Dear auto manufacturers.....[rant]

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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Cowman
Unless there is an imminent danger NOTHING should beep/bong or buzz at me while I'm driving.

The cameras that provide pre-collision assist being dirty is not an emergency. Someone having an unbuckled seatbelt(or my dog being heavy enough to trip the seat sensor) is NOT an audio alert worthy problem. Who thought up that one? Oh hey someone is unbuckled seems like a good time to distract the driver! Brilliant! Farmers who routinely drive their pickups through a field or around a farmyard where they're driving low speed and hopping out frequently just LOVE this feature btw(yes I know how to disable it, I'm just lazy and ranting here)

Oh and the "pre-collision assist" warning message when a dirty camera *thinks* I'm going to hit something could be urgent but probably not the right time to ding at me and take my attention off the road. Also supposedly this thing can apply the brakes on it's own which now is worrying me since it has popped up that warning a few times now while nothing is in front of the car and there's no danger of hitting anything.

I'm going to go hop back in one of my 70s beasts now. Everything rattles and the gas mileage is horrible but at least they don't beep at me or do anything on their own.

/rant
 
Heck none of mine even have tire pressure sensors to break, AND I was able to disable the seat belt minder by a simple DIY program.

turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOTSTART THE ENGINE). Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off then at a moderate speed, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state.
 
And quit putting those @#&/#% foot thumpers in the antilock brake system!
 
What I would like to know is how my less-than 5lb purse can trip the passenger seat weight sensor. Does the car really think I'm going to put an unsecured preemie in the front seat?
 
Mine loves to ding at me when the temperature hits 39F or lower to let me know about the risk of snow/ice.
And I **** you not... Years later, it still ****es me off every single time I hear that chime :mad:.

Meanwhile other issues which might actually be mission critical, say -- a check engine light because a piston is misfiring -- those are relegated to a little light on the dash. How they prioritize what stuff you need an alert for is beyond me.
 
SkyChaser said:
What I would like to know is how my less-than 5lb purse can trip the passenger seat weight sensor. Does the car really think I'm going to put an unsecured preemie in the front seat?
Click to expand...

The only reason I believe your purse is under 5lbs is because you are a pilot. I know you think in terms of W&B :D My wife complained about the weight of her purse one too many times. I finally bought her a concealed carry weapon that was not a S&W J frame .357 Mag. It shaved about 1/2 pound off of the strap buster she was toting. LOL
 
My wife's Prius sounds a loud beep-beep-beep when it is in Reverse--inside the car, not outside (where it might make sense).
 
cowman said:
Unless there is an imminent danger NOTHING should beep/bong or buzz at me while I'm driving.

The cameras that provide pre-collision assist being dirty is not an emergency. Someone having an unbuckled seatbelt(or my dog being heavy enough to trip the seat sensor) is NOT an audio alert worthy problem. Who thought up that one? Oh hey someone is unbuckled seems like a good time to distract the driver! Brilliant! Farmers who routinely drive their pickups through a field or around a farmyard where they're driving low speed and hopping out frequently just LOVE this feature btw(yes I know how to disable it, I'm just lazy and ranting here)

Oh and the "pre-collision assist" warning message when a dirty camera *thinks* I'm going to hit something could be urgent but probably not the right time to ding at me and take my attention off the road. Also supposedly this thing can apply the brakes on it's own which now is worrying me since it has popped up that warning a few times now while nothing is in front of the car and there's no danger of hitting anything.

I'm going to go hop back in one of my 70s beasts now. Everything rattles and the gas mileage is horrible but at least they don't beep at me or do anything on their own.

/rant
Click to expand...
Just last night driving home in my 2007 mustang, it set off a loud beep to tell me I only had 50 miles to go on my fuel. Scared me at first as it was like a wheel was going fall off!!
 
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SkyChaser said:
What I would like to know is how my less-than 5lb purse can trip the passenger seat weight sensor. Does the car really think I'm going to put an unsecured preemie in the front seat?
Click to expand...

I'm imagining that not only did someone do that, they successfully proved it was [automaker]'s fault when said unbelted preemie was catapulted into the traffic intersection and then mama mulcted them for significant sums of cash.
 
Dave Arata said:
And this is why I LOVE old, air-cooled, German cars. Simple, reliable and soooooo much fun to drive. Of course, I'm an old soul and still chop wood by hand... :)
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I wish I had my 914 back! Everything was manual with no bells and whistles other than being a blast to drive! That was bells and whistles enough.
 
My Ram has been suffering a very annoying feature with the ABS module failing or detecting a failure. It dings when this happens. The failure is intermittent with no hysteresis.

This can result in the truck dinging incessantly for minutes on end, and is a chronic problem. Why automotive seems immune to human factors in this way is beyond me.
 
I keep thinking about a couple of scenarios: 1) crossing a RR track and the vehicle in front stops, the auto braking stops you on the tracks and won’t let you go forward, the crossing gate comes down behind you and the rear auto brakes won’t let you back up, and then you get removed by a train. 2) the zombie apocalypse happens on your way to the liquor store and the pedestrian safety system kicks in and stops the car, just when you have a real need to run over something.

Vehicles need a big “zombie mode” mushroom button to immediately disable all those systems.
 
Matthew said:
Vehicles need a big “zombie mode” mushroom button to immediately disable all those systems.
Click to expand...

I had a '72 Chevy pickup with a cluster of toggle switches mounted where the ash tray was.

1. Main/Aux gas tank selector
2. Electric aux fuel pump
3. Tail Light on/off for communications when pulling a trailer
4. Cargo lamp mounted the the headache rack
5. Not labeled, and mounted directly in front of the passenger. It was actually hooked up to a horn under the passenger seat. Invariably a
unknowing passenger would flip the switch to see what it does....
 
bnt83 said:
Heck none of mine even have tire pressure sensors to break, AND I was able to disable the seat belt minder by a simple DIY program.

turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOTSTART THE ENGINE). Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off then at a moderate speed, buckle then unbuckle the safety belt 9 times, ending in the unbuckled state.
Click to expand...
That works in Ford's, but as I've recently discovered not Chevy's.
 
Can we also rant on how ugly cars have gotten compared to the 50's, 60's and early 70''s. I know the Fed's are too blame for most of it with needing so much clearance between the hood and engine. In case you want to drive in the sidewalk so pedestrians don't buckle the hood into the engine block. Look at early model mustang's compared to today (excluding that electric mustang....that ain't no mustang.) Today's cars in general are so bulbus compared to yesteryear...much like the people that drive them
 
Tom Wells said:
Mine loves to ding at me when the temperature hits 39F or lower to let me know about the risk of snow/ice.
And I **** you not... Years later, it still ****es me off every single time I hear that chime :mad:.
Click to expand...
That little f'er startles me worse than any other and gets me EVERY single time. What an asinine distraction!
 
I have disabled all the dings, chimes, and ******** buzzers on my F150. It’s amazing how much more peaceful it made operating it.
 
kkoran said:
My wife's Prius sounds a loud beep-beep-beep when it is in Reverse--inside the car, not outside (where it might make sense).
Click to expand...
Drove a new Toyota Rush for a week that did the same thing.

It's actually a Toyota NoRush, as it had the 103hp Yaris engine in a rwd configuration. 0/10 rating for passing traffic. Grey market rental to avoid.
 
FancyG said:
Drove a new Toyota Rush for a week that did the same thing.

It's actually a Toyota NoRush, as it had the 103hp Yaris engine in a rwd configuration. 0/10 rating for passing traffic. Grey market rental to avoid.
Click to expand...
Wonder if any of the hot rodders out there have figured out a way to put a big ole American V8 engine in a Prius. Would be crazy weigh to power ratio!!
 
jesse said:
I have disabled all the dings, chimes, and ******** buzzers on my F150. It’s amazing how much more peaceful it made operating it.
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I drive a 2014 F250, how do I disable the seat belt ringer? It drives my wife nuts when she rides with me, I hardly notice it anymore. Back in the day I would unplug the ringer and toss it in the glove compartment. Never figured out how to stop the seat belt ringer in it. TIA
 
kkoran said:
My wife's Prius sounds a loud beep-beep-beep when it is in Reverse--inside the car, not outside (where it might make sense).
Click to expand...

Uh, that’s universal for backing down. Does it sound one prolonged for a change of status? Like mooring or anchoring? Just wondering….

I’ve never owned a new car, unfamiliar with most of this…. When my cars get QUIET there’s a problem. Much like an airplane.
 
Tools said:
Uh, that’s universal for backing down. Does it sound one prolonged for a change of status? Like mooring or anchoring? Just wondering….
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Universal for backing down?

It goes beep-beep-beep... for as long as it is in reverse.

Mooring or anchoring?
 
kkoran said:
Universal for backing down?

It goes beep-beep-beep... for as long as it is in reverse.

Mooring or anchoring?
Click to expand...

Sounds like her backup sensors are dirty or malfunctioning. This has been standard on most cars the past 20 years.
 
Universal ship whistle signals.

3 short blasts is “backing down”, reverse.
1 prolonged blast is “a change of status”. A status is anchored. So you sound that when you drop anchor, and again as soon as the anchor is “aweigh”, or off the bottom.

There are others for low visibility.

You hear them on cruise ships too.

And inexplicably there is not one between short and prolonged! What happened to “long”?

While just being a smart arse, no doubt the three beeps likely had its origin from Naval tradition.

I graduated at the VERY TOP (of the bottom ten percent) at the Naval Academy and have significant time driving a ship (culpable result of going there, who knew?)…. Watch “Mr Roberts” for a snap shot of my life for a while!
 
Gary Ward said:
I drive a 2014 F250, how do I disable the seat belt ringer? It drives my wife nuts when she rides with me, I hardly notice it anymore. Back in the day I would unplug the ringer and toss it in the glove compartment. Never figured out how to stop the seat belt ringer in it. TIA
Click to expand...

On most modern vehicles the chimes are all built into the radio/sound system. You would need to change the software to disable the chimes while leaving the radio function operating.
 
My car is so old it doesn't beep at me unless I leave the lights on or the key in. It doesn't help me drive, can't make phone calls for me. All it does is drive, just what I want. I'm not in any hurry to get a new car. Thankfully I drive a Toyota, so I probably won't have to.
 
flyingbrit said:
On most modern vehicles the chimes are all built into the radio/sound system. You would need to change the software to disable the chimes while leaving the radio function operating.
Click to expand...
If I could just find out where the chimes come from I could put a piece of tape on it to muffle it. I couldn’t even figure out where it was coming from when I looked one day.

btw I just put my seat belt on when with my wife or on trips on the highway. Not so much around town.
 
Racerx said:
Can we also rant on how ugly cars have gotten compared to the 50's, 60's and early 70''s.
Click to expand...


Some people argue that technology is the biggest reason that electric cars haven't caught on. The batteries to power the electric cars aren't ready for prime time, etc.

Others argue that we're just too dependent on gasoline. And still others say it's evil automakers holding back the advancement of electric car technology.

All are fair points. But there's also another explanation:

Many electric cars are just butt-ugly.

Now give me one that looks like a '57 Chevy, or a '63 split window Corvette, or a '70 Plymouth Superbird and I will think differently.!!
 
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