Coming from a 10-year-old vehicle and getting behind the wheel of a 2026 model-year car can be a shock. For better or worse, technology has almost entirely taken over the driving experience. If it’s not an abundance of screens, drivers are confronted with a range of buzzers and beeps from multiple safety systems.
Going from a 13 year-old Toyota Tacoma to a new Tacoma, is an unpleasant experience. After having my new Tacoma for 9 months, if I could switch back without losing money, I would. My new Tacoma is cleaner, shinier and has all new parts, but I’d have 30 thousand dollars to address any issues on my old truck.
New cars are at peak software features. That article says as much. There was a time when automakers were putting climate control and audio on a flat screen display. Some automakers hedged their bets by allowing the driver to adjust the AC on the screen, steering wheel and dashboard buttons.
Drivers didn’t want to navigate a screen menu to turn on the defrost. Automakers got the message.
New cars have sensors all over, and everything is controlled by software, so it’s easy and cheap to add features. Design engineers are guessing what drivers want. They guess wrong pretty often.
I like automation. I have a Master’s degree in it, and am automating my house. Here’s an example.
There are wall sconce lights on either side of my garage door. If the garage door is open and it’s dark out, the lights come on. That’s the only time those lights come on.
You may say that doesn’t make sense. You want those lights to come on if it’s dark and motion is detected to deter criminals. For your house, you’d be right. I have too many deer wandering around for that.
Modern cars, and my new truck, have all sorts of scenarios like that.
My Tacoma will not move if a door is open. That make sense, right? No, not if you have a travel trailer. When the driver needs to back up a small distance, an inch or two, it’s common to leave the door open and use a pavement crack, pebble or some other feature as a reference for small movement.
My Tacoma has thermostat climate control. It activates heat or AC to maintain that temperature. What does it do if I’m driving with the windows open? I have no idea.
The design team may have decided to turn off the heat or AC if the windows are open. That makes sense, but what if I’ve been driving all night and want the heat on and windows open to keep me awake and not freezing?
That’s the problem with automation. The designer decides what’s best for the driver. It’s not always obvious.
An AI or expert system may adapt to the driver’s preference, but that means anyone else driving my truck would find it operates differently than theirs. Or I want to override my usual practice.
With my phone integral to my truck’s operation, more decisions are made. I can listen to an audiobook, but I can’t select an audiobook from my library while my truck is moving. My phone and truck conspire to thwart my wishes.
I don’t know if Toyota is particularly bad at this, but they need to get better.
The first time I tried hitching my truck to the camper, my truck wouldn’t move with the door open. I had no idea why. I engaged and disengaged the parking brake, put it in 4 wheel drive, and tried low gear. My truck has two flat screen displays, and neither one told me why my truck would not move.
I posted previously about a chime that was sounding with no explanation and stopped when Sparky scratched his ass. I assume that my truck thought Sparky was an unbelted passenger. Sparky has gone on plenty of car rides, and that had never happened before. There was no notification and no way to defeat the alarm. Maybe the alarm timed out, and didn’t stop due to Sparky’s squirming around. Don’t know.
I don’t know if automakers can resolve these issues. People have different preferences and expectations. My hunch is that some technology, like adaptive cruise control, is generally appreciated. Apparently for Tacomas, if the forward looking sensors are blocked by snow, then no cruise control is available. That ain’t good.
In some cases, just inform the driver. My truck thinks it’s clever when it detects that I’m pulling a trailer. That apparently changes how my truck behaves, but it doesn’t tell me how.
My truck could tell me what’s going on. Use a Nippon Airways stewardess voice to clue me in. “Mr. Rick, you seem to be towing a trailer. I will respectfully increase stopping distance and reduce cruise control sensitivity.”
I don’t know, but they should do something to improve the experience.
