The 2023 New Car Features You Would Pay To Remove

One of the most persistent myths in any industry or market is that buyers vote with their wallets. That notion conveniently overlooks the underlying conditions of any exchange of goods and services, wherein the only thing people can buy is whatever is being sold in the first place.

Not everyone likes what's currently for sale when it comes to modern cars, so we wanted to know what new car features our readers would happily pay to remove.

Think about it: Automakers have as much control over what people buy (or don't) as their customers do, and yet there are changes many new car owners have had to begrudgingly accept. These range from touchscreens that are taking over the cabin (to the chagrin of button-lovers everywhere), to ADAS systems that increase driver safety but don't always operate smoothly.

It seems the overwhelming majority of you aren't great fans of auto stop-start systems, meant to reduce emissions by shutting off a car's engine rather than let it idle. I admit I used to hate the feature, but I came around to it once I drove enough vehicles with unobtrusive auto stop-start. There's a good argument for its effectiveness in lowering emissions, although a middle ground might exist: maybe if ICE-equipped cars were as efficient in 2023 as they should rightfully be, we wouldn't rely on "ASS" features.

So anyway, here are just a few of the modern car features that our readers would pay to get rid of.

The E-Brake.

Just give me an old fashioned hand brake lever.

E-brakes will brick the car if your battery goes flat, and you can't simply put it in neutral to push the car out of the garage you're parked nose into so you can attach some jumper leads to get going again...

Ask me how I know this... I dare you >:+(

Submitted by: Sean

I'll choose one that might not get mentioned: always-illuminated gauges.

I like that it's obvious if my lights aren't on at night, and I like that I can set their brightness level and not have it ruin its visibility in the daylight when my headlights happen to be on (e.g. on a misty or cloudy day, in construction zones, etc).

Submitted by: TheSchrat

I will pay good money to get rid of the auto-stop system (ASS) on my car. It's like the people who programmed it have never driven a car before. Stop for 1 second and climate control shuts off. Stop in the middle of a turn and risk getting your hands torn off when the power assist comes back to the steering. It's such a stupid way to try and game the MPG on a car that I'm not surprised GM is leading the way on this absolute dumpster fire of a "feature."

Submitted by: hillrat

Touch screen interface for car functions. I get that all cars need a screen for the nav, carplay, backup cam. But things like HVAC, Volume, Wipers, Hazzards, AWD mode should NOT require looking at a screen to operate.

Submitted by: Derel1cte

And...

Teslas have gotten worse since that: now you even need to use the touchscreen if you want to shift into reverse. Want to change suspension settings, drive mode, or steering settings? You're gonna have to dive a few menus down. The HVAC requires you to find/hit little arrows at the bottom of the touchscreen to adjust the temp, or dive into a deeper menu to adjust output location, fanspeed, etc. Or, you have to talk to your car to tell you what you want and hope it understands you/they implemented the feature you wanted...

I miss the old days, where you just reach down—without having to divert any attention from driving—touch the knobs, and instantly adjust. Maybe we wouldn't have to invest so much in self-driving if we made interfaces that didn't require us to pull so much attention from driving to operate?

Submitted by: Hiryu

Disabling screen functions when the car is in motion is stupid. Whoever's riding shotgun should be able to operate the screen, but the software doesn't allow it.

Submitted by: I Miss Splinter

Automatic transmissions. I'll take the base, manual transmission please.

Submitted by: Unacceptably Dry Scones

I paid for a bluetooth ODBII adaptor and Bimmercode to stop my mirrors from tilting down when I put the car in reverse. Stock, the mirror point to the ground next to the passenger side door, which is pointless.

Since I did actually pay money to remove it, I guess that counts.

Submitted by: put-some-turbo-on-meeeee

Lane assist. The wife's BMW has it and it's hard to switch off, toggling through various screens. I'll steer the GD car myself, thank you. Might be a good thing that she can use it though...

Submitted by: ftyperbruin

This is an easy one: rollover safety standards and the cave-like cabin they create. In other words, I'd pay for excellent outward visibility (lower beltline, thinner pillars, more glass area) and take on the risk of possible more injury in a crash. Good data in appendix A, here: https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/809438

Number two would be removing non-button/knob controls for radio and HVAC.

Submitted by: scramboleer

And...

Agree with you there. And Volvo and Saab managed *excellent* rollover protection with skinny pillars back in the day. It just cost more to engineer.

And I have to wonder how much of it is that people, and by people I mean women, feel "safe" when they are in a car that has those massive pillars everwhere and that super high beltline. Like being in a womb, I guess.

Submitted by: krhodes1

To disable all communication between my car and the outside world. I don't want it to get firmware updates out of the blue. I don't want people to be able to steal my car with their phone. I don't want the manufacturer deciding what features I can and can't have with the flick of a switch.

Submitted by: Knyte

Since everyone is rightfully shitting on AutoStopStart, I'll add that electronic seat adjustment. I don't need something more complicated than a lever to slide a seat forward or back or to recline the seat back. It's an unnecessary "solution" to a problem that never existed.

Submitted by: Half Man Half Bear Half Pig

Blind Spot Warning.

This isn't a feature about safety. It's a feature designed to protect automakers against liability. Like all safety features, I'm pretty convinced it was designed by lawyers.

In my last car, if I had the gall to signal to change lanes, the car was all "OMG WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU LUNATIC! THERE'S ANOTHER CAR 6 CAR LENGTHS BEHIND YOU THAT YOU VERY NEARLY HIT!"

After a few years of driving I learned to ignore it. Which..super effective safety feature there.

And...

Touchscreen infotainment systems – because more often than not they are garbage and cannot be upgraded.

AEB – because 9 times out of 10 it activates when it shouldn't or after I've already started reacting to the issue.

Advanced Cruise Control – Because I have yet to drive use a version that doesn't overreact every time a masshole merges in front of me on the interstate.

BSM – because I found myself looking at the BSM light on the mirror rather than looking at the mirror like I should until I permanently disabled the "feature".

Submitted by: Weeks

Oh, where should I start? My newest car is from 2011 and I think it is near perfect, I just wish it was more economical and powerful, which newer cars tend to be but I can not stand the screens, lack of physical buttons, so many intrusions on driving experience and needless to me safety functions. I would pay more to make my car lighter, simpler and have less things to go wrong further down the line.

My wife wants me to sell the Camaro because it's hard for her to drive in town, but there are no cars by any manufacturer that I like or want more than what I have now, the closest thing to a muscle car is the BMW M240i, but the whole dash is just one screen. To put it into context I have never owned a tablet and I don't want one in my car.

I am not saying that safety systems shouldn't be on cars- like auto braking, lane assist and blind spot monitoring, have their merits. However, I think that drivers start to rely on the lights and sounds rather than on the actual environment. My wife's Jetta is scratched and scuffed because when she parks she just looks down at the reverse camera screen. My Camaro just has reverse radar and we've never backed into anything in it.

Submitted by: rocknroll_jeph

Thought of another, more specific item: I have a 2013 Q5 and if the car is running and parked and I open the driver's door the engine shuts off. Super annoying if I'm leaving and need to run back into the house for something real quick. Also, we usually connect my wife's phone to the Bluetooth for music, but hers is 2nd in priority, so if I have to get out and then start the car up again it connects to my phone first, so we have to go through the process to connects hers again.

Submitted by: LeftyLooseyGoosey

Giant Touch Screens. They are awful.

Submitted by: klurejr

And...

I've never owned a car newer than 2010 model year. I've never had a car with bluetooth or a touchscreen. I would pay for tactile, analog control switches and dials. I do not want to touch a screen, or look at a screen. If I want to turn the heater fan down or up while driving, I can do so without even looking at it.

In my truck I have switches and relays for ignition, cooling fans, primary and backup fuel pump, transfer pump, lights, and anything else that requires electricity just like an airplane should.

Submitted by: BrianMadigan

Bonus And...

Like everyone else, I'd pay to remove touchscreens. They are just crap.

Submitted by: skeffles