Interior details that drive us nuts
What were they thinking?
JODI LAI Auto journalists drive a lot of cars and notice a lot of things during their weeklong tests that others wouldn’t notice during a quick test drive. Little annoyances can often put a pockmark on an otherwise fine car, and if it drives us nuts, we’re sure they would drive you nuts, too.
These little things are never deal-breakers, but they’re annoying and are often the result of an automaker’s oversight that could be fixed easily. These are mostly things you’d get used to after some time with a car, but until this happens, prepare for some frustration.
WHEN THERE’S NO VOLUME KNOB
It’s terribly annoying when you have to furiously push a button to change the volume quickly. A simple knob in a standardized spot is all I’m asking for. In the Honda Civic Si Coupe I was driving, in the place where the volume knob would normally be was the HVAC controls. So I would turn it to reduce the volume only to inadvertently change the temperature of the climate control. Not cool. It took me a whole week to
get used to.
ULTRASENSITIVE SAFETY NANNIES
I understand the usefulness of active safety assistants, such as lane-departure warnings and blind-spot monitors, but when the sensors informing them are ultra sensitive and the car beeps needlessly, it ends up being more annoying than useful.
It gets worse when it rains, snows or the sensors get blocked by dirt — the warnings beep away and there’s often no way to stop them. When I was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee during an ice storm last winter, the sensors were blocked by ice for a week, and it beeped nonstop. It becomes self-defeating because if you stop listening to the notifications
because they fire off at nothing, then one day when it is something legitimate, you won’t know the difference.
Another thing that’s annoying is if the notifications for these safety nannies are really invasive, like jerking the steering wheel back in the right direction, or vibrating the steering wheel or driver’s seat. In a Cadillac ATS I was driving, the seat vibrated and it scared the bejesus out of me. Luckily, there was an option to turn it off and have it beep instead.
WHEN THE WINDOW SWITCHES AND DOOR LOCKS ARE NOT ON THE DOORS
Some quirkier automakers put window switches and door locks on the centre stack, which isn’t very logical or intuitive. Mini and Fiat are offenders here.
NON-STANDARDIZED LOCATIONS FOR THINGS
If automakers all agreed to put the levers or buttons for the fuel-door release, hood release, four- way flashers or trunk release in the same place, I’d spend a lot less time cursing them.
Why on Earth would you put the hood release under the driver’s seat? I have no idea.
The first time I drove a Miata, I spent 10 minutes at a gas station trying to open the door over the gas cap, only to find the lever inside a locked glove box.
NOT EVEN HAVING A TRUNK RELEASE LEVER
Sometimes, cars with smart keys don’t even have trunk release levers, so you have to turn the car off, take out the key and open the trunk using the button on the key. Not so smart, huh?
This is annoying when you’re picking someone up and can’t open the trunk for them without turning off the car. WHEN THEY DON’T INDICATE WHICH SIDE THE GAS TANK IS ON
This one is getting more rare these days, but when you get in a new car every week, it’s helpful to know which side of the gas pumps to pull up on. Most cars have a little arrow indicating which side the tank is on so you don’t have to get out and do a walk-around to find it.
Fuel fillers should always be on the passenger side (for safety reasons), but there are always exceptions and this rule is anything but consistent.
EMERGENCY BRAKE NEXT TO THE PASSENGER
This one just seems illogical. And it puts a stop to my awesome handbrake sliding hijinks.
If there are any things automakers do that annoy you in your cars, tell us about it at Driving.ca. We’d love to hear from you.