RIP Car Icon (2019 - 2023)

[Mirak]

please keep the car icon gone, I don't want the 8yr old computer wasting resources for an icon of a car I already know I'm in.

Now if the push button dial could be pushed for first AC temp, then AC fan, then driver heated seat, that'd be quite handy. If it was temp by default, even better. I use the wheel button for audio vol as it's already present where my hand is.

It’s weird how some people find tapping a function before twisting the knob is distracting, but somehow cycling through functions by pushing the knob is… not distracting? This makes zero sense to me.

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[Gullwingdmc]

It’s weird how some people find tapping a function before twisting the knob is distracting, but somehow cycling through functions by pushing the knob is… not distracting? This makes zero sense to me.

The volume knob functions is nice in theory, but in practice it’s more work for some tasks, especially for the laggy software.
For example, today I wanted to turn the temp down by 2 degrees. I tapped the - symbol on the temp twice and I was done before the knob graphics had even come up.

 

[Hammered]

It’s weird how some people find tapping a function before twisting the knob is distracting, but somehow cycling through functions by pushing the knob is… not distracting? This makes zero sense to me.

without looking hit the climate control button and then try for the volume knob. Which one did you locate?

 

[Larry Paul]

I would have been upset if the tiny car icon was a Cyber Orange GT icon...but it was a white/grey non GT.

I much prefer the look AND function of the new UI. Still room for improvement, but it is 1000% better than the first UI IMHO.

While I would prefer a Cyber Orange GT in the image I greatly prefer the look of what is under settings as it at least is a GT front end.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

Look at those tiny buttons shoved up in the corner of that functionally useless picture though. Why not turn the car to the left and put tap zones for the frunk, charge port, and trunk

without looking hit the climate control button and then try for the volume knob. Which one did you locate?

Either way you have to look to see how much you are adjusting by. If I want to adjust the temp I need to see how much I’m adjusting it by, I’m not just going to blindly turn the knob.

 

[Hammered]

Either way you have to look to see how much you are adjusting by. If I want to adjust the temp I need to see how much I’m adjusting it by, I’m not just going to blindly turn the knob.

You're missing the point, you can find the knob hit it to go to AC and if you're wanting it cooler, turn it a few clicks cooler, glance, is it right?

Just that easy. No glancing, finding button, shifting to knob and adjusting.

reach, adjust, look and verify.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

You're missing the point, you can find the knob hit it to go to AC and if you're wanting it cooler, turn it a few clicks cooler, glance, is it right?

Just that easy. No glancing, finding button, shifting to knob and adjusting.

reach, adjust, look and verify.

Except your way had 4 steps, mine has 3.

look, reach, adjust.

No need to verify.

I never used the sliders to adjust temp, just like I’ll never use the knob. My seat heaters have been in auto since the day I bought the car, same with the climate control. At most I’ll adjust the temp up or down by 4 degrees, and I’ll use the +/- to do that.

 

[Mirak]

You're missing the point, you can find the knob hit it to go to AC and if you're wanting it cooler, turn it a few clicks cooler, glance, is it right?

Just that easy. No glancing, finding button, shifting to knob and adjusting.

reach, adjust, look and verify.

We might be talking about different things. Are you suggesting that pushing the knob only activates one particular climate function? If so, ok… but that seems odd.

What I’ve heard other people suggest is that pushing the knob should toggle between volume and all the different climate functions. There are a lot of different functions. You’ve got driver side temp, passenger side temp, fan speed, low/medium/high Auto, driver side seat, passenger side seat…

Pushing the knob repeatedly to toggle to what you want to control is just stupid. That is far harder than looking to tap once on the function you wish to control. Even when pushing the knob, you would still have to make sure you toggled to the right setting - you’re just making more work for yourself.

If you only want the knob press to activate one climate control, which one? The driver side temp? Why just that one?

 

[Hammered]

We might be talking about different things. Are you suggesting that pushing the knob only activates one particular climate function? If so, ok… but that seems odd.

What I’ve heard other people suggest is that pushing the knob should toggle between volume and all the different climate functions. There are a lot of different functions. You’ve got driver side temp, passenger side temp, fan speed, low/medium/high Auto, driver side seat, passenger side seat…

Pushing the knob repeatedly to toggle to what you want to control is just stupid. That is far harder than looking to tap once on the function you wish to control. Even when pushing the knob, you would still have to make sure you toggled to the right setting - you’re just making more work for yourself.

If you only want the knob press to activate one climate control, which one? The driver side temp? Why just that one?

No, I'm suggesting you push the knob and it's in AC temp adj mode. Push, turn, check.

However I'd like the default mode of the button to be an option to set so when it's turned it adjusts temp as the vol on steering is used far more.

Push button, you're in temp control. Push twice, you're in fan speed. Push 3 times and you're in seat heater. The push would have a 5 second or so time out. So you could push, turn down temp, push again and adjust fan speed, all without looking at it. That's how a UI specialist would approach it. Maximum utility without even having to look at the screen.

 

[Mirak]

No, I'm suggesting you push the knob and it's in AC temp adj mode. Push, turn, check.

However I'd like the default mode of the button to be an option to set so when it's turned it adjusts temp as the vol on steering is used far more.

Push button, you're in temp control. Push twice, you're in fan speed. Push 3 times and you're in seat heater. The push would have a 5 second or so time out. So you could push, turn down temp, push again and adjust fan speed, all without looking at it. That's how a UI specialist would approach it. Maximum utility without even having to look at the screen.

Dude, that’s dumb. There’s absolutely no way. Really consider what you’re saying. Just push 3 times for this. Or 4 times for that. LOL. NOBODY is gonna remember that.

Tap the function you want, twist knob. Easy. You’re making this HARDER.

 

[Hammered]

Dude, that’s dumb. There’s absolutely no way. Really consider what you’re saying. Just push 3 times for this. Or 4 times for that. LOL. NOBODY is gonna remember that.

Tap the function you want, twist knob. Easy. You’re making this HARDER.

Who said it'd be the only way? You could use it or not.
Most people can't drive their shit boxes now, the last thing I'd want is them dicking around with a display for 20 seconds trying to get their finger to a function. Given the ability to push the button to adjust different parameters, I'd believe you'd find most people doing it once they understood it.

Chasing shit on a screen isn't just dumb, it's outright fucking stupidly dangerous for far too many people who can't even have a conversation with their passenger and drive. On-screen climate should be outlawed as it's currently implemented ... and that's saying a lot from someone who'd like to see 75% of the govt fired with each new law creation requiring the deletion of 4 others.

 

[Larry Paul]

Look at those tiny buttons shoved up in the corner of that functionally useless picture though. Why not turn the car to the left and put tap zones for the frunk, charge port, and trunk

I agree there is room for improvements. I don’t want to see those three buttons there at all. They should appear in the header when they are able to be pushed and they should disappear when they are not available.

So if the car is stopped in park, then the trunk and frunk buttons should be there. If you are using DCFC, then the unlock charge cord button could/should be there.

If one is driving-then none of those should be in the header. Just like the CarPlay button that only appears in the header when you are two steps away from getting to CarPlay (like looking at tire pressure, or trip odometer or (someday again) the owners manual.)

I would prefer to have what we have (although all icons should be more consistent) and then have additional spaces for user programmable buttons that are for the header zone.

But overall, this new UI to me is far superior to what the car came with. Far better organized but most importantly they added the dedicated camera button.

 

[Vulnox]

See I’m the other way. Ban all buttons, with the exception of the few that are on the steering wheel. I find them ugly and unnecessary.

I am not looking at it for visual aesthetics but for safety. I don't want button in my iPad, the loss of essentially all button on my iPad Pro has made it damn near flawless. I think there should be a hard button for power, and I don't mind the volume buttons, but that's about it.

But driving is a very different beast. I don't want to have to look down to see what I am hitting or to make adjustments. Once vehicles are actually self-driving, sure, lose all the buttons. But the idea that there are so many people looking down even for a second or two to make sure they hit the temp control and not something else is terrifying. A lot can happen in even a second.

It's a cold card fact that it's far safer to drive a vehicle with buttons than a giant tablet. There isn't a single thing that giant screen can do faster and more accurately than I can do with physical buttons, and it's safer. I don't care if someone considers them ugly because, and I know it's an extreme result but just like looking down at phones it does happen, trips to the emergency room are much uglier.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

I am not looking at it for visual aesthetics but for safety.

I understand your concern and I don’t think you’re wrong. I just would rather things look better and be slightly less convenient, rather than being slightly easier and looking like this.

I get that some people have trouble finding touch screen buttons by muscle memory, but I don’t. I can adjust the temp without looking, I can pause CarPlay or tap a text message notification without looking. It’s all in what you get used to. Some people can work just as efficiently with a touchscreen vs buttons, some can’t.
If you want to talk about taking your eyes off the road then you should be fighting against this new knob UI. It requires you to take your eyes further off the road than the old interface did. Before when you adjusted the volume you could see out of the corner of your eye what number it was at, because that was at the top do the screen. Now it’s at the bottom and you need to look completely away from the road to see what number you’re at.

 

[ITfarmer]

I swear Ford’s Sync team is comprised of 80 year old men who have themed the most boring, plain, vanilla, buggy infotainment system based on a 1985 PalmPilot. Other brands have been beautifully melding maps, album art, etc while Ford has plain white boxes, 1990’s clip art buttons and even more reduced functionality.
At the dealer (again) right now and they’re telling me it needs another 12-16 hours worth of updates — and of course no loaners available and a total unwillingness to get a rental on Ford’s dime.

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