Good Initiative, Bad Judgment...

[EvilMonk]

Okay, I thought about putting this in the Scenarios heading, but it just seems to apply more to Related Equipment, so...

I would like to know others' experiences with "Helpful Features" in daily use items that they feel are potentially dangerous.

Like what?

A feature of my job as Security Chief for my Hotel, I sometimes park cars. This is a perk for me as every once in a while, I get to drive something very, very cool. Maserati, an Aston Martin or two, and even a true original: A One-Of-A-Kind Ford GT especially made for the Gentleman who invented "Crocs", those plastic shoes/sandals. Alright, I didn't drive it, but he drove me to the Valet Parking spot.

He gunned it as we passed 2 Cruiser Cops, 2 Horse Cops, and 2 Bike Cops all talking on the corner.

What did they do?

Gawked and pointed excitedly. I guess even the Police can be impressed sometimes!

Anyhoo, one feature that I think is absolutely one of the worst case examples of what we refered to in the Marines as "Good Initiative, Bad Judgment":

When you park a newer car, I've noticed more and more of them have a dome light that comes on as soon as the vehicle is put in "Park". Some of them kick on the light when you cut the ignition.

This is absolutely idiotic.

Why would I want the contents of the car made known to everyone around? What if I am just trying to enjoy a park view without drawing attention to myself? What if my Wife is alone in the car, and is in a less than savory section of town (more common than you might think right near a city)?

I get the idea that you may want to locate all your stuff before getting out, but allow me the choice to flip a switch (physically impossible for us downtrodden troglodytes?) to achieve this end.

Some cars even unlock the doors for you when you put it in "Park". Helpful, huh?

Chevy is bad for this, as is Toyota, but off the top of my head I can't think of specific make/models that do this. Keep in mind, I have come across cars that will NOT allow you to turn off these "helpful" features.

I have to say that these would be deal-breakers for me. I really would go all through the process of test-driving a car and loving it only to get to that feature and walk off the lot. Maybe then the dealers will start to pass the complaint up their Chain of Command?

Right...

Got any of your own?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Bark'n]

'08 Toyota 4Runner here. I like the doors lock when vehicle is put into drive. I hate when doors unlock when placed into park!

Some features can be disabled by manipulating stuff like the odometer, turning key off and on in certain patterns, opening and closing drivers door, etc. I learned how to disable my seat belt annoyance ring by reading how to do it on one of the 4Runner forums. They won't tell you how to do that at the dealerships.

Again, I like how the doors lock as soon as you put it into drive but not unlocking them when it goes into park. I haven't investigated an override for that yet, but I'm afraid if I find one, it will also disable locking the doors as well, and I don't want to lose that feature.

There are some features which help keep you from locking keys in vehicle. My 4Runner will not lock doors if ignition is turned off but keys are still inserted in ignition.

My '02 Dodge Intrepid locks the doors when you reach a speed of 10 or 12 mph.

[HKinNY]

Some features can be disabled by manipulating stuff like the odometer, .

At first I thought you were talking about rolling back the odometer.

As Bark'n said a lot of options can be controlled either by flip this turn that step on this or going to the dealer and each manufacture of vehicle has there own tech tool that will you adjust the options.

Chysler it is the DRB
Ford it is the NGS
GM it is the Tect II

The average vehicle has 9-13 computers in them. Each computer more powerful than what we used to launch the first space shuttle.
Each year these vehicles are getting smarter. Options like Park assist will become normal.

I have a friend that work for Volkswagen. The steering wheel is not connected to the front wheels mechanically. It is connected electronically. Wheels has a steering servo not a typical rack n pinion.

Here is a case.

Going to an icy road you go into a slide. The car will sense the slide, it takes control (you may turn the wheel but car will not respond) it will take speed of each wheel into account and activate the ABS of each wheel separately to bring the car under control and return the steering to the driver when it is safe to do so. Car can calculate this in fractions of a second better than a human can do.

Scary stuff come down the road.

[Paymeister]

Hey, I need some sensors and servos like that when I aim...

[reyno2ac]

My 2000 corolla does something similar to this. I walk up the car, insert the key to unlock the door, open said door, hit the lock button on the inside of the door to lock it, sit down and close the door, but as soon as I insert the key and turn the ignition all the damn doors unlock!!!

[bladenbullet]

as has been stated in most vehicles these operations can be programmed in many different ways to do what you want themdo do....they can even be programmed differently for different drivers...

so...before we start stating things like "chevrolet is bad for this" we might want to know a bit more about the vehicle....

[EvilMonk]

as has been stated in most vehicles these operations can be programmed in many different ways to do what you want themdo do....they can even be programmed differently for different drivers...

so...before we start stating things like "chevrolet is bad for this" we might want to know a bit more about the vehicle....

As I said, "...off the top of my head I can't think of specific make/models that do this."

I'm not going after any specific "Make" here, just trying to get input on specific make/model configurations that have bad features, and can they or can they not be changed or removed outright.

As indicated, I'm not just talking about cars here, that was only one example. I would like to see if anyone out there has noticed any other "Accidental Design Flaws" that pertain to one's safety.

That's all.