Disable tilt-away steering wheel
12-03-16, 09:14 PM
#16
Most bad things are possible, my friend. Sometimes a situation is not thought through to the end. I'm sure you've seen the huge number of those "FAIL" videos posted on the internet. Of course you could reach around the steering wheel, but it is easier sometimes to reach though the spokes. Now, to explain further with a single example.
You are getting ready to wax your car. You've just washed and dried it, and as you moved the Lexus out of the puddles you've created during washing and into your garage to wax it, you've rolled the windows down and turned on the Mark Levinson sound system so you can have tunes while you wax. You step out of the car and close the door. And, oops, when you turned off the engine the sound system turned off, and the steering wheel raised itself up. Now you want the sound back. Do you open the door and climb back into the car seat? Or could you possibly just reach in through the open window to push the ignition button? When you try the latter approach you find that your arm is likely too short to reach all the way around the steering wheel. You think, all I need to do is push the button, and if I reach through the steering wheel spokes and push the button I''ll get instant music gratification. And down comes the steering wheel, with your arm trapped in the spokes.
BTW, the sound system turns itself off automatically to save the battery after playing about 30 minutes. So, you'll need to do this maneuver several times to keep the music going unless you are a very quick waxer.
You are getting ready to wax your car. You've just washed and dried it, and as you moved the Lexus out of the puddles you've created during washing and into your garage to wax it, you've rolled the windows down and turned on the Mark Levinson sound system so you can have tunes while you wax. You step out of the car and close the door. And, oops, when you turned off the engine the sound system turned off, and the steering wheel raised itself up. Now you want the sound back. Do you open the door and climb back into the car seat? Or could you possibly just reach in through the open window to push the ignition button? When you try the latter approach you find that your arm is likely too short to reach all the way around the steering wheel. You think, all I need to do is push the button, and if I reach through the steering wheel spokes and push the button I''ll get instant music gratification. And down comes the steering wheel, with your arm trapped in the spokes.
BTW, the sound system turns itself off automatically to save the battery after playing about 30 minutes. So, you'll need to do this maneuver several times to keep the music going unless you are a very quick waxer.
This is classic. You injure yourself and blame some else for your injury
Last edited by DocT; 12-03-16 at 09:34 PM.
12-03-16, 09:20 PM
#17
See did some testing, and also tested Reggie1's example. I still think there should be a feature to turn both the driver seat and steering wheel movement for exit and not just for the driver seat.
Back to the test. The wiper column presents blockage sticking your arm through the steering wheel. You can either go above or below with the windows rolled down. My arms were small enough that it did not present any issues when the steering moved all the way up or down (in and out). Additionally, it stopped working because it tells me that my windows are down. In any case, the movement of the wheel is limited enough that it will not likely break anyone's arm. But that is only based on my personal experiment.
Again, the feature is not well thought out as Reggie1 mentioned.
Back to the test. The wiper column presents blockage sticking your arm through the steering wheel. You can either go above or below with the windows rolled down. My arms were small enough that it did not present any issues when the steering moved all the way up or down (in and out). Additionally, it stopped working because it tells me that my windows are down. In any case, the movement of the wheel is limited enough that it will not likely break anyone's arm. But that is only based on my personal experiment.
Again, the feature is not well thought out as Reggie1 mentioned.
And it doesn't take much, if any, actual injury to precipitate a lawsuit, particularly against a deep pocket company like Toyota/Lexus. You could probably get a decent settlement for a nerve damage claim. Just imagine the potential jury award versus settling for a few hundred thousand if the supposedly injured person is someone whose career depends on manual dexterity - surgeon, musician, carpenter, Lexus service technician, to name a few. I'm not a lawyer, as are 1 out of every 300 people in the USA, but I spent a lot of years as an expert witness (never stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, though) With that many lawyers, finding one to take on a personal injury case against Toyota would not be difficult.
12-03-16, 09:29 PM
#18
Are you an attorney? Sound like you want to sue any one if you could for any monies. 1st, it is impossible to stick your hand from outside through the steering wheel to reach the button like Bimmer 32 mentioned. 2nd, why could not you leave the door open as the music is on while waxing the car and probably you could hear the music even better? That way you don't have to climb over and through the window to reach the start button.
This is classic. You injure yourself and blame some else for your injury
This is classic. You injure yourself and blame some else for your injury
Last edited by Reggie1; 12-03-16 at 09:33 PM.
12-04-16, 11:46 AM
#19
Pole Position
QED
12-04-16, 02:09 PM
#20
A good example of good engineering is the rear remote trunk opener button. Lexus/Toyota engineers give you the option to turn the damn thing off so that you don't pop someone in the face or at the least accidentally scratch your lift gate. It extends out when open unlike a car's trunk. 1 for Lex/Toy.
Last edited by Bimmer32; 12-04-16 at 02:21 PM.
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