Really stupid design features
Discussion
Blown2CV said:
Tards the lot of you. It's misty because you've got your AC turned off. Just turn it on all the time, it's not just for when it's baking hot outside. Anticipated "but it uses more fuel" or "I don't like the idea of it" responses.
How does AC help with defrosting?If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
kiseca said:
How does AC help with defrosting?
If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
Running air through an AC system removes the moisture. Basically it dehumidifies the air as it cools it (condensation), then when you rewarm it, you have dry warm air.If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
Edit: Very tricky of you to mention demisting before, then cunningly switch to defrosting!
Edited by xxChrisxx on Wednesday 28th January 13:46
MX5 NC cup holders on the center console. Bloody stupid! You cant put a drink in there as it gets in the way of changing gear, but it's molded to carry two cans so you can't use it for putting any useful stuff in. All it does is accumulate bits of change, used parking tickets and sweet wrappers.
SK425 said:
Stupid bloody pull switch for the fog lights so I can't have the rear light on without the front ones on too. They're independent things. It makes as much sense to me as if you had a control that didn't let you use the indicators unless you were sounding the horn too.
Pull out switch, pull off wires and swap over, replace switch - rears now on before fronts. Works a treat on my Skoda Octavia. Light switch shows wrong symbol but icon in instrument cluster is correct.My A3 sportback.
I have no internal indication as to whether the lights are on - If I crane my head down and to the right, I can see that the background light has changed from clear to green on it.
At night - it's obvious - the display goes in to night mode, but in the day when the display doesn't change - no idea. They'll come on when the wipers switch themselves on when it's wet (useful, really) but letting me know they're on. Nope.
And the foglights - same again - it's over on the right and the steering wheel obscures it.
Cupholders in the front - If I put a bottle in them, I can't access the cubby behind it. And it can get in the way of other controls too.
And for reasons knownst only to Audi - I have no cupholders in the back - sounds silly, but I have 2 kids. Who are messy. Very. Bloody. Messy. I've since had a bottle of milk spilt in the back as my daughter balanced it on the seat as there was nowhere to put it. God forbid she put the bloody lid on it.
I have no internal indication as to whether the lights are on - If I crane my head down and to the right, I can see that the background light has changed from clear to green on it.
At night - it's obvious - the display goes in to night mode, but in the day when the display doesn't change - no idea. They'll come on when the wipers switch themselves on when it's wet (useful, really) but letting me know they're on. Nope.
And the foglights - same again - it's over on the right and the steering wheel obscures it.
Cupholders in the front - If I put a bottle in them, I can't access the cubby behind it. And it can get in the way of other controls too.
And for reasons knownst only to Audi - I have no cupholders in the back - sounds silly, but I have 2 kids. Who are messy. Very. Bloody. Messy. I've since had a bottle of milk spilt in the back as my daughter balanced it on the seat as there was nowhere to put it. God forbid she put the bloody lid on it.
digitalsafari said:
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191409793896
Thanks for this link. I've ordered some too.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191409793896
In my wife's volvo v70, when driving in light rain for example and the windscreen mists up slightly, press the button to direct air at the screen, instantly goes to full fan strength and you have to turn it back down tonthw low level you wanted!
Also when ypu open the boot and bend down to put something in or take something out, just enough frame of the car left to smack your head on!
Also when ypu open the boot and bend down to put something in or take something out, just enough frame of the car left to smack your head on!
Cfnteabag said:
In my wife's volvo v70, when driving in light rain for example and the windscreen mists up slightly, press the button to direct air at the screen, instantly goes to full fan strength and you have to turn it back down tonthw low level you wanted!
My Saab's like this too. But in automatic climate mode the screen never, ever mists up. I only press the screen button at the start of a journey when I really want the nuclear demisting option, so it works just fine for me. 
TVR Chimaera. Nuff said.
I have one and its fantastic but boy are there some design "opportunities" in these cars.
Passenger over 5'5"? Want to stretch your legs out? Sorry no, that is where the battery goes Sir.
Want to put the roof down AND be able to use your rear view mirror? Sorry no, you can only look at your folded roof. Feel free to push it down further though Sir, but don't be surprised if the plastic rear window splits.
Want your handbrake to actually allow you to do a hill start? Errr, I think not Sir, that would require the handbrake to exert some sort of braking force on the rear wheels, and this is inconvenient from a design point of view.
Having said all that, its a monstrously impressive car purely because the designers refused to conform in so many other areas so on balance these idiosyncrasies are probably a fair price pay. Probably!
TD
I have one and its fantastic but boy are there some design "opportunities" in these cars.
Passenger over 5'5"? Want to stretch your legs out? Sorry no, that is where the battery goes Sir.
Want to put the roof down AND be able to use your rear view mirror? Sorry no, you can only look at your folded roof. Feel free to push it down further though Sir, but don't be surprised if the plastic rear window splits.
Want your handbrake to actually allow you to do a hill start? Errr, I think not Sir, that would require the handbrake to exert some sort of braking force on the rear wheels, and this is inconvenient from a design point of view.
Having said all that, its a monstrously impressive car purely because the designers refused to conform in so many other areas so on balance these idiosyncrasies are probably a fair price pay. Probably!
TD
R2T2 said:
Fiat Grande Punto.
The bonnet release is stupid, it doesn't "pop" like any others, it just opens silently, meaning you pull, nothing, so pull harder, bonnet handle snaps.
I've had to replace it 3 times so far because it doesn't make any noise and it gets yanked off. (ooo err!)
How the bong is the same for telling you your fuel is low as telling you your engine is about to explode, or is it telling you there could be ice on the road?
And when you open the boot, water runs form the lid, into the scuttle down the sides of the car and meets back in the middle, so if your pressing your knees against the car leaning in, your knees get wet.
FML
Err I think there may be something wrong with your bonnet catch as mine definitely 'pops'. I'll add another one, the idiot who thought it was a good idea to put 'cup holders' in front of the gearstick. This is so bad that it wouldn't be possible to change into first or fifth with the 'cup holders' full. I guess there's another one from that; the fact that you can't really fit anything resembling a normal cup in the cup holders. The glovebox is also completely cack.The bonnet release is stupid, it doesn't "pop" like any others, it just opens silently, meaning you pull, nothing, so pull harder, bonnet handle snaps.
I've had to replace it 3 times so far because it doesn't make any noise and it gets yanked off. (ooo err!)
How the bong is the same for telling you your fuel is low as telling you your engine is about to explode, or is it telling you there could be ice on the road?
And when you open the boot, water runs form the lid, into the scuttle down the sides of the car and meets back in the middle, so if your pressing your knees against the car leaning in, your knees get wet.
FML
99 model Passat. To change the battery necessitates removing the wipers and the plastic cover thing beneath them.
2012 Skoda Superb, heater would always heat the cabin up to Sahara desert temperature first, before settling down to what I'd got it set to (always 21-22 degrees or thereabouts). Sometimes it would never settle, and it's alternate between Arctic and Equatorial, seemingly at random.
Actually, most of the VW ones people are mentioning are fairly familiar as I've had a number of VW's or other VAG cars for years. Then I got a Toyota, and realised no one actually needs to put up with all the flawed design 'features' ever again.
Ok, the Toyota's not exciting (mind, VW's aren't really either), although the drive train is very clever, but everything is designed to be functional and robust first and foremost, stylish most definitely second. And it has a proper handbrake. As an every day work car, it's simply brilliant, just gets on with the job without any fuss, or drawing attention to itself for all the wrong reasons.
The worst thing about it is the 80's style digital clock, which I actually like in a retro kind of way, that's offset way over to the left of the dash and out of the driver's line of vision.
2012 Skoda Superb, heater would always heat the cabin up to Sahara desert temperature first, before settling down to what I'd got it set to (always 21-22 degrees or thereabouts). Sometimes it would never settle, and it's alternate between Arctic and Equatorial, seemingly at random.
Actually, most of the VW ones people are mentioning are fairly familiar as I've had a number of VW's or other VAG cars for years. Then I got a Toyota, and realised no one actually needs to put up with all the flawed design 'features' ever again.
Ok, the Toyota's not exciting (mind, VW's aren't really either), although the drive train is very clever, but everything is designed to be functional and robust first and foremost, stylish most definitely second. And it has a proper handbrake. As an every day work car, it's simply brilliant, just gets on with the job without any fuss, or drawing attention to itself for all the wrong reasons.
The worst thing about it is the 80's style digital clock, which I actually like in a retro kind of way, that's offset way over to the left of the dash and out of the driver's line of vision.
Rover 75 shed - anything below about 5 degrees and the heated rear screen comes on automatically every single time upon start up (why?) - which in turn interferes with the radio - so much that you cannot hear it (was a known fault I think). Same car - auto door locking on pull away, I'm only going 50 foot and then want to get out again to shut the gate. Tried to disable this feature without success.
xxChrisxx said:
kiseca said:
How does AC help with defrosting?
If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
Running air through an AC system removes the moisture. Basically it dehumidifies the air as it cools it (condensation), then when you rewarm it, you have dry warm air.If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
Edit: Very tricky of you to mention demisting before, then cunningly switch to defrosting!
Edited by xxChrisxx on Wednesday 28th January 13:46
Anyhoo..
kiseca said:
Blown2CV said:
Tards the lot of you. It's misty because you've got your AC turned off. Just turn it on all the time, it's not just for when it's baking hot outside. Anticipated "but it uses more fuel" or "I don't like the idea of it" responses.
How does AC help with defrosting?If you anticipated questions, why didn't you answer them?
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