Where's the correct place for electric windows switches?

". ." (xllx) 02/12/2015 at 15:49 • Filed to: None

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What's your oppinion, Oppo?

The centre tunnel?

or the doors?

Before I started driving I thought that the doors were where window switches belong. I was wrong and I was stupid. The centre tunnel is the correct place and I'm annoyed that fewer and fewer cars have them there.

Cherry_man1 > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:50

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Door is the best place for it. the center console is too cluttered with them.

deekster_caddy > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:52

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Doors is the correct place. That way you have the option for a front bench seat so your sweetie can snuggle up while you are driving.

Oh wait, wrong decade.

Still think doors, it's where I instinctively reach.

jkm7680 > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:52

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Door, because if you spill shit on the center console, you be fucked.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:52

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Either on the door, on on the console. I'm fine with either.

. . > jkm7680 02/12/2015 at 15:54

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I'm all for the revolutionary idea of not spilling shit in my car. It doesn't even have cupholders and I don't miss them in the slightest.

E. Julius > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:54

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Steering wheel. Why the heck has nobody done this yet?

jkm7680 > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:54

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Yes, but there's going to be tons of people who want cupholders there.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:55

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I don't see how four of these would fit in the center console, but I suppose it could be done.

. . > deekster_caddy 02/12/2015 at 15:55

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You have your right hand off the wheel to shift gears, adjust the AC, fiddle with the radio or do multiple other things. How does it make sense to do that one particular thing with your left hand? Also, switches on the console make for simpler electrics.

. . > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/12/2015 at 15:55

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Those ain't switches though!

fhrblig > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:55

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Doors. I have the switches next to the shifter on my Fiat and I HATE it.

CKeffer > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:56

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I've driven cars with both, and the doors is where they belong. just like the controls for the seat belong on the seat, and so on and so forth.

. . > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 15:56

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Because there's already too much shit on there in most cars.

JustWaitingForAMate > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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The door.

The center is a stupid idea as it also contains the gear stick and the handbrake, which is the domain of the driver. Having someone else reaching in to fuck with the windows as you're driving is annoying as hell.

You wouldn't believe how ecstatic I was when they switched to door controls from the VE to VF Commodore.

Tareim - V8 powered > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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on the door otherwise the centre console gets too cluttered, especially if you have extras such as heated seats and then sport buttons etc

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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They are if you don't have electric windows...

BeaterGT > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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Legacy GT has nothing on the steering wheel. Coincidentally, the window switches are on the door and terrible.

. . > fhrblig 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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I absolutely love having the switches next to the shifter on my Merc.

scoob > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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Maybe it would take up too much room? Especially if you're Ferrari.

camaroboy68ss > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:57

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actually they make kits now that used stock window cranks as a switch. You just pull up or down

. . > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 02/12/2015 at 15:59

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They're winders no matter how you look at it. Or cranks. Or knobs. Not switches though. :P

dirt2ride > . . 02/12/2015 at 15:59

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Doors, expect for jeep wranglers.... for obvious reasons.

. . > JustWaitingForAMate 02/12/2015 at 16:01

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If they're on the console the driver can slap away the hand of the knobhead who dared to reach. But if they have their own controls on the passenger door there is nothing you can do. :D

Thunderface > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:01

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Door

JustWaitingForAMate > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:02

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Actually the door controls for the driver control all 4 windows, and have a lock feature too.

I AM YOUR WINDOW GOD NOW.

BrainForest > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:03

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In the US, only European cars ever have the window switches in the center. American, Japanese, and Korean cars always have them on the driver's door. I've never owned a European car, so that's what I'm accustomed to.

That said, what's better about having them in the center? This is an area that already has many buttons. Does it need to be cluttered with more?

Having them in the center makes it easier to press them accidentally - this goes for side-mirror controls as well.

It also opens up the opportunity for children to mess with the windows while you're driving.

On the door, only the driver can control them. Why do passengers need access to open other windows or adjust the mirrors? How often do you need to open the front windows from the backseat?

. . > JustWaitingForAMate 02/12/2015 at 16:04

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Some cars don't have the lock feature. If the passenger is keen on lowering the window on my dad's 2011 Ford Transit you're bugger'd.

E. Julius > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:05

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Too much shit that doesn't have to be there. My mom's car has a button for the god damn A/C recirculation on the steering wheel.

E. Julius > scoob 02/12/2015 at 16:05

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For how infrequently the windows are used it's not really that great of an idea haha

Ferrero1911 > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:06

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Doors. Mine are in the center on either side of the shifter, too far apart to hit them both at once. It's annoying.

. . > BrainForest 02/12/2015 at 16:07

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You have your right hand off the steering wheel to operate pretty much all of the car's controls save for the indicators. It doesn't really make sense to make you change hands just to operate this one thing.

Ferrero1911 > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:07

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But are they close enough together that you can hit more than one at a time? Fiat's placement is the worst.

davedave1111 > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:08

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My old Punto didn't have a centre console as such, but it had centre-mounted switches.

(Pics from GIS, not my car.)

It makes a lot of sense, although it confuses the hell out of most passengers. Saves money building cars for both LHD and RHD, and also saves the cost of having an extra switch on the driver's side for the passenger window, since both are within easy reach anyway.

. . > Ferrero1911 02/12/2015 at 16:08

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They are on my Merc. They're also both one-touch automatic both ways.

davedave1111 > JustWaitingForAMate 02/12/2015 at 16:09

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Heh, I was just posting pics of the old Fiat Punto interior:

The window switches are above the red hazard-light button: the car doesn't really have a centre console at all.

Mercedes Streeter > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 16:10

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Because idiots will be rolling down their windows every time they turn...

deekster_caddy > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:12

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I understand that, but instinct and years of driving cars with roll up roll down handles has me trained to reach for the door. We didn't start getting power windows in cars until the 90's, and my purchases were always about a decade old. The cars I grew up with were from the 70's and 80's, so I was trained to dislike power windows! Even my mom's VW rabbit diesel was a manual with roll up roll down windows. I think nothing of leaning over to roll up and down the passenger side windows when I'm driving my '73 Buick. So when we did start to get cars with power windows, the door seemed the natural place...

. . > deekster_caddy 02/12/2015 at 16:14

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I don't mind wind up windows at all. I think they're great in older and simple cars. But if you have power window switches I think they should definitely go on the centre tunnel.

JustWaitingForAMate > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:16

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I left off my handy illustration :

. . > JustWaitingForAMate 02/12/2015 at 16:17

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The dictatorship in my car stretches over both middle vents and the radio as well. You need to improve your iron fist game.

JustWaitingForAMate > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:19

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Dual climate controls, I have to let my peasant border nation have some illusion of control. Besides, I can override the radio controls from the steering wheel. Letting them think they have power keeps them quiet.

ttyymmnn > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:20

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Door. The window is part of the door, so the controls belong there. Not so long ago, this wasn't an issue.

jariten1781 > BrainForest 02/12/2015 at 16:20

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Not true, while it's not as common there have been a lot of US cars with center switches. PT Cruiser and Wrangler just off the top of my head.

. . > ttyymmnn 02/12/2015 at 16:22

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I'm absolutely fine with winders, but the fact that they were on doors doesn't mean we shouldn't put switches elsewhere.

BrainForest > jariten1781 02/12/2015 at 16:39

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Wow, I didn't know that. I thought the only American brands to have central window switches were captive imports like Opel/Saturns.

zeontestpilot > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:39

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Center console, I love them there. My pt cruiser has them there, and it feels oh so right.

S2Konstantin > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:41

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Center console just makes more sense, if you want to keep your left hand on the wheel at all times, having them on the door takes away from this. So in a manual or sporty car, console. But in a large automatic cruiser or something that doesn't have a center console.......cough.....front row bench.....cough..... the door is the only place that makes sense.

Milky > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:41

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You serious? I have Merc parts and mine are only one-touch down!!!

Also I agree, I like them next to the shifter.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:41

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I take the W210 option as the correct option.

Center console.

My Mini has them on the center console as well, but in a less useful location.

S2Konstantin > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 16:42

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Its a 2000's BMW huh

S2Konstantin > BrainForest 02/12/2015 at 16:43

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Miatas are not European.

E. Julius > S2Konstantin 02/12/2015 at 16:47

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Yup, 2011. Why the heck is that on there? First of all, it's not something you really use that much in the first place. It requires what, one hand movement for every 12 hours of driving time? On top of that, it has an automatic mode that reduces the frequency of use even further. So random.

Ferrero1911 > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:47

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That makes more sense, so of course you like them there. Mine are one touch down, but what's the point when you have to hit each window separately?

BrainForest > S2Konstantin 02/12/2015 at 16:51

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Jeez, I guess I need to brush up on my window switch taxonomy ...

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > JustWaitingForAMate 02/12/2015 at 16:51

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your car is backwards...you should get that looked at

Ferrero1911 > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:51

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The window switches are the round things on either side of the shifter. Like I have to reach around it to put my passenger window down!

I think I might be taking your question a little to seriously...you just hit upon one of the worst parts of the interior design of my car. It's sooooo annoying!

. . > Ferrero1911 02/12/2015 at 16:56

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That's how the switches look on my CLK. They're great.

Trevor Mohr > . . 02/12/2015 at 16:57

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The window switches on my Mk6 GTI are good and horrible at the same time. They're on the door, but they're mounted up and away from everything else. However, if you have the window open and water gets in, those panels are the first dang places that the water hits...

wagon guy now drives a boostang > . . 02/12/2015 at 17:01

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Door. My Focus has the power lock button on the center console and I hate it. All of that belongs on the door panel.

Cé hé sin > BrainForest 02/12/2015 at 17:04

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"That said, what's better about having them in the center? This is an area that already has many buttons."

It does? I don't have any in the middle.

BarryDanger > . . 02/12/2015 at 17:05

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Center console because WEIGHT SAVINGS! run half the wiring less than 1/4 of the distance.

deekster_caddy > . . 02/12/2015 at 17:06

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Not enough steering wheel buttons!!!!

deekster_caddy > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 17:06

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Why not?

Tapas > . . 02/12/2015 at 18:22

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doooooooooooooooooors!

S2Konstantin > E. Julius 02/12/2015 at 18:49

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Yup same in my E39, I seriously think they had that extra spot for one more button and they just couldn't do the base model fake button thing so they randomly chose any button.

E. Julius > S2Konstantin 02/12/2015 at 18:51

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So random.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > . . 02/12/2015 at 20:07

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Well a W123 is the same, its good because its easy to change a switch if you have to. Its right where your hand falls too so I like it more than a door switch.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > . . 02/12/2015 at 20:08

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Me too

pip bip - choose Corrour > . . 02/13/2015 at 05:39

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somewhere random , overhead perhaps.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > BrainForest 02/15/2015 at 12:20

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Well, not always. The first-gen Saturn Vue had its window switches on the center console, next to the shifter.

BrainForest > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart 02/17/2015 at 15:59

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Indeed, the Saturn Vue was also the Opel Antara.