You Know You Are Old When

[Jstpssng]

My Colorado has a console shift, I use the transmission a lot when driving in snow.
It's not quite as intuitive when in my company Tundra. I can't imagine trying to downshift in snow using a dial on the dash.
Is the volume control for the radio in the back seat?

 

[Runner]

We've had my wife's SUV for about 3 years, and I still can't operate many of the things on it. I can't figure out the sunroof screen or the sunroof while I'm driving.

I like the auto dimming feature but it goes to brights too late. It's triggered by speed which is over 30 mph. By that time I could have a deer on my hood so I end up putting them in manual instead of automatic.

You really have to wonder what genius figures out stuff like that. They have ALL THIS computer power at their disposal on these new cars, but still can't seem to make it actually useful or make the human interface helpful.

Couple of examples: My new car has a computer display in the binnacle in front of the driver and also, another computer screen in the middle of the dash. To make changes for some of these type features, you have to do it in the little screen in front of the driver, which is only accessed by use of the weird little finicky buttons on the steering wheel. It would be so much easier to access the menu through the big touch screen in the middle, but that can only be used for the phone, mapping or music.

Second example: The car has a road sign recognition feature where it will display the last speed limit sign you passed. This is actually quite useful for those times you miss it and there isn't another sign for a couple of miles. However, the default for the display is a little speed limit sign with black letters on white background - until you go 1mph over the speed limit, then it turns red on a black background so you can't read it. You have to slow back down below the speed limit to see it. This is obviously completely out of touch with reality since most people drive at least 5 over the speed limit. I just want to know what it is, not if I'm going over or not....

One more example, new car has several different gadgets that can be displayed like trip meter, fuel mileage readout, G-meter, turbo boost meter, tire pressure monitor, compass, complete engine monitor gauges, etc. However, you can only choose two for the screen in front of the driver and have to switch back and forth (using the finicky little steering wheel buttons) if you want to see the others. Tell me that the computer genius(es) that came up with all this stuff couldn't figure out how to show all this stuff at once on the great big screen in the middle of the dash so you wouldn't have to switch back and forth on the little screen.

Over and out.

 

[not2old]

My biggest beef is with the windshield wipers. My utility vehicle is a 2018 Grand Cherokee. My summer car is a 2014 CTS-V coupe. My summer truck is a 2024 F350 and my winter truck is a 1990 F250. My 1990 is no problem finding the wipers when needed quickly. That may be because I've had it for thirty five years and it's become habit. The other three leave me confused each time I use them. Two are on a left stalk, one is on the right and they all have different settings. I think this is a safety issue, especially in the winter. You get your windshield covered with a bunch of water or slush and you can't see for much longer than you feel OK with. They need to be standardized. When I accidentally mess up the HVAC settings on the three newer vehicles, I get annoyed and pull over to figure out how to fix it. You can't do that with the wipers when you can't see.

 

[WinterDeere]

Your fear is well founded. I've spent more time disabling annoying features I don't want (lane departure warning, proactive driving assist, and other assorted BS) on my new car than I have actually driving the car.

?? I don't understand. All of our cars have all of these options, but they retain the memory of their last setting. I usually turn them ALL off, the very first time I drive the car, and then can forget they even exist, thereafter. But my wife likes them turned on in her car, so I just toggle those that bother me the most off when I drive that vehicle, once or twice per year.

The one I hate the most is the auto braking, as it has almost caused me accidents a few times, slamming on the brakes when I was in no danger of hitting anything. The auto-dim highbeams also frustrate me, often staying low when they should be flicking back to high. Since I'm not so far gone (yet) that I can't flip a blinker stalk forward and back, I just turn them off.

 

[scootr]

Tesla got the speedo right. The display shows the limit and the current speed. Optionally you set a tone (ding) for 5 mph - 10 mph over the limit so you know when you are in the ticket zone. I like that.
Another ding tone sounds when you are sitting at a red light and it turns green. Handy for all those who are texting at the red light....

 

[NoTrespassing]

Speaking of HVAC, my Mazda 3 automatically turns on the AC compressor if I have the temperature set to the lowest setting and turn on the fan. I have to turn the AC off if I just want fan on. What a PITA.

 

[Runner]

?? I don't understand. All of our cars have all of these options, but they retain the memory of their last setting. I usually turn them ALL off, the very first time I drive the car, and then can forget they even exist, thereafter.

I was exaggerating for humorous effect. However, if I have to spend even one second of the few I have left in my life disabling some "feature" that I don't want and didn't ask for, it FEELS like it's taking forever.

 

[scootr]

I was exaggerating for humorous effect. However, if I have to spend even one second of the few I have left in my life disabling some "feature" that I don't want and didn't ask for, if FEELS like it's taking forever.

I imagine your exaggerating again

 

[Runner]

I imagine your exaggerating again

Right. We're talking about FEELINGS here!

 

[WinterDeere]

I was exaggerating for humorous effect. However, if I have to spend even one second of the few I have left in my life disabling some "feature" that I don't want and didn't ask for, if FEELS like it's taking forever.

I don't mind the second or two it takes to disable it, as much as the $1500 I spent on adding that option I didn't really want, just because it was part of some option group that contained one other option I did want.