How do I turn on the Radio? Clueless Car Features of this century

[Crusty Trucker]

MAN!!        A luddite gripe session if I ever heard one!   When's the next meeting?  I'll drop by.

[1937hd45]

14 minutes ago, Crusty Trucker said:

MAN!!        A luddite gripe session if I ever heard one!   When's the next meeting?  I'll drop by.

Just back from Google with the definition, thank you. I'd say the automotive Luddite line was drawn after Ford won Le Mans, everything after that was rocket science IMO. 

[f.f.jones]

26 minutes ago, Crusty Trucker said:

MAN!!        A luddite gripe session if I ever heard one!   When's the next meeting?  I'll drop by.

The next exciting meeting is Wednesday, right after the Flat Earth Society get-together.

 

[rocketraider]

3 hours ago, Oldsmobile 83 said:

My solution was not that easy.  This is what the YouTube educated me on how to do it.  Would not have been able to figure this out on my own.

 

How do you turn off auto high beam 2021 CRV?

 

∎ Turning the System On or Off

To disable the system: When the vehicle is on and parked, pull the headlight lever towards you and hold it for 40 seconds. The auto high-beam indicator blinks twice. To re-enable the system: Pull the headlight lever towards you and hold it for 30 seconds.

Tim

And that, friends, is why the majority of modern vehicles blind every other driver in their immediate area. Whether following or meeting, the high beams stay on high.

 

This is one feature I wish was illegal nationwide, or that at least the default setting was they stay on low beam.

[DrData]

Well, in my case it was not turning on the radio, it was turning the damn thing off.

 

we leased a BMW 328 a few years ago (best overall car I ever drove). Turned the radio on driving home. Pulled into the garage and my wife went upstairs. Took me twenty minutes or so to figure out how to turn the Fabio off, even AFTER turning off the ignition. My beloved had quit a laugh when I explained my delay.

[SC38dls]

We rented a car in Ireland and they upgraded us to an SUV. Don’t ever take an SUV upgrade in Ireland bethe roads are too narrow for it and a truck coming at you. The problem was we could not get the car to lock!  We tried pushing all the locks down and leaving by various doors and the locks would open. We tried locking by the keys and they would immediately unlock. We finally said the heck with it if someone opens a door and takes our things too bad for us. We walked away but my wife forgot her sunglasses and went back to get them and the car was locked. She called to me to walk back and unlock it for her. I got with 15 feet or so and the doors unlocked. It seems the key fob automatically locked and unlocked the car based on how close it was to the car. Drove us nuts until we found that out. 
dave s 

[John348]

11 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Its December 9, 2022 nobody I know has a 2022 vehicle of any brand, so the offer to ever drive a 2022 is a good 20 years in my future, I'll be 92 then. Never owned a vehicle built in this century, came close with a used  1999 Oldsmobile, so the question is what features in "Modern" cars are you CLUELESS as to their operation? I'll start with turning on the radio and finding a station in a language that you are fluent in, and adjusting the volume. 

What happened to just reading the owners manual? I have had owned 8 new vehicles built in this century and every one more advanced then the last. The were all either GMC's, Buick's, or Cadillac's. I am about to purchase my 9th for my wife in the next few months, The dealer walks you through everything.

I personally don't care for touch screens and find it causes me to take my eyes off the road, but I have learned to deal with it. Many of the new vehicles are able to receive commands and the driver can hit a button on the wheel say "tune to station 90.7 FM" and the radio will. By the way those same stations that broadcast in foreign languages are received in older cars as well    

 

4 hours ago, rocketraider said:

 

Then there's the matter of these "features" being already incorporated into the vehicle's brain, but the manufacturer makes you pay a subscription fee to activate them. For what new vehicles cost, the features should be included in the purchase price.

I always felt that GM should make the OnStar a feature of their warranty package and have it inclusive as part of their warranty. Other then OnStar and XM radio when I ordered my 2019 2500 Sierra new I am not aware of any other subscriptions. The lane departure I specifically ordered and found that to be a great feature 

Edited December 10, 2022 by John348 (see edit history)

[Oldsmobile 83]

53 minutes ago, rocketraider said:

And that, friends, is why the majority of modern vehicles blind every other driver in their immediate area. Whether following or meeting, the high beams stay on high.

 

This is one feature I wish was illegal nationwide, or that at least the default setting was they stay on low beam.

I couldn't agree more.  At least, the manufacturer should be made to make it more obvious on how to change the setting.

[60FlatTop]

I had an Onstar connected Buick Enclave about ten years ago. I accidentally bumped the door lock when the keys were in it at a gas station 6 miles from home. I knew Onstar could unlock it but their number was in the glove box. I called a local dealer to get the number. Onstar said "No problem". huddled together in their satellite they shot the command and my car remained locked. We realized the metal roof over the pumps was blocking the signal. A couple more tries confirmed it.

There were spare keys in a cereal bowl on the kitchen work table where I toss all the keys. I called my retired friend, Mike. We call him Mr. Happy. I told him to get the keys with the Buick crest and bring them to the station.

Half an hour latter Mike's rusty old Buick pulls into the lot and he parks way off to the edge. Here he is, grizzly looks like Gabby Hates in well worn fatigues walking across the driveway carrying a cereal bowl full of keys and fobs in both hands, looking like he should be begging with his alms bowl. And grumbling all the way.

 

Where were GM's Madison Avenue ads people that day? The satellite had failed but Mike persevered. Let's just hope there is always a Mike out there for a back up.

 

Mike's been gone a few years now. And Onstar is still reporting your tire pressures every month. If only I had a choice.

[CHuDWah]

31 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

...Gabby Hates...

Typo or Freudian slip? 😉 Anyway, you're showing your age! 🤣

[CHuDWah]

19 hours ago, Crusty Trucker said:

MAN!!        A luddite gripe session if I ever heard one!   When's the next meeting?  I'll drop by.

Luddites opposed technology because it made their jobs obsolete and put them out of work.  In this thread, "hidebound" might be more appropriate. 🤣

 

Even my 17-year-old truck has features I don't need or use, but I suppose someone does. And newer vehicles have even more stuff that may or may not be useful. I embrace technology but to quote Ian Malcolm, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

[1937hd45]

22 hours ago, rocketraider said:

And that, friends, is why the majority of modern vehicles blind every other driver in their immediate area. Whether following or meeting, the high beams stay on high.

 

This is one feature I wish was illegal nationwide, or that at least the default setting was they stay on low beam.

I'll pull off the road when being followed by these German cars, then catch up to them and follow them with my Made in the USA HIGH BEAMS on there rear bumper.  

[Crusty Trucker]

1 hour ago, 1937hd45 said:

I'll pull off the road when being followed by these German cars, then catch up to them and follow them with my Made in the USA HIGH BEAMS on there rear bumper.  

 

A good way to get "brake checked". (Look it up)

[CHuDWah]

2 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

I'll pull off the road when being followed by these German cars, then catch up to them and follow them with my Made in the USA HIGH BEAMS on there rear bumper.  

I used to have a car with a photochromic mirror that would automatically darken when the SOB behind me wouldn't dim his lights.  That was a pretty slick feature.  My truck has the old-fashioned mirror where I have to turn the switch to tilt the glass.  Damn, that's work! 🤣 Sadly, neither kind help with the side mirrors.

[1937hd45]

1 hour ago, Crusty Trucker said:

 

A good way to get "brake checked". (Look it up)

I never said I was on his bumper.

[rocketraider]

4 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

I'll pull off the road when being followed by these German cars, then catch up to them and follow them with my Made in the USA HIGH BEAMS on there rear bumper.  

BMW is one of those that requires subscription fees to activate some of their features. Also one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, as far as automatic dimmer sensitivity goes. 

 

If one behind me won't dim the lights I'll either pull off the road or, on four-lane roads, slow down and force them to pass. Then it depends on how ornery I'm feeling whether I give 'em the high beams- from a safe following distance of course!

[jimy]

Our 2022 Subaru has way too many buttons.  Many are for the automatic safety options - fortunately they aren’t too terribly obtrusive so we don’t mess with them. 
 

I would VERY much appreciate being able to put the the car into a special mode where I could push any button and have its function/options displayed on the flat screen display.  Obviously not while driving and likely not with the car running. 
 

jim

[Larry Schramm]

For buttons in a vehicle,  I think the award goes to the first generation Chevrolet Volt.  If memory is correct, there were a lot of different buttons in the center stack including the console.  Most of the lettering was in very small type to boot.  Try reading this at night. 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

2 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:

For buttons in a vehicle,  I think the award goes to the first generation Chevrolet Volt.  If memory is correct, there were a lot of different buttons in the center stack including the console.  Most of the lettering was in very small type to boot.  Try reading this at night. 

 

 

If that was in a gas powered vehicle I still wouldn't buy it. But then again starting a Model T Ford is a challenge to some. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[Digger914]

A few years back I bought a Saab with the worlds most irritating infotainment system, I didn't really want that stupid super smart radio, but I knew I would need that glitz to sell it. Thought I could slip in a normal radio and put the factory unit back in when I was done with the car, but the car won't run without factory radio installed. Really irritating piece of technology, so I turned it off and didn't use it, but the screen was a perfect surface for post it notes. 

[SC38dls]

Until you go to sell it and the buyers say “ The screen is all messed up with glue residue “

lol 

dave s 

[Peter J.Heizmann]

To any newbies looking for the AACA Forum..."Yes".  This is it!!  Only problem is if you are reading this thread you will have to hit the Search function and look for 25 year old and older vehicle discussions.

[greenie]

My wife’s Cr-V watches your eyes to make sure you’re watching the road. Of course, I am always looking in back yards for old cars- so after a few minutes it flashes a message that the driver is distracted. At least that’s what my wife says, I am not taking my eyes off the road to read something on the dash cluster!

[zepher]

This is the center stack of my daily driver.

The physical buttons down below are pretty much all duplicated on the touch screen during various menus.

Still has hard volume and tuning knobs, my only gripe is that you need to push a button to display the current Climate Control settings or see what it temporarily displays across the top of the screen when a change to the Climate Control system is made.

I guess they figure with full auto climate control, including auto defrost, that you really don't need to see what the Climate Control is set at.

One thing I do like is the system has a Driver Only button that turns off the fans for all AC vents to the passengers so only the ones near the driver blow air.

 

[Paul Dobbin]

New to you features have always been a problem for new owners.   I remember about 1957 my father was buyinig a 1953 Cadillac Fleetwood

and my little sister tried out the front seat and was locked in the car, because it had sliding door handles.   Lots of yelling involved.

At age 27 I bought my forst 1934 Ford and towed it home. scuffing the tires at every turn.   Then I discoverd the locking steering column..

I still can;t change the tomeon the clock in the only new car I ever bought in 2006.   I've had 115 cas and it was the only new one.  Still have it.  Good thing Daylight Savings Time lasts so long!

Edited December 11, 2022 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[39BuickEight]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:10 PM, rocketraider said:

And that, friends, is why the majority of modern vehicles blind every other driver in their immediate area. Whether following or meeting, the high beams stay on high.

 

This is one feature I wish was illegal nationwide, or that at least the default setting was they stay on low beam.

Modern headlights in general, even on “low beam,” are too bright and unsafe to oncoming vehicles.  I can’t believe the NHTSA ever approved of them. 

[EmTee]

I had a new Grand Cherokee rental a month ago and I literally could not figure out how to turn the radio on.  Well, I could turn it on, but I couldn't manage to get it to give me an FM band to tune.  The best I could do was get the Sirius/XM demo channel.  I finally just gave-up and focused my attention on ensuring that the Start-Stop 'feature' was manually disabled... 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

45 minutes ago, nat said:

      New vehicles and almost everything made today is pure sh1t, designed to work well for a while before requiring expensive repairs which usually means tossing it and starting over.  Rectangular glass phones?  WTF?

     It seems to me that there is a century old effort to make us/"the consumer" forget how to do anything for ourselves and become dependent on short lived contrivances and systems that are well beyond the average persons' understanding and ability to maintain.

     Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket?

    Merry Christmas.

 

 LOL!  Dad said that.  More than once.  First time I recall was 3/4 century ago.

 

  Ben

[Larry Schramm]

1 hour ago, 39BuickEight said:

Modern headlights in general, even on “low beam,” are too bright and unsafe to oncoming vehicles.  I can’t believe the NHTSA ever approved of them. 

 

I think all Jeep Wrangler head light in low are aimed from the factory on the high setting.  Really IMO applies to almost all Jeep vehicles. 

[EmTee]

12 hours ago, nat said:

 Where are we going and why am I in this hand basket?

    Merry Christmas.

 

"Where's the Tylenol?"

 

[8E45E]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:44 PM, SC38dls said:

We rented a car in Ireland and they upgraded us to an SUV. Don’t ever take an SUV upgrade in Ireland bethe roads are too narrow for it and a truck coming at you. The problem was we could not get the car to lock!  We tried pushing all the locks down and leaving by various doors and the locks would open. We tried locking by the keys and they would immediately unlock. We finally said the heck with it if someone opens a door and takes our things too bad for us. We walked away but my wife forgot her sunglasses and went back to get them and the car was locked. She called to me to walk back and unlock it for her. I got with 15 feet or so and the doors unlocked. It seems the key fob automatically locked and unlocked the car based on how close it was to the car. Drove us nuts until we found that out. 
dave s 

Cadillac has had that pocket fob feature for many years now, which automatically locks the vehicle when the carrier of it gets 10 feet away from the car.  

 

Just be thankful your wife was not sitting inside after you walked away as it also sets the alarm.  Had she decided to get out after it locked, she would have set off the alarm until you returned.

 

Craig

Edited December 12, 2022 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

16 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

 

I still can;t change the tomeon the clock in the only new car I ever bought in 2006.   I've had 115 cas and it was the only new one.  Still have it.  Good thing Daylight Savings Time lasts so long!

I forget what used car I had at the time but it was always nice when the daylight savings time changed and the clock actually posted the correct time. 

[Matt Harwood]

I will admit that I don't adapt to new technology very well. It usually frustrates me and makes me angry. My current daily driver is a good case in point--I didn't like it very much when I first got it and even made a post on this forum about how frustrated I was with it. Part of it was that it had a lot of broken stuff that had to be fixed under warranty, but a lot of it was simply my frustration with learning new technology that I didn't want to learn and didn't need. I'm a firm believer that cars should be easy and intuitive to operate and if I can get in a 1917 REO Speedwagon and make it run without any instructions, I should be able to do the same with any modern vehicle. When there's a disconnect, that's when I start to check out and get angry at the designers.

 

That said, now that I've lived with my daily driver for about two years, I've mastered all its controls and it's no big deal. Sure, I wish I didn't have to take my eyes off the road to adjust the radio on a touch screen, but the most commonly-used functions are on the steering wheel. I wish it didn't shut off its engine at red lights, because as an old car guy, an engine going silent at a light is cause for panic, not relief. I wish it would let me decide when to turn the headlights on and off instead of doing it automatically every time I go under a bridge. I wish when I changed a radio station it would do it instantly instead of with a 2-second delay while the computer figures out what I asked it to do. But I can live with all that stuff because the car has turned out to be a good car overall. I still think physical knobs and buttons in a car are smarter from a safety standpoint, but I'm not making those decisions at the OEMs, now am I?

 

It's the same way every time I get a new cell phone or a new TV. Initial frustration and anger followed by a learning period followed by functionality and acceptance.

 

Sign me up for the codger and fogey department's Luddite newsletter. I don't like tech. But I have also [finally] realized that once I'm familiar with it and the strangeness/newness has worn off, I'm OK with it. I understand now that it's the change I don't like, not necessarily the tech itself. I deeply resent having to re-learn things I already know to accommodate new technology because my time is precious. That's what makes me frustrated and angry. It shouldn't be that way, but it is and always will be. I'm guessing guys were just as pissed off at the self-starter once they'd mastered hand cranking.

[zepher]

I don't mind new tech at all.
My line of work involves modern technology being as I manage VMware environments, network devices and entire server room environments so I am not adverse to new tech.

 

What I do have a problem with, as many others here do, is when vehicles require you go through multiple steps to accomplish what should be a simple one and done task.

Every feature in a vehicle should have a fairly simple way to shut it off and have it stay that way until manually turned back on.

If a manufacturer included the engine Start/Stop feature so the vehicle would meet some Federal emissions goal, fine.  Just give the owner a simple way to disable the feature and not have it come back on every single time you start the car.

 

[John348]

4 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Cadillac has had that pocket fob feature for many years now, which automatically locks the vehicle when the carrier of it gets 10 feet away from the car.  

 

Just be thankful your wife was not sitting inside after you walked away as it also sets the alarm.  Had she decided to get out after it locked, she would have set off the alarm until you returned.

 

Craig

 

The one in my Cadillac does not work that way. If someone is detected sitting in the seats it will not lock, or the alarm will not set. There are different pre-set selections and the one you mention possibly could be one them, everyone has a different situation, the one you mention might work for someone with a pet making a quick stop

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, John348 said:

 

The one in my Cadillac does not work that way. If someone is detected sitting in the seats it will not lock, or the alarm will not set. There are different pre-set selections and the one you mention possibly could be one them, everyone has a different situation, the one you mention might work for someone with a pet making a quick stop

The Cadillac I saw it in use was the first or second year with that feature.    Subsequent years must have addressed the issue of someone being 'imprisoned' inside with no way to disable the alarm should they wish to exit.

 

Craig

[SC38dls]

I’m a computer guy from the old main frame times up until a year ago. Lived with the changes and upgrades. The cost of reprogramming jobs that worked very well on the old machines but wouldn’t on the new and improved versions. When we had to upgrade our accounting computer I refused because the upgrade was slower and more time consuming. I refused the next two upgrades they said were better for the same reasons. Our system worked, was easy to do, we could bill a customer by inputting his name and the dates we wanted to bill him for and it would do the rest automatically. If you put a date in that had already been billed it told you that and corrected it. The newer system had much more operator input, couldn’t recognize an error and cost a ton of money for reprogramming task it couldn’t update. The moral is simple — 

Dont fix what isn’t broken!  
A dial on a radio works a hell of a lot better than a touch screen especially with fat arthritic fingers like mine. 
dave s 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Agree, dave s.  Just WHAT was wrong with XP?

 

  Ben

[Larry Schramm]

2 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

Agree, dave s.  Just WHAT was wrong with XP?

 

  Ben

 

Not enough memory.  I think I remember some guy saying "I think 64K memory is more than anyone will need".

[SC38dls]

I’m still running XP pro as a ghost operating system on my windows 10, emulating windows 7 emulating XPpro so I have plenty of memory and speed. They keep offering me a better deal on W11 but it won’t support the multiple emulations that 10 supports. The programs on XP won’t run on an 11. Therefore they get to sell you more gagetry crap that you don’t need. If they made a free 100% accurate converter I would upgrade. They don’t so I won’t. I don’t need the extra gadgets. It’s not broken so I refuse to upgrade. 
dave s