Do you use all the bells, and whistles your vehicle came with?

Not all of them. I have a 3 year old Lexus, and it has a touch pad on the console between the front seats and I don’t like it at all. A lot of people didn’t like it, and it has been changed in new cars. I think it is so unsafe to deal with it while driving. Since I hate it, I’ve done very little to figure out all that my car can do.

My Ram truck has cameras all around and from above and it is fantastic! I don’t know all the stuff my truck has, I don’t drive it a lot, but the cameras ate amazing for parking.

Nope . Not even close. I have 2 cars now, Subarus. 2015 and 2019. I don’t have satellite radio turned on, I never coupled my phone to the Infotainment system. I have not given the cars access to my home internet WiFi. When I drive the 2019, I turn off the automatic Idle stop. I find it irritating and it saves virtually nothing.
I rarely use cruise control. I DO use the transmission All Wheel Drive function. Last week, I got my mower stuck in the trees and used the 2015 Sub to pull it out.

Granted, I don’t have a daily commute. I drive fewer than 5000 miles per year and live in a place where there is little traffic. I just don’t need, or want, all that stuff.

Nope, but Ireally like the few I do use.

No. I do use the toilet often, but I never pulled the emergency brakes, nor have I ever bought a first class ticket.

There are a couple of buttons on my F150 truck that I have never pushed – I have no idea what they do. I suppose I could get out the owners manual and learn..

@Luckyguy – connecting my phone to the audio system is essential here. Our state will ticket you if they see you touching a phone. Bluetooth connections are great.

There is a bell and a whistle that came with my car???? I never knew this!

Hah! I don’t even know how to program my favorite radio stations in my 2015 Camry Hybrid. I could use the manual I suppose, but that would require sitting in my car and figuring out what stations I want, then reading the manual, then actually programming them. I do love the seat warmer, though.

I don’t have my phone hooked up. I did in the past, but when I got a new phone, I didn’t hook the new phone up. It’s confusing and I don’t like talking on the speaker anyway, and I don’t get a lot of calls so it’s ok that it’s not hooked up.

I don’t like cruise control and so I don’t use it. There’s some type of efficiency button which makes the engine more efficient but gives less power, and I never use that. I like power and speed and don’t like the sluggishness when the button is pushed.

I have a Honda CRV and it’s about 7 years old, so it doesn’t have a touch screen. It has a big screen but it’s not a touch screen.

I love the cameras and use them for backing up and parking.

Newer cars have alarms on the side mirrors which my car doesn’t have, and I like those when I rent cars.

No interest. My car is basic. I don’t imagine I could buy one today with so little crap featured.

@jca2 We have the same car, same year! I bumped up one trim level to get the heated seats and love love love those! The other things I barely use, like you, but a few are nice.

Yes use them all including opening winows and sunroof on a hot with the lock/unlock FOB remotely. (Press and hold “unlock” for about 6 or 7 seconds, front windows go down and sunroof pops open).

No. I dislike many of them, such as:

* anti-skid (i.e. don’t provide all the power you asked for with the accelerator)
* cruise control (tried it, didn’t like it, never use it)
* memory seat positions (confusing, too complicated to learn – I’d rather tune to how I currently feel)
* power windows (slower that manual and more prone to needing more expensive repairs)
* rain sensors
. . .

and I get annoyed when they accidentally activate, such as:

* the feature that if you press certain buttons on the keyfob at the same time, all the windows start lowering).
* bluetooth audio that turns on and plays music automatically when it detects a phone it knows
. . .

I also don’t use the features that malfunctioned, so I disconnected or removed them, such as:

* light control unit (started randomly shifting to high beams for a second – now I have no high beams)
* sun screens on side/rear windows (malfunctioned – had to be amputated)
* CD changer (broken when I bought it, towed dead weight around the world for thousands of miles)
* car alarm (prone to giving false alarms)
* useless drink-dropping drink-holders
* passenger seatbelt warning (would go off when something was on the passenger seat)
. . .

or that don’t work, but can’t really be removed, such as:

* rear-view mirrors that are supposed to not let bright lights blind you, but do, and can’t be adjusted
* the Toyota oxygen sensor that tends get loose after an oil change
* ads for Sony that show on an aftermarket Sony media player
. . .

or features I don’t want, but can’t be turned off, such as:

* accepting wireless communications for potential “updates” and/or commands from who knows who
* recording car telemetry
* lights that turn on automatically and can’t be turned off
. . .

Not to mention the many common features on new cars which are included (and part of the price), such as:

* driverless driving
* interfering with the driver’s control of the car, in response to detected events such as obstacles, lanes, etc
* cellular communications
* video screens
* touch-sensitive screens
* absence of physical dials, instruments, and controls
* voice recognition commands
* keyless locks and ignition
* locks that won’t open without an (expensive to replace) electronic key
. . .

My truck came with a ton of gadgets even though I bought the basic model, I don’t use most of them.
I will say I do like power door locks.

I do, all of them. I even add features but that’s not saying much. My newest vehicle is 15 years old and a base model. Power windows, locks and cruise control are the most modern features they had.

I refuse to use bluetooth on my car. If there’s an incoming call it’s so loud and sudden it could actually cause me to have an accident. The defect is the same across car makes (our old car was a Nissan; our new one is a Jeep.) To top it off, the car will turn bluetooth on in my phone. This makes it even worse.

The dealer cannot fix it. Bluetooth knows about the problem, and they continue on, never addressing the issue!

And the idea that there are states that will ticket you if you don’t use it, well that’s unacceptable!

@snowberry I remember when CT came out with the new, very strict law about not being able to even touch your phone when you’re in the car. That was more restrictive than NY, which was just that you weren’t supposed to talk on the phone when in the car. When CT came out with the law, local law enforcement admitted that it would be a very hard law to enforce, because unless a cop is actually looking at you touching the phone, which presumably is in your lap, they wouldn’t know. That was even before the popularity of Waze. Now with Waze and other GPS apps being so popular, forget it, everyone seems to ignore the law, myself included. OK maybe not everyone, let me not speak for everyone, but I see people on the phone in CT all the time, looking very stupid with the phone up to their ear. I don’t do that but I will hold it and look at it for Waze and if I’m at a light, I’ll text or look at a text. The way the CT law is written, you’re not supposed to even touch it if the car is not moving. (I do 99% of my shopping and doctor visits in CT).

I’m surprised so many jellies don’t like or use cruise control. I love it and use it often.

@snowberry I’ll be a little pedantic here.

Bluetooth is a technology protocol. A messaging protocol that acts as a conduit for data and messages between devices. It has no innate intelligence of its own.

So to say “Bluetooth knows about the problem” is silly. Bluetooth is just a protocol.

Your gripe is with the auto manufacturer who implemented the protocol badly. I’m not surprised that the dealer can’t fix it – it probably needs to be addressed by the manufacturer and designer of the car.

read all about Bluetooth

But blame the car maker.

@smudges I think in my case, with the cruise control, it’s that when I’m driving without cruise control, my right foot is resting on the gas pedal. With cruise control, where do I put my right foot? That’s part of the issue. It might sound silly but I’m just not used to it and when it comes to driving, my first concern is being comfortable with what’s familiar so I can react quickly in case of having to stop suddenly. If I used it more, I’d be more accustomed to it and it wouldn’t feel so weird.

@elbanditoroso yeah,hubby and I have read all about it (sorry if I don’t use the correct names/terminology). Lots of folks besides me have complained, and whoever they complain to, it doesn’t matter. Bottom line, there is no fix, and the folks who could fix it don’t care. I certainly can’t.

If it’s not a problem to them, it’s not a problem! Resolved!

@snowberry you don’t have the ability to control the speaker volume for Bluetooth?

@jca2 What she needs to do is shutoff Bluetooth on her phone, than it can’t connect.

@Tropical_Willie I’m wondering if she can keep it on so it does connect, but if she can lower the speaker volume in the car so it’s not so shocking and loud.

I have a 2008 Honda Fit that has no bells or whistles, but it does have a big boy horn, and I use it liberally.

@jca2 That makes perfect sense. I have back and hip issues which are exacerbated by keeping pressure on the gas constantly and also having to keep my right leg in that position, especially on a long trip. When I use cruise, I just bend my knee and put my foot flat like my left leg. Getting old sooo sucks! Seems like almost everything either hurts (back, hips, knees), is weak (bladder, arms), or has issues (eyes, ears). o_O

On our Toyota minivan I discovered the driving light switch 5 years after we bought the car. I used it on roadtrips when we drove at night.

Our newer cars came with voice recognition. They had poor recognition and very specific vocabulary/grammar. I didn’t want to spend time learning VW-English, Ford-English, Honda-English, and Hyundai-English.

Lane-Keeping Assist in our Honda doesn’t work well so I don’t rely on it. Have not tested it’s Auto-Emergency Braking so don’t know if it works.

@smudges

“I’m surprised so many jellies don’t like or use cruise control. I love it and use it often.”

I also love and use it frequently.

By freeing my right foot from the accelerator and allowing me to place it near the brake pedal while I’m driving, CC reduces my braking time from about ¾ second to 3/8 second.

It also helps me prevent my Achilles tendon from cramping during long road trips, for the same reason.

No, I keep bluetooth off on my phone. I NEVER use it. I don’t remember the exact sequence, but you must have the phone turned off, then turn the car on, and then you can turn on the phone again. if you turn the car off and on again, it’ll hack into the phone, and turn bluetooth on anyway. Something like that anyway.

When an incoming call comes in, it is loud and it is traumatic. If I was driving, and I forgot to turn my phone off, I could wreck the car if it “notified” me of an incoming call. And no, you cannot adjust the stupid volume. It’s not connected to the volume knob, unfortunately. Honestly, we’ve been to the dealership, and had long conversations about it.

We finally figured out how to delete my phone number from the car’s computer, so that’s half the problem solved. It no longer hacks into my phone and turns bluetooth on again so it can blast me.

But unfortunately hubby has chosen to leave his on.

This “convenience” is a hazard.

Edited.

Pretty much, except for cruise control. I never liked it. I like it even less with my new car because if I turn on and set cruise control and lane assist, it becomes a self-driving car on the highway. Tried it once — NOPE. Do not like that.

Features I love:
• heated seats
• triple zone HVAC
• comfy seats
• nice soft ‘leather’ seats/details
• Apple car play

Also has a connected phone app with auto-start/lock/lights, fuel gauge, engine/service status, etc.