7 ms·

On one hand, you really do not want this part to fail. On the other, why is it this complicated in the first place? These overcomplicated shift levers that you

On one hand, you really do not want this part to fail. On the other, why is it this complicated in the first place? These overcomplicated shift levers that you need to watch a video to understand seem to be an industry fad — one of them in a Chrysler product (IIRC) killed a Star Trek actor a few years ago.

amluto 4y ago
Tactile feedback (like something that actually locks into a park position when it’s in park) is genuinely useful. Tesla uses a little lever with four possible momentary positions. There is no way to feel whether you have actually selected the correct mode. You’re choices are to either look at the instrument cluster and read the gear status or to actually try driving the car. This is made worse by the fact that, on level ground with creep off, park and drive behave identically unless someone presses the accelerator or tries pushing the car. On the flip side, I’ve driven a BMW with a really amazing 2D joystick with software controlled detents corresponding to buttons on the infotainment screen. I’m not convinced it’s a good idea, but the engineering is awesome.
- doubled112 4y ago
  I don’t like a lot of the UI/UX decisions in modern cars. Every manual transmission I’ve ever driven has given an incredible amount of tactile feedback when you get it wrong. You know you’re parked because you’ve pulled a (relatively) big lever. A little knob or momentary buttons make me uncomfortable. I’d be waiting for feedback but never receiving it. Another example of waiting for something to happen, then nothing happens is start/stop engines. My foot goes down, nothing happens, I give more fuel, still nothing, engine starts and we’re really going. I’m sure I’d get used to it, but I don’t like it. Just do what you’re told, car.
  - lttlrck 4y ago
    start/stop isn't triggered by the accelerator. The engine starts immediately when the brake is released. For most drivers it is unnoticeable. I don't like it but that's because there is little intelligence deciding when it should stop in the first place, though you can kind of regulate it by being extremely light on the pedal.
  - vel0city 4y ago
    As someone else mentioned, start/stop isn't usually triggered by the gas pedal but by releasing the brake. You're probably pretty quick to go from the brake to the gas for your car's start/stop, practice getting off the brake a hair earlier than you do currently. You probably won't roll much since you've got a dead engine holding the car, so don't worry about needing to be quick. I've driven some cars with start/stop and while it was a bit of a different feel for it originally I managed to get the timing down pretty well to have the car do what I wanted. Start/stop isn't driven by a random number generator you can figure out when it'll kill it and how long it goes from getting off the brake to the time it starts. Then it's just like every other tool in the car.
elvis70 4y ago
Yes, it was a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/death-star-trek-actor-highlights-concerns-about-faulty-electronic-shifters-n595751 https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/death-star-trek-actor...
wil421 4y ago
The shifter was a Bosch part IIRC and was very similar to Audi shifters. Since then if you open your door and depress the brake it will automatically go into park. They also changed the shifter in 2016. 2014/15 model Grand Cherokees have it and many people complained about it.
izacus 4y ago
It truly is bizarre - I've driven a lot of cars lately and this exact BMW shifter took the cake of the most unintutitive and annoying to use by far. (And it's not even the most dumbass UX decision in that BMW by far.)
- RedShift1 4y ago
  I don't get it. All these joystick gear selectors work the same. Push and hold a button and move it to the setting you want. What is unintuitive and annoying about this?
  - gonesilent 4y ago
    Chrysler's attempt at a reimagined shifter killed Star Trek's Chekov. Couldn't tell when it was in park...
    - sgt 4y ago
      This type of technology has to work even when you have a "weak" moment of lapse in judgement. Everyone has those, at the very least a few in your adult lifetime.
  - izacus 4y ago
    Ah sorry, the 1 series I just drove also had an "unlock" button on the left side so you had to hold it in a rather unnatural way to get it to move around. And the separate "P" button is also something that kept throwing me off. In comparison, Mazda I drove had much much simpler approach - grab the stick, push it all the way forward for Park, push it all the way back for Drive. That's it. The "unlock" button was under the index finger so you just grabbed it naturally. (In general, Mazda felt much better thought out inside than VWs, BMWs and MBs I drove.)
- t0mas88 4y ago
  Exact opposite experience for me, I can use this thing without looking and it does exactly what's expected. It also does manual shifting the right way around, pull to shift up, push to shift down. That's how every sequential racing gearbox works. But somehow a lot of non-sports brands do their manual control the wrong way around.

amluto 4y ago

Tactile feedback (like something that actually locks into a park position when it’s in park) is genuinely useful. Tesla uses a little lever with four possible momentary positions. There is no way to feel whether you have actually selected the correct mode. You’re choices are to either look at the instrument cluster and read the gear status or to actually try driving the car. This is made worse by the fact that, on level ground with creep off, park and drive behave identically unless someone presses the accelerator or tries pushing the car. On the flip side, I’ve driven a BMW with a really amazing 2D joystick with software controlled detents corresponding to buttons on the infotainment screen. I’m not convinced it’s a good idea, but the engineering is awesome.

doubled112 4y ago
I don’t like a lot of the UI/UX decisions in modern cars. Every manual transmission I’ve ever driven has given an incredible amount of tactile feedback when you get it wrong. You know you’re parked because you’ve pulled a (relatively) big lever. A little knob or momentary buttons make me uncomfortable. I’d be waiting for feedback but never receiving it. Another example of waiting for something to happen, then nothing happens is start/stop engines. My foot goes down, nothing happens, I give more fuel, still nothing, engine starts and we’re really going. I’m sure I’d get used to it, but I don’t like it. Just do what you’re told, car.
- lttlrck 4y ago
  start/stop isn't triggered by the accelerator. The engine starts immediately when the brake is released. For most drivers it is unnoticeable. I don't like it but that's because there is little intelligence deciding when it should stop in the first place, though you can kind of regulate it by being extremely light on the pedal.
- vel0city 4y ago
  As someone else mentioned, start/stop isn't usually triggered by the gas pedal but by releasing the brake. You're probably pretty quick to go from the brake to the gas for your car's start/stop, practice getting off the brake a hair earlier than you do currently. You probably won't roll much since you've got a dead engine holding the car, so don't worry about needing to be quick. I've driven some cars with start/stop and while it was a bit of a different feel for it originally I managed to get the timing down pretty well to have the car do what I wanted. Start/stop isn't driven by a random number generator you can figure out when it'll kill it and how long it goes from getting off the brake to the time it starts. Then it's just like every other tool in the car.

elvis70 4y ago

Yes, it was a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/death-star-trek-actor-highlights-concerns-about-faulty-electronic-shifters-n595751 https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/death-star-trek-actor...

wil421 4y ago

The shifter was a Bosch part IIRC and was very similar to Audi shifters. Since then if you open your door and depress the brake it will automatically go into park. They also changed the shifter in 2016. 2014/15 model Grand Cherokees have it and many people complained about it.

izacus 4y ago

It truly is bizarre - I've driven a lot of cars lately and this exact BMW shifter took the cake of the most unintutitive and annoying to use by far. (And it's not even the most dumbass UX decision in that BMW by far.)

RedShift1 4y ago
I don't get it. All these joystick gear selectors work the same. Push and hold a button and move it to the setting you want. What is unintuitive and annoying about this?
- gonesilent 4y ago
  Chrysler's attempt at a reimagined shifter killed Star Trek's Chekov. Couldn't tell when it was in park...
  - sgt 4y ago
    This type of technology has to work even when you have a "weak" moment of lapse in judgement. Everyone has those, at the very least a few in your adult lifetime.
- izacus 4y ago
  Ah sorry, the 1 series I just drove also had an "unlock" button on the left side so you had to hold it in a rather unnatural way to get it to move around. And the separate "P" button is also something that kept throwing me off. In comparison, Mazda I drove had much much simpler approach - grab the stick, push it all the way forward for Park, push it all the way back for Drive. That's it. The "unlock" button was under the index finger so you just grabbed it naturally. (In general, Mazda felt much better thought out inside than VWs, BMWs and MBs I drove.)
t0mas88 4y ago
Exact opposite experience for me, I can use this thing without looking and it does exactly what's expected. It also does manual shifting the right way around, pull to shift up, push to shift down. That's how every sequential racing gearbox works. But somehow a lot of non-sports brands do their manual control the wrong way around.