I Hate the Stupid Dial Shifter: Now With Poll

[rclee]

Old story, it was the late 70's in a 1966 Chevy Biscayne wagon 283 2bbl powerglide. Me and two buddies were going fishing. We were jamming to some rock and roll about 60 MPH. The driver (not me) was playing "air drums" to the song and hit the column shifter. He downshifted that powerglide at speed to first gear (only 2 speeds in a powerglide, Drive and first) and the little 283 didn't like the sudden RPM change. It made a pop sound and then ran like crap after that. We had to troubleshoot the issue at night and basically pulled the plug wire on one of the cylinders to stop the back firing through the carb. We got it home and pulled the valve covers off to find a pushrod through the rocker arm. I know it was a long story, but the older cars were not risk free either, with their methods of shifting.

Oh BTW I really don't mind the rotary shifter in my Mav.

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[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

Not fond of it, but its ok. Would prefer a regular shifter with the same gear selection feature that i had on my F-150, and the ability to lock out gears in hilly terrain if I want.

But as I said in the past, it's not the end of the world.

 

[No Brand]

I was getting frustrated being 2 cars back and after about the 15th time flopped my arms down at my sides like "Why, why?". As the lead car sped up I was not accelerating while pushing the gas pedal down.

I looked down and the tach was at 4,000rpms and we were slowing down. I immediately started thinking about reports in here of people's trucks doing this and being stranded with an electronic glitch.

Looked down again and the dial was in "N" neutral. Flipped it to "D" and all was well. Just a random flop of the hands and the truck was inoperable. No locking detent or button to push to make the shift, no click or tactile feel, just a flick and it's in neutral.

I really hate this dial.

So... because you can't control your emotions. Sounds like a "you" problem.

Similar thing could happen with any shifter.

 

[Steve Urquell]

The reason why you turn it the wrong way is because you are used to the PRNDL display on the dash where the letters stay in the same place and you move the indicator to the correct letter. On the dial shifter it's the opposite. Your brain is constantly being given a display that is the opposite and then when you try to shift it wants it to work the same way. If they did it the other way around it would be so much easier to get used to. But once you understand why you're turning it the other way it becomes easier to get your brain wired to overcome the idiocy of the design.

100% dead on. Without looking at it I'll spin it the wrong way every time.

Growing up is overrated.

Inorite? I haven't managed to do it yet and I'm getting the 55+ discount at restaurants. I do not plan to change

I got use to it on my Bronco Sport but it did not spin all the way around. You didn't have to look anywhere to see what position it was in. It had four positions and stopped at each end. Some idiot at Ford decided to just let it keep spinning on the Maverick.

Maybe they hired the guy who designed the paddle controllers on the old Atari 2600.

I've also bumped the dial into neutral -- going uphill over the Continental Divide. Briefly started going backwards downhill and it was unnerving as hell.

Pretty sure the computer won't allow going into reverse at speed tho. I won't be trying that to test what happens.

Yikes! The stupid thing moves so easily you have no clue that you moved it. Then your brain is wondering WTH went wrong.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

100% dead on. Without looking at it I'll spin it the wrong way every time.

Inorite? I haven't managed to do it yet and I'm getting the 55+ discount at restaurants. I do not plan to change

Maybe they hired the guy who designed the paddle controllers on the old Atari 2600.

Yikes! The stupid thing moves so easily you have no clue that you moved it. Then your brain is wondering WTH went wrong.

The clicks are not firm and well-defined, and you can spin it continuously, so you don't have the tactile "feel" when you're in any specific gear or in park. Placing the old PRND21 column shifter into drive required no viewing, same for reverse and for park. It was all mechanical, and it was glorious. (Ok, maybe not quite glorious, but decidedly easy and intuitive).

I have not yet encountered the "nanny" functions where it puts it into park without any human intervention - that's just plain wrong, and somewhat insulting. And, if the car is "drive by wire" (which it is) and has connectivity, then it can be hacked.

Reaching for my second cup of coffee now, which should improve my mood somewhat.

BTW, I just returned from about 2000 miles worth of vacation with my Maverick, and it drove perfectly.

 

[pigsareus]

I feel like I've given the dial a fair shake and have determined I frikken hate the stupid thing. It is just not intuitive to being able to grab it and put it where you need it to go without deliberately looking down at it.

The Mav is my wife's DD and I drive a manual trans Tacoma or MT Miata and am used to knowing by the feel what gear I'm in. I'm lost in the Maverick with the dial. I have had many, many episodes of going the wrong way with it when trying to turn quickly when turning around.

Today sealed the deal for me and the stupid thing.

Wife and I were driving an old 55 mph 2 lane backroad in Podunk, OK. Idiot 2 cars ahead was running 60mph for most of the time but would drift into a coma (or on the phone) and slow down randomly for no reason to 45mph.

I was getting frustrated being 2 cars back and after about the 15th time flopped my arms down at my sides like "Why, why?". As the lead car sped up I was not accelerating while pushing the gas pedal down.

I looked down and the tach was at 4,000rpms and we were slowing down. I immediately started thinking about reports in here of people's trucks doing this and being stranded with an electronic glitch.

Looked down again and the dial was in "N" neutral. Flipped it to "D" and all was well. Just a random flop of the hands and the truck was inoperable. No locking detent or button to push to make the shift, no click or tactile feel, just a flick and it's in neutral.

I really hate this dial.

On day one - I didn't like it as it was something new; days 2-3 took a little getting used to it - required a little thought; days 3 thru 700+ so far - I never think about it and it's never caused me any trouble.

 

[Headbanger]

I drive mine all the time and still sometimes go the wrong way with the dial. Especially when doing three point turns. It's just weird, but I'm not complaining.

 

[Tbone289]

Mine has solid detents. Two clicks left (CCW)from drive, reverse. Two clicks right from reverse, drive. At least 4 clicks from park, drive. Simple enough, but it did take some getting used to. I don't recall ever having an automatic console shifter that couldn't be freely bumped into neutral.

 

[Shad]

I feel like I've given the dial a fair shake and have determined I frikken hate the stupid thing. It is just not intuitive to being able to grab it and put it where you need it to go without deliberately looking down at it.

The Mav is my wife's DD and I drive a manual trans Tacoma or MT Miata and am used to knowing by the feel what gear I'm in. I'm lost in the Maverick with the dial. I have had many, many episodes of going the wrong way with it when trying to turn quickly when turning around.

Today sealed the deal for me and the stupid thing.

Wife and I were driving an old 55 mph 2 lane backroad in Podunk, OK. Idiot 2 cars ahead was running 60mph for most of the time but would drift into a coma (or on the phone) and slow down randomly for no reason to 45mph.

I was getting frustrated being 2 cars back and after about the 15th time flopped my arms down at my sides like "Why, why?". As the lead car sped up I was not accelerating while pushing the gas pedal down.

I looked down and the tach was at 4,000rpms and we were slowing down. I immediately started thinking about reports in here of people's trucks doing this and being stranded with an electronic glitch.

Looked down again and the dial was in "N" neutral. Flipped it to "D" and all was well. Just a random flop of the hands and the truck was inoperable. No locking detent or button to push to make the shift, no click or tactile feel, just a flick and it's in neutral.

I really hate this dial.

I agree I hate that flippin thing. Even when I take my dog if he steps on the center console then next I know I'm in N .

 

[Steve Urquell]

I drive mine all the time and still sometimes go the wrong way with the dial. Especially when doing three point turns. It's just weird, but I'm not complaining.

@Leuf nailed it. It's the way our brains are trained to see the arc of a shifter travel from P to D on a dash display. I struggle most doing 3pt turns as well.

 

[Steve Urquell]

I agree I hate that flippin thing. Even when I take my dog if he steps on the center console then next I know I'm in N .

Our always changes the drive mode or auto brake hold feature. It's a miracle she hasn't shifted it yet.

 

[Tbone289]

I keep my dogs seat belted in the back seat. It's safer for everyone, and keeps them away from the controls.

 

[MoHillbilly]

It took a minute, but I’ve gotten used to it. Just used the gear readout on the instrument panel. Just how it is in this modern age..

 

[Bruce W]

I feel like I've given the dial a fair shake and have determined I frikken hate the stupid thing. It is just not intuitive to being able to grab it and put it where you need it to go without deliberately looking down at it.

The Mav is my wife's DD and I drive a manual trans Tacoma or MT Miata and am used to knowing by the feel what gear I'm in. I'm lost in the Maverick with the dial. I have had many, many episodes of going the wrong way with it when trying to turn quickly when turning around.

Today sealed the deal for me and the stupid thing.

Wife and I were driving an old 55 mph 2 lane backroad in Podunk, OK. Idiot 2 cars ahead was running 60mph for most of the time but would drift into a coma (or on the phone) and slow down randomly for no reason to 45mph.

I was getting frustrated being 2 cars back and after about the 15th time flopped my arms down at my sides like "Why, why?". As the lead car sped up I was not accelerating while pushing the gas pedal down.

I looked down and the tach was at 4,000rpms and we were slowing down. I immediately started thinking about reports in here of people's trucks doing this and being stranded with an electronic glitch.

Looked down again and the dial was in "N" neutral. Flipped it to "D" and all was well. Just a random flop of the hands and the truck was inoperable. No locking detent or button to push to make the shift, no click or tactile feel, just a flick and it's in neutral.

I really hate this dial.

I have made my peace with the design. You can add a metal collar over the shifter that makes it less grippy. The automakers have tried a lot of variations over the years. Remember the Hurst 3 stick shifter?

 

[Steve Urquell]

I keep my dogs seat belted in the back seat. It's safer for everyone, and keeps them away from the controls.

I let mine drive. She's better at it than me plus she never has a problem with the shifter.

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