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The cruise control buttons being next to the handbrake button reminded me of the worst car I drove, I don’t remember the model, but the brand was Mercedes: The

The cruise control buttons being next to the handbrake button reminded me of the worst car I drove, I don’t remember the model, but the brand was Mercedes: The handbrake button was located on the windshield wipers handle, at the top of the handle itself. I had the misfortune to hit that button going 75 miles/hour while trying to find how to do something else (I can’t recall what). Thankfully the car detected I was going fast and quickly disengaged the parking brake. What a stupid idea to put such a dangerous button in such a weird place ... edit: as gambiting commented, the button I am referring to is the P button, it is located on a stalk on the right hand side of the wheel, which is dedicated to shifting P N D R. It is not on the windshield wipers stalk. The windshield wiper stalk on this car is located on the left hand side of the wheel, above another stalk for the turn signals. Driving this Mercedes was utterly confusing.

gambiting 7y ago
That was never the case in any Mercedes ever - in some automatic models the "P" mode switch is at the top of the stalk(you use the entire stalk to move between R N D modes), correct. But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing - you get a beep telling you that you can't do this right now. The actual handbrake button is usually below the lights switch next to the steering wheel on the door side.
- gouggoug 7y ago
  > the "P" mode switch is at the top of the stalk, correct You are correct, I am referring to the Parking button, not the handbrake, my bad. However... > But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing This isn't true. In my case it definitely beeped, but also, jerked the car.
- rsync 7y ago
  "But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing - you get a beep telling you that you can't do this right now." Not quite ... We owned a 2013 Mercedes E320 4matic (wagon) (US version) and although these did not happen often, you could: 1) Hit park while idling and lurch to a park even though you were driving >0 MPH. 2) If you were creeping along into a difficult parking space and you opened the door at, say, 1-2 MPH to look down at the divider line or something, the car would insta-lock into Park. I assume it is a safety measure or something as the door was, indeed, open, but I really don't want the major driving mode of the car auto-selected for me ... also it's quite a KER-CHUNK to throw it into park at 1 MPH ...
  - todd8 7y ago
    I knew someone who told me his wife stopped at their mailbox to pick up mail and neglected to put their Mercedes in park when she opened the door. The car, while idling ran over (some part of) her! I'm not sure how hurt she was, but I've met her and she seems just fine now. He claims that because of this incident (and I suspect others like it) in new Mercedes opening a door automatically puts the car in park.
    - gambiting 7y ago
      Yes, and it's an incredibly hated feature by the owners of the G class who actually use those cars off road - you're in the middle of a difficult manouvre and need to open the door to look at clearance - bam, car goes into park.
rsync 7y ago
"edit: as gambiting commented, the button I am referring to is the P button, it is located on a stalk on the right hand side of the wheel, which is dedicated to shifting P N D R. It is not on the windshield wipers stalk. The windshield wiper stalk on this car is located on the left hand side of the wheel, above another stalk for the turn signals. Driving this Mercedes was utterly confusing. " I completely agree. As I mention further down, we had a E350 4matic wagon for several years and even after 3+ years of driving it regularly, if I pulled into a parking spot and needed to: - Shift into park - Turn off radio - Turn off ignition They are all identical button presses. I would often do them in a weird order or hit park and wonder why the radio was still on ... or worse, would need to quickly mute radio while driving and reach up to press P on the stalk since that's my muscle memory (I never actually did that). I am neither a dummy nor am I uncoordinated - it's really striking how having a bunch of "stop actions" all be identical tactile actions jumbles up. The primary drive interface for the automobile should be a different physical interface than the radio or the cruise control or the map screen. You should shift into gears/modes - not button press or gesture or voice into them.

gambiting 7y ago

That was never the case in any Mercedes ever - in some automatic models the "P" mode switch is at the top of the stalk(you use the entire stalk to move between R N D modes), correct. But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing - you get a beep telling you that you can't do this right now. The actual handbrake button is usually below the lights switch next to the steering wheel on the door side.

gouggoug 7y ago
> the "P" mode switch is at the top of the stalk, correct You are correct, I am referring to the Parking button, not the handbrake, my bad. However... > But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing This isn't true. In my case it definitely beeped, but also, jerked the car.
rsync 7y ago
"But pressing the button while moving does absolutely nothing - you get a beep telling you that you can't do this right now." Not quite ... We owned a 2013 Mercedes E320 4matic (wagon) (US version) and although these did not happen often, you could: 1) Hit park while idling and lurch to a park even though you were driving >0 MPH. 2) If you were creeping along into a difficult parking space and you opened the door at, say, 1-2 MPH to look down at the divider line or something, the car would insta-lock into Park. I assume it is a safety measure or something as the door was, indeed, open, but I really don't want the major driving mode of the car auto-selected for me ... also it's quite a KER-CHUNK to throw it into park at 1 MPH ...
- todd8 7y ago
  I knew someone who told me his wife stopped at their mailbox to pick up mail and neglected to put their Mercedes in park when she opened the door. The car, while idling ran over (some part of) her! I'm not sure how hurt she was, but I've met her and she seems just fine now. He claims that because of this incident (and I suspect others like it) in new Mercedes opening a door automatically puts the car in park.
  - gambiting 7y ago
    Yes, and it's an incredibly hated feature by the owners of the G class who actually use those cars off road - you're in the middle of a difficult manouvre and need to open the door to look at clearance - bam, car goes into park.

rsync 7y ago

"edit: as gambiting commented, the button I am referring to is the P button, it is located on a stalk on the right hand side of the wheel, which is dedicated to shifting P N D R. It is not on the windshield wipers stalk. The windshield wiper stalk on this car is located on the left hand side of the wheel, above another stalk for the turn signals. Driving this Mercedes was utterly confusing. " I completely agree. As I mention further down, we had a E350 4matic wagon for several years and even after 3+ years of driving it regularly, if I pulled into a parking spot and needed to: - Shift into park - Turn off radio - Turn off ignition They are all identical button presses. I would often do them in a weird order or hit park and wonder why the radio was still on ... or worse, would need to quickly mute radio while driving and reach up to press P on the stalk since that's my muscle memory (I never actually did that). I am neither a dummy nor am I uncoordinated - it's really striking how having a bunch of "stop actions" all be identical tactile actions jumbles up. The primary drive interface for the automobile should be a different physical interface than the radio or the cruise control or the map screen. You should shift into gears/modes - not button press or gesture or voice into them.