Does Rotary Shifter suck?

[Tim d]

Rotary shifter sucks

I'm not a fan of the rotary shifter, are you?

Not a fan,or a critic,it does the job just fine.

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[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

Imagine if the column shifter was the gear shift for a manual transmission. Yep, I used to drive a Dodge pickup we had in the motor pool when I was in the Army during the 1980's and the column shifter was the shifter. Weird. Got used to it though.

My older brother had a 63 Galaxie with "3 on the tree", a column mounted manual 3 speed transmission. That did not discourage him so he bought a 66 Falcon that also had 3 on the tree. I kind or drove it in the driveway once or twice (I was way too young to legally drive).

 

[Ponyprez]

I have gotten used to it but I think it would be better if it had actual limits of travel. If you miss any detent you have to physically look at the shifter or dashboard which takes your eyes off the road but like I said, I've gotten used to it and its other modern features I have never had in previous vehicles.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

I have gotten used to it but I think it would be better if it had actual limits of travel. If you miss any detent you have to physically look at the shifter or dashboard which takes your eyes off the road but like I said, I've gotten used to it and its other modern features I have never had in previous vehicles.

^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^

A hard stop at P and at D or L or whatever is at the other end. On my truck, it's M for manual, but if the vehicle doesn't have manual shifting capability, then D or L is fine. You should be able to park, turn it fully to park, and know that it is, in fact, in park.

Stronger detents would also be helpful - gives it a tactile feel. We know that R is 2 clicks up from D. Shouldn't have to look.

As I said earlier, I'm not really fond of the dial shifter, but there are much worse things in the world than that. My Escape has it, and my Maverick, assuming they can find my dealership some day (it's in transit), will have it also.

 

[JayBoegs]

Rotary shifter sucks

I'm not a fan of the rotary shifter, are you?

Using it for a year and a half now and I've come to appreciate it.

 

[TMan51]

I had a manual shift for the first 50 years behind the wheel, when I transitioned to an automatic transmission. I didn't miss shifting one bit. After 10 years with an automatic the little dial does exactly what the letters tell me, it's easy to get to, and saves room around the shifter handle. I don't miss the shifter handle.

I rented a Dodge Ram last week to cart some stuff that would have taken three trips in the Mav. It had the same little dial on the dash. Not bad to drive, until I filled up on gas to return the rental. Less than 10mpg . Then I really liked the Maverick. Even with the Tremor package I get 27-28mpg.

 

[BAScott62]

Felt off for about a week, then muscle memory developed.

 

[MetalsGeek]

Considering the inconvenient truth that the Maverick is totally drive-by-wire and the shifter is just a glorified switch, I think it's a perfect solution to the cost/feature tradeoff. My only issue has been turning the knob the wrong direction. I like it and found it very easy to use, but then I had a manual transmission for 40 years before the Mav so perhaps my expectations were wide open.

 

[Criss944]

Drove my wife's SUV for the first time in months, it seemed to take a lot of unnecessary movement and effort to shift.

I really like the free spinning puck, no worry about drive or park. However, I could use a little more feedback for reverse and neutral. When I feel it is necessary to shift into reverse quickly, I frequently go all the way to park.

 

[shadow76]

The best shifter I ever had was the 5 speed stick in my 1990 Mustang 5.0.
Second best was the 6 speed stick in my 2008 Honda Civic Si.

Second your observation but with the substitution of the 5 speeds in both the F150 and Ranger. =

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

Second your observation but with the substitution of the 5 speeds in both the F150 and Ranger. =

I had a 5 speed Ranger, from some time in the early 90s. V-6. My original Ranger, an 83, only had a 4 speed because they hadn't come out with the 5 speed yet. It served me well, helping 3 of us (like sardines) car-pool to work each day.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Drove my wife's SUV for the first time in months, it seemed to take a lot of unnecessary movement and effort to shift.

I really like the free spinning puck, no worry about drive or park. However, I could use a little more feedback for reverse and neutral. When I feel it is necessary to shift into reverse quickly, I frequently go all the way to park.

You are not the only one!!

 

[ecoD2024$]

Rotary shifter sucks

I'm not a fan of the rotary shifter, are you?

No, it does suck!

 

[TomD]

I still find myself turning it in the wrong direction, but otherwise, I like it. Something different.

I do the same thing and I knocked it into a different mode while driving once. I have also have forgotten to put it in park only discover that it put itself in park.

 

[Nosrepmodnar]

It is nice and unobtrusive.
The fact that I have to select eco mode every time I turn my hybrid on pisses me off though

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