What is your opinion on touch screens in motor vehicles?

[ralphc1]

I spent the last three weeks considering buying a different vehicle. The last vehicle I purchased new is 12 years old but only has 50,000 miles on it. It is low and I have to bend to get in. Arthritis in my back makes that difficult. I knew they wouldn't give me much on trade in. I have a nearly 20 year old pickup that is much easier to get in and out of but it is rusting badly. I was going to buy a new one 10 years ago but everything is built so high these days it requires a ladder to get in.

I started looking at SUVs. It seems almost all manufacturers make excessive use of touch screens now. They showed me some a few years older that don't use touch screens. They have screens that show what the settings are but still use buttons switches and dials to change settings. They have the screens higher on the dash so you don't look down as far to see them. The touch screens are lower because they have to be within reach. There can be identifying marks that can be felt on dials knobs and switches so you don't have to look at them. Touch screens are smooth. I would rather have a touch pad near my hand and the screen high on the dash.

I have an older Garmin GPS system that uses a touch screen that will not allow changes while in motion so you aren't distracted from driving.

I ended up buying a 2015 model vehicle that has the screen high on the dash that doesn't have to be touched.

Do you feel touch screens are distracting?

 

[Strychnine]

I have one in my mid-sized SUV. I don't have an integrated GPS so I use my Garmin touch screen. I just make sure everything is set up before I roll out, that way, I minimalize distractions.

I don't mind them at all.. They are the future though.

 

[BEER]

I don't think they're particularly distracting, but they're frustrating. We have touch screen everything now, but the touch-screens in cars (barring maybe high-end vehicles) feel like dealing with touch screens from 15 years ago. Slow to react to touches, high-glare screens that are hard to see at certain times of day, etc.

 

[Medulla Omoplata]

I hate them, I want tactile feedback.

 

[TheSlothMan]

Plus it's just another thing in the car that has the potential to malfunction. I doubt that touchscreen will outlive the motor and other basic components in the vehicle.

I'm worried that when I need to buy a new car, I won't be able to find something with the most basic of options.

 

[Beechwood]

The touch screen in my daily driver hasn't been a problem. It's easy to use.

Maybe the only issue I can think of is it becomes smeared with finger prints over time. That's obviously easy to take of though. It cleans up easy.

 

[tru3f4n]

The touch screen in my daily driver hasn't been a problem. It's easy to use.

Maybe the only issue I can think of is it becomes smeared with finger prints over time. That's obviously easy to take of though. It cleans up easy.

the one in my car acts weird in the winter until the car is warmed up

 

[N13]

 

[90 50]

I can live without touch screens, but a sex robot to give road Head on long drives would be ideal

 

[N13]

I can live without touch screens, but a sex robot to give road Head on long drives would be ideal

 

[Randy Trevor]

I think they are dangerous and distracting. They need to not be a feature on vehicles.

 

[Randy Trevor]

sad reality right here.

 

[N13]

sad reality right here.

 

[Randy Trevor]

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

The one in my SUV is great. Easy to use, and never gives me problems. The voice commands you can give while driving are very useful too. Just don't really use it while driving, and I do not see the problem.

 

[ralphc1]

There is a fairly straight stretch of highway here that has an extremely high number of people running off the road. Why can't they put something on the steering wheel like on a tv remote with left and right up and down arrows with enter in the center to go through menus. I do like that the screen shows the speed that the cruise control is set to rather than just that it's on.

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

Some cars also have a wheel on the console that you can use to navigate the touch screen and then you push the wheel in as the enter button.

Newer Dodge Chargers have a big ass touch screen that I can't stand. Extremely distracting to make what used to be a slight climate or radio change back in the day.

 

[HomerThompson]

It's a touchy subject for me, frankly.

 

[ralphc1]

the one in my car acts weird in the winter until the car is warmed up

The screens in the German made material handlers we had didn't work at all if it was -15 F. We had to heat the cabs up first to even get to try to start them.

 

[GODZILLA213]

Plus it's just another thing in the car that has the potential to malfunction. I doubt that touchscreen will outlive the motor and other basic components in the vehicle.

I'm worried that when I need to buy a new car, I won't be able to find something with the most basic of options.

I know the feeling. I checked out the Chevy SS and wanted it with none of the sensors, cameras, and the rest of that worthless shit and the salesman looked at me like I had a dick growing out of my forehead.