[andylibby]

Other than forum members who ask stupid questions and start dumb threads, any automotive pet peeves you want to express?

I heard the other day one of our members complaining about the fact that the A/C defaults from recirculate to fresh air every time they kill the car. That's annoying!

Or, how about the fact that Chevy appears to be stripping content from the Traverse in each successive model year?

Or, how about the fact that GM sells us $30,000+ Chevrolets and won't kick in a $15 plastic coin holder that they include on the Buick and GMC versions?


My pet peeve is that the the rear view mirror defaults to auto-dimming at night. I hate that feature! I want to see what's back there in real light just like what I see in the windshield. If some bozo in a monster truck pulls up on my bumper, I can elect to dim the mirror myself. I'd like to be able to turn the dimming feature on the mirror off permanently, but since I can't, I solved the problem by covering the sensor in the top of the mirror with a little black sticker dot keeping it from gathering any light.

:thumb:

 

[bobg1951chevy]

All well stated, Andy.

I will say I try, very hard, to be a factual person. I try not to give information based on a "maybe" or "I think". Folks who write answers, with no factual basis, create problems for the guy seeking a bonafide answer.

Peeves:

Folks who exaggerate ANY issue discussed ...such as, I get 20 mpg ...only to hear, "oh, I get 35 MPG on mine".

Folks who have a "one of a kind' vehicle ... such as "mine was the only one to get a V8 installed by the 3rd shift high performance division" ... you get the idea.

All in all, this site is a good one, the complaints listed here could be new Traverse owners or guys who sell popcorn .... they are everywhere.

Bob

 

[odypilots]

Sorry if this is off topic from the thread's original intent, Andy, but my (well, one of MANY) pet peeve is drivers who enter a three lane freeway, move immediately to the middle lane, and stay there even if there's no traffic in the right lane.

 

[sailfish]

Sorry if this is off topic from the thread's original intent, Andy, but my (well, one of MANY) pet peeve is drivers who enter a three lane freeway, move immediately to the middle lane, and say there even if there's no traffic in the right lane.

YES that totally ticks me off to no end and to boot they are not even keeping with the rest of us who have to slow down and go around them to the right!

Or how about this. In the far right lane of an interstate and about to exit, have had the turn light on the appropate amount of time so everyone knows what I am doing. Then out of nowhere an IDIOT flies over from the third lane and slides in front of me and PUTS ON HIS BRAKES!!!

This happened to me this week and I just about rammed my Outlook in to the trunk of a new Mercedes. I wonder, did he want his car paid off and money to spare? **** I am quick I was onto the right side and slide right on past him as I was slamming on my brakes and I was also referring to him as every name know to man, or woman.

 

[quantum]

I fully agree with odypilots!! I can't stand people that drive in the middle lane all the time, people who don't get up to speed to merge on to the highway, people who stop on the on-ramps, etc, etc. I thought this was a Canadian problem, but I guess you have 'em in the USA too.

 

[andylibby]

I'd love to see the German system codified here in that slower traffic must keep right, the second to right lane is for faster cars, and the far left lane is for balls to the walls driving. Add to that the enforced yielding to anyone wishing to pass and it's a great system. The two things that make it impossible here are the following:

1) Our highways -- radius of curves, length of entrance and exit ramps -- aren't built to accommodate the extra speed.

2) We permit any smoke-belching rust bucket with a rear bumper wired onto it to grace our highways. In Germany, no car with even a dented fender is permitted to be driven.

 

[sailfish]

:thumb:

Agree with each of your statements.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

:thumb:

Agree with each of your statements.

Sailfish ...... go Buckeyes!

Bob

 

[sailfish]

Sailfish ...... go Buckeyes!

Bob

Yep go BUCKEYES!

 

[zepcom]

One of my automotive pet-peeves is headlight DRL's. In my opinion, they do a disservice to motorcycles, whereas before DRL's were as common, when a motorcycle was in the vicinity of your area, you definately would see their headlight and most likely be aware of their presence. Now-adays, everyone is driving around with their DRL headlights and unfortunately imo it gets harder to see motorcycles on the road, resulting in more accidents and fatalities involving motorcycles.

I personally prefer the Amber front-firing Turnsignal DRL's, and will be shortly converting my 2011 Traverse to this style DRL's. These are the style that are on many Saab's, 4th generation camaros and firebirds, c6 corvettes, and toyota tundra pickup trucks, to name a few examples. Not only are they easier to see from a distance in bright sunlight, they're distinguished enough to still give the safety factor that DRL's were designed for.

I also (about one per month or so) really get ticked off at the occasional idiot who thinks that DRL's are real headlights. Driving on the expressway after dark (9:30pm on a cloudy night last week) and there is a car with no tail lights whatsoever, no side markers, and just dimly-lit headlights. Yes, this is a "Driver Issue", true, but cars that don't feature automatic headlamps and tail lamps at dusk, (all members of the Lambda platform have auto-headlights in addition to DRL's) ... should really become aware of their inabilities and safety concerns on the road. People were flashing this toyota corrolla, and the driver was hunched over her steering wheel, which proves that she couldn't see hardly at all, which just makes you wonder why toyota either (1) set up headlight DRL's in the first place without auto-headlights, or (2) doesn't have auto-headlights on the car, or (3) the driver doesn't have the common sense to "step outside the box" and consider the reason why he/she cannot see very well in front of their car when it's so dark out, not to mention why everyone is flashing their headlights around this person and beeping their horns. Hmmmph. Amber DRL's would at least help such a helpless person such as this person, I would think. Still, I see about one person per month, give or take, with JUST headlight DRL's and no other lights illuminated, and they're a road hazard on the roadway.

I realize that not everyone will agree with my viewpoints on Amber DRL's, so please remember that I'm posting this as my opinion, and as the title of this thread states, it's just one of my automotive pet peeves.

Luckily, I found a safe and cost-effective way to convert turnsignals to DRL's without limiting any of the functionality of the turnsignals themselves.

 

[sailfish]

The statement about the headlights on some just having day time headlights is so true.

Our 2003 VUE has that and at dusk, or one hour before sunset, Ohio law is your lights have to be on. I do not drive the VUE that much at night anymore I have to remember when I do to turn the darn things on.

The Outlook has totally spoiled me of this.

 

[andylibby]

I think ALL cars should come with automatic headlamps including a system that will turn them on when there's heavy rain or other conditions where it's more about being seen than seeing.

My last trip to Europe, my wife and I rented a Mercedes E and got up our second morning to go sight-seeing to find a dead battery. I had managed to get the headlamps on, but -- owing to years of GM's automatic headlamps -- forgot to turn them off.

zepcom - you'll note that we also own a little sports car. I can confirm that other drivers don't see that tiny red car when it's coming so I can only imagine how they ignore motorcyclists. I semi-solved this problem by installing a Stebel Nautilus motorcycle air horn that cranks out 139 decibels. This is a multi-tone Mighty Mouse that gets people's attention. I mounted one of these tiny wonders in front of the radiator on my Miata. OMG, I had a lifted Ford 3/4" ton start to change lanes into me during a rain storm and I laid on the Stebel. That guy was back in his lane in a millisecond and looking everywhere wondering how he could have missed seeing a Mack truck. Believe me, it has saved me from being hit on streets and parking lots at least 5 times I can think of.

http://www.bikerhiway.com/stebel-nautilus-compact-motorcycle-air-horn-black-p-869.html

Stebel Nautilus vs stock horn on a Honda Shadow VT800

 

[09Enclave]

One of my automotive pet-peeves is headlight DRL's. In my opinion, they do a disservice to motorcycles, whereas before DRL's were as common, when a motorcycle was in the vicinity of your area, you definately would see their headlight and most likely be aware of their presence. Now-adays, everyone is driving around with their DRL headlights and unfortunately imo it gets harder to see motorcycles on the road, resulting in more accidents and fatalities involving motorcycles.

I personally prefer the Amber front-firing Turnsignal DRL's, and will be shortly converting my 2011 Traverse to this style DRL's. These are the style that are on many Saab's, 4th generation camaros and firebirds, c6 corvettes, and toyota tundra pickup trucks, to name a few examples. Not only are they easier to see from a distance in bright sunlight, they're distinguished enough to still give the safety factor that DRL's were designed for.

I also (about one per month or so) really get ticked off at the occasional idiot who thinks that DRL's are real headlights. Driving on the expressway after dark (9:30pm on a cloudy night last week) and there is a car with no tail lights whatsoever, no side markers, and just dimly-lit headlights. Yes, this is a "Driver Issue", true, but cars that don't feature automatic headlamps and tail lamps at dusk, (all members of the Lambda platform have auto-headlights in addition to DRL's) ... should really become aware of their inabilities and safety concerns on the road. People were flashing this toyota corrolla, and the driver was hunched over her steering wheel, which proves that she couldn't see hardly at all, which just makes you wonder why toyota either (1) set up headlight DRL's in the first place without auto-headlights, or (2) doesn't have auto-headlights on the car, or (3) the driver doesn't have the common sense to "step outside the box" and consider the reason why he/she cannot see very well in front of their car when it's so dark out, not to mention why everyone is flashing their headlights around this person and beeping their horns. Hmmmph. Amber DRL's would at least help such a helpless person such as this person, I would think. Still, I see about one person per month, give or take, with JUST headlight DRL's and no other lights illuminated, and they're a road hazard on the roadway.

I realize that not everyone will agree with my viewpoints on Amber DRL's, so please remember that I'm posting this as my opinion, and as the title of this thread states, it's just one of my automotive pet peeves.

Luckily, I found a safe and cost-effective way to convert turnsignals to DRL's without limiting any of the functionality of the turnsignals themselves.

Every vehicle should have DRL's with auto lights. (I don't buy the argument against them in regards to motorcycles) If my 98 Grand Am I used to own had them then there's no excuse a brand new NON-GM vehicle can't.

 

[andylibby]

09Enclave - I kind of come down on your side of the DRL issue in that statistics I've seen indicate that traffic accidents in general are significantly reduced when Daytime Running Lights are in use.

As for motorcyclists, I 100% sympathize with their plight, but we've got too many untrained, unqualified, immature, and distracted drivers out there. As long as we issue Driver Licenses like rites of passage in honor of turning 16 without emphasizing the ability to do things like, um, drive a car, we're going to have issues in abundance. Add to that the cell phone and text message crowd and you need nothing else in the recipe to cook up a batch of carnage.

The privilege of driving a car on American roadways has become an entitlement where anyone, any car, and anything goes.

 

[andylibby]

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I also really hate Chia Pets. A lot!

 

[staciesbaby]

here's a pet peeve - all these people talking about getting 350 MPG , while my wife is consistently getting between 14.5 and 16 MPG , while taking it very easy on the gas pedal, around town. Her average speed was about 29 mph.

 

[rbarrios]

I see the the problems-- thats around town MPG.
Have you done a nice long highway trip at sensible speeds.... where youre in 6th gear- cruising at low RPM's for long distances?

 

[quantum]

Back to DRL, my pet peeve about the GM DRL from a couple years ago, was that they used the "parking lights" as DRL. That was really confusing. In my opinion "parking Lights" should be just that, and not used as DRL's.

I also agree, we need better trained drivers. This is a huge problem in around my neck of the woods. Unbelievable how many poor drivers are on the roads, and lately poor truck drivers too.

I will leave it at that.