When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Personally, I like the separate Park button better. You are more likely to accidentally shift into park than you are to accidentally press the park button. Especially in cars where the "P" button is on the console, and not on the shift lever.
In general, with a lever, I'll agree it's better to have the Park button on the console than on the lever itself. Problem is, though, that can also be a bad design if all of the shift buttons are on the console with it....like we see on some GM and Honda designs.
In general, with a lever, I'll agree it's better to have the Park button on the console than on the lever itself. Problem is, though, that tan also be a bad design if all of the shift buttons are on the console with it....like we see on some GM and Honda designs.
The rows of buttons are just bad design all around; you have to look down no matter what gear you are selecting. On both my BMWs, with the "joystick" style and toggle, it's by feel only, no problem.
The BWM monoshifter(I guess that's what these are called?) works very well. Push it forward for reverse, pull it back for drive. Push the button for park. Slap it to the side for sport mode and for manual shifting if you don't want to use the paddle shifters I guess. I've had zero complaints, though it is a learning moment for family members who have never driven a BMW before. I have never pushed P by accident, and I suspect the car won't let it do anything unless you're stopped.
The rows of buttons are just bad design all around; you have to look down no matter what gear you are selecting.
Agreed! My Ridgeline has buttons on the console that take up every bit as much space as a conventional shifter. The reverse button is unique so there's some saving grace there.
One thing that is nice is that regardless of what gear it is in, it automatically shifts to park when the engine is turned off.
my ioniq is the first car i've driven that finally 'make sense' to me.
ALL other shifters i've used, from neutral for example, have you press FORWARD to go BACKWARDS (reverse) and BACKWARD to go FORWARDS (drive)
the ioniq 5 has a stalk shifter you twist the stalk FORWARD to go FORWARD and BACKWARD to go BACKWARD.
even on dinosaur shifters, why should we shift through reverse to get to drive? so why isn't it PDNRL?
even on dinosaur shifters, why should we shift through reverse to get to drive? so why isn't it PDNRL?
Think about that one for a minute, bit......that would not make sense.
If you wanted to downshift from Drive, for instance, going down a hill, to reach Low, the shifter would actually move through the Neutral and Reverse positions for a second or two before reaching low, first jerking the transmission out of gear as it hits Neutral, and then Reverse for a split second, risking an even bigger jolt and damage to the transmission. Then, upshifting back to Drive from Low at the bottom of the hill, the same damaging process over again....in Reverse (no pun intended).
That is why it was standardized to PRNDL almost 60 years ago....with GM's PNDLR, drivers were accidentally going a little too far, into Reverse, when they wanted Low, and, of course...........good-bye transmission, or an accident.
That's why, when I opened this thread, I asked if the shifters themselves should be standardized, not the PRNDL sequence, which, in most cases, seems to work fine.
Most people don't use the shifter for low range anymore, they have paddles or the shifter slides over to a manual mode of some sort......
I don't disagree that forward for drive makes sense but you only see that on certain shift interfaces that are never a sequential shift. It's always a joystick of some sort for good reason imo.
If things are standardized it won't be "upwards" it will be lowest common denominator like all things .gov/communist so expect a base GM shifter in your 100k+ car
06-24-24, 08:33 AM
