Critical Dash Improvements

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NeilBlanchard

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
356
Location
Maynard, MA Eaarth
In helping my Dad learn about the i MieV, I was shocked to find that the remaining range estimate does not have its own dedicated display!

It is the 7th display out of 8 - the toggle button is a real pain to use *especially* while you are driving. (My wife's Scion xD has this same problem...)

The temperature reading and the dimming control are extraneous to the "main" functions to this prominent display. So, the odometer and the two trip meters (and maybe the service displays) should be on their own display, and the remaining range estimate readout should have a larger display.

Much lower priority is the radio controls - any scrolling control like the station presets is a real pain. Setting the stations is not something my Dad would have figured out on his own. Even the power switch is quite awkward and hard to find. The designer of the radio should be testing it with real everyday people. The one well designed feature is the large rotary volume dial - I do like that *much* better than + and - buttons.
 
You'll find the RR gauge will be used most of the time in the beginning. When I bought my i last summer, I left it on the RR all the time. I really didn't need the odometers or anything else. Now that I've had it for six months, I don't feel I need the RR much at all. I pretty much know how far I can go on what I got on the power meter. Now I just leave it on the temperature gauge, because the cold weather has more of an impact on my mileage than anything else. Between the power meter and the temp gauge with the prevailing conditions, I can judge very welll how far I can go and base my driving performance on the results.

As far as the placement of the display knob, yes - it could have been better. But, again I really don't mind where its at. I put my hand between the steering wheel and the instruments from the 4:00 position on the steering wheel. I guess I'm so in love with the car, that none of these things bother me at all. I've suffered through worse on other cars - just glad to be driving electric. :cool:
 
Neil, if you search through the archives, you'll see a lot of discussion on this topic already. For myself, I simply leave the display in RR and use Trip A whenever I fully recharge the battery in order to tally my mileage/kWh. I use Trip B for longer trips with multiple recharges in-between. I've added an inexpensive older Garmin nuvi GPS with an 'instrument' display which not only can tell me the distance to destination if I want, but also provides an easily-resettable tripmeter and various metrics for that trip.

MitsiGPSHorn.jpg
 
Thought no one would ask - even though my wife cringes, I love opening the window and using this in parking lots on clueless pedestrians, and especially on oblivious texters. Usually results in surprise followed by a smile, and certainly less startling than using the horn.
 
Sorry for the repost - I did kinda' guess that it had been mentioned before, but I didn't search thoroughly.

But this is such a glaring problem that should be fixed. I agree that driving an EV is awesome - both my Dad and his wife are won over, as well.
 
I wouldn't call it a 'glaring' problem, much less 'critical' - As others with more experience in the car report, we don't really mess with the display too much and never while driving

True, it's a classic case of trying to cram too many features into just one instrument, but once you observe how the car works best for you, it tends to be less of a problem. I never toggle through all the displays except for just before I back the car out of the garage and then it's left in the RR mode until I return

If all it had was a single trip meter and the RR function, I guess it would serve 90% of us pretty well, and toggling between the two would of course be no problem. They added a few more functions that many of us might never use, but it's hard to fault them too much for giving you more than you want/need

It would be nice if each of us could redesign the car to be the exact way we prefer, but what they gave us isn't bad - The added features of the multi-gauge isn't any really big thing just the way it is, IMO

Don
 
I would be in favor of seeing the dash display become a screen like a tablet or smart phone. The advantage would be allowing the user to customize which information gets displayed. Having a few "default" screens would be good for those who don't wish to spend the time customizing in addition to having a deeper selection of choices for those with enough tech background to tweak settings.
 
I would just be happy if you didn't have to stick your arm through the steering wheel to get at the stupid button...

Control improvements needed:

1. RR, odometer, etc. should have simultaneous displays, or if you have to scroll through some, the button should be on an easily accessible spot on the dash.
2. Radio controls should conform to standards.
3. Seat warmer switch should be moved up onto the dash...and not behind the steering wheel.
4. Fan switch should turn off when turned counter clockwise. OFF should not be the second to the last position, then auto.
5. Hood release should be on left side.
6. Climate control knobs should be horizontally aligned and higher up on the dash to be more easily visible, so you don't have to look down and away from the road so much. Left/right levers are so much better because you can glance at them or feel them without even looking and know how they are set.

As much as I love this car...MM did not have an ergonomic engineer lay out the dash and controls. Also, I am not particularly fond of computer like displays on my dash...but that's just me.
 
fjpod said:
I would just be happy if you didn't have to stick your arm through the steering wheel to get at the stupid button...

Control improvements needed:

1. RR, odometer, etc. should have simultaneous displays, or if you have to scroll through some, the button should be on an easily accessible spot on the dash.
2. Radio controls should conform to standards.
3. Seat warmer switch should be moved up onto the dash...and not behind the steering wheel.
4. Fan switch should turn off when turned counter clockwise. OFF should not be the second to the last position, then auto.
5. Hood release should be on left side.
6. Climate control knobs should be horizontally aligned and higher up on the dash to be more easily visible, so you don't have to look down and away from the road so much. Left/right levers are so much better because you can glance at them or feel them without even looking and know how they are set.

As much as I love this car...MM did not have an ergonomic engineer lay out the dash and controls. Also, I am not particularly fond of computer like displays on my dash...but that's just me.
I totally agree with you! Display button is really pain in the ... It should be placed together with some other controlls on steering wheel. I would add also time and temp. display and cruise control. Dedicated START button instead of key insert also facilitates the use.

All of this isn't expensive and would bring car's perception on much higher level.
 
fjpod said:
Also, I am not particularly fond of computer like displays on my dash...but that's just me.
I agree. It's the lack of a touch screen and simple instrumentation that attracted me to the MiEV.
 
Agreed. Why should I need to read the owner's manual to operate the car? (With the possible exception of how to set radio station presets!)

Fewer distractions = a safer driving experience.
 
Speaking of radio pre-sets.
Is there a magic word one needs to speak to get the pre-sets to "set"?
I have tried numerous times following the owners manual without success. I'm still on the OEM settings.
HELP!

Silver ES, 2012 with Q.C.
 
Lithim said:
Speaking of radio pre-sets...
For the standard (e.g., non-navi) radio:
Tune the station you want using the ^ v Seek buttons.
Press and hold the ^ or v Memory/Track button until Ch1 appears.
Tap the ^ or v Memory/Track button until the preset number you want to set is displayed (e.g., Ch6).
Press and hold the ^ or v Memory/Track button until the radio beeps.

Don't feel bad for asking -- that was one of the questions I had to ask during my test drive. :lol:
 
aarond12:

Thanks for the radio tip! Success
The key was starting at ch1 and then proceeding to the other channels.

Lithim
 
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