Keeping your cars long term

[bjl584]

Some new features on cars are silly to me. Is there a way to turn off the rear beeping noise when reversing? Another one is the automatic engine shut off at a complete stop. I have to manually turn off the feature everytime I start the car. If there was a way to permanently disable this feature I would.

I can change almost anything on my truck with Forscan
Not sure if other manufacturers offer something similar or not

[disneysteve]

I recently bought a pickup truck and it is my first vehicle to have automatic emergency braking. I'm not sure if that is now a mandated safety feature, but I think it should be. It's a very easy/obvious adaptation of existing, low-cost technology that is proven to react and better apply full braking force. Even if the driver is paying attention or anticipating a collision event, AEB can apply the brakes faster.

That very possibly would have prevented or at least greatly minimized the accident I had in May but I was driving an older van that didn't have it.

[disneysteve]

Some new features on cars are silly to me. Is there a way to turn off the rear beeping noise when reversing? Another one is the automatic engine shut off at a complete stop. I have to manually turn off the feature everytime I start the car. If there was a way to permanently disable this feature I would.

In a truck? No, I don't think you can turn off the reverse warning. It's not for you. It's for anyone around you. That's a lifesaving safety measure.

I agree about the auto shut off. I understand that it increases fuel efficiency but it also creates a slight delay when starting up which can be just long enough to prevent you from avoiding a collision. My wife has it and I turn it off every time I remember when I drive her car. If I don't remember at first, I do it after the first time it shuts off at a light.

[riverwed070707]

My 2018 Camry has a CD player. I just used it yesterday.

My biggest concern with the 04, especially for a young newer driver, is the lack of safety features. As annoying as they can sometimes be, blind spot monitors, lane departure warnings, back up camera, and other features do improve safety quite a bit. I can't deny that they've saved me multiple times.

I'm not going to debate the effectiveness of new safety features, but there is always going to be new technology. We don't have to throw out the old just because a new innovation came out. Her 04 is still lightyears ahead of the 91 sunbird I learned to drive in. My Cherokee has a backup cam and no one looks at it - we just back up the old school way. It was a free car, the registration is $50 a year and I pay $2k/yr to insure all 3 drivers in a household with a teen driver. A newer car would 3-4x those costs. You can't put a price on safety, but you can still teach good driving habits. I'm actually shocked at how many people in this forum are buying newer cars so frequently. The old ones work just fine.

[ua_guy]

In a truck? No, I don't think you can turn off the reverse warning. It's not for you. It's for anyone around you. That's a lifesaving safety measure.

I agree about the auto shut off. I understand that it increases fuel efficiency but it also creates a slight delay when starting up which can be just long enough to prevent you from avoiding a collision. My wife has it and I turn it off every time I remember when I drive her car. If I don't remember at first, I do it after the first time it shuts off at a light.

I think he means the boops and beeps from the backup cam and parking sensors in his car (GM calls it Park Assist, I think). These systems go off erroneously and are kind of annoying. Like when pulling through a drive-through, the thing will start beeping because you're close to a curb or hedge (well yeah, I have to be). Or backing into a garage space, it seems to go off for seemingly everything around you when you're not at risk of actually colliding with anything.

As for the commercial truck backup alarms (loud external beeping or scratching noise when in reverse), those...can actually be disabled/modified. It's very easy to install an interrupt switch if you don't want the alarm to sound when backing. Not advisable to do so for liability reasons, but there are reasons. Example would be EMS rigs. If you have to back into your station, do the neighbors really want to hear your backup alarm at 3am? Do other employees sleeping in the firehouse want to hear it? Probably not. If company policy is to have a spotter outside when backing anyway, an alarm is somewhat redundant at that point.

[disneysteve]

I think he means the boops and beeps from the backup cam and parking sensors in his car (GM calls it Park Assist, I think). These systems go off erroneously and are kind of annoying. Like when pulling through a drive-through, the thing will start beeping because you're close to a curb or hedge (well yeah, I have to be). Or backing into a garage space, it seems to go off for seemingly everything around you when you're not at risk of actually colliding with anything.

Yeah those can definitely be annoying, though they also do save you at times so it's a trade off. On mine at least, it's very simple to silence it with a button on the steering wheel right by my left thumb so I can quickly hit it when going through the drive through or toll booth.

One thing that really annoys me on my car is the forward sensor will activate even when the car is in reverse. Yes, I know there is an obstacle ahead of me. That's why I'm backing up.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Yes, ua_guy is correct, it is the internal beeping inside the car to alert the driver when reversing of rear obstacles such as other cars, walls, people, shrubs, poles, etc, not the external beeping on commercial vehicles to warn pedestrians outside of the vehicle.

[disneysteve]

Yes, ua_guy is correct, it is the internal beeping inside the car to alert the driver when reversing of rear obstacles such as other cars, walls, people, shrubs, poles, etc

So you'd rather not know that there is a car coming out of view or a pedestrian in your path?

I will say that my car's sensors do send false alarms at times. Driving down a curved street I sometimes get the BRAKE warning because there is a car directly ahead of me except the road will turn before I get to it. Also depending on how the sun is shining, it sometimes mistakes the tar line down the center of the street as a lane marker so it thinks I've drifted out of my lane. Still, I'd rather be annoyed by the occasional superfluous alert and not miss a real one that could result in accident or injury.

[QuarterMillionMan]

90% of the time while reversing it is beeping like crazy and I see the object just to the side of where I'm reversing. Even if it were more accurate at 50% of the time I'd still turn it off. It has too many false alarms. I want to know only if it is a real alert, not everytime I'm reversing which is silly.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I like the new bells and whistles. not enough to buy my kid it but I did buy her a rear camera for $800 and apple carplay in her $1000 subaru!