Little Features/Flaws of your car that you Love/Hate...

166man

Not sure if this has been done before and it may only apply to those of us driving the older cars but regardless, was thinking about it on my drive home this evening.

A poster on here had a car (still has it actually) that would not go from 4th gear to 6th gear. It would go 4th-5th-6th but never 4th to 6th. Always found it hilarious, gearbox would operate perfectly otherwise!

My own car sounds like a diesel generator inside when you have the fan on past setting 3...:pac:


Do any of ye own or have previously owned cars that have little features like that? I always find they add character

jimbis

My car has 6 cup holders but only 5 seats,
A bench seat up front,
An extra window on the passenger side,
And it turns into a double bed.

Downside is it 1.4 auto....

Cortina_MK_IV

2003 Toyota Avensis.
Plus: Heading into its 14th year and never a minute's trouble.
Minus: Heading into its 14th year and the the poxbottle insurance companies will be looking for €1,000 to insure it next May.

Andrewf20

Love: Ive gone against a reasonably common trend and fitted smaller rims to my E36. Ive gone from 225 R16s to 205 R15s and love them. Tyres are cheaper, the ride is more comfortable, they are less "snappy" through corners and the car feels like a pocket rocket with them - they are noticeably faster up to speed.

Hate: Dreaded underside rust. The jacking points are in a very bad way.

fancy pigeon

Cons: Rust (a given for Mercedes), pathetically small brakes as standard, glovebox is too small to hold gloves, one drink holder, rubbish gearbox (slow, should have been 6 speed from the factory), changing dipped bulbs is very fiddly, no mechanical primer when changing the fuel filter, insurance want to try price it off the road :mad: headroom is a bit small behind for 2 people...

Everything else is awesome... Main points include being an epic parts bin from the W210/208/140/220, super easy to work on, costs peanuts to run and service, comfortable for high mileage munching, predictable and reliable to no end, handles so good with great road holding for a car with a boaty image, economical 2.2 van engine with torque to match and the tax leaves them very cheap to buy sure it isn't as powerful/fast/loud/smokey/agricultural as a 406 D-Turbo but I have confidence and peace of mind with my car every time I drive it

shietpilot

Automatic rev-up on the Focus when you lift the clutch pedal slightly is an annoying for me when I think about it. If you release the clutch pedal a bit the car will not allow the revs to drop and it will rev the engine to about 1,100 RPM. If you suddenly decide to brake or clutch in it will continue revving it for about 10 seconds even though the clutch pedal is fully pressed in or you're in neutral. Supposedly it's done to protect the dual mass flywheel from high vibrations at low RPM but it can be very annoying when you need to roll a few meters in heavy traffic!

Senecio

2013 Skoda Yeti

I like that it's little bit different in its styling and that it doesn't appeal to everyone. I like that its a high spec car for its age with all the toys. I dislike the strange placement of the speakers in the front doors. The tweeter is up high towards the front of the door in front of the door pull (normal). The mid woofer is down low and towards the back of the door so that it lines up with your right arse cheek. Strange and not great for sound quality.

Eric Cartman

Range Rover :

Cons : Audio track names and nav turn info doesn't display on the fully LCD instrument cluster, no idea why they didn't do that. Brake pads get consumed far quicker than i'd like. Every time you go to buy something in a motor factors and they ask what car it's for, you either have to have a lie of some nissan/renault econobox ready , or they're going to charge you more.

pro's : the webasto heater I can turn on to heat the car up before I leave my gaf, heated steering wheel , all the other heated things that have made my life easy this week. The biggest pro : 8 Cylinders, 2 turbo's, 270 horses, enough torque to make jesus come back to life, again.

diomed

161 Toyota Avensis 1.6D
Have it less than two months. There is a windscreen sensor that calculates distance to a car in front and automatically brakes if you are about to crash.
But if there is a bit of rain that part of the windscreen can become less than perfectly clean and the dash flashes a yellow warning constantly until you clean it.
The problem is there is no warning when you start off, but road spray from trucks on the motorway cover the sensor.
Of course the windscreen wipers don't go near the sensor. If they did they would clean the screen there but would set off automatic braking with every wipe.
Nobody wants to stop on a motorway hard shoulder in the rain to clean a palm sized patch of windscreen.
It has happened twice so far and I'm guessing will be more frequent as the weather worsens.

goz83

My e200k has a button that collapses the rear head rests, which is cool.

My e200k doesn't have a button put put the bloody rear head rests back up!

ION08

Senecio wrote: »

2013 Skoda Yeti

I like that it's little bit different in its styling and that it doesn't appeal to everyone. I like that its a high spec car for its age with all the toys. I dislike the strange placement of the speakers in the front doors. The tweeter is up high towards the front of the door in front of the door pull (normal). The mid woofer is down low and towards the back of the door so that it lines up with your right arse cheek. Strange and not great for sound quality.

Had one of these as a rental in Germany or a few days.

Was pleasantly surprised by it... Overall a really nice car but the "wiper twitch" when you switch off the Engine would drive me nuts. (I'm weird like that)

Skylinehead

06 Civic

Cons: The rear drivers side wheel is the bane of my existence between pads, discs, and seized calipers

Pros:



Who doesn't like a big red button?

ofcork

diomed wrote: »

161 Toyota Avensis 1.6D
Have it less than two months. There is a windscreen sensor that calculates distance to a car in front and automatically brakes if you are about to crash.
But if there is a bit of rain that part of the windscreen can become less than perfectly clean and the dash flashes a yellow warning constantly until you clean it.
The problem is there is no warning when you start off, but road spray from trucks on the motorway cover the sensor.
Of course the windscreen wipers don't go near the sensor. If they did they would clean the screen there but would set off automatic braking with every wipe.
Nobody wants to stop on a motorway hard shoulder in the rain to clean a palm sized patch of windscreen.
It has happened twice so far and I'm guessing will be more frequent as the weather worsens.

I think that's a known issue why didn't they put the sensor in the grill ala merc .My own 2012 avensis has chrome around the air vents that reflects into the mirrors annoying.

Armchair Andy

One thing I hate in my A6 is the dual zone heating control. Why not let my dial supercede the passengers? Let them at it from their own side but when I'm on my own I've to operate 2 knobs to control the temperature in the cabin.

mickdw

A big annoyance in my car is the distance I need to reach for the seat belt. It's a coupe with a long front door so it's understandable however electric seat belt presenter is not available.
Also the car doesn't come with seat belt height adjuster or at least it wasn't an option when I bought it.
Audi A5

mickdw

Armchair Andy wrote: »

One thing I hate in my A6 is the dual zone heating control. Why not let my dial supercede the passengers? Let them at it from their own side but when I'm on my own I've to operate 2 knobs to control the temperature in the cabin.

Surely there is a sync button or some such.

Armchair Andy

Is your heating system the same as mine? 2010 a6 just wondering am I missing something here?

Just saw your post mick I can't figure it. Someone might have a jab at it.

mickdw

Armchair Andy wrote: »

Is your heating system the same as mine? 2010 a6 just wondering am I missing something here?

No, different but passats seem to have a button that can match the 2 sides.

Ron Burgundy II

The mk1 touareg has the same heating system it seems. You have to adjust both sides, no sync button

colm_mcm

Skylinehead wrote: »

06 Civic

Cons: The rear drivers side wheel is the bane of my existence between pads, discs, and seized calipers

Pros:



Who doesn't like a big red button?

Have you noticed that it lights up at night then fades out after you press it.


Completely pointless button but second nature now.

My pros are the fold up rear seats and low floor underneath them. Also the glovebox that's about 2 foot deep. Ideal for when you're transporting lengths of timber you can fit them inside the cabin. Just open the glovebox, throw your crap on the floor and feed the timber through the boot and into the glovebox.



Cons: no lumbar support, it's a bit noisey at speed.

_Kaiser_

mickdw wrote: »

Surely there is a sync button or some such.

There is.... hold in the drivers side dial/button for a few seconds and it'll sync the passenger side to it and you can then adjust both from the same dial (I have a 2010 A6 as well and it still works the same as it did on my pre-facelift 05 version)

Armchair Andy

_Kaiser_ wrote:

There is.... hold in the drivers side dial/button for a few seconds and it'll sync the passenger side to it and you can then adjust both from the same dial (I have a 2010 A6 as well and it still works the same as it did on my pre-facelift 05 version)

Brilliant. I'm going out for a few pints to celebrate. Seriously.

Comhrá

I love my 161 A4 (B9) but a few things I find annoying:

Door storage spaces are hoplessly designed and it's so awkward to fit even a road atlas into them.

Glove compartment has just enough space for three cds when the car manual is in it's place.

Twin cup holders which I consider useless as I don't carry drinks in the car with me. It annoys me how much car-makers assume everyone carries coffee around with them.

_Kaiser_

2010 A6 LeMans spec

Pros:
- 3.0 TDI Quattro
- Everything my last one had (lots!) plus a few extras (heated seats, DAB radio, Media hard drive)
- Unlike the pre-facelift version, this one has 2 reversing lights which is handy at night in an unfamiliar area
- Half the motor tax bill of my previous 05 one

Cons:
- Erm... not much to be honest. It's economical enough to be a daily driver, it's loaded with toys, it's very comfortable and spacious. Suppose a sun roof would have been nice!

Four Phucs Ache

04 focus 1.4

Flaws :
Not many.....to me
To put it in reverse you have to clutch, select 3rd, de-clutch, neutral, clutch, then reverse.
No armrest
Have to select heat the face before it will let me turn it to heat the feet.If I force it to heat the feet it feels like it will snap
Intermittent wipers need to be 2 secs faster

Pros:
Good on petrol
Nippier than I was expecting
I fit in it
Has a CD player
3 cup holders
A button for the boot
The heater is hot

pajor

One day at my old job, I had my car keys in my back pocket. Sitting on them and holding the unlock button down, it opened the windows. Couldn't even see the car park from the office. Of course it rained that day. So now the speaker in the driver's door has a mind of its own, sometimes works sometimes not. Fiddling with volume gets it working again.

Also the electric windows switchs are a bit hit and miss. The driver's window switch will sometimes go down when flicked up. I can put the back windows down but not up again. :pac:

Minor issues then.

Mint Sauce

pajor wrote: »

One day at my old job, I had my car keys in my back pocket. Sitting on them and holding the unlock button down, it opened the windows. Couldn't even see the car park from the office. Of course it rained that day. So now the speaker in the driver's door has a mind of its own, sometimes works sometimes not. Fiddling with volume gets it working again.

Also the electric windows switchs are a bit hit and miss. The driver's window switch will sometimes go down when flicked up. I can put the back windows down but not up again. :pac:

Minor issues then.

Yeah I was presently when I discovered controlling the windows from my fob as well.

Me, pros. Follow me home lights.

Cons. No temp gauge.

What were Opel thinking?

job seeker

99 Yaris

Pros: Cheap tax, easily parked, cool digital speedo.

Cons: Slow, as a snail.

Cee-Jay-Cee

2005 Subaru Legacy 2.0i

I love the lazy torquey engine that will pull away from a lowly 5kmph in 3rd gear without a struggle and that will cruise up windy mountain roads in 5th gear without a problem.

I hate the thought that once this ones gone I probably won't have another due to the stupid two true discriminatory tax system in this fcuking country that charge €1200 for tax when the same car in the U.K. costs £230 a year.

Supergurrier

Nissan 350z 2007

Annoyance
-Driving it in general as a daily as it's so low and wide and the visability sucks
-Heavy clutch
-Every tiny stone hit on underbody can be heard
-The doors are massive and you need a large amount of space to get out of it.

Love
- Hearing the distinct japanese V6 sing over 4000rpm
-The sense of occasion
-Weight of all the driving controls
-Looking at it

kirving

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

2010 A6 LeMans spec

Pros:
- 3.0 TDI Quattro

- Unlike the pre-facelift version, this one has 2 reversing lights which is handy at night in an unfamiliar area

As much as I'd love a 3.0 TDI, that's hardly a 'little feature' :-p

Little things like the reverse light are what I'd think of as applicable here.

2008 S40

Features:
-Parking ticket holder on the drivers A pillar.
-How the passenger seat folds almost fully flat with just two clips which is great when needed.
-There's a little slot in the drivers door pocket to keep an ice scraper.
-Can open/close all windows and turn on the side lights and puddle lights from the key, and can also set off the alarm to draw attention if needed. I usually use this for finding the car when I'm really lost.


Flaws:
-How the previous owner either lost or didn't spec a cup holder in the front centre console so my coffee can spill if I'm not careful.
-No cup holders in the doors, just awkward ones that you can store a can of coke in.
-Didn't come with a warning triangle, but the boot lid liner still has the indent of where it should fit.

corsav6

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Yeah I was presently when I discovered controlling the windows from my fob as well.

Me, pros. Follow me home lights.

Cons. No temp gauge.

What were Opel thinking?

There is a temp gauge in a hidden menu on the astra, just googe your CD player model and it should give you instructions.

joujoujou

16 years old corolla.

Cons - looks very tired with all the chip marks, dents and clearcoat flaking.

Pros - NEVER let me down.

Senecio

ION08 wrote: »

Had one of these as a rental in Germany or a few days.

Was pleasantly surprised by it... Overall a really nice car but the "wiper twitch" when you switch off the Engine would drive me nuts. (I'm weird like that)

I assumed that was a VAG thing. Didn't know it was unique to the Yeti?

Mint Sauce

corsav6 wrote: »

There is a temp gauge in a hidden menu on the astra, just googe your CD player model and it should give you instructions.

Are we referring to engine temp (none on the dash of mine), or out side temp (1.0* last night).

bop1977

Skoda superb.

I love the space inside, the xenon lights and finally there is a small but faint light in the cabin that lights up the handbrake and gear stick. It's so faint I didn't even notice it until a lad at work pointed it out to me.

mikeecho

Electrictronical limited top speed.

ðŸ€

corsav6

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Are we referring to engine temp (none on the dash of mine), or out side temp (1.0* last night).

Yes engine temp.
If your CD player is a cd30 and you have the display with 2 buttons underneath then when the ignition is on and stereo is on press and hold the settings button until you hear a beep through the speakers, then press the right side button under the display to scroll through different menus. Engine speed, engine temp, actual voltage and loads of other info there.
If you have steering wheel controls and any other CD player model along with a full screen display then google for how to do it, I think its the same but press the BC button instead as there will be no button on your display.

_Kaiser_

Kevin Irving wrote: »

As much as I'd love a 3.0 TDI, that's hardly a 'little feature' :-p

Little things like the reverse light are what I'd think of as applicable here.

Oh, ok ok

- Side mirror that adjusts downward automatically when you stick it in reverse
- Auto lights and wipers
- Auto dimming mirrors
- leaving/follow me home lights
- electrical/cigarette socket in the rear seat area makes it easier to charge the little fella's tablet on long trips while he still uses it

Cons:

- The glasses holder/bay is still too small to take my regular glasses and sunglasses. The 06 Passat I had in the past comfortably fitted both
- 2nd cupholder is awkwardly positioned under the armrest
- The 19" alloys are gonna have to go. Sure they look well but not practical with the mileage I do. Can't be spending hundreds a corner every time I get a puncture (usually 3/4 times a year) or need to change them.
Anyone want to swap for 17" 10-spoke equivalents?