Car Pet Peeves

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

The indicators on the Vauxhall Vectra and Astra.

 

[homeforsummer]

- Sunroofs - They don't get used when they're new, they go wrong if they're electric, and they leak when they're old. Plus, they do a great job of ruining the look of some cars - I'm thinking on the MINI, where you have a nice contrasting roof and then some pillock puts a sunroof in the middle of it. It's akin to a supermodel with a roman nose. And invariably the previous moron owner has specified it instead of something useful like air-conditioning.

- Armrests that get in the way of important controls like the handbrake or gearstick - honestly, are there many things more annoying when driving than hitting your funnybone every time you change into second or fourth? "OW! Who put that ****ing thing there?" (etc etc...).

- Brake pedals with no feel or progression - It's so disconcerting putting your foot on the pedal to feel... well, nothing. Even if the brakes are good you can't have confidence if the pedal feels dead. I like a hard pedal where you can feel the brakes begin to bite within the first 100mm of travel at the least.

- Poor detailing - You see a really nice car, but then look closer to find some awful details. Older Japanese cars are particularly guilty of this, where they'll have put a nasty plastic wart near the headlight to dispense washer spray. Sure, it's great having clean headlights but not so great when your car has blackheads. See the S2000 below as an example - great car, not so great warts:

 

[Roo]

I want a beverage holder that can hold a 500ml bottle, since that's all I ever drink in the car.

A 500ml bottle can go in any cubbyhole, can it not? I don't drink out of anything else when I'm in the car either, but bottles, I find, can go anywhere - especially in an Espace, which is built of cubbyholes.

Completely agree on the heated front screen thing.

- Sunroofs - They don't get used when they're new, they go wrong if they're electric, and they leak when they're old.

I love having a sunroof in the Volvo (and previously the Merc). Between about May and August I hardly went anywhere with it shut, especially at night. It feels to me a bit like having a taste of roadsterness without the impracticality of not having a Volvo estate. It doesn't have anything to do with the temperature, more the light and air.

 

[Joey D]

Why don't cars switch off their fog lights automatically when the engine is switched off?

They don't? That's really odd. My car turns it lights off, both headlamps and fog lamps, when I switch it off. I can programme it to stay on for 30 seconds though.

Heated front screens should be mandatory.

I don't think they are legal in the US, we can have the vent blowing hot air on them but the lines are illegal for some reason.

 

[Jondot]

The indicators on the Vauxhall Vectra and Astra.

THANK YOU! We had a hired Astra in Ireland and they drove us mad. Why can't they just be normal? What possible advantages are there of having indicators that flick back into the middle?

 

[buickgnx88]

How do you mean "flick back into the middle"?

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

How do you mean "flick back into the middle"?

Say you indicate to turn left after you flick the switch down to signal left it goes straight back to the centre straight away and sometimes they dont self cancel so when you flick it up it starts signaling so it appears you then want to turn right.

 

[Roo]

The ones that you flick to indicate, and it flashes the indicator light 3 times whilst the stalk returns to the middle immediately? I had that on a rented Corsa last year, and very annoying it was to begin with. I think the reason for it is on motorways - you don't have to make 2 movements with the indicator stalk when changing lanes. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't actually that bad, but I still feel it's an unnecessary feature.

 

[Jondot]

Well, you know how when you indicate you push it up/down and it stays there? And that, to stop indicating, you simply flick it back to the centre? Yeah, not in the Astra. In that, it doesn't stay put, so you find there's no way to manually cancel indicating and you end up indicating in the other direction.

If you're confused, jump to 3:30 in the Top Gear M5 review.

 

[buickgnx88]

Ah ok I see, never seen that before, but then again I'm not from Europe.

 

[McLaren]

Well, you know how when you indicate you push it up/down and it stays there? And that, to stop indicating, you simply flick it back to the centre? Yeah, not in the Astra. In that, it doesn't stay put, so you find there's no way to manually cancel indicating and you end up indicating in the other direction.

If you're confused, jump to 3:30 in the Top Gear M5 review.

I'm sorry, but that is so true. My 5 will cancel the stalk out if you make an actual turn. But, sometimes, when switching lanes and you try to flick the stalk back to the middle, it will jump to the other side. Gets slightly annoying sometimes.

 

[ND4SPD]

Hmm, I used to want an M5....

 

[Gil]

Could we put the damn gas filler in the back in the middle?
I've seen too many people drive up to the pump with the filler door on the wrong side.

Thankfully all of my vehicles have the filler on the Left.

Could we also have radio controls that are big enough to see and use if your fingers happen to be bigger than the average 2 year-olds?

I'd also like headlight that can be turned off.

Oh, and cars with crap that can be gotten to under the hood.
Chevy is the worst for saving space by putting batteries under washer resevoirs, and fuse boxes under support struts. And is it really neccessary to put the tail lights on in such a fashion that it takes a 6 inch TORX driver to remove them for bulb replacement?

 

[Keef]

-Buttons on the spokes of the steering wheel for the horn, rather than the center. I find that if you are going to honk at someone who cut in front of you, you generally wouldn't casually push the horn button with your thumb, but rather jam on the center of the wheel in a mad rush.

This irked me. My peeve is exactly the opposite. I like my Honda's buttons because when I press them...the horn blows. Unlike every GM product I've been in where you have to punch the center (but sometimes it's not quite....oh it's over here.....oh maybe lower.....) of the steering wheel like George Foreman when I want to politely inform someone they're an idiot. As opposed to angrily telling them they're an idiot. Being angry while driving is dangerous. Besides, the buttons are right near my thumbs. Right....there. Ah, right where I thought they might be.

Yes, I skipped two pages because it bothered me so much. I can't imagine what all else there might be to argue with in this thread.

 

[buickgnx88]

I see what you're saying, but I can't stand the buttons. I much prefer the center because a)I can still gently press it with my thumbs when I have my hands on the spokes (normal resting spot) and b)whenever someone/something darts in front of my vehicle my reflexes cause me to quickly hit the center of the wheel, rather than having the coordination to avoid the thing while finding the little buttons with my hands.

I guess it's just what you're used to, 3 of our 4 vehicles have the center horn.

 

[Philly]

I'd also like headlight that can be turned off.

Pull a fuse? The GTI has those running lights too. I think it looks a lot better with them off.

 

[BlackZ28]

I hate hard-to-reach seat belts..

 

[YSSMAN]

Oh what fun there is to be had in this thread, but to answer a few of the current discussions first...

For the life of me I can't figure out how to use the damn wipers in the Cooper. They are either off, on with speed sensing, or really fast all the time.

Weird. I figured out during that three week rain period that my Celica has three settings for the intermittent front wipers, on top of "fast" and "holy crap thats fast." Absolutely brilliant engineering by the folks at Toyota.

BTW: Did that make you shiver like it did for me?

After my Blazer was broken into I drove without a radio for a couple weeks and it was hell.

I've gone without a radio in my Celica for three months, and as of this week, I have just enough money to buy a new one. I don't mind going without as I never drive more than 30 miles in a day (and thats at most), otherwise I'll bring a portable radio or my iPod.

The indicators on the Vauxhall Vectra and Astra.

Our Vectra doesn't have them, but our Astra does. Truth be told, while I told the guy at the dealer that the lack of an available stick was the deal-breaker those indicator stalks were at the very root of the problem. Never in my life have I ever used something so frustratingly stupid. It felt like it was broken.

============

A few of my pet peeves?

- CUP HOLDERS: Definitely. Poor placement of cup holders is always an issue, and with my first two VWs they were of great concern. While I appreciated the fact that I had two in front of me, they were only large enough to carry a soda can which made me ask the question, "whats the point?" Granted, I had one easily accessible behind the arm rest in the Jetta, but not in the Fox. With my current car, the Celica, the cup holders come out from the arm rest towards the gear lever.

Who were the ad wizards who came up with that one?

Truth be told, the cup holders in my Mom's Grand Prix are some of the best I've used in any car. They're not in the way, they hide away easily, and hold just about anything. For a car (not a truck), thats a nice feature.

- WOOD TRIM: Make it look good, or don't do it at all. Its just that easy. Oh, and by the way, put it in cars that have colors to match...

- LACK OF TAN INTERIORS: I'm a big fan of tan interiors. Even bigger when its contrasting an outside color that is darker than whats inside. So why, pray tell, won't they sell me a blue car with a tan interior anymore? Do they not realize that besides green and tan that it is the most-perfect color combo out there?

- CERTAIN COLORS FOR CERTAIN MODELS: Really guys? Some of you may remember that while I was heavily considering buying a brand-new Mazda 3, one of the big problems was the lack of color choices. I can understand why they may make some outrageous color only available for one year, but why can't they offer an otherwise "standard" color on all of the models? The blue I wanted wasn't available on '07 M3i models, but I'll be damned if it was on '08 ones. Stupid.

 

[buickgnx88]

I agree about the color thing, I don't understand why colors are available on one model but not others. I would really like to know their explanation for that!

 

[Gil]

- CERTAIN COLORS FOR CERTAIN MODELS: Really guys? Some of you may remember that while I was heavily considering buying a brand-new Mazda 3, one of the big problems was the lack of color choices. I can understand why they may make some outrageous color only available for one year, but why can't they offer an otherwise "standard" color on all of the models? The blue I wanted wasn't available on '07 M3i models, but I'll be damned if it was on '08 ones. Stupid.

How about the fact that the Mazda6 is only available in 4 colors with a manual transmission. (Red, Black, Grey, and Silver)

Can't get the cool looking blue or Dark Cherry Mica unless you get the auto.

 

[YSSMAN]

Mazda is the worst I've come across so far, and thats exactly where my problem is coming from. Perhaps I should also expand it to companies charging exuberant amounts of cash for different colors, as I've seen as much as $1600+ for even a simple shade of red or yellow.

 

[homeforsummer]

Heated front screens should be mandatory.

I'm kind of yes and no on this one. It's intensely annoying when you just can't seem to clear the screen when it's misted or iced up, but on the other hand, heated screens are annoying at night because the criss-cross of elements in the screen always seems to be visible.

 

[Sniffs]

heh. they probably caught that for over here (don't forget, we're now getting Vaux/Opel as Saturn, now)

some of mine
Ford headlight bulb access: how do you get a 5 inch/125mm bulb in an opening only aninch and a half deep (35-40mm)??! especially with a solid metal plate behind it, PLUS a bunch of wires. and I'm NOT pulling the battery to change a friggin light bulb! (you can't yank the composite, either, to get better access)

modern US engines: i don't know if any other country has this problem. it's imposible to even do basic maintenence, because there's soo many emissions hoses, wiring harneses, and AC hoses squeezed in over top of everything to keep everything as squeezed as possible.

antiques peeve: perfect steering wheel position...fixed seat, thus the pedals are miles away. also, why the miniscule rear windows for 50 years? and no mirrors, either.

European peeve: guys, the reason you blew it in the US outside of luxury cars is cause you sent us the stuff meant for 2nd and 3rd world countries, AND didn't think to put them into FULL American standards BEFORE shipping

 

[Steele_obsidion]

my pet peeve is that my engine compartment is literally 3inches by 3 inches by 3 inches thats a Fiero for ya

 

[BayConRong]

my pet peeve is that my engine compartment is literally 3inches by 3 inches by 3 inches thats a Fiero for ya

that's what my taurus is like.

I have to remove the spark plugs, only... wait what's this? oh, it's radiator fan!!!! thank you whoever designed the engine compartment of the v6 taurus, a woman must have designed it because of the fact that only women's hands can fit. Then I have to remove the engine manifold and lay on top of the engine to reach plugs #1, #2, and #3. I guess it all fall under bad maintinance design.

 

[Moglet]

THANK YOU! We had a hired Astra in Ireland and they drove us mad. Why can't they just be normal? What possible advantages are there of having indicators that flick back into the middle?

Oh my god, the 500 has an annoying indicator stalk too! It works fine when you're pulling out of a straight junction but come to a roundabout and if the entry is curved, it's hell. Say I want to turn right at the roundabout, I approach the junction in the right hand lane and indicate right. But the road approaching the roundabout has a left curve to it. The 500 says I'm steering left so turns the indicator off! AAGGHHH!

To add to that too, the quick indicate used for changing lanes (you press the stalk lightly either direction) works well, but it's only 3 flashes. 5 would have been so much more useful. The stalk is, at least, fairly solid and feels good so it doesn't jump like the M5's or the Astra's

I'm kind of yes and no on this one. It's intensely annoying when you just can't seem to clear the screen when it's misted or iced up, but on the other hand, heated screens are annoying at night because the criss-cross of elements in the screen always seems to be visible.

The 500 has settings on the temperature controls marked with a windscreen heater icon. Change all of the knobs so they're pointing at that icon and it blasts hot air at the screen from the very front of the dash, clearing it almost instantly. Very useful without the criss cross elements.

 

[Jay]

The 500 has settings on the temperature controls marked with a windscreen heater icon. Change all of the knobs so they're pointing at that icon and it blasts hot air at the screen from the very front of the dash, clearing it almost instantly. Very useful without the criss cross elements.

Almost all cars have front vent demisters like that, problem is when you first start your car in the morning it is cold, and so is the air coming out the windscreen vent.

 

[Barracuda]

- Barely visible gauges. I know modern cars shouldn't have this problem, but in my car there is a certain time of day where It is too dark to really see the gauges, but too bright for the lights to help.

- Drum brakes. Just driving around they're fine, but it gets a bit scary going from 60 to 0 in a short turn off lane with a car stopped at the end.

 

[Moglet]

Almost all cars have front vent demisters like that, problem is when you first start your car in the morning it is cold, and so is the air coming out the windscreen vent.

That's the point though, it heats up quicker (or seems to) when set to those settings. 👍 My old cars used to take forever to demist the windscreen whereas this one does it almost instantly. I've yet to see how it fairs on a properly cold morning though.

 

[Sniffs]

Yssman, re: car interior colors

reasons I can think of.
1. trying to limit the effects of things like "road rage"
2. it may be cheaper to use black and grey plastics
3. remember color-matched interiors? TACKY tacky tacky!
4. America's obsession with Formal paint colors. it keeps insurance rates down.
5. Black goes with EVERYTHING