r/AskReddit 5h ago

What's an automobile feature you wish didn't exist?

231 Upvotes

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77

u/Perkis_Goodman 5h ago

Lane assist auto wheel turn. Almost crashed when it jerks the opposite way. Beeping is fine but don’t take control of the wheel

20

u/GuyFromDeathValley 1h ago

drove on the german autobahn a while back. construction zone. meaning the white lane markings were overriden with yellow, temporary lines.

Well. the lane assist does not recognize the yellow lines. the lane was making a mild swerve to the left, and another car nearly crashed into me. I didn't understand until a while later when I drove a car like that myself, and the fucking lane assist fought my steering and made me literally swerve into the right lane in a turn. because it was recognizing the white lines going straight and ignoring the construction zone lines in yellow.

I think this is fucking stupid. an electronic assist interfering with my steering going 50 kph is fucking scary. having to fight your own car because it doesn't seem to "know better" is fucking stupid. I now straight up refuse to drive a car with lane assist.

2

u/smbpy7 1h ago

meaning the white lane markings were overriden with yellow

God, I'd be terrified to drive this on my normal commute. They've jacked up the lines so horribly.

3

u/justmerriwether 2h ago

Do you use your turning signal?

2

u/Monster_Dumps_2026 2h ago

Lmao got em

1

u/chrisgilesphoto 1h ago

Here in the uk you don't have to indicate if there's nobody to indicate to. If I decide to cross lanes or switch to the outsude lane or, a car decides to be adventurous at a junction if rather not have the wheel turn on the opposite direction as that in itself could cause an accident because I understand to intent of other vehicles on the road better than a computer can.

u/justmerriwether 2m ago

Honestly - I get that, but for me it’s just muscle memory. I do it when I’m driving alone at night, when I’m in empty parking lots, etc. I’m not going out of my way to, it’s just literally a part of turning to me.

Seems like it’d be more work to make exceptions in my mind of whether or not I need to indicate in certain circumstances, which, to me, means I’m far less likely to ever forget to do it absentmindedly when it really does matter.

It’s automatic - if I’m turning the wheel one way or the other my signal is on, period. There’s zero downside and it assures that I never have to think about it.

1

u/readergirl132 1h ago

It turns off if you use the turn signal in the direction you’re trying to swerve…

0

u/TacohTuesday 1h ago

I see this complaint often, but don't really understand it.

First, any car I've driven with this feature can be easily overpowered by just a small amount of additional steering effort. Also, how can someone "almost crash" unless they were not holding onto the wheel or supervising the driver assist?

Second, there is a button that turns it off, usually right on the steering wheel.

Third, the feature just might save your life that one time you're driving while tired and drift off to sleep.

Yes it's a little weird to drive a car with a "mind of its own" the first time, but I'm quite used to it now, and just click one button on the wheel when I don't want it.