Show Me: The Most "Blank" Buttons Ever Placed On A Car's Dash

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction) 11/25/2013 at 17:51 • Filed to: None

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That's 10. I'm guessing there are some "stripper" luxo-barges out there with more.

Inspired by this thread: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

wacopalypsenow > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 17:54

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Lying ass "Off ESP" button...You Lie!! I press and you no turn off!

MonkeePuzzle > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 17:57

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found this one, and I am OUTRAGED!

Just4GP > wacopalypsenow 11/25/2013 at 18:08

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That's definitely a Merc dash. And every time I've hit that ESP Off button, my car has tried to kill me. That's AMG for ya.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MonkeePuzzle 11/25/2013 at 18:11

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Ha! Well done...

Doug DeMuro > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:14

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This is the single most annoying thing done in the automotive industry, and it is almost entirely done by the Germans.

Here's another good thread idea: Show me the most expensive car with blank buttons. Even if it's just one or two. I bet there's a $200k Porsche out there with blanks.

m2m, apex detective > Doug DeMuro 11/25/2013 at 18:22

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It surprised me that most Panameras seem to be quite well-specced.

That said, I found this Panamera Turbo S center console that sports at least two blanks; it should easily annihilate your $200k limit. The Cayenne Turbo S also plays the blank button game quite well .

davedave1111 > Doug DeMuro 11/25/2013 at 18:27

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I can't for the life of me remember what it was, but it was something very German and very expensive - maybe an S-Class? - and I was reliably informed that some of the buttons are blank on every single one ever made because they're only there for symmetry.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Doug DeMuro 11/25/2013 at 18:28

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Another question needing answered: what car wins the crown for most buttons ever?

iDrive, and similar systems, came about because of all these buttons, but there must be a "watershed moment" before these systems came into play, where a car, surely German, was pushing a button count near three figures...

davedave1111 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:35

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Blank buttons are one thing, but Toyota managed to go a whole heap further with the Carina E.

Decent spec - I think the top spec ones had fake wood trim, too:

Poverty spec:

Doug DeMuro > m2m, apex detective 11/25/2013 at 18:36

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When I worked there I think we discovered that it is not possible to order a Panamera without at least one blank switch, because there was some button on the Hybrid that couldn't exist on the Turbo, and vice versa. And God forbid Porsche doubles up in its button locations.

Doug DeMuro > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:38

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Yeah - although iDrive kind of existed just as automakers were realizing they would soon need to integrate more stuff, and they needed a way to do it. I bet today's 7-Series has just as many buttons as the E38, before the days of iDrive.

davedave1111 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:46

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Jaguar's had more than one shot at that record, I think. At one point the XJ had a sort of secondary dash above the steering wheel, just to provide more button space.

And then there's this, from the period you're talking about:

davedave1111 > Doug DeMuro 11/25/2013 at 18:48

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"When I worked there I think we discovered that it is not possible to order a Panamera without at least one blank switch, because there was some button on the Hybrid that couldn't exist on the Turbo, and vice versa."

Sounds like the kind of thing I was talking about. You can't get rid of just one button from the dash of a Panamera, because they're paired either side of the centre console. You'd have to get rid of two at once.

Pessimippopotamus > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:50

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I remember VWs having glaringly noticeable blank buttons, mostly because they like large, prominent buttons.

POD > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 18:57

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The Xenia comes to mind.

zadtheinhaler > POD 11/25/2013 at 19:42

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Yup - Trust Citroen to make a car in such a way that you HAVE to read the manual in order to operate it properly.

And roughly a week to memorize what all of the buttons are.

Bad72AMX > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 22:25

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I hate this so badly. At one point it was the clock and radio only, and to not have either you probably bought the single cheapest model you could and were so cheap that you didn't care. Now, you can get a top trim line car with options on top and still have stupid panel blanks. My Ram has heated seats, heated steering wheel and power almost everything and still has blank panels where cooled seats and a trailer brake controller would be. I love it, but those blank panels in such a conspicuous location make it look like I bought a Home Depot rental truck.

Arben72 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 23:10

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My m3 has 4. That may not seem like a lot but my car has every single option available in North America, so those blanks are things you can't even get if you wanted to.

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/25/2013 at 23:41

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Maybe not technically a "blank button", but unless you had one of the few E39 M5s ordered with ventilated seats, you had fewer buttons at the bottom of the HVAC controls, which meant you knew that something was missing. Pretty annoying for a car that was $85k at the turn of the century.

He's a pic of one with the buttons:

rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S > Arben72 11/25/2013 at 23:43

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Is at least one of those to open the convertible top on verts?

Arben72 > rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S 11/25/2013 at 23:49

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No, that's a pull lever on the center console by the ebrake.

Burrito de EJ25 > Pessimippopotamus 11/26/2013 at 01:03

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Really? They couldn't manufacture a piece of plastic to cover that up?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Arben72 11/26/2013 at 08:40

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That's seriously obnoxious.

What year is yours? My 'o8 has the seat heater buttons down below, where you have the blanks.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > wacopalypsenow 11/26/2013 at 12:20

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Funny story about the ASR Off switch on my W210.

If you looked at the switch, and pressed it, nothing would happen.

This is because it was a dummy switch, there was an actual switch hooked up to the harness underneath the trim panel.

I promptly fixed that...

wacopalypsenow > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 11/26/2013 at 16:02

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Wat? So do you think the factory did this or what?

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > wacopalypsenow 11/26/2013 at 16:08

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No, probably an idiot repair tech.

Too dumb *and* too thought out for a PO to do...

Probably came about after a PO accidentially hit the switch one too many times, and kept complaining to the M-B service desk that "There's a warning light on! What do I DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO????????????????"

Solution: Replace actual switch with a dummy switch, hiding actual switch in the dash. Cost: $15, and we don't have that crazy woman coming in every four days. It's not like she's going to need to switch the traction control off anyway...

wacopalypsenow > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 11/26/2013 at 16:19

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Aha! Genius! Crazy old lady probably would not have been hitting it if they didn't put the damn thing down with the electric window switches.

Arben72 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/26/2013 at 17:40

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2012, they moved the seat heaters to the climate control due to auto stop/start. It's so annoying but I'm going to try and hardwire a kill switch for my v1.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Arben72 11/27/2013 at 16:45

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Ugh. The auto stop/start has to be the most annoying feature ever placed in a car. If I have a loaner with it, I disable it first thing.