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Was shifting a huge problem which needed to be solved in automotive industry? Guessing someone wanted a promotion by claiming "I redesigned the shifter". That

Was shifting a huge problem which needed to be solved in automotive industry? Guessing someone wanted a promotion by claiming "I redesigned the shifter". That is exactly how I feel whenever I drive a recent BMW. Besides the shifter shenanigans, the turn signal switch also bounces back to center immediately after activation, such that it is virtually impossible to deactivate manually (e.g. when changing lanes) and I always end up alternating left and right flashes before getting it to turn off. There's probably something simple that I'm missing, but really, I can't think of a single problem this solves or improvement it makes over the existing convention. It seems like having the physical position of the switch map to the state of the signal is a good thing, and that is now lost for...what exactly?

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> It seems like having the physical position of the switch map to the state of the signal is a good thing, and that is now lost for...what exactly? Digital control, I'd guess. It's like those IoT light switches that are just push buttons sending a signal to the control server, because making them reflect the actual state of the light would require putting a motor inside the switch. Now what you win by making turn signal controllable by a computer? I don't know. Maybe it's needed for the autopilot/driver assist tech everyone is putting in their cars now?
joshuaheard 10y ago
For changing lanes, you press the signal shifter part way without clicking. The shifter will return to center and the blinker will blink 3 times for your lane change. Only press the shifter all the way so it clicks when making a turn. Then, the steering wheel releases the click after the turn. Coincidentally, the BMW also has a similar transmission shifter to the Jeep. Push forward for Reverse, then it returns to center. Pull back for Drive, then it returns to center. Park is a button on top.
- andrewflnr 10y ago
  That's still pretty dumb. Sometimes you have to signal to ask for a place to merge, and it takes a while before someone lets you over.
- dingo_bat 10y ago
  I once borrowed a friend's car (fiat palio) and I literally couldn't get it out of parking. The reverse gear can only be selected if you lift the shifter and then shift. I felt extremely silly calling my friend and asking him how to shift to reverse.

TeMPOraL 10y ago

> It seems like having the physical position of the switch map to the state of the signal is a good thing, and that is now lost for...what exactly? Digital control, I'd guess. It's like those IoT light switches that are just push buttons sending a signal to the control server, because making them reflect the actual state of the light would require putting a motor inside the switch. Now what you win by making turn signal controllable by a computer? I don't know. Maybe it's needed for the autopilot/driver assist tech everyone is putting in their cars now?

joshuaheard 10y ago

For changing lanes, you press the signal shifter part way without clicking. The shifter will return to center and the blinker will blink 3 times for your lane change. Only press the shifter all the way so it clicks when making a turn. Then, the steering wheel releases the click after the turn. Coincidentally, the BMW also has a similar transmission shifter to the Jeep. Push forward for Reverse, then it returns to center. Pull back for Drive, then it returns to center. Park is a button on top.

andrewflnr 10y ago
That's still pretty dumb. Sometimes you have to signal to ask for a place to merge, and it takes a while before someone lets you over.
dingo_bat 10y ago
I once borrowed a friend's car (fiat palio) and I literally couldn't get it out of parking. The reverse gear can only be selected if you lift the shifter and then shift. I felt extremely silly calling my friend and asking him how to shift to reverse.