Cars

Pulling to the left or right usually indicates that the tracking of the wheels is out of kilter and needs to be reset in the garage. Sorry about your car, hope it can be fixed

My car will be fixed by tomorrow. They need to re-jig the handbrake. The courtesy car though - I thought it might be the wheel tracking but I’ll see what they say tomorrow.

My car pulls to the left when I go over the central line without having indicated.

I think kittylester may have solved the mystery. My 5 year old car sounds a beeping alarm if it drifts across the central white line or motorway lane without indicating. It’s a safety mechanism in case the driver nods off to sleep. I know the updated version of my car not only sounds the alarm but also pulls the car back to the left.

After reading the courtesy car’s manual I discovered this feature! I will ring the garage this morning and ask about disabling it before driving it back to Oxford. I wish they had warned me as I’ve never come across this before and neither had OH. It was really quite scary.

We’ve recently bought a car with this feature. Called lane assist on ours, a Hyundai, we discovered we can disable it easily via a button on the steering wheel. If it’s possible on your loan car I’m sure the garage will talk you through it over the phone or if you Google the make and model of the car you may be able to find instructions without needing to phone. Good luck. The feature is certainly disconcerting when it’s not expected.

Ladyleftfieldlover

After reading the courtesy car’s manual I discovered this feature! I will ring the garage this morning and ask about disabling it before driving it back to Oxford. I wish they had warned me as I’ve never come across this before and neither had OH. It was really quite scary.

Or, on the way back try to stay in the correct lane or indicate when you are changing lanes.

the button in the car I drive is a car in the middle of two lines

the car i drive once decided to slam the brakes on because there was cyclists on the other side of the road! hadn't ever done it before or ever again since!

flipping modern cars

I love all the bells and whistles on my car!! Mine flashes at me if I momentarily take both gads of the steering wheel, it beeps and flashes to tell me to brake.

Not gads but hands off

So does ours kitty. I’m not sure some of it really is a safety feature, more a distraction as it’s necessary to look down to see what the car is objecting to. Ours complains hands are off the steering wheel when when they aren’t, the garage says it’s because I don’t grip the wheel hard - no need to in my view. Lane departure is useful at times if a major pain on minor roads around here as to avoid potholes and overgrown hedges it’s necessary to position the car quite close to the centre of the road which lane assist doesn’t like. I do wonder if all the safety features could make for lazy driving in some people, relying on the car warnings just a little too much. Having said that I’m well known for being a dinosaur, bring back cars with flag trafficators . Hope ladyleftfieldlover is OK to retrieve her car today.

I have lane departure on my car. You get used to it very quickly. The best way to stop it going off is to keep in lane, haha!

I’m really grateful for my lane departure feature as I had a very close shave a couple of years ago. I was 10 miles from my destination and started to feel unwell and shiverish with a temperature. Driving along thinking I’ll be so glad to get home.

I drifted off to sleep at the wheel and was startled awake by the beeping when the car wheels drifted across the line. I dread to think what the outcome could have been without that alarm. I hadn’t even felt tired and it just happened without any warning.

You can switch the road safety stuff off, but why would you?

I love all the stuff on mine, and it is a matter of honour with me that it doesn’t have to remind me on my trips. I always fail.

It does occasionally have a total mini-breakdown and switches itself off for a few minutes, largely when confusing plants for objects on narrow lanes.

I was given a courtesy car by a dealer when my new car went in for its first service. The dealership was some miles from the nearest fuel station and I immediately noticed that the fuel warning light was on. Just over a mile down the road the fuel ran out, but luckily managed to pull over and park safely. I rang the dealership who suggested that it was my fault and I should call a rescue company. They eventually agreed to bring some fuel - it took them one and a half hours to do so. Needless to say I used a different company for subsequent car servicing!

Kittylester, I was going to say the same thing. I can't understand anybody turning off a safety feature. It is obviously the driver at fault and certainly a good thing to know that you doing this so you can rectify it.

Modern cars are wonderful - but so bossy! Always telling you you’re wrong!

I collected my car yesterday and a rather massive bill! Obviously I had to drive the courtesy car back to Oxford and it behaved as it had the day before! I spoke to the service people and they said this new feature doesn’t distinguish narrow or bendy lanes so will keep on beeping or pulling to the left! Quite a large section of the M4 has narrow lanes so that would be a pain to drive on.

Mine tells me politely when I go over the speed limit. But only when I'm just about to come out of it.

quizzer I thought it was common practice for loan cars to have very little fuel in.

Anyone else's car have window display for various info? I love that. Dh ignores it and looks at the normal display.

DH's car is much obscure than mine. Mine is helpful rather tha bossy!

Some newer cars are set to pull you back if you get too near a white line. It’s quite disconcerting.

Just when I think they must surely have thought of everything, function-wise with cars, along comes something else to tempt us to upgrade!

The trouble is I get fond of cars and hate the thought of changing them!

kittylester

My car pulls to the left when I go over the central line without having indicated.

I think that, and the alarm, are in case you've fallen asleep and are drifting. I guess it's for safety but it's just one more aspect of cars that constantly nag you!