Rotary shifter confusion going into R from D

[Jonno21]

Try coming from a Mazda CX-5 where the Rotary Control in the same exact location is your Infotainment Control including Volume. Even now almost a year later I will go to turn the volume down.

I've also gone in to park vs reverse way to many times.

Exactly my situation. I still have to look down to check which mode I'm in. Pity a voice can't be programmed to say which mode you're in when you change modes. Oh wait... that's my wife.?

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[HuntingPudel]

I like the shifter. It frees up space in the console and it follows the shift pattern of most gear selectors (Park, R, N, D).

I don’t mind too much that it’s rotary. I hate that it allows over-travel. That is bad design. Maybe I am too used to functional dual-gate, ratchet, paddle, and sequential shifters. ?‍?

 

[Guss-E 2021]

I'm still trying to train my brain to look at the 2nd display instead of the knob especially in bright sun when the indicator light is faded out. But it's only been three months. I'll get there. And so will you ?

 

[DR.J56]

After over a year of driving my MME and 25k miles I have gotten used to the shifter. I still think it’s a stupid device and Ford can do better. On a side note, when I shift to park the knob detent is in the wrong spot. The knob doesn’t “feel” like its in Park even though it clearly is.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I still mess it up from time to time. It I’m getting better.

 

[Parasmoney]

Try coming from a Mazda CX-5 where the Rotary Control in the same exact location is your Infotainment Control including Volume. Even now almost a year later I will go to turn the volume down.

I've also gone in to park vs reverse way to many times.

My seconds car is cx-9 and I have tried to turn the MMe dial multiple times trying to increase the volume. Luckily I've turned it to the right while driving.... Can't imagine what would happen if I accidentally turn it to left while on the highway.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

My seconds car is cx-9 and I have tried to turn the MMe dial multiple times trying to increase the volume. Luckily I've turned it to the right while driving.... Can't imagine what would happen if I accidentally turn it to left while on the highway.

It shifts to neutral. Doesn’t hit reverse at any speed. Car is smarter than that. Thankfully. Or lots of us would be needing new parts.

 

[Logal727]

Just look at the IPC

 

[engnrng]

Interesting. Neither my wife nor I have ever had a problem with this. We both learned to drive on automatic cars with column shifters. Most cars with column shifters or console shifters have R one position away from Park (on column shifter, it is one position to the right, or down, which is still clockwise). So does this rotary shift: 1 click right is Reverse. Then to Drive, I overspin all the way to the right. When I Park, I overspin all the way to the left. Just like a column shifter, except the column shifter has a physical stop at Park. I never count clicks either direction, except the 1 click to the right for Reverse. When I need to put it into Neutral for the car wash, I actually look at the knob. Could this have been done better or differently? Sure, but it still seems to me that the rotary knob requires no new muscle memory, and I like it better than the linear console shifters where you always have to look at the console or you might end up in D2 or Low. My favorite shifter is a 4 button on the console in my Kona Electric.

 

[ctenidae]

Not a fan, frequently turn the wrong way. I much prefer moving a stick, preferably left, push, and up while engaging the left foot for reverse. But, you can't have everything

 

[engnrng]

Not a fan, frequently turn the wrong way. I much prefer moving a stick, preferably left, push, and up while engaging the left foot for reverse. But, you can't have everything

Now, THAT requires new muscle memory going from stick to anything else!!

 

[RMoore]

Sure, but it still seems to me that the rotary knob requires no new muscle memory,

Glad this is the case for you but it hasn’t been for me or a few others here judging from responses. I don’t know what the conditions are when you shift from D to R but in my case the confusion only happens when I feel pressure to quickly execute a 3 point U turn.

 

[engnrng]

Glad this is the case for you but it hasn’t been for me or a few others here judging from responses. I don’t know what the conditions are when you shift from D to R but in my case the confusion only happens when I feel pressure to quickly execute a 3 point U turn.

Good point. I will have to watch what I do the next time I go from D to R. That does not happen very often for me because the turn radius of this car is so great.

 

[HuntingPudel]

<SNIP>
Could this have been done better or differently? Sure, but it still seems to me that the rotary knob requires no new muscle memory, and I like it better than the linear console shifters where you always have to look at the console or you might end up in D2 or Low.
<SNIP>

Never had this issue with the dual gate shifters or ratchet shifters in GM high performance products from Olds or Pontiac. They let you shift one position then you need to depress the button or let pressure up on the stick, then you shift again to get to the next gear. it all happens quickly and accurately. You always know what gear it’s in without having to look because it only allows one gear at a time. The dual-gate shifters even let you shift all the way from 1 to N without intervention if you don’t have it in the ratcheting gate. ??

The rotary knob in the MME has too light a decent, which seems to encourage over-travel. When you’re trying to operate the shifter quickly it’s very difficult to tell if you have clicked it once, twice, or three times, making it horribly imprecise. It’s horrible design and one of my most hated things about the car (right after the 5-second thing and before the under-designed HVBJB). ??

With respect to looking at the Instrument Display to see what gear I am in, I can’t see it because the display is mounted too high in the car when I have the steering wheel in a sort of comfortable spot. It’s way easier to take my eyes off of the road and look at the knob than to go through the gyrations necessary to see the whole gear indicator portion of the display. ??

 

[ctenidae]

Good point. I will have to watch what I do the next time I go from D to R. That does not happen very often for me because the turn radius of this car is so great.

Funny - coming out of the Model 3 I feel like I'm turning a bus around most of the time I need a quick maneuver.

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