New cars are too smart for their own good.

[Zenmervolt]

So, I'm merging onto the freeway this morning in my rented Camry when the seat belt buzzer starts going off like a hyperactive child that has been given PixyStix. Not the usual lethargic beeping that happens when you turn on the car, but a frenetic, near-continuous beep, accompanied by the rapid flashing of the little seat belt light.

Apparently, my laptop bag weighs enough to trigger the sensor in the passenger seat and the car was trying to badger me into making my "passenger" buckle up. There is no override. You just have to put up with the frenzied beep for a couple minutes until the car gives up on the noise, though the seatbelt light continues flashing at a near-epileptic rate.

Can't we just have a car that doesn't try to be smarter than its owner? I really don't need or want a bunch of electrical nannies looking out for me since all they really do is annoy.

/rant

ZV

 

[sdifox]

don't put bag in front seat? I think they should add in a cancel sequence, like having to hit 2 buttons or something.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: sdifox
don't put bag in front seat? I think they should add in a cancel sequence, like having to hit 2 buttons or something.

b..b...b..but you could have forgotten about your child in the front seat! </sarcasm>

and as for putting bags on the front seat, i'll load it up as much as i damn well please. screw warnings. if you have a real passenger and they're too dumb to buckle up, darwin might be gettin busy in a few.

 

[nakedfrog]

That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

but it would warn people stupid enough to do so in the first place.

a lady tried suing infiniti because she backed over her own child in a QX45 or something ridiculous like that.

i mean people on that level of stupidity

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

but it would warn people stupid enough to do so in the first place.

a lady tried suing infiniti because she backed over her own child in a QX45 or something ridiculous like that.

i mean people on that level of stupidity

It was a man, actually.

ZV

 

[thomsbrain]

My Accord won't do that, thankfully, but it will temporarily shut off the side air bag if there is a kid in the seat and he/she is leaning on the side bolster. As soon as they get off the bolster, it turns back on. There's a little light on the dash for it, but no beeping.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

but it would warn people stupid enough to do so in the first place.

a lady tried suing infiniti because she backed over her own child in a QX45 or something ridiculous like that.

i mean people on that level of stupidity

It was a man, actually.

ZV

err, ok... what kind of dumbass doesn't check location of kid before pulling out? Unless my son is on my car, I don't move until I see him standing on the porch.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
So, I'm merging onto the freeway this morning in my rented Camry when the seat belt buzzer starts going off like a hyperactive child that has been given PixyStix. Not the usual lethargic beeping that happens when you turn on the car, but a frenetic, near-continuous beep, accompanied by the rapid flashing of the little seat belt light.

Apparently, my laptop bag weighs enough to trigger the sensor in the passenger seat and the car was trying to badger me into making my "passenger" buckle up. There is no override. You just have to put up with the frenzied beep for a couple minutes until the car gives up on the noise, though the seatbelt light continues flashing at a near-epileptic rate.

Can't we just have a car that doesn't try to be smarter than its owner? I really don't need or want a bunch of electrical nannies looking out for me since all they really do is annoy.

/rant

ZV

:laugh: That's annoying.

Just toss it on the floor in the back.

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

but it would warn people stupid enough to do so in the first place.

a lady tried suing infiniti because she backed over her own child in a QX45 or something ridiculous like that.

i mean people on that level of stupidity

It was a man, actually.

ZV

err, ok... what kind of dumbass doesn't check location of kid before pulling out? Unless my son is on my car, I don't move until I see him standing on the porch.

Happens all the time.

There's some lobbying group that's trying to make it mandatory to have a backup camera on all SUV's.

I think a better solution would be to require more than a Class E license, that would just weed out those who are "underequipped" to operate larger vehicles.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Damn, I wouldn't want to have to carry that laptop bag around!

Really though, the seatbelt light on my Mazdaspeed3 sometimes lights up if I have my cat in his carrier sitting there in the passenger seat. He weighs about 15 pounds, which seems awfully light to be triggering the sensor. At least it doesn't beep at me or do anything more annoying.

 

[SearchMaster]

I'm with you ZV. I also hate my wife's Odyssey because the doors lock if you go over 10 mph. I know a lot of cars do this, but my Maxima does not so I'm not used to having to press "unlock" every time I park. It drives me freaking nuts to park the van then go to pull open the rear hatch only to remember it had locked itself on my behalf.

 

[CptCrunch]

My 2006 corolla does that, has to be over 20lb I think. You can turn it off if you want. Let me know, and I can send you the instructions

 

[Arkaign]

Hah. My '08 Focus does this too, it's entirely too emphatic about it. BING! BING! BING!

The funnier thing is that if the driver doesn't belt up, it will go crazy for a bit, then quiet for a moment or two, and then it will go totally batshit insane, then quiet, then even more psycho than ever. It's like three levels of annoying.

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
That's strange, children shouldn't be sitting in the front seat, and certainly not ones that weight as little as a laptop bag.

but it would warn people stupid enough to do so in the first place.

a lady tried suing infiniti because she backed over her own child in a QX45 or something ridiculous like that.

i mean people on that level of stupidity

It was a man, actually.

ZV

err, ok... what kind of dumbass doesn't check location of kid before pulling out? Unless my son is on my car, I don't move until I see him standing on the porch.

Happens all the time.

There's some lobbying group that's trying to make it mandatory to have a backup camera on all SUV's.

I think a better solution would be to require more than a Class E license, that would just weed out those who are "underequipped" to operate larger vehicles.

My coworker bought a fully loaded RX and doesn't trust hr backup camera because she thinks that "Objects are closer than they appear".........

She's an engineer too and I fail to follow her logic

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: CptCrunch
My 2006 corolla does that, has to be over 20lb I think. You can turn it off if you want. Let me know, and I can send you the instructions

I can't imagine my laptop bag is over 20 pounds. It's just a ThinkPad T60 and a couple of software manuals. Maybe the 2lb bag of halloween candy I brought into the office today pushed it over the edge. *shrug*

Thanks for the offer, but the car's a rental and I'm turning it back in on Thursday. No point in mucking about with it, especially since I like Hertz and don't want to accidentally open them to a lawsuit because I've disabled a "safety" feature on one of their cars.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: NaOH
My coworker bought a fully loaded RX and doesn't trust hr backup camera because she thinks that "Objects are closer than they appear".........

She's an engineer too and I fail to follow her logic

I can understand her view actually. Backup cameras use extreme wide-angle lenses which tend to distort perspective. Notice how the example images for a fisheye lens show strong distortion.

ZV

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
I can understand her view actually. Backup cameras use extreme wide-angle lenses which tend to distort perspective. Notice how the example images for a fisheye lens show strong distortion.

ZV

Yeah, I don't always trust the distance on mine and my system puts in these line thingies to help show how far you are away.

Also, I usually put my laptop bag in the back between my seat and the back seat. This keeps it from possibly launching around and causing havoc to the laptop if I have to stop suddenly or anything along those lines. I had a laptop take some damage once when it flew from the back seat onto the floor during a sudden stop and the laptop was in a padded bag.

 

[lurk3r]

Oh yeah, I absolutely hate this piece of technology.

Every single damn GM rental vehicle nags me to buckle the passenger seatbelt. It's annoying enough being nagged for putting my laptop bag down, but what I really hate is the fact that all the extra wiring and engineering to put these sensors into the seats just adds to the cost and hurts the performance/mileage.

My Altima has the same sensor, but like someone mentioned for the accord, it just disables the airbag if the weight is not heavy enough. I'd guess / vaugely remember that from 2 to 50 kg will turn off the airbag, and over 50 is ok.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I have asked about removing mine in my Audi, as my dog gets it to go off all of the time...

they said it's illegal :S

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
I have asked about removing mine in my Audi, as my dog gets it to go off all of the time...

they said it's illegal :S

Bah, just find the connection under the seat and yank the wires if it's your own car.

ZV

 

[radioouman]

The Camry rental that I had did the same thing on my way to the airport. Super annoying.

 

[jagec]

A friend's Civic has that "feature". We can be coming up to a stop on some back road, I take off my seatbelt to grab my bag from the back, and after a few seconds: BEEPBEEPBEEP!

I hate it, and if I was my car I'd have ripped it out long ago. Yet another worthless device that adds weight, cost, and complexity to a car, and whose only advantage is that the dealership makes more money when one of a billion sensors goes out and throws a CEL when the car's out of warranty.

 

[Black88GTA]

My Prelude has something similar, although not quite as "intelligent". There are no weight sensors in the seats, but (as far as I can tell) the nanny alarm works on seatbelt buckle contact. It will be silent, until you touch the seat belt buckle to the metal part in the receiver and then break the connection (fumbling with the buckle, disconnecting the belt, etc). After that, it's a horrible loud beeping until the belt is locked in the receiver and the circuit is reestablished. I don't know how long it goes for until it stops on its own - once it's started, I always make sure the buckle gets seated ASAP to shut it up. Very annoying.

It sucks that that horrible seat belt alarm is still going strong, but the pleasant, helpful ding that tells me that I left my lights on died last year.

:music:Only the good dieeee young:music:

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
I'm with you ZV. I also hate my wife's Odyssey because the doors lock if you go over 10 mph. I know a lot of cars do this, but my Maxima does not so I'm not used to having to press "unlock" every time I park. It drives me freaking nuts to park the van then go to pull open the rear hatch only to remember it had locked itself on my behalf.

I have that same gripe; what's the point of auto-locking the car? How does it make me any safer? Does it auto-unlock if there's an accident? What if I'm in an accident and become unconscious? Is someone going to have to break a window to get me out?