Any Tesla drivers here? I heard of this silly incident where someone forced the hatch shut by hand rather than pushing the button, and by doing so immobilized the car. Apparently, when you do that, it believes the hatch is still open and refuses to move. Don't you love modern cars?
Comments?
Jeroen --the driver should always have the final word-- Belleman
With luck, the microprocessor shortage will drive the car designers back to using knobs that you can grab and turn without taking your eyes off the road.
Or just common sense will do it.
Are you sure you are talking about a Tesla? I have the model X which has no hatches. It has doors and a tailgate/trunk and a frunk (front trunk). I can close any of them by pushing them shut. I do that on the frunk because it doesn't close itself, but have done it on the tail gate because it is super cautious to not harm anyone and often only needs to push something a tiny bit out of the way. If it won't, and I know what's wrong, I push it closed and drive off. I've closed the doors by hand as well.
What are you talking about? I think the model X is the only Tesla that closes it's own doors and tailgate.
Where did you hear about this?
The reason they don't have a choice is the proliferation of controls. Cars are becoming far too complex to put buttons on the dash for everything.
Even in the pre smartphone with everything era I have had a fairly high end car decide to freeze on me because it suddenly thought it had been stolen and on a roundabout at rush hour. The only thing that could be done was push it to the side of the road and await rescue. Immobilisers were quite new and little understood back then. I expect the thieves understood them batter than anyone else!
Roadside assistance couldn't do anything with it beyond dragging it onto a tow away truck. It came back with the immobiliser reset and "no fault found" from the dealer. It didn't ever do it again which was a bonus.
I discovered the hard way after parking in a very tight spot in an underground carpark that entering the car by the passenger door and then trying to start the car would also set off the alarm.
Luckily there was just enough room to open the drivers side door to satisfy the stupid magnetic door sensor (but barely enough to get a piece of paper through the resulting crack in the door).
Another that got me on a test drive (take home for the weekend to try) was a Saab where you cannot get the keys out of ignition unless you put the damn thing into reverse gear. The fleet manager forgot to tell me that crucial detail - lucky we had a secure garage at home.
The only thing it did well was driving at speed on cobbled streets.
Yeah, I like cars that do as they're damn well told. I drive a 2012 convertible Mustang that has a manual transmission and none of that other crap, and intend to keep it going till I die.
Failing that, I might switch to something that's easy to get parts for, such as a 1972 Chevelle.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
Most of those controls are not necessary in the first place.
Right. It's a car.
That's some stupid PHB's notion (or, some consultant hired by same) of how things should work. I'm sure there is formal language that defines that behavior -- for *some* reason (which MAY make sense but likely isn't intuitive to the driver/user)
Many SUVs complain if the hatchback is left open. How do you transport an "oversize load" if you can't leave the item hanging out the ass end of the vehicle? (buy a truck, instead?) You can trip the sensor in the latch -- but then you're still faced with the problem of holding the hatch "partially closed" (there's often nothing to "tie onto" on the hatch!)
SWMBO's vehicle has the controls for the seat heaters located on the center console. So, if you ever set anything on it (e.g., her purse), you will likely turn one or both on. You won't see the VISUAL indicator that tells you this -- because it has been covered by the object. Instead, you'll eventually feel the seat getting unusually warm...
The car is smart enough to remember which the positions we each prefer for the driver's seat (but not the passenger's! :< ). And, our music preferences, station presets, order in which we like to see audio sources listed, etc. *BUT*, always sets the entertainment system to the state it was in when the car was last driven -- regardless of the driver! (so "her" radio station will be selected even if it doesn't exist in my presets -- and, I was listening to a specific MP3 when I last drove the vehicle.
*Someone* had to make a conscious decision as to where these controls would be sited, how implemented and their overall behavior. You'd assume companies with the resources of car manufacturers would have smarter people making those decisions!
An option on I believe the Mercedes Benz E class coupe for 2022 is a cabin fragrance management system. You put the Mercedes Benz-brand fragrance vials in your choice of scents into the locking, LED-illuminated fragrance injector unit at the back of the glove compartment.
Mind you to my reading this option doesn't use the existing HVAC ducting to manage fragrance, it has its own set of fragrance-management blowers and ductwork.
Ok, but people buy them. That makes them necessary for those who make and sell the cars. They can't sell what people don't buy.
What do they have against little pine trees?
I usually join the catch (I catch a pice of wire or rope in the catch) to the ring that usually engages with the catch,
but you can also tie to hinges(and run the rope over the outside or tie to the wiper axle.
on the body of the car you can also tie to the external tie-down point, and internally the child-seat anchor point, and spare wheel are other options
Perhaps something like this would help. ;-)
I'd gladly buy a car with a manual transmission and fewer useless gadgets, but I still want the airco, the auto-darkening rear view mirror, etc. They just don't seem to exist anymore. Cars are computers on wheels these days, with all the weird bugs that entails.
Jeroen Belleman
I put a short length of chain terminated in a steel ring (thickness of the "ring" on the back of car) with a short bungy cord on the other end (terminating in its hook).
Chain Bungy O888888~~~~~~~~C Ring 8 Hook 8 excess chain 8
Place the ring in the catch and let the hatch grab it and "suck it in". Use the hook on the other end of the bungy cord to engage the "ring" at the bottom of the cargo area. So, there is some "give" to the tie down.
If you need to have the hatch a bit more open (to accommodate something "thicker"), move the bungy to expose another link in the chain while keeping the same tension on the bungy cord.
Slip a furniture pad (Harbor Freight) between the hatch and the item its being held against -- and another *under* the item between it and the cargo floor. So, when the hatch bounces -- as you navigate the potholes and speed bumps in the neighborhood -- it has some cushion (I keep several furniture pads in the car at all times as there's often something that needs to be isolated from the vehicle's interior surfaces, even if the hatch CAN close)
[This assumes the hatch can be held AGAINST whatever is sticking out the ass end of the vehicle, under the tension of the bungy cord]I'd not want to drive long distances like this but it has been quite good for the 2-3 mile trip to home depot, lowes, etc.
[Store the contraption in the "trunk" (spare tire storage area) as you never know when you will need it]Hinges aren't accessible "over the outside" when the hatch is going to be almost closed; there's a rubber seal there (the hinges are inboard of the door) so barely room for a bit of twine!
Wiper axle seems like it's an invitation for a "wiper repair"! (That was my first idea, thankfully rejected.)
There are some tie points on the sides of the cargo area. But, the "ring" that the hatch normally catches is much easier to access and better positioned.
Spare wheel is under the cargo area (SUV) so you'd have to remove the "floor insert" to get access to the wheel. Then, where do you put that large piece of "floor" while you're transporting cargo?
Rear seat needs to be folded down. As does the passenger seat, often. But, I can easily carry 12 ft lumber, copper/PVC tubing, etc. like this (furniture pads used to protect seat leather, etc.). Reserve those favors you ask of neighbors with trucks to the really difficult transports!
Would it have been so hard for the manufacturer to have anticipated this? (I suspect driving with the hatch open -- in any way -- would likely be seen as a liability issue.)
In a previous hatchback, I could lie in the back and HOLD the hatch closed. Used this technique to transport many 10' trees home when we were landscaping the yard!
But, this hatch has too much mass (inertia) to be comfortable doing so. First bump would have it flying open with me attached!
This can be countered by measuring time of flight (assuming "keys" aren't repeated and subject to replay attack).
This is just common when folks treat security as an afterthought instead of building it *into* the device/process.
Which "gadgets" (that have software and/or add to the number of "useless controls") would you do away with?
Personally, I can live without the mirror and seat position memory (in MY car -- because SWMBO doesn't drive it: "too big" -- so everything stays exactly as I left it)
I'd miss the backup camera and cross traffic alert system (for cars and people passing behind the vehicle as you're backing up).
And, the gizmo that watches for vehicles in the blind spots while driving (sometimes catches things that I may have missed, esp "determined" road sheep).
No need for GPS (which isn't as good as some of the portable GPS units). And, ditch the moonroof (that came as part of the trim level upgrade that gave the power *passenger* seat). How exactly does that N-way control operate? Am I *sure* it's closed WATER TIGHT??
I would, however, still want that power passenger seat for the times I'm seated in it and want to LOWER it (SWMBO likes it set "high"... so she can see what's passing UNDER the front bumper???)
Sound system is easy to implement with a PMP tied in to the "radio".
Nice to have the built-in garage door openers overhead. But, clipping an old-fashioned "remote" to the visor isn't a big deal. Maybe not quite as "aesthetically pleasing".
Nice to know what sort of fuel economy I'm presently getting. And, a summary for this tankful. Saves a bit of mental arithmetic. "Available miles" in the tank? <shrug> Rarely more than a few blocks from a gas station so the prospect of being stuck with an empty tank is pretty remote.
Cruise control? Rarely make long drives. (but has not been the case, historically)
Oil life monitor? I guess I could go back to keeping track of that in my head.
Driver/passenger temperature controls? How often do you want significantly different temperature regions a few feet apart?!
Yeah, it's nice to have the headlights turn on when needed (?). But, its not like that's a huge labor-saver, for me!
Hands free cell phone tie in? "Cell phone? What's that?!"
Keyless entry/ignition? I've already got to carry the damn keyfob so how's that any different than carrying a *key*?! ("Ah, but you can unlock the door BEFORE you get to the car!" Whoopdedoo)
Speech interface to all of the above? Yes, please get rid of the damn thing! It's far too sluggish to be useful (you end up
*watching* the display -- instead of the roadway -- to see WHAT it *thinks* you said)And, no, I don't need to be reminded to put the car in park when I turn off the ignition. And, don't have a shit fit if I exit the vehicle while its still running! Or, nag me for not putting on the damn seat belt. Maybe I plan on exiting the vehicle (to check the mail) once I get to the end of the driveway!
And, what the hell is THAT annunciator (without any accompanying MESSAGE on any of the three displays)? Did you save 10 bytes of code by relying exclusively on a cryptic SOUND instead of declaring the intent??
What I'd LIKE is something that alerts me to things like bulb failures (headlamps, turn signals, brake/running lights, etc.). But, don't know if its smart enough to do that. OTOH, I see lots of "new" cars with failed lamps and assume the drivers haven't been told of those failures, yet (?)
Or, diagnostics of other "not trivial" systems (low on refrigerant?).
Here, I think newer vehicles are required to have many of these "safety features" (backup camera, etc.). But, for the most part, they don't require any/much fiddling (I think the cameras can be configured for different "views")
Yeah, in other news Elon Musk has been a Republican for less than 48 hours and he already has a hush-money sexual harassment case against him. Ancient story of Cinderella, if shoe fits...
New movie:
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