What you should know about motoring but didn't.....

MYOB wrote: »

I spent twenty minutes trying to open the fuel flap on a hire (accident replacement) car once, and had to phone a mate IN ENGLAND who has the same car in the end. Nissan Micra.

Had much the same happen a few weeks back. New Ford Focus. They don't even have petrol caps.

SteveC wrote: »

Actually, I do have a story.

Was in the car with my boss (his car) a few years back and we were in a traffic jam nearing Dundrum when he suddenly decides to hop out shouting I'm going into the bank, find somewhere to park...

So I slid into the driver seat of the brand new s-class and sat there smugly.

Traffic started moving ahead and so I slipped it into 'D' and gently pressed the gas pedal.

Next thing I got a message on the dash telling me the car was refusing to budge because the handbrake was on so I reached down between the seats to release it.

Panic then ensued as I frantically looked for something resembling a handbrake. After several minutes of beeping infuriated drivers behind me, I eventually found the button that released it.

I don't think I've ever been as embarrassed on the road as then...:o

+1

Was moving my friend's dad's Merc to make room for more cars in the drive and couldn't find the release. I knew the parking brake pedal was, but not the release. kept stepping on the parking brake to see if it was a step on step off manouver:o:o

Hire car in germany, Merc M class diesel automatic. Drove it about 300km on the autobahn and then into into Munich. First time I came to a red traffic light, I put the transmission in neutral and applied the handbrake. That was a mistake, I sat through three cycles of the lights before realising that you conld not select drive unless your foot was on the brake pedal. I rarely drive automatics, so took a while to figure out. T'was embarrassing, I got plenty of dirty looks that day!

What is the deal with those Mercedes handbrakes?

I know a guy who worked for a guy who bought a new E-Class a few years back, had to ring Mercedes Ireland to figure out how to move the thing.

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Did you all know that the location of the filling nozzle on the small picture of the petrol pump on your petrol gauge indicates what side of the car the filling cap is on?

This one is a bit of an urban legend! It's true for some cars but not for many more so I put it down to coincidence.

ninty9er wrote: »

+1

Was moving my friend's dad's Merc to make room for more cars in the drive and couldn't find the release. I knew the parking brake pedal was, but not the release. kept stepping on the parking brake to see if it was a step on step off manouver:o:o

+2

Couple of years ago I brought a new 3 series from the underground car park up to the road in front to hand over to a customer. He gave me the C-Class rental he'd been in, which I then had to move back in to the underground car park.

First time I'd driven a new C-Class and like ninty9er I thought the parking break pedal was a step on, step off manouver - all that does really is put the "hand brake" on harder.

I'm sat on the road, in front of a customer in his brand new 3 series with the quandry of whether to embarras myself, get out of the Merc and ask him how to release the hand brake - or what I eventually did which was to give it loads of revs and semi-drag the back wheels down the ramp to the darkness of the underground. Out of view of the customer I eventually found the stupid release lever and fecked the thing up to the outside car park where my own bus was parked.

As it was the end of the day I was straight in to my motor and heading out - only to be flagged down by the customer who was still on the road as he couldn't start his 3 Series As I always start Manuals with foot on the clutch, or Auto's with foot on the brake it took me a couple of minutes to figure out you need the foot on the clutch to start the 3 series.

Jumping in and out of different cars during the day, it takes longer to figure out where the key goes (right side of steering wheel still for most, left side of wheel on A4/A6/3 Series/S40, behind the gear level on Saab), what to do with the gear knob to find reverse (lift, push down, force left etc,) and then work whatever "hand brake" set up that particular manufacturer now has, than it does to set up the seat and mirrors :mad:

The missus spent months looking for a gold VW Bora and was delighted when she finally got one. I thought I'd take it to the shop and try it out. Got to the junction, stopped, looked left and right very carefully like. Didn't want to put a mark on it. Went to put it in first gear and suffering from a heavy left hand, depress the gear lever and put it into reverse instead of first and went into a car behind me.

Thankfully no damage to either car, never told the missus.

Most Merc Autos I've driven have a Creep Stopping device (can't think of a better way to put it). If you are in traffic, in "D", push the brake pedal all the way to the bottom.

This should engage the brake which stops you creeping forwards meaning you don't have the hardship of keeping your foot on the one pedal. Automatically releases when you accelerate a bit.

Make sure you try it with a bit of space in front, as I couldn't get it to engage on a 08 C200cdi Auto I delivered recently, but it was there on a 07 A150 CVT I had as a hire car last year.

golfpaul wrote: »

Damn automatics! I remember leaving my car in for a service years ago and getting a loan of an automatic. I was told it was easier to drive than a manual, which it was, until I was pulling up outside my house and decided to use the clutch. Yes, with no clutch I nearly ended up going through the windscreen with my left foot on the brake!

My wife was driving her dads automatic mondeo back from the pub once with him in the back and me in the front passanger seat. I had to keep reminding her she was in an automatic as her left hand kept coming off the steering wheel and onto the gearstick ready to change up gear!!

This one scared the life out of me. I'd been driving for nearly a year but was still learning. I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with my first instructor so I changed. First day I met him he did a really really basic lesson to see how much I knew. I had told him I could drive fine, just needed to improve my driving.

So we get in the car and asks me a few questions which I answer confidentially, and apparently have all the wrong answers to. Then he asks where my blind spot is. I pointed between the two head rests of the car, and out the back window. This is where my previous instructor had told me it was. Thankfully he's no longer teaching anymore.