Yahoo Autos 10 Most Annoying Car Features
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Every year, we test hundreds of new cars on all types of roads in all kinds of weather. During that time we develop some deep-seated animosity toward certain features, even those that you might not expect.
Here are 10 of the most annoying features, ranging from economy cars to luxury saloons.
1. Touch-Sensitive Controls
As car reviewers, we have railed against the increased use of touch-sensitive controls - electronic "buttons" that have no actual physical button to press - since their earliest incarnation. Consumers complained too, and we're seeing these buttonless buttons drop like flies.
2. Touch-Screen-Dependent Controls
One thing almost everyone likes is a big, beautiful touch-screen in the middle of their dash. They're terrific for viewing maps, album artwork, etc. But we can't stand when a car requires you to use the touch-screen to control a simple function like, let's say, adjusting where the air conditioning hits your body. Yes, we're looking at you, Chrysler.
3. Stereo Tuning Buttons Instead of Knobs
In some cars tuning the radio station via a button - whether a physical one or on a touch-screen - is no big deal, but in many it is a royal pain. Especially when you just want to flip to a station to get a traffic report. Using a knob or dial will get you there quickly; using a button can sometimes require a push of that button to go past every increment on the radio spectrum, one push to go from 101.1 to 101.2 and on and on.
4. Navigation Systems That Lock Out Passengers
In the age of driver distraction, it makes sense for a navigation system to lock a driver out of certain functions, like entering a destination address. However, this lockout is in place when a passenger wants to help out, too. Wouldn't it be great to hop in the car with your co-pilot and start driving right away while he or she starts typing in a destination? Nope, you'll have to keep it in Park and waste precious minutes ... and don't get us started on what happens if a new destination pops into your mind while you're en route. Your passenger will whip out a smartphone app, lickety-split.
