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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my car is too clever

99 replies

Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:05

I don’t have to put my keys in the ignition which means I spend my life hunting for my keys. It beeps alarmingly at me when I’m parking it I’m close to another car which is unavoidable in most multi storey car parks. It locks all doors except for the drivers ones which means I get out to get children out then realise the doors are locked. AIBU to hate it and want a stupid car?

OP posts:
superplumb · 13/09/2023 14:06

It's quite easy, get a cheaper car

drinkuptheezider · 13/09/2023 14:08

Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:05

I don’t have to put my keys in the ignition which means I spend my life hunting for my keys. It beeps alarmingly at me when I’m parking it I’m close to another car which is unavoidable in most multi storey car parks. It locks all doors except for the drivers ones which means I get out to get children out then realise the doors are locked. AIBU to hate it and want a stupid car?

😂 I have a thick car and an intelligent car. Thick is definitely easier to understand.

PuttingDownRoots · 13/09/2023 14:09

I think the door lock thing is pretty standard.... even our 56 plate doesn't unlock passenger doors unless we do it from that side!

However... ours has also alerted us to a puncture before it caused an accident or damaged the wheel. It will apparently alert emergency services in an accident but I haven't tested that facility!

Original poster
Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:11

My old car only locked doors unless I expressly did so! I find it most aggravating to have doors locked that I don’t want locking!

OP posts:
jolaylasofia · 13/09/2023 14:14

we have a toyota corolla and bmw x5... guess which one we have most issues with. there's always some kind of intelligent sensor or what not malfunctioning on the bmw. it's a nightmare. prefer big standard reliable cars

bridgetreilly · 13/09/2023 14:16

I have a stupid car that is always telling me to change gear at the wrong time. I take great pleasure in ignoring it.

Sloelydoesit · 13/09/2023 14:18

I have a new car as well. It's way too clever and far too bossy.
When I drove it home I couldn't figure out how to turn it off. I had switched off the engine but the music was still going .

Turned out you just open the door

It tells me when to change gear. Tells me off if I try to change lane without indicating. No longer need to worry about a handbrake. And a whole load of other stuff I don't understand!

My last car was a 2008 model. Things definitely changed since then 😂

Minfilia · 13/09/2023 14:18

You can usually turn the auto locking feature off, I’ve been able to do it on my last 3!

Maybe it’s just one you have to get used to, the benefits of car technology usually outweigh the pitfalls.

I’ve turned a few stupid features off on mine like “lane guidance” as it very helpfully tried to stop me moving across to avoid hazards a couple of times and I had to yeet the steering wheel to avoid it, I did raise it with the dealership as a safety issue or fault but apparently its working as intended and the car will only let you move across a line if you’re indicating at the time… which isn’t massively helpful on a single road with no other cars around and an unexpected hazard in front of you!

Moveoverdarlin · 13/09/2023 14:20

All this technology has been available for 10 plus years. I had a 13 plate car that did all of these things and I couldn’t live without it all now.

Buy a super cheap Korean car with all the basics if its a problem. My 7 year old son sat in the back of an elderly relatives Hyundai recently. He said afterwards ‘to get the windows down you had to wind this funny handle round and round a thousand times, it was hilarious!’

Original poster
Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:21

Oh the music thing is awful. Old car was so easy: stick a lead in and listen. This thing involves pressing all manner of buttons. I hate it.

I am sure you can turn off the auto locking feature, but how? I have no idea!

OP posts:
Original poster
Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:22

Apart from anything else though how is locking all my doors supposed to fe helpful??

OP posts:
Mountainhowl · 13/09/2023 14:22

I recently scrapped my 09 plate 308 estate and got an 11 plate scenic, the upgrades in the tech is amazing

Button start and electronic handbrake, the handbrake comes on automatically when the engine is turned off, the wipers are automatic, as are the lights, its keyless entry and locks itself when I walk away from it

I actually love all of this, it's so ADHD friendly (my 308 the key fob battery had died so I got in using the key in the lock, SO MANY times I left the keys in the door, they were there for 3 days at one point 🙈😂), and I found out the other day that it's got hill start assist too, I thought it was just warning me I was on a hill but turns out it's giving me a second to get going so I don't roll. I don't need that, but it's cool!

My mum said that some of the cars at work have lane assist and it will actually try and steer the car to keep it in lane or something, she hates it and it freaks her out but can't seem to turn it off!

Oh, and once I worked out how to connect the Bluetooth it now does it automatically and assuming I have Amazon music app open somewhere on my phone it will automatically start playing music

All probably very old and now commonplace car tech but it's like a spaceship to me coming from fairly basic model Peugeots!

Piony · 13/09/2023 14:23

My husband has been able to turn a lot of this stuff off. It's in the depths of the manual somewhere.

The way it refuses to drive into the car in front of you is handy though, and probably worth a lot of the faff!

Piony · 13/09/2023 14:26

replying to the locking thing...

security? Stops someone opening a door or boot at traffic lights and nicking your stuff, or a child making a bid for freedom. People swiping things from boots at traffic lights used to be a thing.

Wowokthanks · 13/09/2023 14:34

Mine is smart like yours, but its also a bit thick sometimes.
For example, it emergency breaks if it picks up on a shadow that's nowhere near, leaving me looking like a bit of a twat when there was no beeping from the car because there's something nearby.

It also tells me that the speed limit is sometimes 100MPH which is obviously wrong.

I do love my "smart" car though.

D1nopawus · 13/09/2023 14:39

Yeah! Mine auto breaks at car park barriers. First time it happened it scared the shit out of me.

I love it really though. I drove basic cars for a few years while teens were learning and always liked getting in DH's grown up car. I'm now on my second proper car and mostly love the extra comfort and technology.

FirstYouGetTheMoney · 13/09/2023 14:44

Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:22

Apart from anything else though how is locking all my doors supposed to fe helpful??

It’s supposedly to stop anyone opening one to rob you.

DH has a supposedly simply manual Yaris, but even that harasses you if you change lanes without signaling (such as returning to left lane after an overtake) and expects you to tell it how much power goes to the front and the back wheels.

Original poster
Summermeadowflowers · 13/09/2023 14:45

Some of these cars make mine sound like an absolute simpleton - I would have to have one automatically braking!

OP posts:
Puddycatfan · 13/09/2023 14:45

I test drove one of the ones with the lane thingy. Frightened the shit out of me until my partner showed me how to turn it off.

It's the first thing he does when he gets in. I think it's bloody dangerous and should be something you have to activate when you want it and not something you have to deactivate. I assume it's for safety on long motorway journeys.

EeesandWhizz · 13/09/2023 14:47

Moveoverdarlin · 13/09/2023 14:20

All this technology has been available for 10 plus years. I had a 13 plate car that did all of these things and I couldn’t live without it all now.

Buy a super cheap Korean car with all the basics if its a problem. My 7 year old son sat in the back of an elderly relatives Hyundai recently. He said afterwards ‘to get the windows down you had to wind this funny handle round and round a thousand times, it was hilarious!’

I have a 'cheap Korean' car.

It can do 3 levels of beep simultaneously if you're in a car park and someone walks behind (and there's a car/wall in front /side). It beeps if you're slightly over the speed limit at the wrong side of the speed signs - i.e. when I start to speed up out of a 30mph. It is scared of cobblestones and grass, there is 'mood lighting' for the passenger, and after 2 hours of driving suggests I take a break and shows a steaming cup of coffee instead of the speedometer.

It is very needy and neurotic.

lanthanum · 13/09/2023 14:49

PuttingDownRoots · 13/09/2023 14:09

I think the door lock thing is pretty standard.... even our 56 plate doesn't unlock passenger doors unless we do it from that side!

However... ours has also alerted us to a puncture before it caused an accident or damaged the wheel. It will apparently alert emergency services in an accident but I haven't tested that facility!

Apparently one drunk driver was arrested when he crashed his car into a tree and the car contacted emergency services!

I've driven the same 05 reg car since I passed my test. We're now looking at a replacement, and I'm dreading getting used to a newer one.

PuttingDownRoots · 13/09/2023 14:52

I'm surprised cars don't have breathalysers yet!

Mumski45 · 13/09/2023 14:52

Apparently mine will tell me off if I take my hands off the steering wheel. I have decided not to test that function though.

PuttingDownRoots · 13/09/2023 14:52

My friends car has profiles based on which set of keys is used, and automatically adjusts the seat and steering wheel position.

Disneydance · 13/09/2023 14:53

Partner has a new car. You have to set your profile before you can drive. Then when you get in, it recognises you and adjusts seats/mirrors etc to fit. I hate it!