Useful/useless features you have discovered in your cars.

B00056718

As per title. I'd guess many of us will find out stuff about our cars we didn't know.

i drove my E34 for a good while untill I discovered that if you pull on to the door handle, it would heat up the drivers lock. As I'm from eastern europe, that was very useful discovery. It would also heat up the windscreen washers.

E46 would also heat up the door seals. Very useful in colder climates.

On Fiat Punto I discovered the follow me home lights. Still use them in my 147 occasionally.

Saab 9-5 night panel. I like the dark cockpit when driving on unlit roads at night. I remember B7 passat blue light used to drive me mad at night.

The least usefull I have seen these slots, that I guess are for CD's. Saab 9-3 have one near the handbrake and so does the MK2 punto. Not really sure what they're for, but getting them clean is a nightmare.

What features have you discovered and found usefull or interesting or the opposite?

helimachoptor

Found out after nearly 18 months that i have a sunglasses compartment in the roof of my A6

Zaph

My Golf has a proper VW branded bottle opener as the separator in the drinks holder well between the front seats. They must be more liberal about drinking beer when driving in Germany, but I've never used it myself.

JoeA3

Zaph wrote: »

My Golf has a proper VW branded bottle opener as the separator in the drinks holder well between the front seats. They must be more liberal about drinking beer when driving in Germany, but I've never used it myself.

Glass bottles of coke etc, are common in the father land.

Toyotafanboi

A cool but useless feature in my Civic is the start button. Indeed having a start button is very cool but to use it, you still have to put the key in the ignition and turn it two clicks, then take your hand off the key, reach over the dash to press start instead of just turning the key a third click. Cool looking, but defeats the purpose of push button start entirely.

shietpilot

The wiperblades work when the key is turned to the first position - accessory on my E36

jca

I just discovered in the Octavia I can leave the headlight switch turned on to heads ( not sidelights) all the time, the lights turn on and off with the ignition, sidelights with the engine off and all off when I take the key out. It doesn't have auto lights or anything fancy like that.

jimbis

The front 2 seats of my car have 4 cup holders

B00056718

jca wrote: »

I just discovered in the Octavia I can leave the headlight switch turned on to heads ( not sidelights) all the time, the lights turn on and off with the ignition, sidelights with the engine off and all off when I take the key out. It doesn't have auto lights or anything fancy like that.

Most Fiats, Alfas, Saabs and Volvos do that as well. I like it. Just leave them on permanently.

Also my GS300 used to tilt the rear view mirrors down when reverse selected. 9-5 would do that with the passenger side one.

On GS300 the LED's under the side mirrors would come on as you approach the car. looked cool at night.

colm_mcm

B00056718 wrote: »

The least usefull I have seen these slots, that I guess are for CD's. Saab 9-3 have one near the handbrake and so does the MK2 punto. Not really sure what they're for, but getting them clean is a nightmare.

The idea with those was that there were interchangeable accessories that clipped in where that single CD holder was. There was an ice scraper, a cup holder and a full cd cover case type thing

jca

B00056718 wrote: »

Most Fiats, Alfas, Saabs and Volvos do that as well. I like it. Just leave them on permanently.

Also my GS300 used to tilt the rear view mirrors down when reverse selected. 9-5 would do that with the passenger side one.

On GS300 the LED's under the side mirrors would come on as you approach the car. looked cool at night.

That's right my teapot had that too, no ACC position on the ignition switch though, a real pain in the butt. The inevitable happened, the volume knob on the Phillips radio became all scratchy where the track wore away. The Octavia mirrors light up too, but not if they're folded in using the lock button on the key.

honda boi

04 ford cmax.
Only recently discovered beside the radio there's like 3 slots in the dash. There for putting your car park tickets
Deadly !

billy few mates

Her indoors has that automatic parking feature on her Qashqai.
Anyone who needs something like this probably shouldn't be on the road, I tried it once out of idle curiosity in an empty car park when she first got the car but never in a million years would she ever use it...

Del2005

Driving in fog I discovered my GS450h had adaptive lights that turned with the steering. The lights under the mirrors look good, haven't been anywhere really dark to see the full affect.

On my Accord the headlight washers had me confused for ages as to why my bonnet was getting windscreen water on the front, it didn't have HIDs, till I discovered it washed the lights at the same time as the windscreen.

kay 9

Spare wheel. Jk. My vehicle is pretty basic

KERSPLAT!

Saab 93, the rear view mirror dims/gets darker the brighter a light shines at it. Handy when a car behind is blinding you, auto dims and makes it easier to use the rear view

sheepy01

The most useless thing is the handbrake in a Citroen XM which actuates on the front wheels. Still remember people trying to have fun with them and ended crashing them by accident because of this.

Zoo4m8

Keyless entry..absolutely love it, Landcruiser daily/work vehicle, key never leaves the pocket, it's pitting rain, armload of tools/whatever no rooting through wet gear/ overalls for key just touch the door handle to open, touch another part to lock..gods gift!

ED E

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Keyless entry..absolutely love it, Landcruiser daily/work vehicle, key never leaves the pocket, it's pitting rain, armload of tools/whatever no rooting through wet gear/ overalls for key just touch the door handle to open, touch another part to lock..gods gift!

Until it gets robbed from outside your front door

ongarite

Heated windscreen on my E60.
Great for those cold frosty morning when you are too lazy to scrap away the ice off the glass.

Same for heated mirrors.

Zoo4m8

ED E wrote: »

Until it gets robbed from outside your front door

Can't happen..

biko

Night panel in Saab, very handy when driving at night.
I actually realised only yesterday that one of the drinks-holders I never use has 3 slots for coins.

Kevin!

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Can't happen..

Relocated obd port?

CJhaughey

Accord Tourer, when you engage reverse the rear wiper activates for a couple of wipes.

ED E

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Can't happen..

Kevin! wrote: »

Relocated obd port?

Keys in a Faraday cage(bag) if Zoom knows what he's at.

Teddington Cuddlesworth

I had an Octavia rental quite recently. It was a small engine diesel with the dsg auto box.
It was fitted with the fuel saving engine cut out for traffic, a great concept but awful in moderate traffic in an auto.
I got very tired of having to hit the button to stop it from dying every time I came to a stop.
Those features just don't work in an auto, unless it's set up that you have to put it in neutral.

Cheensbo

I have a roof mounted air purifier.

Not entirely sure what it's for though, smog maybe?

Foxhole Norman

Pressing MAX A/C in my E39 while the car is off will put it into a residual heat mode and heat the cabin while the engine's off, handy when running to the shop or waiting for someone in winter!

jca

CJhaughey wrote: »

Accord Tourer, when you engage reverse the rear wiper activates for a couple of wipes.

I had that in the Octavia I found it very annoying especially in the frosty weather as I reverse out of my driveway. I disabled it with one of those plug in Bluetooth thingys.

jca

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Pressing MAX A/C in my E39 while the car is off will put it into a residual heat mode and heat the cabin while the engine's off, handy when running to the shop or waiting for someone in winter!

That's brilliant I'd love that.

Voodoomelon

Controlling the front passenger seat from the back is endless hours of fun. Not so much for the front passenger.

jca

Cheensbo wrote: »

I have a roof mounted air purifier.

Not entirely sure what it's for though, smog maybe?

Jap import? I wondered what those things do? Does yours actually do anything? The few I got close too didn't seem to do anything.

ThisRegard

jca wrote: »

I had that in the Octavia I found it very annoying especially in the frosty weather as I reverse out of my driveway. I disabled it with one of those plug in Bluetooth thingys.

The more sensible approach that other manufacturers take is to have the wiper only come on if the front wipers are on, and it can also be disabled in the vehicle menu anyway.

jca

Teddington Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I had an Octavia rental quite recently. It was a small engine diesel with the dsg auto box.
It was fitted with the fuel saving engine cut out for traffic, a great concept but awful in moderate traffic in an auto.
I got very tired of having to hit the button to stop it from dying every time I came to a stop.
Those features just don't work in an auto, unless it's set up that you have to put it in neutral.

That would be painful, mine is DSG but no stop start luckily.

Cheensbo

jca wrote: »

Jap import? I wondered what those things do? Does yours actually do anything? The few I got close too didn't seem to do anything.

Yep, Jap import,

Well yeah, it blows out air - seems to kinda work anyway, my a/c isnt working at the moment and it seems to help demist the car a bit, but maybe that's just the blower. I haven't tested my theory at all.

It has an auto mode that speeds up and slows down flow of its own accord, or full manual to blow full speed all of the time, it shuts off when a door is opened or a window opened more than half way. There's a little black charcoal filter in it that I'd like to change but don't know where to get a replacement.

I think it's cool but not sure of what it's for, could it be for smokers?

Skylinehead

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

A cool but useless feature in my Civic is the start button. Indeed having a start button is very cool but to use it, you still have to put the key in the ignition and turn it two clicks, then take your hand off the key, reach over the dash to press start instead of just turning the key a third click. Cool looking, but defeats the purpose of push button start entirely.

Its purpose is to have a big red button

There's a little blue light in the roof that kind of illuminates the gearstick at night, took me years to notice

Most useless feature on the Civic by far is the eco meter beside the speedo/rev warning. Its sole purpose is to tell you how far your foot is planted into the accelerator, as far as I can tell it uses no other parameter to determine how "eco" you're driving.

Wossack

little clear plastic clip on the windscreen to hold your parking ticket (octavia)

vandriver

Useful(sort of,before SoundHound ) in my wife's Fabia,if you press the info button on the radio,it tells you the artist.
She only found this out last week despite owning the car since '09.
Useless:on my Citroen C4,there is a tiny grooved tray exactly the shape and size of a biro,just above the radio.Unfortunately,both ends of the tray are rounded so whenever you turn the pen gets propelled into a footwell.

CJhaughey

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Pressing MAX A/C in my E39 while the car is off will put it into a residual heat mode and heat the cabin while the engine's off, handy when running to the shop or waiting for someone in winter!

Merc Sprinters had that feature as well. Not sure if they still do or not?

fancy pigeon

W202

• Cabin heat booster
• Ambient light/interior lights come on when key is removed
• Button to release rear headrests
• Wiper auto intermittent from full speed on stopping in traffic
• Service mode bonnet

Cheensbo

Cheensbo wrote: »

Yep, Jap import,

Well yeah, it blows out air - seems to kinda work anyway, my a/c isnt working at the moment and it seems to help demist the car a bit, but maybe that's just the blower. I haven't tested my theory at all.

I was in Japan before and they love humidifiers.
maybe thats what it is

heroics

Useful would be auto lights, Bluetooth audio as well as phone and the little slot for the key between the cup holders.

Since it's a BMW most useless feature is the indicator 😜😜 and the stop start feature. Pity I can't just turn it off permenantly Instead of every time I get into the car

tc20

fancy pigeon wrote: »

W202

• Button to release rear headrests
  
• Service mode bonnet

I always wondered why/what is the purpose of the folding rear headrests in that era Benz...is it to make the rear view easier when reversing??

ahem, service mode bonnet??

jca

ThisRegard wrote: »

The more sensible approach that other manufacturers take is to have the wiper only come on if the front wipers are on, and it can also be disabled in the vehicle menu anyway.

It only does it if the front wiper have been used, no way of disabling it in the vehicle menu unfortunately. Pity it wouldn't disable when the outside temp is below 3 degrees.

storker

Useless: Ford C-Max driver's arm rest. Even if it was at the right height I'd probably still leave it folded up out of the way.

Useless: Early 90s Peugeot 205 - no intermittent wiper. You could get one sweep by knocking the stalk down, but you had to do that every time unless you wanted the wipers on continuously.

Useful: Mark I (and possibly Mark II) Ford Fiesta. Beneath the floor of the boot on side was space for the spare wheel, but on the other side, empty space...great for extra storage when needed.

(Very) Useful: Citroen 2CV starting handle. No starter motor? No problem!

Borderline: Ford C-Max trays for rear passengers in the backs of the front seats. Useful for obvious reasons. Not so useful when stuff that shouldn't have been put on them in the first place ends up on the floor when going round a bend. "Keep your seatbelt on...you can pick it up when we stop"...etc

wotswattage

My alfa 159 had a fridge compartment under the front armrest. Great. Except it was so tiny you couldn't fit anything taller that a 330ml can of coke in it...

737max

My Megane has a cup holder under the dash into which you can't place cups for lack of access.
The other accessible cup holder on most meganes is replaced by a scroll wheel for the GPS so I have no usable cup-holder but no loss as I wouldn't dream of drinking coffee or soft drinks while drving.

My other car has heated washer nozzles but the tubes leading to them aren't heated, are pressed against the cold steel of the bonnet and freeze during winter so the heated nozzles are of no use on cold days.

ThisRegard

737max wrote: »

My Megane has a cup holder under the dash into which you can't place cups for lack of access.

That's not really a cup holder, it's a holder for an optional ashtray, otherwise it's just a little cubby.

737max

when the ashtray is desinged to fit in the other cupholder then that one is a cup holder too.
Not complaining though. Newer megane has plenty of cup holders but dispensed with the scroll wheel for the satnav so I know which one I'd prefer to have.

Cee-Jay-Cee

The armrest on the MKI andMKII Auris is totally useless unless you have arms like an orangutan and can reach your elbow down that low while driving.

Azatadine

helimachoptor wrote: »

Found out after nearly 18 months that i have a sunglasses compartment in the roof of my A6

Where?? Storage is rubbish in the A6.