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Drivers Hate The Tech In Their Cars

It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.

JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.

…

TommySoda ,

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.

vaultdweller013 ,

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

Duamerthrax ,

I drove a 2020 pickup while taking turns on a family trip. I jumped on the chance to get a 87 Chevy C10. Nothing I want, that I can’t get with a cellphone mount. The 2020 truck feels like I’m driving a lifeguard’s chair around.

vaultdweller013 ,

Yeah I use a little FM transmitter tor audio, kinda tempted to use an old retro sterio kit I got at auction so that I can use a tape deck.

Duamerthrax ,

I may try to solder an AUX into the stock radio and hook a BT receiver into it. I do like a clean appearance and I don’t listen to the radio anyway.

vaultdweller013 ,

Never have tried that, but now youve made me curious if mine already has an aux, it was a government car and was last used by IT before I got it at auction earlier this year.

BarbecueCowboy ,

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.

scottmeme ,

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
Riven ,
@Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

There’s some other minor tech that’s fairly nice that I haven’t seen in cheaper cars. Lights under the door to light up the ground on dark nights for when you’re getting out. Just solid utilitarian tech right there.

Steve ,

After having used both Android Auto and Apple Car Play.
I really prefer having a good phone mount, that puts my phone in a glance-able place near the wheel.
That, and quality Bluetooth Audio.

Bishma ,
@Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Based on this MKBHD/Auto Zone video the way to get real buttons and sensible features is to buy a minivan.

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

I’d say that that kind of imposes a size restriction, but honestly, the crossovers that everyone seems to buy are about the same size as those these days anyway.

scottmeme ,

Can’t say that I would buy a minivan, because I hate them.

But my car (Hyundai Azera) has all physical AC buttons and it’s great. But it shows the temp on the touchscreen which is unfortunately kinda fundamental to this car from what I’ve found.

One of the reasons I mentioned android auto, I just have a AAwireless adapter right now, had a Motorola M1 which died. But that is basically all I need other than a charger which I have a 100w type c for that.

Sorry kinda rambled for a bit

tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

I’d rather just have a standard size bank up front, like, 3DIN, and choose my own “car computer”. Have security locking support, guarantee certain power supply, impact, and temperature conditions. And then open up the “car console” market.

And let me be able to upgrade it five or ten years down the road.

If they want to provide a standard first-party center panel offering, fine. But computers and phones have a shorter life than do cars, and I don’t want to be locked into ancient or badly-chosen controls and computers. This “car is a big cell phone” thing is just godawful from a consumer standpoint.

skuzz ,

That would be amazing. I miss the days of swapping my head for one I want. Blaupunkt MiniDisc here we go!

Zahille7 ,

I’ve been driving spoiled with Lane Keep Assist. I’d like to continue to keep that as a thing in all cars.

Also, I used a Ford Escape as a rental this weekend, and holy shit I hate having to wait for the startup animation to complete so I can finally mess with the A/C and have it going on full blast after sitting in the hot sun all day. My Santa Cruz has actual buttons for all the climate control stuff and I had no idea I’d miss it so much until now.

SuperSaiyanSwag ,

Also, adaptive cruise control

Pavidus ,

I’m fine with adaptive cruise, however, I would also like to be able to turn it off quickly and easily if the situation calls for it.

SuperSaiyanSwag ,

Isn’t it just a press of a button to turn it off?

Pavidus ,

I replied to another comment on this as well. I wasn’t very clear with what I meant, my apologies. I was referring to turning the adaptive part off, and going back to just regular old cruise control.

vithigar ,

Tapping the brakes has immediately turned off cruise control in every vehicle I’ve ever driven.

Pavidus ,

I was referring specifically to the adaptive part, and going back to dumb cruise. I wasn’t clear, my apologies.

SSJMarx ,

lane keeping and radar cruise control are pretty great driving aids, I gotta admit.

skuzz ,

Lane keep assist is annoying AF when you live in a place where you’re required by law to cross the double yellow when going around bicycles. You get in a steering wheel fight with the car until you find the menu to temporarily disable it. After next stop-start cycle mid-errand, it’s on again by default thanks to US law.

Zahille7 ,

I mean just using your turn signal turns it off in most cars…

Maybe do that?

eran_morad ,
  • rear camera.
RadicallyBland ,
  • lane assist
  • adaptive cruise
GroundedGator ,

How about the unnecessary tech that just shouldn’t be allowed.

  • Doors that are not primarily manual to open or unlock.
  • Touchscreen of any type. I’m okay with capacitive touch buttons but they should be in a fixed location and physically distinguishable from other surfaces.
  • Electronic e-brake
  • Replacement of any of the main driving functions with anything that is not physical and tactile (turn signals, windshield wipers, headlights)

At least in the US I feel like technology has leapfrogged regulation.

vithigar ,

Touchscreen of any type

I think a touchscreen is fine as long as real buttons exist for things a driver might want to manipulate while driving. My Outlander has a fairly large touchscreen that offers media and navigation control, but everything else (climate, drive modes, cruise control/drive assists, windows, locks, etc) is real buttons and dials, and there are also an extra set of basic media controls on physical buttons as well (volume, next/prev track, tuning).

I’m quite happy with that. And the passenger still gets all the touchscreen bells and whistles if they want to explore the map or set up playlists or whatever.

SuperSpruce ,

Nobody is mentioning heads-up displays? That’s peak tech. The info is right there without having to move your eyes off the road.

Asidonhopo ,

My current ride is peak technology imho:

  • Crank windows
  • Cold, manually adjustable seats
  • 5 speed transmission
  • Knobs and levers, minimal buttons
  • MSRP under $10k–
PriorityMotif ,
@PriorityMotif@lemmy.world avatar

Comfortable seats

A suspension that is comfortable over bumps, but not floaty or bouncy and slightly firm under compression.

chronicledmonocle ,

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.

Enkers ,

Yeah, when I drive other people’s newer cars, the only thing I miss going back to my early 2000s model is the backup camera.

I’ve got a magnetic clip for my phone on the dash, and a 3rd party Bluetooth > FM converter and it makes for a perfect gps and audio solution.

centipede_powder ,

I don’t mind tech, i hate bad tech

barsquid ,

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.

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

I don’t want to ban it. Some people apparently want it (well, or at least the price reduction that comes with the auto companies having a new revenue source). I’m hesitant to try to impose my preferences on them.

I just want an option to pay regular price for a car myself and not have everything I do be data-mined. If it costs $N to pay your costs and make your profit, just charge me $N. I just want to be the customer in the relationship, not the product.

They operated just fine like that for decades. I don’t see a need for that to change.

draughtcyclist ,

If the backdoor exists, it will be abused.

Also, that relies wholely on trusting the manufacturers to not mine your data when they have the ability to collect it.

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

If the way you want the market to work is “everyone does things the way I want” rather than “let everyone choose what they want”, the chance that the single route that is taken is not what you want is considerably greater.

Choice is good.

Disaster ,

It beggars belief that people still make the argument you responded to after the whole Clownstrike debacle.

skuzz ,

Most of the bullshit exists because of federal regulations requirements that they ran away with. Even backup cameras (which are arguably useful) because of shape/size/economy restrictions causing rear windows to be less easy to see out of.

jordanlund ,
@jordanlund@lemmy.world avatar

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.

Thebeardedsinglemalt ,

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.

figaro ,

… What kind of car is this? 😂 (Look at the first sentence)

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

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.

Hmm. Do they have a thumb button or something you can hold down to quickly and easily override it?

cmrn ,

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…

Pavidus ,

This is why I chose a Mazda. Buttons for everything. I didn’t even realize I had a touchscreen until cleaning the interior one day with the radio going.

TheRealKuni ,

My Ford clearly has a touchscreen, and it’s nice, but I’ve also got buttons for everything I need while driving. That’s the way it should be.

TriflingToad ,

subway surfers at a traffic jam

als ,

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.

TR3_backup ,

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.

Emerald ,

good high and low ranges

Honestly I never understood why people care much about the quality of their car audio system. If you’re driving then you aren’t paying much attention to the music anyways

SSJMarx ,

It will get worse.

https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/d8a129a5-ba7c-428a-98a5-b20d2955f8ad.jpeg

RememberTheApollo_ ,

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.

CertifiedBlackGuy ,

BRING BACK THE FUCKING BUTTONS HOLY SHIT

nobleshift ,
@nobleshift@lemmy.world avatar

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

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

That is going to break at some point.

I mean, I get the sentiment, but that is just not going to be a realistic long-term solution for “people are not happy with changes in newer vehicles”.

rickyrigatoni ,

Yeah and the sun is going to burn out at some point, too.

nobleshift ,
@nobleshift@lemmy.world avatar

That’s ok, I’m leaving the states in my boat at the end of the year and will only be back on a round trip flight. Fuck you, fuck you, you’re cool, fuck you, I’m outta here…

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