. It’s everywhere now, from cars to cellphones to elevators to coffeemakers to metal detectors.
nannyism.
the difference between limited technology alerting you the car ahead has suddenly braked and . . . . . reporting and logging your entire itinerary the whole time you own it. and who was driving. and did they come to full stop every time. better rat them out to the insurance agent.
technology is merely accelerating the advent of The End Times. afaic
For the price of a new truck here, you could visit Europe or Asia for a 2 month dream vacation, and then come home with a Hilux.
You just described my DREAM vacation to Japan, although I might come back with a 2005 Honda NSX-R GT (174 Mph). Oh! And stacks of Japanese vinyl with the cute OBI’s
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-2005-Acura-NSX-c1052
https://www.discogs.com/release/1888407-Pink-Floyd-The-Wall
I have expensive tastes
I think having the safety devices switchable would be a great, so I can turn off a seatbelt warning off (for example) and having heat/cooling controls only on the non entertainment or display screens is a good start. The last thing I care about is having a vehicle tell me it’s 17.5 C in the car, and would I like it to be 21.3 C while simply turning a dial one way or the other is how to adjust temp. with certainty.
Some of the vehicle manufacturers have figured it out that going through 3 screens to adjust temp is not acceptable, and if I have to use Google search to find out how to do this while driving it may be a problem for others as well.
I love my 20-year-old Tacoma. It is low tech, and low maintenance.
It runs like a top.
I am hoping it will hang tough and be my only ride till the big ride beyond the veil.
Being retired and a home body, I’m thinking it will last.
As Guy Clark sang in his great song called “Stuff that works”…
“I’ve got an old blue truck, runs like a top, I get the feelin’ that it won’t ever stop…”
I so agree Stevie. I have a 1994 land cruiser 300.000 miles and still going.
Good on ya!
I also drive a 2005 Tacoma, with just under 200k miles. The best.
Also a big Guy Clark fan. The best.
What’s most annoying are the ones you cannot disable and they come back on every time the engine starts e.g. Toyota CHR’s exceeding the speed limit bonging sound – grr when going 42 in a 40 zone.
I rented a Volkswagen Golf in Quebec several years ago. I turned the radio off and this huge bright eye blinding message came on the dash that said RADIO OFF.
Your Toyota makes a noise when you exceed the speed limit?
I’d be sticking a screwdriver in that speaker. Wow.
Find the speaker in the dash and uplug the wire.
My 11 year old piece of junk Nissan became to costly to fix so I broke down and bought a gently used Crosstrek, love it but hate all the forking fancy features. Seriously the thing shuts it’s self off if you tap the breaks, figured out how to shut that feature off. The owners manual is in French so it’s hard to figure out how to disable the stuff I don’t want. I don’t own a cell phone so most of the bells and whistles are useless to me.
That’s the thing I hate most about modern cars, the ‘engine cut-off when stopped’ ‘feature’. My 10 year-old Honda doesn’t have it (or it’s disabled), but the occasional hire car does; and I feel it unsafe if a vehicle I’m driving has a second or two delay before it starts moving in traffic, expecting to have the vehicle behind me plough into the back of my vehicle as a result…
At the beginning of CV19 my 2003 regular driver got the rust. I was forced to replace it. Used vehicles were hard to come by and very expensive so I bought new.
I soon came to hate that everything is electronic and controlled through the screen (some basic functions can be done via buttons and knobs too).
On a road trip a safe drive feature self enabled and fought my driving for at least a hundred miles. Making our trip much less safe. We stopped to try to figure out how to disable the feature but we couldn’t imagine what the feature was called. Many things were tried and failed. So on we drove. I played with the screen and the knobs and levers and eventually set a pointer on the dashboard to the left rather than the right. Free range human controlled driving was restored.
I will be returning the vehicle at the end of its lease and looking for something much older.
Except that my daughter who was raised with all this machine help likes the vehicle and all the things that it can do. She may buy the car from me and I’ll take her well featured for 2015 (but not smart) Toyota in trade. Maybe these vehicles are made for the younger generation.
I recall a recent news article to the effect that Volkswagen has finally admitted that screens etc. are a full-up safety hazard, and they are going back to buttons and knobs for heat/AC, radios and etc.
People are literally crashing their cars because they can’t turn on the AC without flipping through 3 screens of “Smart Controls”. Knobs and buttons you don’t have to look at when you use them, flat screens demand your full attention. You have to read it, then accurately touch the display where the little picture of a button is. And then you hit a pole, because you’re looking at the f-ing screen instead of at the road.
My BMW bike has a flat screen. Controls are on the handlebars so at least it isn’t touch screen, but having it flash “SERVICE REQUIRED SOON!!!” in bright orange across the whole screen, over top of my speedometer and tach, this is not a good thing. You can’t always spare the brain cells to read and interpret a written message. You’re deep in a corner, feeling your way through and setting up for the next corner, and your bike suddenly displays “SERVICE REQUIRED SOON!!!” instead of your speedo? At the risk of repeating myself, this is not a good thing. More like they’re trying to kill you. Scared the f- out of me the first time.
It seems to me like the people who decide this type of thing have never ridden a motorcycle in their lives. Maybe have the computer wait until the bike comes to a complete stop before flashing an ALL CAPS!!! message in bright orange? Just a thought.
I went from an ’05 Rubicon with no features to ’19 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk that had most of the new features, blessed to be missing the driver assistance features like distance behind and such. Does have an annoying park assist feature it took a while to get used to.
One nice thing about the Jeep design, all necessary functions have dial and button controls as well as screen controls, some duplicated on the steering wheel. Fancier stuff is on the screen.
One item does annoy me: not restarting on the screen I shut off on. I prefer the off-road pages as it is loaded with vehicle information yet it needs to be reset every time.
Every fairly new car you buy now has a built in tracker, that’s in case you miss payments they know where to pick it up,Police are also aware of this and use it.
Unless of course it is stolen,then you are on your own.
If you need a backup camera you might be old, Asian or have nice tits.