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Basic functions of a car you never/rarely use


Talbot

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Indeed, it's not difficult to keep a reasonable distance with CC or to react to slower traffic etc. 

 

I hadn't even thought of cigarette lighters or child locks; I remove the former as the kids often play in the car.  But child locks? Maybe all the kids I know are too sensible, but I'd sooner they were able to get out if we had a crash.  We've spent a fair amount of time training our two how to get out of their seats on their own and opening the doors.

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14 hours ago, SiC said:

Aircon helps a lot to keep a car demisted. Also most modern new cars will automatically turn on the HRW and wing mirrors when below a certain temperature. Almost invariably don't show the warning light when doing this. Probably these two reasons why it doesn't mist up. 

Mine is definitely too old for that kind of caper.  It might put the heated mirrors on at certain times, but the hrw I'm fairly sure not.

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Mine is definitely too old for that kind of caper.  It might put the heated mirrors on at certain times, but the hrw I'm fairly sure not.
Heated mirrors and windscreen are usually the same function. How old is the car?
My 2002 Clio does it, 2007 Civic did it, 2005 Saab did it, 2010 A4 does it, 2002 Laguna did it.
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19 minutes ago, Slowsilver said:

If these were redesigned specifically as accessory sockets they could be similar but quite a lot smaller and have maybe a bayonet fitting to stop them falling out.

Step 1: grab one of these 

image.png.4743c9d2816d133b3d7b554b82fd9f9d.png

step 2: find one of these still fitted with tungsten lighting like so

image.png.de2cde77a74fa1a889918dbe595dcbee.png

Step 3: profit?

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7 hours ago, spartacus said:

Sidelights,I put the headlights on, all the time. DRLs are stupid, people imagine they have their lights on but it's only the fronts, great on the bypass in the rain. It's probably a different thread but I can't understand a feature that only puts on your front lights.

I was pleased earlier this week to see a newish Galaxy get pulled over by plod for driving at night with only the DRLs on.

I do use the cruise control on the 75 quite a bit - it's useful as there's a long stretch of the A149 which has average speed cameras so at quiet times it's useful to just flick the cruise on and not have to worry about checking the speedo every 30 seconds.  I also use the heated seats in winter - sitting on cold leather when it's sub-zero outside is not a pleasant experience, especially when I'm in my thin office trousers.

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I rarely turn the light dial on my car, just leave it on auto. Sometimes if it's a bit inclement and the car deigns it not dark enough for proper lights I will put them on. I think I've used the fogs once in about 2 years.

Never touched the dash lighting rheostat, it's on full brightness I think. Not had a back wiper on a car to play with for about 15 years.

Also my 86 has a mirror fold button, I think I've used that about 4 times.

 

I have AC on permanently and use cruise a lot. Which is old style cruise, none of this fancy radar guided malarkey.

On, speed up, slow down, off.

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My daily runners are a bit basic to begin with so I'm not really guilty of not using all the infotainment system's mobile device integration features. Bits of my daily bangers that I could live without.

  • The door locks aren't used very often.
  • I don't smoke, don't use a mobile phone and navigate using my sense of smell so the fag lighter socket doesn't get used much
  • Fog lights (front or rear)
  • Map reading lights. What the fuck are they for and why do we have them?
  • Alarm

 

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16 hours ago, Stanky said:

Saab 'night mode' on the instrument cluster. Total waste of time

Average speed mode. Other than regularity trials who cares?

 

Oh man, I loved this when I was doing 100 - 250 miles a day in my 93. Many a late motorway drive made that little bit nicer, but I am very sensitive to light so maybe that's why.

I don't use the Ashtray? A base spec BX really doesn't have many features to use anyway....

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I use everything as much as possible. Even when driving things with unnecessary fripperies such as massage seats or heated armrests, then feel hard done by when getting in my own poverty spec shite.

Except for maybe factory sat nav- always shit and never ever worth bothering with, especially as cars now mostly seem to have Aplleplay to enable Waze on the car”s screen.

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5 hours ago, SiC said:

Heated mirrors and windscreen are usually the same function. How old is the car?
My 2002 Clio does it, 2007 Civic did it, 2005 Saab did it, 2010 A4 does it, 2002 Laguna did it.

Heated mirrors come on with the rear demister on 1982 Cortina’s and all cars since I thought, except a 2019 Fiat Fullback for some reason. Have never had the need to use front fog lamps and not particularly keen on air con.

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Front fog lamps should be removed because berks only ever seem to use them in the pouring rain at night, making blinding reflections to oncoming traffic. Sometimes they even run in the rain only with front fogs and sidelamps, like it's 1998

I have a massive dog cage in the boot which has small visibility panels which makes it very hard to judge distance of objects behind, so I just rely on the side mirrors. Consequently I never use the rear wiper.

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6 hours ago, Slowsilver said:

 If these were redesigned specifically as accessory sockets they could be similar but quite a lot smaller and have maybe a bayonet fitting to stop them falling out.
 

All of my Lancia Betas have had exactly this below the glovebox. Now replaced by a standard cigarette lighter socket.

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The A8 is an auto, but it has a gearstick you can push to the side and knock up and down yourself... not used by me, seems to go the wrong way (forward for up the gears, just seems wrong?).  Also, has flappy paddle switches, again, not used. 

Totally agree with the folding mirrors, played with once but never again.  Steering wheel controls for the stereo etc... too much for me to figure out.  

It has lots of nice features, but the best ones just work without my input... like the 'see round the corner' lights (they also both come on in reverse if you've got your headlights on).  I like the passenger mirror dropping in reverse for parking by the kerb.  The instrument cluster light brightness is adjustable, but they also get dimmer as it gets dark outside, to remind you to put your lights on!  When you do, they come back up!  The lighting around the heater dials etc, also adjusts itself, getting brighter in strong sunlight, so you can see it easier... nice touch I suppose.

I think it's making me lazy, need to get a few miles in the Trabbi! 

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Ashtray. Being slightly above base, my car's lighter socket is blanked off so it's kind of useless being there.

Also, the headlamp levellers seem a bit useless in such a small car and I definitely haven't used them apart from when I bought it.

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6 hours ago, SiC said:

Heated mirrors and windscreen are usually the same function. How old is the car?
My 2002 Clio does it, 2007 Civic did it, 2005 Saab did it, 2010 A4 does it, 2002 Laguna did it.

1998 S210 pre-facelift.  I've never turned on the HRW, but the mirrors definitely seem to stay warm all the time.  or maybe they come on with low ambient temperature.  I must read the handbook sometime as I keep finding little functions that the car has that I didn't know about.

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6 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

I'm always worried I will end up with a flat battery. Probably says more about the chod I drive round in than having a warm arse

A heated seats draws about 4 amps.  Headlamps draw more than that.  I wouldn't worry about it.  I'm rather sad that my current car doesn't have them fitted, as I really like having a warm arse when driving.

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18 minutes ago, Talbot said:

A heated seats draws about 4 amps.  Headlamps draw more than that.  I wouldn't worry about it.  I'm rather sad that my current car doesn't have them fitted, as I really like having a warm arse when driving.

Thanks.

Once the disastra has a new battery fitted tomorrow, so it actually starts, I can then enjoy a toastie warm arse lol

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Would love to use my cruise control but it went all french a few months ago and now doesn't do anything

was going to say rear fog lights....until tonight, just got back from a trip to tesco in some pretty decent fog and not trusting other drivers i had both front and rear fogs on

Rear fogs do make a fair bit of difference as i noticed on that journey, but of course still had the usual DRL gang out

oh and the picasso has an "overspeed warning" function, i've set it like twice but it's a huge pain in the arse, really difficult to set and turns itself off after you turn the car off so seems a bit pointless

otherwise if the feature is there then i'll use it

forgot another, "guide me home lighting" i've very rarely used that, apart from a few weeks back when i had to go and check on someones house down a creepy unlit path and they proved very useful then.......until they turned off just as i was trying to get the key in the door

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On 11/6/2020 at 7:23 AM, New POD said:

I reckon in a 160 mile round trip journey I made a couple of weeks back I used the brakes 20 times. 

When I was going north to Scotland to sort my mum's estate out in 2009, I'd set out at about 8pm on a Friday evening.  On one of these circa~240 mile journeys, I used the brakes 6 times, and the first time was at the Dunglass roundabout on the A82...

Edit: perhaps I should mention that this was about 10 miles from the end of the journey, and I'd been really, really lucky on the junctions to the A1 (M) and the timing of the traffic lights at Scotch Corner and at the A66/M6 junction.

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