Annoying flaws / design features.

[The Moog]

Auto locking central locking. Managed to lock myself out of a few cars like that. Also people can just hop out easily.

Jaguar putting battery in boot.So flat battery you need to jump it, then you have to use the key to open the lock but it has rusted up due to lack of use.

[ProgRocker]

What the hell is a curry hook and why haven't I got one?

 

My Nissan Almera N16 has one! Its to keep the plastic bags with tubs of rice, sauce, etc. upright. I think the motoring press poked fun @ Nissan about the curry hook when the N16 Almera was released back in 2000.

[dollywobbler]

I'll start my list with the parcel shelf on the Saab. It's a crap design. You have to lift it up yourself for a start, then it prevents you from shutting the boot until you lower it again. It also rattles. Appalling!

 

Blowers that only give blended air. No, I want a fresh air feed to my face please. Saabs, old Rovers, Honda Civics of the late-1980s all manage it. Citroen stopped by the time they got to the BX. Drives me mad. I like a hot windscreen (so it doesn't steam up) and warm toes, but I like to be able to breathe.

 

Passenger wipers that don't meet the arc of the driver's wiper with their tip. Ford Focus Mk1, Peugeot 406, Citroen Xantia. RUBBISH!

 

Column stalks where you have to take your hand of the wheel to perform an action. Ok, on some cars (Peugeot/Citroen amongst others) you need to twiddle the stalk to turn the lights on. That's ok - not something you do that often. Mercs require you to do that to put the wipers on. Clearly Mercs weren't designed for Wales. On the VW Crafters (clearly the column stalks were up to Mercedes to design) you have to push the stalk in for mist function and more to wash. Does my bloody head in. Not. Though. Out. The Japanese also went through a phase of this, annoyingly when Rover were fitting Honda-style stalks.

 

The rear window of the current shape Honda Civic. I prefer windows that I can see out of. That tends to be the point of them.

 

The fact that when building the 2CV, the French didn't move the handbrake over for RHD. It's ideally placed for the passenger to operate.

 

LHD wipers on RHD cars. Why on earth did Renault and Peugeot develop a stupid mechanism to the Clio/206 to try and make the 'passenger' wiper clear that corner of the windscreen right in front of the driver? "To save having to develop a different system for LHD/RHD" I hear you say. Well, that would make sense, apart from the fact that they DIDN'T fit the same system to LHD/RHD.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

E36 Compact. If you use the washers/wipers at any speed with the drivers window open, you get screenwash dripping through the open window and onto the door trim.

 

E34 5 Series (early).

 

1) A shitty, salty, wet winters day following another car. You pull back the stalk to clean the million speckles of salt off the screen. Four Teutonic jets of screenwash hit the screen and big wipers do their job in three sweeps.

 

2.)Then two seconds later, another sweep, just to smear the latest 1'000'000 speckles of fresh salt all over the fucking screen.

 

3.) Repeat 1) ad infinitum.

 

 

The Leyland Princess, and it's sheer design genius. The ashtray is to the right of the steering wheel, next to the door, where you can actually use it if like most normal folk, you're right handed. Why the hell did no other manufacturer do this?

[eddyramrod]

Another vote for BMW i-drive. Has someone high up at BMW taken a deliberate decision to make their cars as dangerously distracting as it's possible to make them?

Ditto the indicators on same, and anywhere else they appear. Listen, designers: when I flick the stalk to indicate what I want to do, I expect it to stay flicked, not to return to its rest position, where I think it isn't working. Then I expect it to self-cancel, at which point it should return to rest.

Austin A40 Farina (gasp: a gripe against a classic car, and one I own to boot!): the front parcel shelf is made of cardboard, which warps after a while (yes, I know mine is 45 years old...). Needless to say, I'm remaking mine in plywood.

Iveco Turbo Daily: in the second half of the 90s these had the radio in a really sensible place: in front of the gear lever, by the driver's ankle. Yeah, gr9 for turning up the traffic news, thanx!

Saggy headlinings: on a number of cars, not least American GM products of the early 80s; Maestros; Volvo 7/9 series; Mazda 323F... and I'm sure a load of others.

[MrDuke]

Also, the number of cars which fail to illuminate the fan/heater/airvent controls when the lights are on. I know at least half a dozen of the recent cars I've had are at fault, and again, there's no good reason for it, other than sheer laziness.

[R9UKE]

[Pete-M]

Blowers that only give blended air. No, I want a fresh air feed to my face please. Saabs, old Rovers, Honda Civics of the late-1980s all manage it. Citroen stopped by the time they got to the BX. Drives me mad. I like a hot windscreen (so it doesn't steam up) and warm toes, but I like to be able to breathe.

 

You need air conditioning. That stops the windows from pretty much ever steaming up.

 

On the Rangie there's a "Program" setting on the aircon so when you hit the demist button it sends all the heater to the front and side windows, fires up the heated screens / mirrors / washers and goes on a mad mission to defrost everything in sight. Unfortunately, there's no 'non-Program' way of pointing warm air at the screen because it's not needed with aircon once the screen is demisted. Great when the a/c doesn't need recharging...

[Negative Creep]

Changing a headlight bulb in virtually any modern car

[CreepingJesus]

 

Neighbour of mine bought an early Mk2 Lag off a mate of his: one of the keycards sometimes locks the doors, one sometimes unlocks them, but you will wait 30 secs after using the wrong one. They take it in turns to start the car, and the little pull out keys don't work. When asked, his mate admitted he just didn't lock it, ever. Seems no-one wants to nick it. Renault, just why?

Wasn't the handbrake on VW T25's on the wheelarch, just inside the door? Great for easy access. Ditto sill mounted gearlever on Ford GT40's. You go all the way to Le Mans, then retire 'cos you've kicked the effing gearlever off, during a hurried exit at 3am...

Servicing Mk1/2 Mondeos, particularly ones with aircon and/or the V6. Ideally, your hands would have to be wafer thin, magnetic, triple jointed, and 3' long. Abysmal design.

Iveco Daily: presumably Italians have titchy feet, 'cos my size 11's wouldn't fit in the gap between the centre console and the steering column shroud (esp in safety boots), and I'd only have tiptoe contact with the clutch pedal. Ditto the parcel shelf under the steering column on old VX Novas. Couldn't get my plates under them easily either, so used to regularly slip the clutch while driving.

[eddyramrod]

Iveco Daily: presumably Italians have titchy feet, 'cos my size 11's wouldn't fit in the gap between the centre console and the steering column shroud (esp in safety boots), and I'd only have tiptoe contact with the clutch pedal.

 

What year of Daily? I used to drive 90s and 00s with no trouble, and my feet are 11s too, in fact my safety boots are 12s. I have to say, I rate the Daily as the best van there is at 3.5 tonnes.*

 

*I'm aware that what works for one of us usually won't for another.

[Des]

Wasn't the handbrake on VW T25's on the wheelarch, just inside the door? Great for easy access

No, you're maybe thinking of the Commer van, worked the front wheels it did, GR9 squared on sliding door models for applying whilst jumping out and watching the heap shudder to a halt.

[gricer]

Not annoying, but pointless - the HC Viva has a secret switcg at the bottom of the dashboard, which allows you to switch off the panel lighting, while leaving the headlights on. Someone please name a circumstance where this might be useful!

[Volksy]

I think the LT had a handbrake on the wheelarch.

 

The lotus esprit was the same with the hand brake mounted between the sill and the seat, but oddly it was really far forward. So if you got in, or out, wearing baggy jeans it would catch, or disappear up, your trouser leg. GR1 for dignified entry or exit of your supercar.

[overheadvalve]

Modern shite, Vag do but others too, or will very soon. In the diesel fuelled motor car must put the clutch in before starting the engine otherwise you look a complete fool when you are fiddling with a key which does not seem to work. why do they do this?

Day driving lights. If i want them on i can put them on. HID? F R O !!!

That stop start system on new cars too, Mercedes is blue (in)efficiency, or just deficiency for short and Vag version ien is called Blue (no)motion i think. This makes the car more economical does it? How long will the parts which are used more, like the starter motor last though?

 

Rear 3/4 vision in the new Honda, well new about 4 or 5 years ago now Civic, it's shite whilst overtaking and pulling back into lane on say the M6. Ask the woman who i almost took out in the dark blue Clio, poor bugger. I almost tried to stop her to apologise. Whilst were at it that bloody horrible spoiler on the back window of the Civic, was it designed to stop drivers looking seeing anything through the rear window? it's shite!

 

Old shite: The lights on a mk2 Golf and the Corrado = hopeless!

Metric wheels on the UR Quattro ffs.

Fiat 128 the heater, what heater? my granny could blow* stronger and warmer and she died in 1981 OOeer missus

The Uber large steering wheel on a Merc 190, or the C180, in fact all of them up to the 2000 model, which was by comparison crap except for the steering wheel which was the right size.

[myglaren]

Changing a headlight bulb in virtually any modern car

 

Yeah - thought I was going down that road yesterday until I discovered the trapdoor in the wheel arch liner of the Rover 75.

 

Has some very nice features, that car

[scooters]

Citroën cx:

 

1/ ventilation of a pair of Tesco shoes...a huge problem in winter when the utterly pathetic screen blower whispers at the huge windscreen which is invariably damp due to the leaks and moisture ingress. You resort to clearing the screen with whatever comes to hand at which point the 5 pints of freezing condensation on the screen run down your cuff soaking your arm and oxter. But this doesn't really matter because unbeknownst to you....

 

2/ the lack of a functional (ie one that doesn't block every 2 days) rear sunroof envelope drain means that when you park the car pointing uphill in torrential rain a good gallon of water collects in the envelope and promptly deposits itself all over your head the first time you touch the hydraulic brakes. So you are soaked anyway.

 

This may be a design feature to revive new drivers if the car as they sit in catatonic shock at the experience of first using hydraulic brakes.

 

The soaking is the least of your problems because a good 2 pints of sunroof wateremds up pouring into the tape/cd slot which is vertically mounted in the central console next to the handbrake....not that it works anymore given the amount of crumbs e tc

that end up

clogged in the mechanism.....

[scooters]

Manufacturers of aftermarket stereos please note!

 

Rather than cover your product in flashing displays designed to appeal to the SAXO.set why don't you actually concentrate on making function buttons that the average person can a/readily identify as a button. And b/ make then easy to push whilst driving at 70mph!!!!!!!.....cunts

[M'coli]

The wipers on the Fiat Ducato are set-up for RHD, but the passenger wiper travels just a bit too far into the sweep of the driver's side. This is not a problem on speed 1, but when you need to use speed 2 the water cleared by the passengeer wiper is thrown across the driver's line of vision, making overall visibility worse than on speed 1! This also would not be as much of a problem if the driver's seat would go 2 inches lower.

[dollywobbler]

Good call on the asthmatic CX heater Scooters. Though mine was made worse by the fan intermittently cutting out, and a leaky heater matrix making the whole car steam up like a sauna...

 

The last Nissan Primera required you to scroll through menus to change the heater settings. That really did my head in.

[scooters]

Good call on the asthmatic CX heater Scooters. Though mine was made worse by the fan intermittently cutting out, and a leaky heater matrix making the whole car steam up like a sauna...

 

The last Nissan Primera required you to scroll through menus to change the heater settings. That really did my head in.

 

Multifunction knobs are crap and imho dangerous.

 

So pisspoor was the cx heater that I overcompensated with the next car and bought a 240 one of the best cold weather heater systems eva mayde innit

[mnde]

Citroen GS and GSA - inbuilt rust traps. GS- poor ventilation and asthmatic blower/heater (the GSA setup does a much better job). Heater tubes that channel warm fumes from leaking oil through into the passenger compartment. Poor design of oil return tube seals. Poor access to alternator. Ineffective hand brake.. "Emergency brake", yeah right...

 

Mark.

[Rocket88]

BL Mini / Maxi / 1800 window winders, always end up jammed against your right knee. Another one of that bastard Isigonis's bright ideas to keep the driver "alert" no doubt..........

[ashmicro]

Outrageously thick A pillars on modern superminis. I drove Katie's friend Emily home in her new Fester a while back (she was plastered) and the bloody things are an accident waiting to happen.

[Rocket88]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

plus elevnty. It's quite ironic how modern "safety" compromises good design to the extent that making cars safer has now rendered them more unsafe..............

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Not annoying, but pointless - the HC Viva has a secret switcg at the bottom of the dashboard, which allows you to switch off the panel lighting, while leaving the headlights on. Someone please name a circumstance where this might be useful!

 

Easy.

 

It's 1976 and you're a fat ugly bastard who's been on the Watneys Red Barrel all night. You spot some fat but doable bird who is far more pissed than you are. Coax her into the passenger seat and set off for a nearby layby or Little Chef car park - but the green glow of the Viva's informative instrument panel is also illuminating your face. Before she turns round, sees your boat and says 'what the fuck was I thinking?' you quickly cull the illumination. Your muck is spread, she's none the wiser.

 

See?

[CreepingJesus]

Cheers Volksy, it was indeed the LT I was thinking of, not the T25. I rented an LT to do my last housemove 14 years ago, so it's been a while! I didn't know about the Commer, Des, but I do have a soft spot for the weird little things, so maybe someday I'll enjoy that design feature first hand.

Eddy, I was thinking specifically about the Dailys I used to drive for ParcelFarce, around '02-'04. They were the R- and S-plated ones, both the normal maxcube types, and the ones with the electric n/s door. They seemed to be slightly different inside, but I always struggled with the clutch in both. The newer generation ones were better, but that gearshift's a nasty piece of work. Moreso on the high miler '54 plate I was driving recently.

[scooters]

Not annoying, but pointless - the HC Viva has a secret switcg at the bottom of the dashboard, which allows you to switch off the panel lighting, while leaving the headlights on. Someone please name a circumstance where this might be useful!

 

Easy.

 

It's 1976 and you're a fat ugly bastard who's been on the Watneys Red Barrel all night. You spot some fat but doable bird who is far more pissed than you are. Coax her into the passenger seat and set off for a nearby layby or Little Chef car park - but the green glow of the Viva's informative instrument panel is also illuminating your face. Before she turns round, sees your boat and says 'what the fuck was I thinking?' you quickly cull the illumination. Your muck is spread, she's none the wiser.

 

See?

 

 

that story sounds like it might be born of personal experience!!!

 

Really Rev, you shouldn't be getting into strange cars!

 

[scaryoldcortina]

LT35 handbrakes..... the positoning of it isn't the worst bit! The locking mechanism is a bit of bent rod with a spring round it which WILL ping out and land in the footwell regularly requiring half an hour pissing about putting it back in before you can use it to stab yourself in the leg when getting out.

[Barry Cade]

The new trend of having a can of stuff to make up for the lack of a spare wheel, and the jack/toolkit holders in most newer cars. Krypton Factor stuff nowadays- like trying to get unwanted christmas pressies back in the box.

 

BMW 3 series compact spare wheel setup. WTF?

 

Mondeo wishbone bolts- why are they half an inch too long on the nearside.

 

Ka filler neck. Why not put a bit of plastic under them to stop the rampant rot

 

Fiat wipers, far too fast on intermittent. Either you cant see or the wipers are groaning over a nearly dry screen. 8 seconds please.

 

Bolts holding wheels on. What's wrong with studs?

 

"universal" aftermarket alloys- more Krypton factor stuff.

 

X1/9. Taking the roof off. Everything is on the wrong side. Runaround NOW.

 

Modern timing belts. Do the pulleys need to be free spinning when the bolt is slackened. Every garage now needs 36,754 special tools for timing belts.

 

Stretchy fan belts. Why.

 

Vectra C. What's with the number plate lights? they come on whenever they feel like it. 253 presses of the button to open the boot too.

 

Number plate lights held in with screws, why?

 

 

grrr. stop now.