I Hate the Stupid Dial Shifter: Now With Poll

[Guv]

Spins like the knob on a shite house door.

Sponsored

 

[Lugnut]

Real trucks have 3 on the tree.

I had a truck 76, f100 with a straight 6. It had a hillbilly shifter. Good memories!

 

[Chewy]

I'd bet that hybrid owners like the dial and EB owners don't so much. Because you hybrid owners are just so fuckin goofy.

Looking down at the MPGs on the display and seeing this would make anybody a little “fuckin goofy”.

 

[WNYEscapee]

Had a dial shifter in the Ram I traded in for the Maverick. Wasn't a fan of it whatsoever, though it was otherwise a fantastic truck. That said, I was somewhat already used to the notion of literally "switching gears" via the rotary dial.
On the Ram I often mistakenly ended up grabbing the fan know which was next to it, or when in a rush the radio knob. Imagine being in traffic and you need to back into a driveway quickly and instead you turn the HVAC fan or radio volume down instead. This never made me a fan of it. Then came the Maverick. I liked that it wasn't on the dash near other knobs, but I also prefer that if it's on the console, I can rest my hand on it and change gears in a manner which is consistent with the means I grew up with. The problem being that in an environment when a familiar action is more often repeatable, it is too often difficult to do with something I've not had decades of experience with. In defense of the rotary knob, it's position on the console is much better than on the dash and the feel of the knob was also preferrable to that of the Ram's.

 

[todd92]

Yeah, I was gonna say all the "real" trucks I worked on for a living had 9-13 speeds on the floor.

Thems modern trannies, real trucks had twin stick quad boxs. Though any Eaton beats an Allison. Allisons is fer steering wheel holders.

 

[Deleted member 5597]

It took a little time, but I it. I like the extra room. Besides the Maverick, my wife has it in her '22 Escape hybrid. She doesn't have a problem with it neither.

 

[PNWMaverick]

I had a truck 76, f100 with a straight 6. It had a hillbilly shifter. Good memories!

I had a '72 SWB with 3 on the tree and a (250?) straight six. It drove so smooth! You had to move your hand very little to shift. Probably should have kept that one.

 

[Lugnut]

That Ford 300 straight 6 was as smooth as silk. One of the best gas engines ever built. [Imo] They had seem to last forever.

 

[Steve Urquell]

That Ford 300 straight 6 was as smooth as silk. One of the best gas engines ever built. [Imo] They had seem to last forever.

Agreed. I remember as a 13-14 y/o kid my parents had a family friend. He was taking me somewhere and was driving an old Ford with 300-6. Said it had 300,000 miles on it and still running good.

Later on I worked as a diesel mechanic at a truck fleet shop and the company had several Ford trucks with 300-6 engines which I maintained. They never had problems. May be one of the best engines ever made.

 

[Blinky]

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.

Sounds like operator error.
Don't bash the dial and you'll probably be fine.

 

[2Shea]

I grew up driving manual, but when it comes to an auto I could not care less how I put it in gear. Takes less than 5 seconds of my entire time I am in the car. It's basically an afterthought. Could it be improved... sure? But do I even think about it at this point? No.

That said, everyone has their preferences. This was something I checked out when I test drove the Mav, and I decided it was not an issue for me.

 

[RoaringGorilla]

I love the dial. Even before I owned the Maverick, I never understood the vitriol for it. I test drove a Maverick in early 2023 and I had no problem with it. IMO, the dial is the easiest thing to use.

Before the Maverick, I was coming from a Ridgeline, that had, gasp, buttons to put the truck into gear. Wonky at first, but again, easy to use.

 

[Guv]

I love the dial. Even before I owned the Maverick, I never understood the vitriol for it. I test drove a Maverick in early 2023 and I had no problem with it. IMO, the dial is the easiest thing to use.

Before the Maverick, I was coming from a Ridgeline, that had, gasp, buttons to put the truck into gear. Wonky at first, but again, easy to use.

Innovative HONDA copied late 50’s early 60’s Ford and Chrysler ideas?

 

[dlhort1955]

It has been almost a year and I still have not gotten use to that dial. Especially when I shut the car off and then turn the car back on so I can shift it into park. It goes to park automatically, but my 69 year old brain just cannot comprehend that.

I have a had a shift lever for 15-20 years and that is what I rest my right hand on when I drive. I just cannot see resting it on a dial. I know, but I am used to driving with my left hand and resting my right hand. Do not tell the driving instructor that I drive with one hand, not two.

 

[NoVaJimmy]

Miss the dial shifter after moving to a Lexus, now I have this big dumb phallic shifter in the way of my USB outlets etc.

Sponsored