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What is the issue with the stalk? Do you remember their complaints, or they just say it?
I've just heard many reviewers praise that the cruise control buttons are now on the wheel.
Originally Posted by JDR76
Highlander’s illuminated stalk.
Thats amazing! Wow, yeah that pisses me off too! Not lit up in my LS either.
Originally Posted by mmarshall
Cruise-control lighting at night is not unusual. The ones on my Lacrosse's (and Verano's) wheel also light up at night. It gives you a weird sensation....all those lights on the steering-wheel spokes turning at night with the wheel LOL.
Most cars with steering wheel controls have the steering wheel controls light up at night (all the way back to my dad's 1990 Lincoln Continental), thats not what we find unusual. What we find unusual is that on his Highlander the cruise control STALK lights up at night, thats very unusual and something none of our Toyota/Lexus vehicles with the same stalks do.
By the way, here are the Highlander’s window switches. No divider.
Seems strange the would divide the power window lockout as well as the lock and unluck buttons. There is a little indent in the drivers button to help feel in the dark.
1. Excellent thread. I've never been so entertained on CL as I've been tonight reading through this thread.
2. In my GS with the divider, I used to hit both switches at the same time all the time when I just got it. The divider doesn't make a difference, IMO. Everyone's mileage will vary here as we all have different arm sizes/lengths and finger widths & will be hitting the buttons from different angles and positions as I'd bet we all also have different seating positions as well, so each of us will access those switches differently from one another. Divider or no divider, I think it's just a simple matter of muscle memory and getting used to the switches.
3. It's not an issue of divider or no divider but rather spacing between the buttons (whether this spacing comes from the button width giving you narrower buttons and more space in between or whether it comes from the the spacing in between each button, giving you larger buttons that are closer together). Regardless of whether you feel this is a success or fail, these are all design-related decisions. They removed the divider because it looks more modern without it, given the simple & flat design they gave to the buttons. Notice how the buttons in the GS pic @JDR76 posted have raised chrome edges/decor that cover the left, top & right sides. This design without the divider would look silly as it would look like an "M" staring at you, rather than "A" "A" if that makes any sense.
4. In regards to the LC vs LS, economies of scale aside as the LC is lower volume and all unshared parts will likely be more expensive in the LC, I think a little tiny inexpensive LED light with a simple cover is cheaper to produce than a physical piece about an inch (?) in height in addition to the moving parts & motors needed to lift it up & down (and do so repeatedly for the lifetime of the vehicle without fail, yet still be able to withstand manual force of being pulled and pushed on).
1. Excellent thread. I've never been so entertained on CL as I've been tonight reading through this thread.
2. In my GS with the divider, I used to hit both switches at the same time all the time when I just got it. The divider doesn't make a difference, IMO. Everyone's mileage will vary here as we all have different arm sizes/lengths and finger widths & will be hitting the buttons from different angles and positions as I'd bet we all also have different seating positions as well, so each of us will access those switches differently from one another. Divider or no divider, I think it's just a simple matter of muscle memory and getting used to the switches.
3. It's not an issue of divider or no divider but rather spacing between the buttons (whether this spacing comes from the button width giving you narrower buttons and more space in between or whether it comes from the the spacing in between each button, giving you larger buttons that are closer together). Regardless of whether you feel this is a success or fail, these are all design-related decisions. They removed the divider because it looks more modern without it, given the simple & flat design they gave to the buttons. Notice how the buttons in the GS pic @JDR76 posted have raised chrome edges/decor that cover the left, top & right sides. This design without the divider would look silly as it would look like an "M" staring at you, rather than "A" "A" if that makes any sense.
4. In regards to the LC vs LS, economies of scale aside as the LC is lower volume and all unshared parts will likely be more expensive in the LC, I think a little tiny inexpensive LED light with a simple cover is cheaper to produce than a physical piece about an inch (?) in height in addition to the moving parts & motors needed to lift it up & down (and do so repeatedly for the lifetime of the vehicle without fail, yet still be able to withstand manual force of being pulled and pushed on).
Thanks for responding. Glad you enjoyed the thread. Happy you were entertained.
I am quite surprised at the level of engagement and picture posting from other members.
As for hitting both in your Lexus. It is not possible in any of my cars with the divider, I purposefully looked tonight, the divider forces your finger to the left or the right of the divider. . So perhaps the buttons are a little more raised than usual in the Lexus models and I guess it’s easy to hit the auto down on either.
I'm an engineer (now retired) and when I was working a often complained about the "bean counters". If they would just give us enough money we could make things so much better. As I moved into management, I began to realize that they were important to our ability to make money on our products. We could build the "perfect" product made of unobtainium but no one could afford to buy it and we would be out of business. Cost cutting (or cost control) is critical to the profitability of something as high volume as mass production cars and trucks. If you can save $1 per F150 truck, that amounts to almost $1,000,000 profit each year. I don't blame Toyota for trying to save money on each unit, it just makes them less expensive to the consumer. After all, the object of a business is to make a profit, not just to sell cars. There is obviously a line where too cheap won't sell because competitors are better. Honda found this out a few years ago with the Civic. For me, Toyota and Lexus do pretty well at providing value in their products and their continued sales success shows it. GM, on the other hand, missed the target. The CT6 is a brilliant engineering accomplishment but the cost to design and build it make it unprofitable to sell. How about just a little love for the bean counters?
I love Toyota and Lexus, as much as the next person. However, a little critical thought can go a long way. For example, the new Cruise control buttons are not as easy and simple to use as the time tested older method with the lever behind the wheel.
How is a button on a steering wheel harder to use than a stalk?
I find the exhaust thing to be quite funny or sad or disappointing. Where what looks like exhaust tips are just plastic inserts with no openings. Granted even Audi does it on a SQ5, Q5, etc. This is fake to another level.
But look at the Camry SE 4 cyl. and it's "twin tips," also fake. Why resort to this? And how do these trends start is what I've always wondered.
How is a button on a steering wheel harder to use than a stalk?
I think the vast majority drivers merely adjust to changes like this. In our household we have a BMW with buttons on the wheel and an Audi with a stalk. I see very little difference in operating either type
I'm an engineer (now retired) and when I was working a often complained about the "bean counters". If they would just give us enough money we could make things so much better. As I moved into management, I began to realize that they were important to our ability to make money on our products. We could build the "perfect" product made of unobtainium but no one could afford to buy it and we would be out of business. Cost cutting (or cost control) is critical to the profitability of something as high volume as mass production cars and trucks. If you can save $1 per F150 truck, that amounts to almost $1,000,000 profit each year. I don't blame Toyota for trying to save money on each unit, it just makes them less expensive to the consumer. After all, the object of a business is to make a profit, not just to sell cars. There is obviously a line where too cheap won't sell because competitors are better. Honda found this out a few years ago with the Civic. For me, Toyota and Lexus do pretty well at providing value in their products and their continued sales success shows it. GM, on the other hand, missed the target. The CT6 is a brilliant engineering accomplishment but the cost to design and build it make it unprofitable to sell. How about just a little love for the bean counters?
My wife's cousin works in the industry and he has mentioned specific instances where say a fastener costs $4, and there is one known to not fit properly for $0.50. The mfg. (who will remain nameless but based out of MI so that narrows it down) goes with the $0.50, and there is a calculation done to see if this will fail 1, 2, 3, 4X under warranty, or best case, fails out of warranty.
I will say this--on my wife's GM vehicle--a screw for a fender liner is $3.93 each (below)--how ridiculous is that? Looks like a screw that would be $0.10 at a big box store. But they have no such equivalent, and it's a torx pan head sems tapping with a dog point (what a mouthful). I just needed one screw but had a problem with the $3.93 price. So I bought a box costing $12, with qty 50. Mfg'd by one of those cos. who make quality rep parts for classic cars. I only needed one, so sure the net loss is maybe $8 over not buying OE. I have 49 spare screws now, and I would break even if I needed a 3rd screw. How much you wanna bet the screws I got are in fact OEM, $12 for 50, while the OE, is $3.93 for 1?
02-06-19, 07:31 PM
