HVAC and other controls in Touchscreen

[Ozarkbeard]

Interesting article about how touchscreen controls are not liked, and users find them distracting and dangerous. Article is about Subarus, but the same applies to other brands. Subaru owners hate them so much that Subaru is bringing back physical controls, starting in the '26 Outback. Maybe there's hope for Ford, too. Or not.
https://www.dailydot.com/news/subaru-touchscreen-problems-camera/

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[fstlan3]

Back in my day, we had one knob for heat, one for cold, and if it broke you just smacked the dash ’til it worked again. These newfangled touchscreen HVACs? Don’t bother me none—I set it once and forget it. Ain’t like I’m in there recalibrating the damn atmosphere every 5 minutes like some kind of NASA tech.

 

[Cherokee]

Ford is doing its best to stay on top of the innovation curve and doing a damn fine job at it In My Not So Humble opinion.
Their lead designer’s are not Boomers, they are younguns. They like IPhones and IPads. Most are not smart enough to think about with buttons and knobs we don’t have to take our eyes off the road.

I like my lane centering driver assist. I can play with Sirius as long as that’s on.
But I am not in traffic.
In about four or five years I will be looking at new Mavericks.
If they don’t have sum buttons and knobs they better have full A. I. Auto drive.
So I can play with my Toys on the screen.
I figure at the board meetings someone said, “ Screw the old farts, they’ll be dead soon. We gotta get the youngsters hooked on Ford.”

Besides all that one way to sell more vehicles is if you make them total out so easy.
Sound Familiar ?
Another way is Touch screens. A Dude or a Dudette crashes while playing with the touch screen it will be logged.
Just like when they investigate and find someone was texting when they crash.
Blame will not be on Ford.

Is that the same as Plausible Deniability?
I like buttons, knobs, switches and sliders.
Yeah yeah I know us old guys are a Pain In The Azz.

 

[IHateSpeedbumps]

Back in my day, we had one knob for heat, one for cold

Sliders were where it was at.

 

[TwuckHappens]

The loudest opinions do not represent the majority. The designers of the blackberry phones couldn't understand why people preferred iPhones.

The problem with any interface is user design - Ford didn't put a whole lot of effort into their design compared to EVs and some other brands but the layout is in no way bad. Subaru's touchscreen interface was pretty bad around 2020 and they're pulling back from it a bit.

Before buying my Maverick I was going to buy a frontier which was better equipped and cheaper but I decided againstit for a number of reasons but one of them was because it was like walking into a shuttle cockpit with buttons everywhere and a date interface.

 

[Ryom]

These newfangled touchscreen HVACs? Don’t bother me none—I set it once and forget it.

For me this is a feature and not a bug. It drives me crazy when people don't understand how HVAC works and just treat it like an on-off switch. It's either MAXIMUM BLOWER HOT, MAXIMUM BLOWER COLD, or COMPLETELY OFF... absolutely no in between and they keep adjusting it on and off the entire drive.

Setting the thermostat to 64 doesn't make the A/C blow colder air, and it doesn't make it cool any faster. It just makes it STAY ON LONGER so it gets colder in the cabin. Set the temperature to what you find comfortable, adjust the blower to your preferred breeziness and STOP MESSING WITH IT ALREADY.

Sorry, pet peeve.

 

[scottjl]

Back in my day, we had one knob for heat, one for cold, and if it broke you just smacked the dash ’til it worked again. These newfangled touchscreen HVACs? Don’t bother me none—I set it once and forget it. Ain’t like I’m in there recalibrating the damn atmosphere every 5 minutes like some kind of NASA tech.

same here. i just set my preferred setting, turn on auto. and never think about it again. one thing i've found on my new maverick is the heated seats have an auto setting that my 2023 escape does not. it works very well. wish they updated the escape to include this.

 

[Gullzway]

I had a 2025 Bronco sport loaner for almost a month while my 2022 Maverick was getting a new engine.

Hated the touch screen HVAC controls. Also managed to turn on the heated seats, which is right by the Android auto multi-screen button ,unknowingly more times than I care to count.

 

[fstlan3]

same here. i just set my preferred setting, turn on auto. and never think about it again. one thing i've found on my new maverick is the heated seats have an auto setting that my 2023 escape does not. it works very well. wish they updated the escape to include this.

That’s simple as a Forscan change. I’ve done that option in my other vehicles.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

These newfangled touchscreen HVACs? Don’t bother me none—I set it once and forget it.

In the perfect world, that might be OK. In the Ford world, not so much, like when the HVAC suddenly starts blowing full blast on its own, and a passenger complains that it's too hot or cold in the cab.

Thankfully, some car companies like Subaru and VW are realizing that a lot of customers find touch-screen HVAC controls suck. And are going back to physical controls.

 

[fstlan3]

In the perfect world, that might be OK. In the Ford world, not so much, like when the HVAC suddenly starts blowing full blast on its own, and a passenger complains that it's too hot or cold in the cab.

Thankfully, some car companies like Subaru and VW are realizing that a lot of customers find touch-screen HVAC controls suck. And are going back to physical controls.

Never had that issue with auto HVAC's in my Fords or Lincolns. I can understand the frustrations though for lacking some physical buttons for direct feedback to changing settings. I doubt Ford will take their low cost stuff back to physical buttons though, I feel like this screen upgrade was their way of migrating away from multiple modules and parts. But then again that's why I really enjoy the Mach E so much. I can get in it and there's just a simple straight forward interior and if I have to mind the touchscreen a few times, no big deal.

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