Buttons once proliferated in our vehicles. The 1980s saw cars like the Pontiac 6000 go nuts with controls plastered everywhere, and Mercedes-Benz applied a similar design ethos to the S-Class in the 1990s. More buttons meant more features which meant you had more money. Then, the world turned, touchscreens arrived, and suddenly, buttons were disappearing like wedding guests after the open bar dries up. So today, I ask you—what button do you wish your car had?
Now, you could take this question to mean what feature your car had. You can choose to answer the question that way. Personally, I’d like it if my car could do the James Bond thing where it deploys an oil slick to throw off enemies in pursuit. I think we’d all enjoy having that button on the dash.
Really, though, I’m thinking about this in more mundane terms. What regular feature should your car have a button for, but it doesn’t?
For me, the answer is simple. I have a 2007 BMW 320D with a wonderful climate control system. I set it to 22 degrees, and every time I get in the car, it cools me down beautifully. Sometimes, though, I don’t want to feel the air blowing in my face. The annoying thing is that the climate control system doesn’t have a simple off button. To turn it off, I have to hit the fan speed button four or five times to turn it off completely. I wish I could just shut it off with a single button press.
For my girlfriend’s car, I wish it had a button for cruise control. Her 2007 Toyota Yaris is a competent city car, but it has a terrible accelerator that’s at entirely the wrong spot to interface properly with my right foot. If it just had cruise control, it would be ten times better.
Those with more modern cars likely have bigger problems than I do. Tesla famously put shifter controls on the touchscreen in some models, a decision so maddening I still can’t believe they did it. Indeed, the company’s vehicles are so lacking in physical controls that aftermarket button pads have become a popular aftermarket item. Meanwhile, Volkswagen infuriated the world when it implemented a touch-sensitive interface for climate controls in certain models. Last year, the German automaker admitted its folly, and that it would return to using physical buttons for HVAC controls in future.
I don’t want to come out as some sort of button evangelist. Some controls are fine to stick on a touchscreen, like navigation, for example. I also don’t like the way that modern cars cram over 30 buttons into the steering wheel alone.
As it stands, though, some features simply must have their own button, and it should be that way across every car. You should be able to shut off the sound system with a single button, and the same goes for the climate control. Just about any feature that you would conceivably want to adjust while driving should have its own physical control. That’s my ethos.
But now, it’s over to you. What button is sorely lacking from your own car?
Image credits: GM, Lewin Day
Well, my 2022 Colorado was designed sometime around the early 2010’s, which means there’s buttons for everything. Honestly I think I’ve used the touchscreen for climate controls maybe.. once or twice in my almost 2 years of ownership.
The one thing I wish it had was keyless push-to-start. Still rockin’ the old fashioned key.
I have a 2022 Colorado and I think they got the buttons right. I feel like it’s the perfect balance.
Now if I could only get the infotainment to stop rebooting randomly as I’m driving…
Wish my heated seat buttons were physical and not in the screen. I get it, they’re an option and it’s way easier than having a spot for a button you may not need, but it’s like as soon as I get in the car and put it in reverse, my butt’s cold and I remember I have heated seats but the button is gone because the backup camera view is on, so either I commit to reversing down my driveway or put it back in park and wait for the screen to come back so I can pick the button, meanwhile my pasty rear remains chilly.
That is such a first world problem but I totally understand it. My subie has a physical switch and I love that I can leave the switch in the on position so when I start the car on a chilly Canadian morning, my buttocks will start to heat without delay.
A first world problem caused by another first world problem. Problem-ception!
What terrible user interface decisions!
The GRZs are pretty good about the setup and it’s one of the reasons I bought it. Pretty much anything I can think of to use while driving can be done via buttons, dials, etc. What cannot is stuff I wouldn’t use while in motion, anyway. One thing I would like is to be able to shut off the display with the unit is doing its job—too bright some of the time and not needed unless I’m using the nav.
In this modern day the only button that I absolutely need, prominently placed for muscle memory, is the ‘SCREEN OFF’ button.
Yeah, I want to be able to shut the display off while the infotainment system is running. Most of the time, I know where I’m going, so I don’t need the nav or a big panel telling me what song I’m listening to. Steering wheel controls can handle pretty much anything I would want to use while driving, anyway.
Some (all?) Saabs used to have a stealth mode button that would turn off all the interior lights except the speedo.
Haha, that’s what made me think of it! I loved that feature. Everything in those old Saab interiors was just so well thought out, comfortable, and quality feeling. I miss Saab.
My ’97 Econoline and 2012 Prius v both let you dim everything all the way down to zero.
There’s a couple minor exceptions in the Prius (presumably some parts of the combination meter aren’t on the same circuits or something), but it’s just the gear indicator, headlights, warning lights, etc. Speedometer and all the buttons are completely dark.
Here! Here! SCREEN OFF.
And I mean OFF OFF, not a backlit black screen that leaves me silently seething as I motor along in (what should be) darkness, protecting my precious, steely night vision …
OFF means OFF
I have taped pieces of paper over MANY a screen, warning light, charging light, camera, etc. in my day. Now that’s off.
The ZJ Grand Cherokee had buttons for everything. It was great. The next generation WJ Grand Cherokee did away with every button on the dash and nearly every function was then controlled by the turn signal stalk or the other-side stalk. Twist, turn, pull, push, up, down and you have to remember what does what.
So I say, all the buttons!
That is what a Bop-It was training us to do. It was probably released in order to train children to be ready for the turn signal stalks of the future.
The only button the cruiser is missing is one that gives in another gear, or passing power on the freeway.
First thought: “Oh, like Push-to-Pass in IndyCar?”
Second thought: “Not a bad idea… limited number of seconds per day, all the nutjobs would burn through them in the first 5 minutes of driving each day…”
Then the nut jobs will just clog up the roads “trying” to pass. Belive me, letting the nut jobs by to dwindle in the distance far away from you is best
I really wish I have paddle shifters. We are beyond 2020 and paddle shifters are not a standard thing in modern 8 or 10 gears automatics.
My car has many buttons, but it has one glaring omission. It’s a modern key-fob/push-button setup, with little buttons on the door handles to unlock doors without removing your keys from your pocket. The trunk, however, has no such button. The car is otherwise fairly loaded for its time – heated mirrors, nav, hot/cold seats, self parking, etc. Every other car with key-fobs I’ve ever interacted has this button, I have no idea why my Chevy SS does not.
I usually just open the driver door and push the trunk button there, but yes it is a weird thing to forget. I blame the Aussies.
Does the trunk still have a keyhole?
No, just a fob button and the hard button inside the door.
If I’m getting something out of my trunk it’s not a big deal, use the button on the door as I get out. If I’m putting something in my trunk I use the fob. Even if I have to put down what I’m carrying it’s easier than going to the front of the car to open the back of the car. It’s ultimately not a huge deal, but literally (probably not, but in my experience) every other car going back many years before the SS was built has this convenience. Love the car, and this doesn’t change that, it’s just silly I have to go to the front of the car to open the back of the car.
So it only buttons for door lock/unlock? That does seem odd. Cool car, though! My car, OTOH, has 4 ways to open the small trunk, which seems excessive: dash button, trunk button, fob, and of course, the mechanical interior handle.
This is the way it should be! The SS has a button in the driver door I use and I’m sure has an escape handle inside it, but no way on the trunk to open it.
Yeah, you should have at least one other method.
I was thinking of something to say for the article and originally couldn’t, then I read this. In order for me to turn off my radio, I have to press a button to remove the radio controls on my aftermarket radio. That turns the whole thing off.
I REALLY wish that was just a single button press away. It is on the OEM radio that’s been long gone.
When I was a kid I heard about a friend’s dad who had supposedly rigged up a switch to manually activate his brake lights. The point being to deter tailgaters without actually risking a crash. No idea if the story was actually true or not, but I’ve often wished for a switch like that.
But cars already have this. Just lightly press the brake pedal while two footing the throttle.
That’s one of the things I like about motorcycles – you can just touch the rear brake to do that, without slowing the bike in any real way.
Of course, very few people will tailgate a motorcycle, but it’s useful for signaling that you’re going to be stopping soon, before you actually hit the fronts.
I may or may not have known a guy who had separate switches for reverse and brake in event of a pursuer. I wonder if that could even be done today without causing problems with modern CANbus systems or getting into a whole stupid thing over getting it to work.
I’ll mention the button I miss and it was my absolute favorite function in any of the cars I’ve owned: the knob to control the rear window in my 2005 Sport Trac XLS. Turn it to roll all the way down or up. Press it to vent. Simple, beautiful, functional.
What button is sorely lacking from your own car?
Self-destruct.
One button to roll all the windows up or down. If I can do it from the key fob when I am walking towards the car, why I cannot do it while I am driving?
Pro BMW tip Lewin: Hold down the reduce fan speed button for 2 seconds. It should power the system off without multiple presses. When you power it back on it will return to the original fan speed.
Climate control buttons.
Yeah, I bought a 2022 Tiguan SE. It was a bargain because it was a service loaner that came from a dealership I used to work at as a sales consultant/finance manager.
I know what I was getting into. Thought it would be fine.
I loathe the climate control not buttons. I hate them. Did I float the idea of trading this one in for a 2025 model using the fact that we’d have buttons as the primary reason? Yes. Will I do it? Of course not because I refuse to go through that rigmarole again until I absolutely have to.
No, I am going to continue to scream into the void every single gosh darned time I want to adjust the temp from 68 to 72 and the Tiguan decides I really wanted 90 degrees like some kind of psycho and then I have to hit the button 18 times at the correct pacing to ensure that it doesn’t think I really want 50 degrees. Ugh.
I have had this on a previous car but my few-years-old Atlas does not have a button to fold my mirrors in. I would use it at home and generally pretty frequently just in parking lots or always when parallel parking on the street.
Mine has buttons for all the functions I use. The things restricted to the screen seem pretty appropriate (navigation, setup, eco stats…pretty much everything else has a button).
If I were adding button control for something reasonably likely to be added to my car (no caltrops or oil slicks), I’d like preset buttons for climate control. Maybe a button for “cool this thing off faster,” then a button to go back to keeping it at 67, and a button for melting everything off of the snow-covered car. It’s easy enough to do these things with the knobs, but I still think I’d use them more than my seat position presets.
James Bond stuff? Caltrops would be cool, but I think something that turns my car into a submersible or helicopter would be more useful.
Have you considered moving the vent so it doesn’t point at your face? From a usability perspective, that should be about the same as pushing a single button.
Ahh, the joys of having older cars. No touchscreens in my driveway. I’m sure that’ll change when my wife gets a new car soonish. I’d really dislike heated seats or any climate control being on a screen, I want to easily adjust that stuff.
Same. My newest is a 2010 Focus that I bought in part b/c I knew the next gen would have a screen. The tactile nature of everything is just what I wanted.
And I’ve never felt it a big problem that I have HVAC, not “climate,” controls; I can get it comfortable enough for me.
I often wish I had a daytime button for my dash, so I could keep my lights on during the day while still having my dashboard in the ideal setting. I run headlights 100% of the time when driving, it’s both a healthy habit because I don’t forget them at dusk/dawn/inclement weather and safer because they’re on if I cross into a dark environment like a tunnel, if fog rolls in or even if someone else has totally fogged-up windows or mirrors. The issue is that my dashboard changes to night mode, so certain displays and lights get much dimmer to account for an expected dark environment. I wish I had a switch to let it know I want my headlights on but the dashboard in day mode. I’ve noticed this a lot more in my wife’s car than in mine.
Another switch I wish I had is a manual radiator fan switch, as my car likes to get a little hot when it idles for a while and the fans take a bit too long to come on. This one is a somewhat popular upgrade for my model, along with a garage door opener. The owner community really dislikes the plethora of standard blank switches on the dash.
And last, I would be quite happy to have an “off” switch for my climate control, it’s an early automatic unit and the only way to turn it off is to tap the minus button on the fan until it reaches zero, which is a bit annoying.
I wish mine had a button to control the exhaust valves. Their opening and closing is dependent on drive mode, transmission mode, and throttle. Just give me a button to do what I want with them.
Having to push that button 10k times a minute with microsecond accuracy doesn’t sound like much fun.
“…the James Bond thing where it deploys an oil slick to throw off enemies in pursuit.”
Neither of my Austins needs a button for this.
Standard equipment on British cars and Subarus.
I didn’t have cruise control for my first few cars, and I told myself I didn’t need it, but once I had it, I used the heck out of it. The button I wish my car had was for a heated steering wheel. This is my first car with heated seats, and I like them so much that my hands seem cold in comparison.
I’ve always wished for a heated wheel, it’s the only feature of newer/bigger cars that I truly envy.
I can go into a dealer and have my wheel swapped out for a heated one, but it’s like $1200…
$1,200 would buy you a damn fine pair of gloves. Several, in fact.
But then you can’t operate the touchscreens!
(Yes I know they make gloves that allow you to use touchscreens. But none of the 7,000 pairs I have owned work very well.)
Damn, it kinda makes sense because a dealer would almost certainly force you to replace the airbag and charge several hundred for service, but that still stings. I’ve done diy wheel swaps before and they’re not too hard if you have the muscle to undo the 100+ lb-ft bolt at the center and a friend with the strength to hold the wheel still while you do. I’d get a used wheel online from a part-out and try to tackle it if my car had ever been available with it. Where I stand now, I’d probably just have to reupholster the wheel and fit a universal heating matrix, and figure out some way to wire it through the clock-spring.
I once pulled the steering wheel out of a B5 Passat in a junkyard. In the car I was putting that steering wheel in, it’s a simple job. A couple little holes in the back of the wheel where you can stick in a screwdriver to pop the tabs holding in the airbag. Just turn the wheel one way to access one, and back again the other way for the other. Center bolt holding the wheel was easy.
The hard part was pulling the wheel on a junkyard car with the steering lock on and no key. I eventually broke the lock enough to get to the airbag tabs, but it was hard work. Fortunately the junkyard car was missing the driver’s door so I could brace myself against the side of the car while putting all my weight into turning the wheel. Would not do that again.
That does sound rough, I had a B5 A4 and found that steering wheel great, the leather was nice and the shape/thickness was just right.
Independent buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel. I hate having to go through the touchscreen for those.
An undo button
Traveling at the speeds I drive, an oil slick wouldn’t shake a tail.
And until the car warms up, I DO have a smoke screen!
Someone else mentioned caltrops, I have dreamt about having a button for those for a while.
Undo is awesome and helps to explain why my reply makes no sense in context.
I had hoped I was really quick with it, but alas.