A rant about knobs

"Aremmes" (aremmes)
06/27/2020 at 22:15 • Filed to: Unsolicited Explorer, Rants, Ergonomics

I had this post stashed in my drafts from well before I moved to our new house, and since then traded the Unsolicited Explorer for some contract work and got the XC90. The rationale for writing it still stands, though, so I figured I’d add some updates and oublish it.

The Explorer wei ghs almost double as much as the Miata, has space for up to seven people and some cargo or five people and a lot of cargo versus two people and their backpacks, and can tow the Miata behind it. It is, in other words, a big boi. Yet, despite its voluminous voluminosity, sitting behind the steering wheel doesn’t support the theory that a big car offers big space for the driver.

I have a big beef with the Explorer’s ergonomics, or more specifically its lack thereof. Nearly every other car that has carried my weighty bottom has shared a detail: the use of a feature of the car’s human-machine interface is not prevented unnecessarily by another feature of said interface. It’s a seemingly small point, but when a car doesn’t follow that convention it makes the driving experience considerably less comfortable.

Let me show you an example. The lever to open the door on the Miata lies above the arm rest and can be easily reached and pulled with the left hand (and so push the door out with the elbow), or Dutch style with the right hand (and push the door with the left hand while looking around for bikers), without anything standing in the way to do so. My wife’s Mazda3, both of the Suzukis and the Honda we had before, Mom’s KJ Liberty, Dad’s Outlander, the Rio I rented last summer, etc., follow the same convention.

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The Explorer doesn’t do this. Instead it places the door release lever below the arm rest and window/door lock controls, where it gets blocked by the driver’s left leg. If, like me, you stand on hams, that means that there’s little space between the leg and the door card. Coincidentally, there will also be little space between said leg and the steering wheel. Opening the door, thus, involves pushing the leg against the steering wheel to open up just enough space to wedge the left hand in between it and the door to reach the lever and pull it while the wrist watch bumps against the arm rest. Never mind using the right hand, unless you feel like snaking your arm under your leg.

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Why do this, when a more driver-friendly arrangement exists? The Miata, a much smaller car with comparatively minuscule seating space, doesn’t have this problem. IIRC contemporary Ford trucks have the same arrangement, but that’s not a valid excuse. I recall old Z-c ars put the door pull way down low almost on the sill, but there it’s “character. ” Here, it’s annoying.

Another Explorer gripe is the parking brake pedal. I’m not against parking brake pedals, they free up center console space for other things, although the Explorer’s center console seems explicitly designed for two large McDonald’s combos. BUT! The pedal’s placement means that it s operation is impeded by the steering wheel, and when it’s disengaged it sits at such an awkward angle that it’s not surprising that a lot of people forgo using it and instead rely on the transmission’s parking pawl. I don’t remember other cars with parking brake pedals positioned like this, and of course hand brakes don’t have this problem, not to mention every Manuél car I’ve driven, including Dad’s company S10 on which I practiced for years .

Ham coming through!

So, is the Explorer an annoying vehicle to drive? For the driver, maybe. As an only car, one could get used to it. Alongside other cars, its ergonomic deficiencies are much too apparent.

DISCUSSION (28)

For Sweden > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:19

All the good American human factors engineers work at Boeing and oh wow that explains a lot.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:22

What a steaming pile of crap the design for that gem was. I saw one a few years ago without a cracked rear tailgate panel. Door pulls were always awkward.

daender > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:27

I went into this expecting a rant about the inflation of the wooden Nardi shift knob price s but I agree that Explorers of that generation were not the best-designed.

shop-teacher > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
06/27/2020 at 22:29

“I saw one a few years ago without a cracked rear tailgate panel.”

BS! Those were all cracked from the factory! ;)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:33

I had the same parking brake issue with the YJ Wrangler. It too, had a pedal type parking brake, except the distance between the massive yacht’s wheel and the door was even smaller. I had to actually open the door in order to lift my leg high enough to put my foot on the pedal.

jminer > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:34

Are you a literal giant? I owned a 3rd gen explorer for 10 years and never had a problem with either of those things. I’m not a small man either at 6' 2" 220#.

That being said that gen explorer had a lot of serious defects and we got lucky with ours being on it’s original trans and rear end at 210k miles when the motor grenaded after slipping a timing chain.

I have far more ergonomic issues with the Miata and literally don’t fit in one with the top up though they are a hoot to drive.

E90M3 > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:40

I had a 1997 Explorer for many years and it certainly was more thought out than that gen of Explorer.

Aremmes > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
06/27/2020 at 22:44

The tailgate panel on mine wasn't cracked, but it was definitely detached from the tailgate. Also, the remote fob didn't work so I couldn't open the glass portion. Some real jenius to require an external device to open that.

Aremmes > jminer
06/27/2020 at 22:46

“Are you a literal giant?”

What, me? No, not in the general sense. My legs, though? MMmmmmaaaaaybe.

:-)

Aremmes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
06/27/2020 at 22:49

Wow, that's bad. I don't recall ever having to do that on the Explorer.

Aremmes > daender
06/27/2020 at 22:51

Wooden Nardi shift knob AND steering wheel in my Miata. I lucked out.

(I know not every one likes wooden steering wheels, but leather-wrapped wheels make my palms sweat).

Tripper > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 22:53

Ok not really related but in the same ballpark. My wife’s Subaru does not unlock when you pull the door handle!!! Most cars open right up, most German cars unlock on the first pull then open on the second. On her car you have to actually unlock the doors via power or manual switch. GARBAGE

Aremmes > For Sweden
06/27/2020 at 22:53

Wow, now is a good time to make that joke when everyone is too busy with COVID and Russian bounties on US soldiers to remember.

Aremmes > E90M3
06/27/2020 at 22:59

The first two ge nerations did seem to have considered human factors in more detail. The third gen came about as it did because of Ford wanting to distance themselves from the Firestone fiasco, IIRC .

E90M3 > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 23:02

I really wish I’d kept the manual from mine as it has a Firestone brochure in it.

AestheticsInMotion > Tripper
06/27/2020 at 23:08

That bothers me so much. It’s up there with manual door locks that sit on the door sill but don’t retract f ully w hen engaged, instead sticking up an inch and biting into your arm.

Aremmes > Tripper
06/27/2020 at 23:12

AW HELL NO this doesn’t begin to rate as a complainable offense in my book of things that annoy me ( and I do have a copy of such a book ) . It seems to be a Japanese car thing, and as I grew up around Japanese cars (Toyotas, Hondas, Mazdas, Datsuns, Isuzus, and Suzukis all represented) I never thought that car doors could be unlocked by pulling on the door handle until I rode on an F-150 one day and wondered what unholy madness drove someone to design it that way (I know, it’s for safety) . Neither my Miata nor SWMBO’s 3 unlock by pulling the handle, either.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Aremmes
06/27/2020 at 23:24

I only had to do that with the full doors. When we had the half doors on the sill was low enough that my knee would fit.

Aremmes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
06/27/2020 at 23:28

Oh, nice. I bet that was an easy way to keep one’s balls cool while driving .

ranwhenparked > shop-teacher
06/27/2020 at 23:49

Pretty much, and the paint was pretty crummy, too.

Boxer_4 > Tripper
06/28/2020 at 00:02

This doesn’t bother me but we’ve mostly owned Japanese cars for the last 30 years and all of them behaved the same. We had a B5.5 Passat that did the unlock with one pull and open with two pulls, but that always seemed like a novelty rather than normal.

Cash Rewards > daender
06/28/2020 at 00:05

Same. I was all ready to toss in my recommendation for raceseng, even if they're pricey, too

Jim Spanfeller > Aremmes
06/28/2020 at 00:07

“ not to mention every Manuél car I’ve driven”

Those darn Mexican transmissions...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tripper
06/28/2020 at 01:03

None of my Hondas or Toyotas could be unlocked by pulling the interior handle, either. Nor the Pontiac*

Tripper > Aremmes
06/28/2020 at 03:57

I can’t stand it, even the 75’ safely opens when you pull/push the handle. I installed aftermarket keyless entry systems on both of my former Subaru’s in order to add “ lock while driving unlock when parked” and one touch windows. Which is another feature that has been standard in every German car since forever. So maybe I didn’t really notice the door latch thing there. We’re also going back 13 years. Going back further to my Mazda and Nissan I don’t remember, but it seems they probably also try to drown you in the event of a submersion.

Tripper > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/28/2020 at 03:57

Lex too?

Tripper > Boxer_4
06/28/2020 at 04:00

I guess outside of being a German car thing, it’s otherwise just a ford thing. 90 % of my owner ship has been one or the other.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tripper
06/28/2020 at 09:22

Yep