Quirky features on your cars?

[dbias]

I had a Altima rental about 5 years ago that had a low tire. TPMS told me the pressure and which tire. It was very cold and windy out as I got in and saw the warning. Got the hose out and started filling and first the car honked, then it flashed the lights twice and honked. The pressure was right on the recommended fill.

My Grand Cherokee does this. First time I topped of the tires this past fall due to temperature drop I did the drivers back tire first and heard a honking and thought it was the car waiting behind me for the air pump. Went to do the front tire and the horn honked again and I figured out it was my vehicle as it almost made me deaf and I saw the lights blink. Should have read the manual huh.

 

[eljefino]

To increase rear visibility, modern GM vehicles with a rear wiper (SUVs and CUVs) will automatically swipe the rear wiper if the front wipers were on and the vehicle is put into reverse. It will even do this if the wipers were on in the previous ignition cycle (as in, it was/is raining, you're returning to a parked vehicle, and reversing out of a parking spot).

My work Transit Connect does this and I hate it. If the wiper is frozen and I'm not expecting it on, it can damage things.

I'm generally annoyed at engineers who "know better." AC coming on with defrost is another peeve. If I have a cold car and it's 45 degrees out, I'll warm it up with the heat on Defrost just so it's not blowing on me. This leads to condensation outside since the AC part is still working.

Guess then I need those auto wipers.

 

[fantastic]

The 08' Volvo XC90 P2 in the sig is the newest vehicle I've ever owned out of about 35 vehicles.

Not quirky but rather nice features

• Auto-start feature allows me to turn the ignition key forward to position III & quickly release it so it will start. I don't have to hold the key forward until starting happens.
• Both drivers & passenger side windows auto roll up or down if you temp. hold the up or down buttons. I've never had that feature for the passenger side which is nice.
• The manual says there might be a low oil sensor warning that will display on the dash. Not seen it happen yet but I'm going to see if it does by the time oil level gets to the minimum line on the dipstick.
• First ride w/TPMS but I check my tire regularly anyways.

 

[Kantaro]

To increase rear visibility, modern GM vehicles with a rear wiper (SUVs and CUVs) will automatically swipe the rear wiper if the front wipers were on and the vehicle is put into reverse. It will even do this if the wipers were on in the previous ignition cycle (as in, it was/is raining, you're returning to a parked vehicle, and reversing out of a parking spot).

That's a good one, I forgot our Volvo does that as well. Very thoughtful design.

Another one for the P2 Volvo: you can start the engine without stepping on the brakes. More useful than you'd think!

On the BMW E90, the wipers automatically slow down when you're at a stop. I assume this is common on cars with auto wipers?

Also on the E90, there is a secret menu in the instrument cluster that is accessible by pushing a button X times, where X is the sum of the numbers in your VIN. Or something like that. Konami code stuff

 

[Jango]

67 Cougar: turn off engine while in park and with drivers door open and steering wheel would move to the 2 o`clock position to allow more room for driver to exit.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I'm sure there's some algorithm behind this that I'm not privy to. It's just frustrating, only because it's so random.
2018 Mustang. Whenever it's not too hot to do so, I ride around with just the vent blowing. If the heat creeps up too much, I push the AC button, and most of the time, the HVAC system automatically turns on recirculate when I do so.
But sometimes, recirculate doesn't illuminate and I have to push it separately.
I cannot find a pattern to this. I have scoured the owner's manual and posted messages in the Mustang forums, and an answer has not made itself known. I've owned two 2017 and three 2018 Mustangs. They all do it.

 

[paulo57509]

The Highlander has an S-Flow setting:

This function automatically controls the air conditioning airflow so that priority is given to the front seats. When the front passenger seat is not occupied, airflow may switch to only the driver’s seat. Unnecessary air conditioning is suppressed, contributing to increased fuel efficiency.

I can manually manually this function off to get AC airflow through front and rear registers. But the function is sketchy - sometimes it remains off, sometimes it automatically turns itself back on. I haven't been able to establish any kind of pattern to this behavior.

I'm kind of wondering if this is due to the recent passenger sensor recall. However, the passenger seat occupied on/off air bag warning functions as it should.air bag

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCMN-23V865-2958.pdf

 

[jsean]

- 2002 Infiniti QX4 - Adaptive cruise control that’s solely radar based and will decelerate HARD to throw you out of the windhshield if you don’t have your seat belt on and have the radar facing upwards if you accidentally bump it.
- W123 Mercedes diesels - manual shut off under the hood if vacuum ignition fails. Smart engineering by ze Germans.
- Night panel buttons on the Saabs!

 

[MCompact]

On my C43 you activate brake hold by pushing the brake pedal harder once the car is stopped. Pushing the accelerator pedal releases the brakes.

 

[dishdude]

To increase rear visibility, modern GM vehicles with a rear wiper (SUVs and CUVs) will automatically swipe the rear wiper if the front wipers were on and the vehicle is put into reverse. It will even do this if the wipers were on in the previous ignition cycle (as in, it was/is raining, you're returning to a parked vehicle, and reversing out of a parking spot).

This can be turned off in the infotainment system.

 

[Nick1994]

My Genesis has Smart Ventilation, which senses the outdoor air quality to choose whether recirculate is on or not. It also senses humidity and CO2 levels inside the car to adjust as well. It’ll turn on on rainy days even if I have the HVAC off.

It also has a DVD player for some reason I randomly found the other week while playing with settings. I ran inside and found a DVD to pop in and test out. It works! Only while in park though.

 

[ms21043]

You're driving though a parking lot looking for spot and you see reverse lights come on in front of you. So you stop only to realize it's not going anywhere, it's a GM that turns on the reverse lights when locking/unlocking with the remote. Irritating.

 

[Nick1994]

You're driving though a parking lot looking for spot and you see reverse lights come on in front of you. So you stop only to realize it's not going anywhere, it's a GM that turns on the reverse lights when locking/unlocking with the remote. Irritating.

Has never confused me, as when brakes are pushed, the 3rd brake light comes on. Never seen anyone back out of a parking spot without pushing the brakes too, as nearly nothing is a stick shift anymore.

 

[brages]

Volvo "coathook" button on the side of the passenger headrest:

 

[weasley]

Volvo "coathook" button on the side of the passenger headrest:

View attachment 215967

Volvo bag hook on our XC40. It folds out for use.

 

[ms21043]

Has never confused me, as when brakes are pushed, the 3rd brake light comes on. Never seen anyone back out of a parking spot without pushing the brakes too, as nearly nothing is a stick shift anymore.

Lol, not confusing just quirky and irritating. Especially if someone 2 cars ahead of you is holding up traffic in a parking lot thinking the car with the reverse lights on is backing up. Backing out of a spot without brakes? Do it all the time, my Focus has a manual trans.

 

[JohnnyG]

Speaking of dash lighting, my 1999 STS had a button on the dash that would turn off all the dash lights, except for a small speed display. It was great for driving at night. I wish my current car had that feature.

 

[alarmguy]

I HATE the fact that every time I turn off my Chevy Traverse the "recirculate" feature on the HVAC system defaults back to bringing in fresh air once I start the car again. Every time we go shopping or short stops I have to remember to turn it back on which is a pain in the hot weather because I forget all the time.

 

[dumkid]

No cabin air filter on the 2001 Monteros. It just sucks in leaves and dust

 

[TmanP]

A few off the top of my head:

-my former Buick Lacrosse used both of the door lock buttons (on both front doors) as the interior trunk release - you’d just hold them up in the unlock position for a couple seconds.

-my Camry keeps the gas gauge and odometer active for 10 minutes after shutting off the car, which I suppose could be useful if you parked it and didn’t remember if you needed gas (kind of a stretch).