Drivers Hate The Tech In Their Cars

I'm ok with a decent amount of tech in a car. Like I'm fine being able to connect my phone to the car and have android auto take over the infotainment system.

But the HVAC stuff needs to be buttons I can access/control without looking or very minimal looking.

I don't want/need my car to have a SIM card, or connect to wifi, and report what I'm doing. If they want to do that, then they can give me the car for free and I'll drive it around letting them collect my driving habits.

Edit: Oh, and I'm sure as hell not paying some subscription fee on top of the price of the car.

Peak technology enjoyment in a car includes

• multiple zone ac
• heated/ventilated seats
• real buttons and not FUCKING CAPACITIVE TOUCH
• android auto/apple car play

We need some serious federal regulation against bullshit in vehicles.

Every function that is normal to use while in motion needs a physical button.

Absolutely no fucking spyware reporting back to the manufacturer.

give me buttons and dials, not touch screens and ai. I want to drive, not check social media. I'll be keeping my 2009 until the engine locks up.

Yep. I'm hoping my current car holds out until this 'smartphone on wheels" trend reverses.

All I need is Bluetooth in the audio system and a place to hang my phone. Beyond that, things that don't make my car move or my body comfortable can go to hell.

I don’t hate tech in my car.

I hate unnecessary, poorly designed tech in my car.

Current tech design unnecessarily complicates and obscures what should be simple and easily accessible functions. That’s more than just irritating, it’s dangerous.

As a driver, all I really want is good music, good navigation, and easy access to all my controls.

I don't want to have to go into submenus to change my temp settings, or open the trunk.

IMO, a vehicle should be a fairly simple tool to operate. All of the nuances with driving should be how you use those controls to get to where you're going. Even with the (frankly, impressive) self driving tech we currently have, I still don't think it's ready to replace a driver at the wheel; bluntly, that's the only tech I really want in a car.

Automatic options for fairly standard functions, such as turning on your headlights at night, shutting off the highbeams when there's oncoming vehicles, and even automatic windshield wipers, can make things easier. Which I appreciate. I can override all of these systems, which is good. The advent of climate controls rather than "how hot" and "how cold" you want your blower to be and at what speed, is also nice. Even driving assist, like automatic lane keeping and adaptive cruise control is a nice-to-have. But these are all augmentations of systems and they're pretty transparent to the driver. If you don't want to use them, you can easily ignore or override the systems and do it yourself.

What I don't appreciate is all the infotainment garbage. I can literally play games on the touch screen of my partners 2019 accord. I tried it out and bluntly, it's not comfortable, it only works when the car isn't moving, and I'm not going to sit in my car to play games. That's dumb. I kind of get it for EVs for when they're charging, but honestly, I can have a better experience on my phone/tablet.

I don't need weather, I don't need a touch screen, and I don't need whatever garbage GPS system you were paid to sell with the car.

Give me Android auto/some carplay, with maybe FM as a backup in case of emergency, and I'm good. My phone already has data, my car doesn't need LTE. Give me buttons to press for all climate and driving functions and I'm a happy person.

I don't want to navigate some menu to try to turn on my defogger. Fuck off.

Driving tech should be transparent to anyone who doesn't give a shit, and just wants to drive down the road.

Car companies don't care, they think the tech gives them an excuse to charge more even though a lot of the tech is actually cheaper (a single touch screen instead of all kinds of knobs and buttons) plus it's a way for them to collect more of your data to sell. Before buying my next vehicle, I want to make sure I can easily disable its internet functionality through hardware so that it doesn't phone home.

No one hates the tech in their cars, ABS is universally loved. What people hate is tech working not in tandem but against them

Data privacy is a concern of mine.

Car makers see technology as a data mining opportunity to force us to use their shitty infotainment systems to track our every move and interest, and then milk us with subscriptions.

I don't like tech in cars either.. I like EVs bit the thought of dealing with that center screen for everything is just lame. Another thing that sucks are the fobs.. Who asked for those? If I want to go swimming I now have to take apart a little plastic thing and stick it in my car

Summary: Computerized touch screens and 'smart' features with poorly thought-out UI and UX are a solution in search of a problem.

Start with what directly benefits the user and driving experience.

Go from there.

It's not about the drivers, it's about cheaper costs and normalizing subscription services for your vehicle.

I drive an EV for work, any my biggest gripe is the touchscreen. What is wrong with buttons. Why must everything be hidden behind a menu I have to navigate on a touchscreen. It feels less safe, frankly. In my own car I have muscle memory for each button and can do things like skip songs or adjust the AC without looking away from the road... But in the EV I can't.

I wish my stereo system in my RX 450h were easily swappable. i haven't had a swappable stereo in a car since my 2005 suzuki wagon

While it would be nice to have a screen for music and nav, I absolutely hate any car where you NEED to use the screen to do things. It feels like distracted driving is designed into cars these days…

I want fucking buttons!

I was helping my mom shop for a new car, and we discovered she needed the requirement of "physical AC controls".

Everything is all on the touch screen.

ITT: lemmy designing a car, like Homer Simpson.

I like the tech in my car, it has knobs and buttons. But then again it is from '91.

The only features I really want is ABS, Bluetooth and a physical interface. Everything else I would rather not pay for.

I live in Sweden so it's not like I need AC, I don't use cruise etc. and most other modern features mainly serve to annoy me.

Power windows, Bluetooth audio systems, seat warmers.

These are all really positive tech advancements in my lifetime.

Touch screen interfaces, power door handles (without a manual override), firmware disables features or limitations that are determined by the DLC you purchase from your dealership...

These are fucking bullshit and almost no one I know likes them.

It is insane how anti-consumer cars have gotten.

2014 impreza. No screen at all. I bought a phone mount that shows waze and charges my phone.

I have cruise control and heated seats. And I can operate both with gloves on!

Don’t need a backup cam because my windows and mirrors are good.

I will drive this car until it dies, and then I’ll replace the head gaskets and drive it until it dies again. And then I will replace the cvt and drive it until it dies a third time.

Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do about the NY road salt. The frame will be left, flake by flake, in the gutters of 490. It’s the only thing that can take this car from me, and it is its inevitable fate.

Visited my parents while they were in Florida recently. Drove their rental car to the store, it was a newer model with "Lane Assist Technology." It was terrible. Tried to swerve around a pothole, and the steering wheel vibrated and steered me back into it. Same thing happened as I angled the car to enter a roundabout, the damn thing just steered against me! It felt like at any time the car might just "decide" to swerve me into oncoming traffic! I'll never buy a car with that trash masquerading as tech. Absolute garbage feature.

Yup.

I refuse to buy any vehicle made after 2015, and even that's quite a bit newer than I'd like.

Car tech peaked in 2018. Everything since then has been a down grade in my opinion

All 4runners still reigning supreme with chonky ass thicc boi buttons and dials. Give me Android auto capabilities on a small screen, backup camera, and rear parking sensors. That's it.

My wife drives a 2023 loaded Kia Sportage. The thing is basically a smartphone on wheels. Giant dash screen with all the car controls buried in it, touch screen climate controls that double as touch screen audio/volume controls. If I want to change the AC temp I have to take my eyes off the road for a few seconds. Also a subscription service if you want to use any of the actual useful functions like remote start, remote climate control, remote door lock/unlock, sentry mode, etc. I hate where cars are at today.

Physical buttons please and thank you

I love the adaptive cruise control of my ID3. It will not only keep the distance to other vehicles but speed up and slow down automatically based on speed limits and road features like roundabouts or turns not only by what it can see but also knows based on data from HERE.

It’s not always correct unfortunately and not usable in urban areas (should not even be allowed there in my opinion) but on highways it’s great.

But I hate the touch buttons in this car.

That's because they're putting dumb shit in. We have the technology for example to -

Have high beams shine around other cars. (Regulators actually fucked this up)

Put all the speed and other needed information on the windshield.

Put a thermal image on the windshield so you can see the road as if it were daylight.

Use "fly by wire" controls instead of the same control scheme as a Model T.

And quite a bit more. But no instead we have the world's worst mix of UI/UX and software in an attempt to save money and sell data.

I bought a $10 Bluetooth adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter hole and then an aux cord in our 2010 vehicle. It works significantly more reliably than our other, 2020 vehicle with built-in Bluetooth, touchscreen and all the bells-and-whistles. Seriously, I turn my 2010 car on, "successful connection" every time within seconds. The 2020, I inevitably get failed connections. I don't think my phone has connected to it first try, once. And then sometimes it fails to connect either the audio or the phone calls. Or, I get it connected and my wife gets to the car with her phone and suddenly my Bluetooth connection is gone and we're listening to her phone. It's just infuriating.

All I want is tactile controls. I wanna feel when I hit the aircon control and know it's distinct from the volume control. And I wanna feel each increment of all knobs. That way, I do it by feel instead of having to look at the control panel.

Spyware needs to go, asking with selling of driver's data.

I love my car for the fact it doesn’t do anything crazy. Buttons and switches for everything, bluetooth for music, and a minimalist infotainment system that may as well only be there for the phone pairing process.

I might be in the minority, but I hate Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. I don’t want anything fancy, just music. I don’t want all the bells and whistles of my phone, just music.

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Some is great and much appreciated. For instance I love the things that takes the camera feeds and creates a simulated top down view. But some things are just useless and needless.

0. A/C

1. ABS

2. radio

3. dashcam

And only automakers are surprised by this. This last time I bought a car, i avoided all the new ones and just got a reliable one from 2013. Fuuuuck all the tattletale noises, fuck all the touch screen interface bullshit, and fuck their ridiculous asking prices.

All I want is a regular car with an electric engine. Why is that so hard?

This article strokes my confirmation bias!

I love my 2010 Toyota with 140k miles, and I hope it runs forever. I could afford a new car if I wanted one, but all of the options have been getting worse for years! It’s just a car, but it’s a car from the perfect era of technology to be stuck with forever, and it drives beautifully.

I wish it got better gas mileage by 2024’s standards, for both financial and environmental impacts, but I believe it’s net better on both fronts for me to keep driving it than to replace it early. Fortunately it doesn’t snow where I live, so road salt won’t inevitably rust out the undercarriage.

There’s an aux in for the factory stereo, and I have a $25 BLE audio adapter with a ground loop isolator so there’s no alternator whine despite it being powered by the car. It’s not the most quiet for speakerphone calls, but it’s perfectly functional, and I’ve easily replaced it multiple times. It’s so much better than having a bad native Bluetooth audio system from that era.

I have a really solid dashboard mount for my magnetic phone mount, comprised of pieces from three different companies for maximal awesomeness. Then there’s my USB C PD supply that meets the charging standards of the present day relatively inexpensively and upgradably to any brand, powered by the “cigarette lighter” power socket. The existence of this simple medium wattage automotive DC power port is the greatest legacy left to us by the tobacco smokers of yesteryear. Is it gone yet in the latest cars?

A really slick trick I learned somewhere (maybe on reddit during the good years) is to use tiny zip ties on a cable that must run across your dashboard, such as the one to my mag charger. Put them at very strategic locations on the cable and facing the right way, and snip off the zip tie ends while still leaving a tail maybe about 1/4”, then jam that tail in between two pieces of dashboard trim. Do that repeatedly and the cable will go neatly and orderly around all your buttons and knobs without ever getting in the way.

An aftermarket dashcam is one thing that felt very worthwhile but was actually a decent amount of work to install, since I pulled a bunch of trim and ran wires through the headliner for that clean look with a rear facing camera mounted on the outside of the back. But I think those aren’t quite yet standard other than in Teslas.

2010 was the pinnacle of car technology, change my mind!

A backup camera and an Android Auto/Apple CarPlay head unit radio that sounds decent. That's all I want in a car for "tech" that isn't a safety feature. Everything else can go.

My car saved my ass from a road raging drunk, but android auto cannot skip songs from the steering wheel, quite a duality.

"Oh... well we actually didn't FUCKING ASK YOU!"

-Automakers

I had a 2015 Maxima and I used to get mail from the dealership asking if I wanted to take the car into the shop to get an $150 map update. Fuck off with that bullshit.

Well that's ok, it was never for them.

/s

i really need a car without this all shit. I just want to drive from point A to B. I don't need any navi, big LCD screen, AC, parking automatic, speed control and all the electronic shit that I have now in my car.

I'm planning on having a "headless head unit" built for my next car so I can basically live off an AUX port wired to speakers throughout the car, I hate wireless that much.

I totally get it. I wish some of it was modular. My screen is too big 90% of the time. I love it for a clear view of the backup camera. It's nice for a clear view of the map if I'm out of town. Much better than trying to fumble with that on as phone like I did before.

But I don't have to do that often. It's not really in the way or anything but sometimes I just don't wanna see pixels. I can adjust it, but it's too much of a pain to mess with.

well obviously My aunt has a modern car that reads the signs for you. Where I live there is a highway in the middle and normal road on the outer side. That piece of crap slows down to 70 km/h from 130 when it sees the sign that belongs to the other road…

However, not all tech is terrible. For example, parking cameras, gps, cruise control are useful

Edit: I think the current toyota land cruiser 70 series sold in australia is at the sweet spor of technology

I don't have a car but if I rent one the only "advanced" feature I want is: Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)

I daily a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. Manual transmission, manual windows, manual door locks. The basic radio was broken before I got it. It does have computer engine control with OBD2, but even that is simple in comparison.

When something breaks or maintenance is needed, it's a straightforward fix with typical tools. I've come to appreciate the simplicity.

I like having Siri in my car when she works. Like when my phone properly wirelessly connects. But when it doesn’t, I hate it, and would be better without it.

Also why the hell can’t CarPlay use the radio, when the car has a radio. Why can’t those two things talk to each other. Fucking dumb.

I drive an Audi Q7 and every time I turn my headlights on, I get warnings about how my "Side Marker Lights" are malfunctioning.

First, no, they're working fine.

Second, this seems to be super common on the Q7.

Third, the only "fix" is a $4,000 headlight assembly replacement.

Or, you know, connect an ODB-II device and disable the side marker lights.

What bothers me the most (aside from getting rid of all knobs and physical buttons...) is that I bought a car the better part of a decade ago with Android Auto. And it is awesome. It is everything I want in a car "entertainment" system and it makes it trivial to navigate and listen to music.

So... of course car companies are going out of their way to block that and apple auto. Because they want subscription fees.

Ok the article mentioned ai climate control. Bitch that's not ai we have that in cars for decades

The lack of physical buttons in new cars should be considered alarming from a safety POV.

It turns out MOST products and services are built with shit we don't want but not a single damn corporation listens.

That's ummmmmm capitalism?

The only tech I want:

AC

Heated seats

Bluetooth/am/fm/aux sound system with good high and low ranges, but honestly as long as I have a diagram of what wires go where I can install my own like I did on my last two.

A backup camera for those times when I need to line up my trailer hitch but don't have a partner to guide me.

Beyond that?

Meh.

My parents just got a new car with one of those tablets built into the console. They were showing it off to me and turned it on, only for the radio to be blaring and my dad had to go through like 5 menus to get to stop it from playing.

I think I got my car at the right time... it has Android Auto and a few automated features that I really appreciate, like auto headlights, pushbutton start, and adaptive cruise control. I can control some functions via an app on my phone, like remote unlock and remote start, which has come in very handy on several occasions. But it still has physical controls for all the commonly used and critical functions. It doesn't have a huge glass panel taking up most of the dashboard.

The one and only feature that really truly annoys me sometimes is the reverse automatic braking. It uses sensors on the back of the car, and if I have my hitch-mount bike rack in place it freaks out. I can disable it, but only until the next time I start the car, and every time I have to hold down a software button on the touch screen for 3 seconds. While I'm trying to back up. There should really be a physical toggle button for that.

I actually like big screens on infotainment systems, especially the ones that integrate into the dash and not the ones where it looks like they just stuck a tablet on top of the dash. I have a Subaru and it has a nice vertical 11in screen. I also like the design of the new Hyundai and Kia screens that run across the dash.

Having said that, those screens should strictly be for that purpose, infotainment. Anything that controls essential functions should still be physical buttons, levers, and dials.

I was excited when Volvo announced they were going to release an affordable subcompact SUV EV, then saw they put almost everything on the infotainment screen in the middle of the dash, even the speedometer!

It's a nightmare and it's probably going to get worse now that they are ditching Apple Carplay and Android Auto. https://www.motortrend.com/news/general-motors-removing-apple-carplay-android-auto-for-safety-tim-babbitt/

I would pay an extra 3k for "lack of touchscreen"

Depends on the tech. Touch screens? Those can go fuck themselves. Adaptive cruise control? I love that shit. Any backlighting beyond what's necessary to see knobs and buttons in otherwise total darkness? Fuck you! Any backlighting that's any color other than red? EXTRA fuck you! Backup cam? Yeah those are good. Backup cam screen that becomes some obnoxiously bright LCD display for the radio? No, fuck that.

Random side thought: a strict Eco mode only-when-pushed button would be pretty amazing. Eco mode kinda already forces your to drive like a grandma, but at the cost of responsiveness. Responsiveness is important if something catches you off guard, so if I slam on the gas suddenly, I want my car to fucking book it, cuz that probably means I'm trying to dodge something. That said, more often than not, when I'm accelerating from a stop or getting up to speed on the freeway, there's not really any urgency... but I tend to accelerate faster than necessary (waste gas) because my monkey brain likes the zoom-zoom. I want like... idk, the equivalent of a push-to-talk button on the steering wheel for embracing my inner grandma. I push it when I'm actively assessing that there's no urgency; my speed of acceleration will make only seconds of difference in my overall trip; and no matter how hard I pump that gas peddle, the uses only the most optimal amount of gas to get me up to and maintain speed. Then I take an exit into some busy downtown bullshit where there's shit coming at me from every direction, and I need to be able to jolt to dodge the giant metal projectile piloted by the monkey brain a few car lengths away from mine.

Basically keep the "Oh shit!" actions free of as many inputs as possible; demand a bit more from the thinky chunk of meat in my head shell only when everything else is relatively chill.

I was surprised that I pretty quickly started to like the UX simplicity of Tesla. I thought I would've hated it, but they did a really good job there.

I appreciate some of the tech. GPS, connecting phones to the infotainment, backup cameras. You know, the things that actually improve the car. Heck I'll even take push to start. But for the love of God don't put essential controls and climate control on a touchscreen. If I get hit with a pile of slush from a driver on the other side of the road and need to engage my windshield wipers immediately, a touch screen is a recipe for disaster. Also, bring back the PRNDL stick. I don't care if it's an automatic I need to know what gear I'm in immediately without needing to look away from the truck in front of me that's backing up at a stop light because he thought he could make it.

2002 Toyota Echo 4dr w/air & heat, quarter million miles, no clock and I have no intentions of ever purchasing another car ever.

I got a new car recently. The best feature it has is the adaptive cruise control. You can set cruise control and if the car in front of you is going just a bit slower than the cruise control, you will not creep up on it.

Most of the other shit is useless. It has that magic rearview mirror that is really a camera, but I dont like using it because it is easier to focus on a real mirror than a display. it also has the cameras that read the road signs, but they often pick up the wrong info anyway, especially in a construction zone.

At least it has real buttons for the HVAC. I sat in three other cars, and two of them didn't have HVAC buttons. I got right out. Car makers like the screens because they think they can eliminate buttons, but buttons are more effective.

I recently had to drive my parents' new Volva XC40 and that thing is one of the most overengineered vehicles I've ever ridden in.

• The lane assist is kinda great while driving because if you drift a little it helps keep you in your lane. But I found myself literal fighting against the wheel whenever I was genuinely changing lanes, on a lane-ending merge, but more importantly trying to not get sideswiped when a semi drifts into my lane.

• Instead of traditional shifter, or even shift buttons like my '14 MKZ, this thing has a 3-position shifter knob to go between R-N-D, a separate long-press button to simply put it into park (and by long press, I genuinely have to verify on the dash it's is park because I almost jump a parking block more than once since I didn't press long/hard enough) and a separate little knob in the center console whose sole purpose is to turn the car on and off.

• The electric child-lock is a nice little button mixed in with the window controls on the driver door arm rest...which both myself and my parents have accidentally engaged on a number of occasions by resting our arms on the arm rest.

Aside from that, even in my car I outright HATE the auto environmental controls where you have to set an internal temperature and when the temp reaches that it changes the air to maintain. So if it's a blazing GA summer, and i set the thermo at 69 (nice) once the internal temp reaches 69 it starts blasting not-cold air.

While the lane assist and adaptive cruise control can help a little on those long trips, I genuinely dislike them because I believe it actively encourages the driver to not pay attention to driving.

I don't mind tech, i hate bad tech

When i got my last one i specifically asked for, and got, no electric or electronic "conveniences". Even the doubledin stereo got removed and a singledin unit put in its place for fewer distractions or trackers. Oldschool rules.

Mine has a clock and an FM radio but mostly just loads Android Auto, it also has a physical volume knob.

Any attempts I've seen to deviate in any way from this solution have resulted in a worse experience.

I don't mind most of the tech on my truck but I did go in and disconnect the LTE antenna so it can't phone home any more

First thing I do to my next car, circumsize all the antennas at the root.

Yeah, it's why I'm considering Mazda for my next vehicle. Granted, my 2010 Civic needs to get closer to "death" (about 100K more miles or so).

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People who suck at tech are upset that they are being proven to suck at tech

ftfy

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