Will the push-button gear selector deteriorate when its frequently used?
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Asked by Mario
Hi, my question is about the push-button gear selector on the 2022 Hyundai Sonata N-Line (actually about push-button gear select in general). Would the top of the buttons over time deteriorate, as with most buttons that are frequently used (like cruise-control on steering wheels) with sweat, dirt etc on your fingers? Most importantly, as we all know with electronics and wiring, age, wear and tear, cracks in wiring etc can easily cause problems especially if you live areas where wet weather is constantly a problem.
Answered by CarsGuide
3 Aug 2022Cars have a range of what interior designers call touch-points and these include both the controls and the surfaces you touch just by sitting in the car (the seat, the armrest and so on). Modern cars and materials are much better at getting these surfaces to withstand constant use and contact, but even then, sometimes the little icons can fade or wear off altogether.
It's much less common today, of course, but one thing that hasn’t changed is grimy hands (although Covid has led to generally cleaner hands around the world) so cleaning these touch-points is also important for hygiene and clarity. Something to bear in mind is that, unlike a cruise-control or stereo button, you will probably only touch the gear selector twice every journey (once when you start the car and move off, and the second when you set it to Park and switch the engine off).
Electronics not ageing gracefully is a whole other subject and one that continues to confound some manufacturers. And even though this technology improves with every new generation, the move to electronic control for basic functions often seems like a backward step. Show the owner of a new four-wheel-drive, with a rotary dial to select the driveline settings, an older off-roader with a simple, foolproof mechanical lever to shift between two and four-wheel-drive and you’ll leave them wishing for the good old days.
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