Quirky features on your cars?

[PF52]

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

I think that was the norm once upon a time. None of my older cars had cabin air filters. I remember one car where I had to remove the blower motor and clean the area behind it, which I think was the surface of the heater core. Without a filter, the heater core got all clogged with dust and pollen and stuff.

My 2002 Impala has a filter, but it's in a strange place - underneath the windshield-wiper cowl. Makes me wonder if the eventual "behind the glove compartment" location hadn't really been thought of yet when that car was designed.

 

[nomas]

My 2018 Titan has a Sig P365 in the console . I can't find any reference to it in the manual .

 

[JimPghPA]

On my 2016 Honda CR- V EX, I added:

Weather Teck front mats,

Wheel-Skin leather steering wheel wrap,

Had a body shop rool back the upper lip of the back hatch and paint it and put on new gas struts from lift-support-depo that open up a lot more so I no longer accidentally hit my head on the side of the lid when it's open when i'm stepping off a curb beside the back of the vehicle.

Upgraded from 51R battery to 24F including new tray and battery cover from a 2012 Odyssey.

Had a stereo shop put in 0 gauge wire (big 3 upgrade) 350 Amp fuse, and ran the 0 gauge to come out under the back of front passenger seat with a high current quick connect on it. And installed a 350 Amp 200 Amp at idle (tested at 185 Amps at idle new by manufacturer (Apex)) alternator. And I had to put a shorter serpentine belt on to make up for the difference in belt length required because the pulley on the apex alterlater is smaller so that it rotates faster. And I bought a 2200 Watt / 4400 Watt peak high Reliability 12 V DC to 120 AC inverter made by Mean-Well, and stereo shop put on matching high current connector and 0 gauge wiring and put velcro on the bottom of the inverter so it will not slide around.

Note that this vehicle gets four hours to the gallon when idling after warmed up. The furnace I have draws 3.5 Amps and runs about 60 % on the coldest winter nights and the fridge about 2 Amps on defrost (max draw). I figure with the extra load of the alternator loading down the system that I can get at least 3 hours per gallon.
And I generally keep the fuel tank pretty full in the wintertime. Because now the vehicle is my goto first choice backup electric power.

(I also have a 2000 Watt gasoline inverter generator, but who wants to mess with that when there's snow on the ground and it's cold and snowing or freezing rain.)

Installed a hidden hatch in the back floor by the inverter area show that a twelve Gauge outdoor rated extension cord that is a 100 feet long can be routed up from under the vehivle into the vehicle tied around a seat leg and connectd to the inverter.

About 2000 songs on a flash-drive to listen to while driving.

Custom license plate cover.

 

[Toy4x4]

The music does not stay paused in the 5.0. Once you hit the button and turn off the car, upon startup, the music starts playing. This is through the thumb drive playing mp3s. Every other stereo I've had over more than three decades, whether OEM or aftermarket, CD or mp3, it stays paused until you unpause it.

 

[dogememe]

The music does not stay paused in the 5.0. Once you hit the button and turn off the car, upon startup, the music starts playing. This is through the thumb drive playing mp3s. Every other stereo I've had over more than three decades, whether OEM or aftermarket, CD or mp3, it stays paused until you unpause it.

Yes, I hate the GM audio logic on car power on so I guess it's not just Ford getting it wrong.

Since I'm always using CarPlay or Bluetooth, but those take a while to connect, it goes back to whatever random radio station. I hate that and would rather just have silence until I plug my phone into CarPlay or Bluetooth connects. It's also annoying when I pull up to a ChargePoint where I have to tap my phone... I unplug my phone and it immediately goes to FM radio instead of just staying quiet til I get back in and reconnect my phone.

 

[14Accent]

My Regal doesn't have an interior trunk release ANYWHERE. The only way to open the trunk is using the fob or the touch pad on the trunk itself.

It's REALLY annoying when you don't have the keys on hand.

 

[dumkid]

I think that was the norm once upon a time. None of my older cars had cabin air filters. I remember one car where I had to remove the blower motor and clean the area behind it, which I think was the surface of the heater core. Without a filter, the heater core got all clogged with dust and pollen and stuff.

My 2002 Impala has a filter, but it's in a strange place - underneath the windshield-wiper cowl. Makes me wonder if the eventual "behind the glove compartment" location hadn't really been thought of yet when that car was designed.

It has a spot for one behind the glovebox, they just didn't install the filter at the factory. All 2001-2003 monteros are like this as far as I know

 

[Kantaro]

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.

Is this still a thing? I also hated this.

 

[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

Just to close the loop - I got this figured out.

Turning off the S-Flow via the Multimedia screen will allow airflow thru all the registers when just the driver is present. The s-Flow function turns back on after the engine is shut off and 60 minutes has elapsed. This is why the function appeared sketchy.

I turned off the S-Flow function via the OBDII port and Carista EVO. What this does is it disables the 60 minute automatic "reset". The S-Flow function will remain in whatever state it's in when changed thru the Multimedia screen.

Also, there are no seat sensors in the rear seats. It seems that the presence of passengers in the rear seats is determined by the rear doors opening and closing. Might also include the buckling of the seat belt(s).

 

[SHOZ]

Hyundai uses an ultrasonic senor for the rear seat passengers in their latest versions.

 

[WylieCoyote]

My '24 Forte has a climate control feature, thankfully that can be disabled, that turns the AC on whether you want it or not. I sit in an air-conditioned environment all day at work, so on my way to work, and on my way home, unless it's prohibitively hot, I prefer to just run the vent. During the first few days of ownership, it would just start blowing cold, instead of just fresh air, on its own with no input from me. You have to go into a menu and turn off the automatic dehumidification to just get fresh air. I love the rest of the features on this car, but the babysitting features are a little annoying. I like the AC to run only when I need it.

 

[Nyati]

My Porsche will measure to top speed that you hit on a trip while driving.

 

[SHOZ]

Any car with android auto or apple carplay report all kinds of data back to the manufacturer who then sells that info. They can get info from your phone too if it's connected.

 

[jakeuten]

Walk away lock on my Mazda isn’t all that unique, but it sure is handy. It’s not 100% perfect, but I’m at about 99% now after realizing my door has to be the last one to close.