Without fail by the time I remember the steering wheel switch I have already adjusted volume with the radio knob. LOL
Steering wheel controls are definitely an improvement. And I have to admit that a lot of the young folks certainly seem to like all the âbells & whistlesâ. My son loves them. But for me theyâre just so much unnecessary complication.
I was discussing this with a car-guy friend today, specifically START buttons. Neither of us likes the START buttons. Iâm curious, do any of you who hang out here prefer them?
Now I guess I do not care if it is an electronic button, or a mechanical key that starts the engine, We have both types for our 2 cars now, and imhop the button is probably less prone to failure than a key, as much as I hate to admit a start button is acceptable.
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Key or start button ? Donât care as long as vehicle starts .
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@the_same_mountainbike. I think my 1954 Buick had a better system than the steering wheel controls. There was a little button between the brake and the clutch. Stepping on the button advanced the radio to the next station.
I preferred the starting system on my 1947 Pontiac and my 1950 Chevy pickup to any later system. In those vehicles, you turned the ignition switch on and stepped on starter pedal. Stepping on the starter pedal pushed the starter pinion in mesh with the flywheel and closed the switch activating the starter. What could be simpler? No starter solenoid or relay to go bad. I drove a rental Dodge Journey on a375 trip. It had the start/stop button. I probably stop and started the engine three times in the entire tripâonce at a rest stop, once at a restaurant and once more when I bought gas. I donât think it saved me any appreciable energy over turning off and on the ignition switch and stepping on the starter pedal as I would have done in my 1947 Pontiac. Also, Iâll add a complaint against the rental company from which I rented the Dodge Journey. I was asked by the agent if the Dodge Journey would be o. k. I told him that I would prefer Sentimental Journey. He informed me very curtly that the Sentimental Journey had already been reserved by Ms.Doris Day and I would have to take the Dodge Journey.
They do have an advantage. You never crank the engine too much or too little. You just push the button and the car starts itself. I donât like or dislike them; theyâre easy to adjust to.
Oh, and itâs impossible to crank the starter on a running engine with a start button. Make that two advantages.
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Those two features have been around for a while on vehicles without proximity keys and start button. Chrysler minivans have had double-start over ride (starter disabled when the engine is running) since 1996.
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My 1949 Chevy pickup was the same. The foot operated starter pedal brought the âmightyâ 216 cu in âBabbitt Beaterâ I6 âroaringâ to life every time.
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I like the start button. No more worries about overloaded key rings damaging the ignition switch. A side advantage is that I just walk up to the car, and the proximity sensor unlocks the doors. With the push of a button on the door handle, I can lock the doors. Pushing another button at the trunk opens it. The buttons are a lot bigger than the equivalent ones on the fob, and I can use a fingers to operate them rather than my arthritic thumbs. A big thumbs up (OUCH!!!).
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I solve that problem by not having my car key on a key ring. All my other keys are on a key ring but my car and motorcycle keys are solo.
My wife still insists on having lots of keys on the same ring as her van key, even though I cautioned her about damaging the ignition. Sheâs not the only one.
Old GM cars used to have ignition locks that let you remove the key with the ignition in the on position. My old '64 Nova got rear ended at a red light so hard that the impact pulled the keys out of the ignition once. After the crash, I found the keys laying on the seat next to me.
@Nevada_545 and @Whitey. The 2006 Chevrolet Uplander that I used to own and the 2003 Toyota 4Runner which I still own has a starting system where you turn the key to the start position and release it and the starter keeps cranking the engine until it starts. Once the engine is running, the starter canât be engaged. However, neither my 2011 Sienna or my present 2917 Sienna have this feature. My 1954 Buick started by pressing down on the accelerator pedal. Pushing the pedal.1/3 of the way down activated the starter. As soon as the engine started the starter automatically disengaged. If the engine was flooded, you pushed the pedal to the floor and held it there. This opened the automatic choke and ran the starter motor. When the engine started, the starter motor automatically disengaged.
@sgtrock21 IMHO, your 1949 and.my 1950 Chevy pickups had the best starting system for the mighty 216 cubic inch babbett.bearing engines. Chevrolet called these the âAdvanced Designâ pickups. I didnât find it that inconvenient to turn the ignition on, pull out the choke if the engine was cold, and step on the starter to fire up the mighty 216 cubic inch 6. Also, if the engine was cold and you wanted it to idle faster, you could pull out the hand throttle. No pickup today has these wonderful advanced design features. Oh, one more thingâthe Chevrolet Advanced Design pickups had a passenger side windshield wiper as standard equipment. It was an option on Ford trucks of that vintage.
Anybody that carries a lot of keys around might want to look into something like this:
My own key ring includes a church key, because Mexican beer bottles donât have twist off caps.
Same with Mexican Coca Cola bottles. My 8 y/o Grandson was trying to twist the cap off of one and when I showed him how to use the bottle opener on the Army pocket knife I had gave him he was as amazed as his older Cousin when I showed her how to use the window winders on my 1990 Mazda.
Iâve seen guys cut their fingers and palms trying to twist off the NON-twist-off beer bottle caps
As for me, Iâve had a bottle opener on my key chain for decades. Itâs come in handy over the years. I must say, though, lately, it wasnât me who needed a bottle opened, as I only drink a couple of bottles a year now
That would make you a popular guy. You have a bottle opener and you can be the designated driver.
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Not that popular . . . I havenât been to a bar, pub, etc. in well over 10 years
The last one I was in in the U.S. was in '76.
Pubs in England are truly very different places. Theyâre truly a âpublic houseâ where you can go with the family, meet friends and neighbors, get a good meal, relax for the evening, and perhaps play some billiards or darts. Those I was in in the '80s. I loved the real English pubs.
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