The One-77 steering wheel

[Simpo Two]

Every car I've ever driven has a horn button in the middle of the steering wheel. In an emergency, you thump the middle of the steering wheel and the horn goes off.

Yesterday, as I turn into a shared driveway, I encounter the stern of a neighbour's car reversing up towards me. This person is known for being unable to safely reverse, having once managed to collide with a stationery builder's lorry in the the exact same spot. I hit the brakes and (what I think is) the horn. But no sound issues forth, and the neighbour's car carries on getting closer to a very expensive accident. Evidently she has no idea there's a car just a few feet behind her. I engage reverse and get out of her way just in time.

So when safely parked, I press the middle of the wheel a few more times, hard. Nothing. But the little 'horn' buttons further up on the inside of the wheel rim work. Is it true that the One-77 wheel doesn't have a centre horn button? If so it's a safety failing IMHO.

[Octavarium]

Other than my late mother-in-law's Austin Allegro, the One-77 steering wheel is quite possibly the worst I've ever encountered. Both in feel and design.If yours is faulty, then it doesn't surprise me. If it's designed that way, then that doesn't surprise me either.

[Simpo Two]

Octavarium said:

Other than my late mother-in-law's Austin Allegro, the One-77 steering wheel is quite possibly the worst I've ever encountered. Both in feel and design.If yours is faulty, then it doesn't surprise me. If it's designed that way, then that doesn't surprise me either.

Fortunately for me, apart from the possibly deficient horn button I think it's great

[AMV8Stuart]

Yes the One 77 steering wheel defies modern convention by not having a central horn button. Our brains and muscle memory have learnt the location over many years and it's natural to thump the centre. I remember my 1st (and probably a few more) car having the horn on one of the stalks. I now have to relearn and use my thumbs to press one of the indistinguishable areas of the wheel, not easy when they are so I frequently used. All this said though, I love my new (to me) car and can easily excuse it's foibles.

Edited by AMV8Stuart on Sunday 31st May 18:26

[camel_landy]

In the past, I've been known to give an angry blast of the windscreen washers!!

I'm not sure if there is a defined 'standard' these days but I do have them in a variety of positions in my cars.

M

[Simpo Two]

AMV8Stuart said:

Yes the One 77 steering wheel defies modern convention by not having a central horn button. Our brains and muscle memory have learnt the location over many years and it's natural to thump the centre. I remember my 1st (and probably a few more) car having the horn on one of the stalls. I now have to relearn and use my thumbs to press one of the indistinguishable areas of the wheel...

Ah yes, the indistinguishable areas which are slightly further up the wheel than the thumbs can naturally reach... I thought I'd read somewhere that the little internal buttons were options, suggesting there may be a central button, but it seems not. Thanks for the confirmation.

[Longy00000]

I love the feel of the 0ne77 wheel I think it looks a tad strange but equally its great in the hands butties the horn buttons don't really work. A bit of form over function.
A central horn is far easier but its small thing that I can't really get that agitated about.
That said, I've thought for years that car controls should be standardised with everyone putting everyt6in the dame place. This of course will never happen going forward as manufacturers seem hell bent on using screens for everything and burying stuff in multiple sub menus.

[Super Sonic]

I thought they stopped putting the horn button in the centre of the steering wheel when they started putting airbags in. My present car has the horn buttons at the end of the spokes at three and nine o'clock, as have the majority of cars I have owned, although they have mostly been Japanese if that makes a difference.

[Simpo Two]

Super Sonic said:

I thought they stopped putting the horn button in the centre of the steering wheel when they started putting airbags in. My present car has the horn buttons at the end of the spokes at three and nine o'clock, as have the majority of cars I have owned, although they have mostly been Japanese if that makes a difference.

My Jag XF had a central horn and airbag - as I discovered within about a second of each other just before I found myself abruptly parked on top of a young tree in someone's front garden.

[Go60 Jay]

I’m sure my old Ferrari f430 had 2 horn /buttons, one either side of the steering wheel. Silly design. I maybe tried to use it once in a similar scenario and of course it was too late. It’s natural to go for the centre of the steering wheel if that’s all you’ve ever known. It’s not an indicator that gets used regularly, so you wouldn’t get used to it on the side of the wheel.

John

[Super Sonic]

Simpo Two said:

Super Sonic said:

I thought they stopped putting the horn button in the centre of the steering wheel when they started putting airbags in. My present car has the horn buttons at the end of the spokes at three and nine o'clock, as have the majority of cars I have owned, although they have mostly been Japanese if that makes a difference.

My Jag XF had a central horn and airbag - as I discovered within about a second of each other just before I found myself abruptly parked on top of a young tree in someone's front garden.

Maybe that's why whenever you see a crashed car on a film the car is always going "paaaarp"!

[Davil]

Go60 Jay said:

I m sure my old Ferrari f430 had 2 horn /buttons, one either side of the steering wheel. Silly design. I maybe tried to use it once in a similar scenario and of course it was too late. It s natural to go for the centre of the steering wheel if that s all you ve ever known. It s not an indicator that gets used regularly, so you wouldn t get used to it on the side of the wheel.

John

I think for Italian drivers the horn should be in the boot.

[EVR]

But the rest of the car is so mind-blowing beautiful that this overlook can be easily forgiven, no?

[Granturadriver]

A Vantage advertised with that steering wheel.

And it is not the Button in the center? Where do you need to push?

I know from personal experience how much we tend to act on autopilot. I once drummed my hands in my Smart (daily driver) on the center of the steering wheel—unfortunately, the turn signal buttons are further out toward the edge, and the woman in the car in front of me happily plowed into my bumper. Luckily, nothing happened.

[AMV8Stuart]

I believe that in the One 77 steering wheels for other models (there are some available on ebay etc) they still use the centre push. The structure and wiring are still the same so it make sense. Just had the centre out on mine to investigate why one of my thumb buttons isn't working and its the same as my old Vantage.

[Simpo Two]

Granturadriver said:

And it is not the Button in the center?

The big centre bit goes in as you'd expect, there's just no horn sound.

Can anyone with a One-77 wheel confirm/deny?

[Simpo Two]

Granturadriver said:

Where do you need to push?

One on each side, thus:

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

My Jag XF had a central horn and airbag - as I discovered within about a second of each other just before I found myself abruptly parked on top of a young tree in someone's front garden.

A responsible, experienced, high performance car driver, is carefully driving along and then suddenly a front garden and young tree suddenly moves out into a public road.
There ought to be a law against that.

Perhaps a Nicola Sturgeon fishy defence might have worked, "I didn't see that front garden moving into my path".

One of my cars has a strange horn feature.
After pressing a particular part of the steering wheel, there is always an annoying delay before the horn sounds.
Slow computer talking to another slow computer perhaps.

[Simpo Two]

Jon39 said:

One of my cars has a strange horn feature.
After pressing a particular part of the steering wheel, there is always an annoying delay before the horn sounds.
Slow computer talking to another slow computer perhaps.

It's the same with trains. A few years ago, Railway H&S decreed that every train should sound its horn for five seconds as it approached a certain level crossing. As I live within earshot this got quite annoying, so I enquired why the horn had to sound for five seconds. They said that the horn 'takes five seconds to reach full volume'.

Did the thundering buffoons not realise that a horn that takes five seconds to reach full volume is bloody useless is as a horn and should be replaced by one that works properly instantly?

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 1st June 13:58

[Bibbs]

Had the same issue last week, someone pull out of a junction straight at me.

Muscle memory ment I was silent, well, at least outside the car.

But doing a quick 3 point turn in a mates driveway with the heal of my hand on the wheel and it worked too well.