# What pet hates do you want to see disappear from modern cars?



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Many car designers are adopting certain styles to their cars and some of you would argue that most cars copy and paste their designs from other car makers or at least design them to look very similar, (jumping on the bandwagon) as they say and if it works for one then it works for them,right? There are a whole host of features that I don't particularly like that I wish they would just stop implementing. What I'd like to see stopped and completely disappear are fake exhaust outlets and the German marque's are guilty of this and another are those tablet style infotainment systems that always appear as an after thought and that they were stuck on to the dash at the last minute. Please car makers, stop this nonsense! So what pet hates or fashion trends do you dislike on modern cars and want to see scrubbed off the drawing board, I could think of a lot more but I'll hand the baton over to you.


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

Some innovation rather than restyling, repackaging and endless so called driver aids that just bamboozle the driver would help. 
Think about less infotainment, 'lifestyle' and more about driving pleasure or safety. Oh, and quality material on the touch panels would be good from the cheaper marques


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

Touch screens
"driver aids" that promote lazyier drivers


i WISH they would add a 8inch steel spike that pops out the center of the steering wheel when the use of a mobile phone is detected by the drive when the car is in motion,,,,,


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

It's not modern i guess, but newest car i own is 9 year old Honda Jazz and it has an electronic throttle.

I also guess they may have improved it over the years, but oh my what an awful thing it is, the only thing i can really fault with the car.

The less control you have over a car, the less you control you have over the car, simple! I have to base decisions on how the car is going to react rather than how I would act.


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## Snowglobe (Jan 12, 2008)

I concur about the Infotainment system installs. Some manufacturers manage to integrate them in with the flow and design of the dash, others just stick them in the middle as if they have no idea how to integrate.
My present car a Mazda CX3 has this sort of careless design.

I had a Focus which had a headlight control switch that was configured such that it would be impossible to leave the rear fog lights on. Some manufacturers have still to learn how to do this as you still see modern cars riding around for days with their foglights still on.

I never understood why more manufacturers didn't fit electrically heated front screens.

I don't like the move some have made to getting more and more controls on to the infotainment system, so just to turn down the temperature you have to navigate several menus instead of turning a knob.

It's also high time that BMWs had indicators fitted as standard :lol:


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

Erm....

Most drivers should be removed from their new cars and placed in a sealed box where they can't do anyone else any harm......  

More seriously I like smooth, flowing, sensual lines. I was around in the 80's & 90's when add on wings, spoilers etc were all the rage. Didn't like them then, don't like them now (with one or two exceptions such as the original Sierra Cosworth).

Rather going the other way, one thing I would like to see more of is distance sensors that keep cars (and especially lorries) away from each other so that tailgating isn't posssible.

Andy.


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

Snowglobe said:


> ~~snipped bits~~~
> 
> It's also high time that BMWs had indicators fitted as standard :lol:


Totally agree with that bit


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## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

DRL's.....

I cannot believe how many people i see driving around at night with just these on & forget to turn headlights on... No rear lights at night around country roads is asking for trouble!


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

davies20 said:


> DRL's.....I cannot believe how many people i see driving around at night with just these on & forget to turn headlights on... No rear lights at night around country roads is asking for trouble!


I totally agree although I suspect it's less to do with the light emitted from the front but more that the dashboard is lit up at all times so inside looks no different. I mean you'd hope these muppets would notice the lack of light up front but obviously not! :wall:

I have passed a number of cars on the motorways with no rear lights on and just DRLs at the front. On unlit stretches of motorway, you don't see them anywhere near as quickly as you would if they actually had their lights on!!

I don't have any huge pat hates in modern cars, as mentioned perhaps more of a steer to encouraging better driving than making drivers even more detached wouldn't go amiss.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

PWOOD hates that his car warms everything up but doesn't defrost his light lenses.



> Totally agree with that bit


Sometimes it is better to not indicate than to indicate incorrectly - like the pillocks who are still indicating right as they leave a roundabout.

I thought most cars had automatic lighting control, I know my car has it and the car I recently got rid of has it.

I don't like that my car has a rain sensor for the windscreen wipers and not a proper intermittent wipe.


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

andy__d said:


> Touch screens
> "driver aids" that promote lazyier drivers
> 
> i WISH they would add a 8inch steel spike that pops out the center of the steering wheel when the use of a mobile phone is detected by the drive when the car is in motion,,,,,


Interesting point. I remember a documentary a few years ago about car safety over the years. Very good program. One thing that sticks in my mind though - an expert in car safety systems stated that the best thing the manufacturers could do in cars to almost eliminate all accidents on the road would be a metal spike installed in the steering wheel that impales the driver in the event of a crash. Now of course it was tongue in cheek, but what he was getting at is that the safer they are making cars the more resilient drivers are feeling, which increases risk and therefore accidents. So making them dangerous would in fact reduce accidents overall.


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## JB052 (Mar 22, 2008)

Electronic handbrakes


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

Was talking to my wife the other week about the amount of cars around with one, or two, headlights out. An easy way to stop this would be disable the engine until the light/bulb was fixed/replaced. But only at nighttime, giving the owner the opportunity to get them fixed during daylight hours. Btw that's my patent before anyone thinks of nicking it lol


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Tyre inflation kits over spare wheels
Crazy cost cutting IMHO

PS & I'm not the only one :lol:
https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=410425


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

I forgot to mention beeps. 

30 odd years I’ve been getting in the car, starting it and then putting my seat belt on before driving off. But no, the car does want me to do it that way. Beep put your belt on!

Beep you’ve turned the engine off, don’t forget to remove your keys!

Beep your petrols getting low, just in case you haven’t noticed that big pump sign in the middle of the dash!

Beep it’s cold outside, you might not have noticed despite spending 10 minutes scraping your windscreen and getting frost bite in your fingers!

Beeping beep beep...


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Key less entry. I still don’t trust the fact I don’t need to physically put my key anywhere in the car to unlock it, start it up to drive away.


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Cornering lights, why? Totally pointless. 

Touch screen stuff, most of it is pointless. Keep it basic, majority of car owners listen to 1 radio station or music from phone. 

Someone mentioned too many beeps, need 1 loud one if you're in lane 2 of a motorway and there's nothing in front of you.


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## Del-GTi (Mar 31, 2007)

Andy from Sandy said:


> I don't like that my car has a rain sensor for the windscreen wipers and not a proper intermittent wipe.


This. I end up using the flick-wipe or switching them to constant slow speed as the rain sensor never gets it right. Especially annoying if you have a rain repellent on the screen as you need the wipers less due to the coating.

Also:

Small, poorly placed windscreen demist vents
Small, poorly placed side window demist vents
Weak demist/blower fans which, when coupled with the small badly placed vents mean that windows take an age to clear and struggle to stay clear.
The lack of rain/water channel on roofs. 
Sharply-raked rear windows - I'd like a return to sloping rear screens that don't get wet/filthy as quickly.

Why are most of mine weather related! 

Tiny, awkward shaped gloveboxes.
Isofix points that are buried so deep in the seat you can barely get to them.

I'm sure there are others. I should be a car designer. :lol:


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

pxr5 said:


> Interesting point. I remember a documentary a few years ago about car safety over the years. Very good program. One thing that sticks in my mind though - an expert in car safety systems stated that the best thing the manufacturers could do in cars to almost eliminate all accidents on the road would be a metal spike installed in the steering wheel that impales the driver in the event of a crash. Now of course it was tongue in cheek, but what he was getting at is that the safer they are making cars the more resilient drivers are feeling, which increases risk and therefore accidents. So making them dangerous would in fact reduce accidents overall.


id swap the word "resilient" for 
"Lazy, selfish, un-skilled Dangerous and inattentive the drivers become, relying on gadgets that Fail Rather than driving the car appropriate to the conditions"
.

and bring back the 8inch pop out spikes,, would Soon stop the tailgating muppets, the texting/talking/fannyfaceing while driving lot,  Darwinisam has its place !!


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

Del-GTi said:


> This. I end up using the flick-wipe or switching them to constant slow speed as the rain sensor never gets it right. Especially annoying if you have a rain repellent on the screen as you need the wipers less due to the coating.
> 
> Also:
> 
> ...


del 
buy a volvo  90% of those issues Dont come as standard with volvo's


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Silly Audi "dynamic indicators" 

Do we really need an indicator which "points" the direction of turn. Surely thats why they put one on the left and one on the right?


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

The stupid headlights/indicators in one unit. Headlight is on, indicate, headlight goes off, indicator comes on!


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## funkydunk (Aug 16, 2016)

Any of the soft roader suvs that are just about style


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

In Volvo land many of the mentioned issues just don't exist.

Automatic wipers: you can adjust them.

HVAC system is the best I have found in any vehicle. Must because they are designed by people in a very cold country. Lights are always 'on'. Fair enough.

Indicators and lights just work. Interior is laid out as expected. I would really like a conventional dipstick and engine temperature gauge but the car just about reports any fault via the dash, even blown lights so I can forgive it for that.

Would not want to be without automatic radar controlled cruise control, should be fitted to all cars today IMO. Pile ups on motorways just would not happen, the car won't go near the vehicle in front, rain, fog, darkness, it can see even if I am not paying attention.

City safe. Not sure if this works or how, not intending to try to test it.

No need for heated front screen with Volvo defrost setting. Not sure how but the front screen melts pretty quick, must have an auxiliary heater in that part of the plenum?


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

> Would not want to be without automatic radar controlled cruise control, should be fitted to all cars today IMO. Pile ups on motorways just would not happen, the car won't go near the vehicle in front, rain, fog, darkness, it can see even if I am not paying attention.


 use of eyes/brain/foot rather than reliance on a gadget
Rain can and has uspet that, as has snow, anything large enough to trip the system will. 
Thats exactly why it and "city saftey" are Bad ideas
the "driver" is used to reliance on them, and Not paying proper attention to the car/surroundings and condition, same with "BLIS" turn your head And use the mirrors before "sorry the computer didnt see him, thats why killed the bike rider/biker".

they are not driver aids there marketing Toys


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## cadmunkey (Jun 8, 2015)

Giant front grills, look truly awful. Cancelled my order of the M2 Comp because of it, might seem petty but its a crappy design and seems to be BMW's new corporate image. Same on some of the new Audi's.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Pet hates:-

Electronic handbrake.

Horns that have a delay when you press them (if I see a mate, I and up beeping in a big angry manner, rather than a short toot-toot) 

Not being able to move my car with the door open. 

And the fact that I have to use Star Rated runflat tyres, and have no spare wheel....

Cooks

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## macca666 (Mar 30, 2010)

pxr5 said:


> Was talking to my wife the other week about the amount of cars around with one, or two, headlights out. An easy way to stop this would be disable the engine until the light/bulb was fixed/replaced. But only at nighttime, giving the owner the opportunity to get them fixed during daylight hours. Btw that's my patent before anyone thinks of nicking it lol


I partially agree with this and taking it a step further I seem to notice now an increasing amount of drivers with no lights on at all and think it's to do with the fact that all the dash/interior lights appear to come on when the engine is running. Have your dash lights come on with your headlights and it would save this IMO.

In relation to your point the only flaw I'd comment on is what if your bulb blew while driving in the middle of nowhere? Would the engine disable leaving you stranded? If you find a way round that I'll only take 5% from your profits on the patent


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## garage_dweller (Apr 10, 2018)

> Horns that have a delay when you press them (if I see a mate, I and up beeping in a big angry manner, rather than a short toot-toot)


Not really what a horn is for though is it 

I'd agree with the no lights thing, I see at least a couple of cars every day with no lights on. Flashing them doesn't seem to register with the dozy *****


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> Not being able to move my car with the door open.


Which car is that.

My car doesn't go that far as I regularly reverse with the door open. It also lets me go with the boot open with a warning showing on the dash.

I was taught to drive in a van so only had wing mirrors and it was accepted to reverse whilst hanging out the door.


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## Shug (Jul 13, 2007)

Anything built after 1995.


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

The whole communication equipment, you shouldn’t be able to answer phones or read messages while driving.
My cars spells messages out when driving, end up switching my phone completely off when I go in the car. 
TPMS drive me bonkers, why I can check a tyre, the most annoying thing is that you can’t change wheels without paying the garage a £50 to reset and reprogram what a lot of nonsense 

Why don’t headlamps and rear lamps just come on when engine is running (like in the Scandinavian countries) stop all the hassle of driving with or without lights.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Motorcycle lights are on all the time. There is no off switch. It would actually save money on car production as it would remove a switch and the DRLs.

The TPMS on my car works on rolling speed. It changes if the pressure goes low. My car posts a warning if the pressure drops by around 4psi.

I can put what I like on my car and reset the system as required when increasing pressures for a heavier load.

My car has a smart charging system, now that is a pee take. After a new battery is fitted it costs around £100 to have the charging system reset.


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## Andyg_TSi (Sep 6, 2013)

Why the hell have internet access/FB/Twitter in car, your not going to tweet/update status/google search while driving


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

Agree with no Twitter etc. Absolutely bonkers that a driver could be using that. Mind you it'll make a change from shaving or doing your make up..... or both .

Perhaps internet access for live traffic info so you can avoid collisions, delays etc. I think some sat navs do that already.

There is a big discussion around DRL's if you ride a motorbike. The "lights on" thing that's on bikes made them "different" to other vehicles - so being different an idea was that they were more visible to cut down the "sorry mate I didn't see you" collisions.

Now everything has DRL's, bikes are back to square one being "lost" in the sea of lights.

Andy.


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## pt1 (Feb 8, 2014)

Electric steering...weight...kills fun

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## RonanF (Mar 27, 2016)

///M badges on every other miserable 320d/520d.

I know you get an extra 10bhp per badge, but they look ridiculous.


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

Another for drl's, and electric handbrakes!! 
when a car goes into gear they should automatically turn the side/parking lights to dipped beam. that would stop pra!!!, erm people driving with no lights on or just poxy sidelights.


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

macca666 said:


> I partially agree with this and taking it a step further I seem to notice now an increasing amount of drivers with no lights on at all and think it's to do with the fact that all the dash/interior lights appear to come on when the engine is running. Have your dash lights come on with your headlights and it would save this IMO.
> 
> In relation to your point the only flaw I'd comment on is what if your bulb blew while driving in the middle of nowhere? Would the engine disable leaving you stranded? If you find a way round that I'll only take 5% from your profits on the patent


OK, OK, a minor flaw in my cunning plan (patent pending). I have decided that if a light goes during a night time journey, the engine would not disable, but the audible and visual warning would ensure the fix has to be carried out at the next (daytime) opportunity. I'll sell you 5% of my invention for a measly 100K, and you can have first dibs before I go on Dragon's Den. :thumb:


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

an alternative to DPF's


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## mar00 (Jun 24, 2018)

Andyg_TSi said:


> Why the hell have internet access/FB/Twitter in car, your not going to tweet/update status/google search while driving


the problems is that plenty of morons do, when i'm walking in town i see people driving through holding phones with facebook open all the time, i have banged on windows several times,

why do I need 3 ways of changing the radio station in my car or 3 ways of changing gear ,


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## Jazzy Jase (Jul 10, 2008)

The massive airbag warning sticker that takes up the entire passenger-side sun visor.
Fake exhausts.
Warning/info popups on the dashboard every time I start the car or use the sat-nav.
Ever-increasing size and weight of cars.
Electronic handbrakes.
Engine/exhaust noise piped into the cabin from the stereo - At least let us turn it off. And If the car is sporty enough, remove some of the sound-deadening instead.


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## CoOkIeMoNsTeR (Mar 6, 2011)

On the whole cars are getting better and safer, so it's just the silly things that annoy me. Why does my old shape SQ5 have nice quad exhaust tips hooked up to an exhaust outlet but the new SQ5 has awful fake trims in the bumper? That is a hateful habit. Otherwise I am all for autonomous driving tech providing the car is still nice to drive when it's all switched off. I'm with all of you who have supported Volvo's interiors, I loved our Volvo's and everything was so easy to find and use. The Audi's MMI is better, but otherwise I'd so much rather have some of the Volvo's big chunky buttons back.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Jazzy Jase said:


> Fake exhausts.


What's worse is that someone has sat down in design and decided on this.

"We need to make our dull car look more sporty"
_"Add more exhausts"_
"That'll involve too much work"
_"Well a mate of mine had a Corsa in the 90's and he had a Peco BB4 next to 5 fake cans. It looked wicked dinnit"_
"Now that sounds like a plan..."



Jazzy Jase said:


> Engine/exhaust noise piped into the cabin from the stereo


In the interest of Yin & Yang, i'm going to pipe my stereo into my exhaust pipes and play sweet tunes out the rear. I've dual exit exhausts so can do stereo too. The faster I go, the louder NOFX will play out my ****...


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## Andy1972 (Jan 12, 2014)

20 inch diamond wheels with 245/35 profile tyres on a god damn family car. Looked great in the showroom, absolute pig to own.

4x4's that aren't 4x4's. 


Ever increasing difficulty in simple home tasks such as changing a head light bulb, without resorting to removing the front bumper/bonnet/front wheels/ half the engine etc etc


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Jazzy Jase said:


> The massive airbag warning sticker that takes up the entire passenger-side sun visor.
> 
> Fake exhausts.
> 
> ...


Couldn't have come up with a better list myself!

Electric handbrakes....grr....


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

pxr5 said:


> Was talking to my wife the other week about the amount of cars around with one, or two, headlights out. An easy way to stop this would be disable the engine until the light/bulb was fixed/replaced. But only at nighttime, giving the owner the opportunity to get them fixed during daylight hours. Btw that's my patent before anyone thinks of nicking it lol


I know its been mentioned but some modern cars need easier to change headlight bulbs without removing the entire front end of the car, the Mk1 Citroen C3 and the Clio Mk3 that we have had are two of the worst i have ever had the unfortunate job of changing, It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the silly metal clips that hold them in place. Well done to Fiat on the 500, there is a little tab you press and slide the bulb out on the headlights and takes seconds, and the DRL are twist and remove :thumb: Another one that is easy is the Mk7 Fiesta, three screws and remove the electronic connector and the hole thing just lifts off the car. Seems at least a step forwards as the mk6.5's sidelights are more or less impossible without removing the headlights, its the only bulb that i cannot get to in the headlights after owning two, three screws but this time one is behind a little upturned part of the bumper round the grille (i now have a little torq bit that fits into a small ratchet spanner) and then you have to get the light past this part of the bumper and cant lift too high as there is a structural beam across the top of the light. Im sure there will be worse out there but the C3 is my worst to date :lol:


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

One of my pet hates on a lot of modern cars as we have been looking at replacing one of our cars recently is the Speedometer that isnt clear or marked out for the UK where the MPH should be clearly labelled.

I quite like the Skoda Kodiaq for instance but the lack of clear, 30,50,70mph etc is not great practice and it cant cost that much for a different back ground for the RHD markets. I know a lot have a digital one as well but call me old fashioned i really dont like staring at a tiny figure on the dashboard when i should be concentrating on the road.










Doesnt seem constistant with manufacturers either....

my dad likes the Audi Q3 (not the worst but not the best either)










Yet the Q2 is very clear and well laid out


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Jazzy Jase said:


> The massive airbag warning sticker that takes up the entire passenger-side sun visor.
> Fake exhausts.
> Warning/info popups on the dashboard every time I start the car or use the sat-nav.
> Ever-increasing size and weight of cars.
> ...


Nail on head with most of these for sure, and the tyre repair foam kits:doublesho


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

peerthroughs 

"you must be This big to drive this car" isnt sizeist its Safety, if the dopey ****ahem**** can not see the front of the car when sat in the seat, Drag it out the car and batter it.

**after being cut up Yet again by the SAME fkin dvarw in a rangerover,, not only is it a peerthrough it insists on belting down a 30mph road @ 50+, one day i Will drag the *ahem* out of its car and kick it the fk in,, no point reporting it as probably doesnt have a licence or insurance anyway.


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Here’s another, every time I start the car up, I get a display pop up on my entertainment asking to click ok for my cars information to be recorded by Nissan. Until you agree it won’t go away! Meaning you can’t use sat nav, swap music etc. If you click no, it looses Bluetooth connection and you can’t get OTA updates.


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## Nick-ST (Mar 4, 2013)

TPMS - Just an electrical items destined to fail and become a PITA! 

The organic blob behind the steering wheel! We are in 2019 and still there is no sign of a way being developed to stop people using mobile phones behind the wheel! When the 6 point ban first came into place a couple of years back I think it did put some off (temporarily). I mean seriously make it an instant driving ban. When will people finally realise how dangerous using a phone is.... Oh yeah when it is too late and cost someone their life!


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

dash light which are always on, Makes people forget to put lights on.


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