Car controls: features and recommendations

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

The history of the automotive industry began back in 1768. Those machines were steam-powered. They had the simplest controls. The car was more difficult to prepare for the trip and maintain than to drive it. Since the first mass-produced car (the Ford Model T, produced from 1908 to 1927), the controls and controls have undergone tremendous changes. They all became more human friendly.

Engineers tried to make working with the car's controls as invisible to the driver as possible, because before he had to be distracted by a huge number of additional actions. Even turning the steering wheel required significantly more effort than it does now.

At the same time, all these innovations made the car much more technically complex. There were electronic starters instead of manual ones, hydraulic and electric power steering, brake boosters and morea huge number of devices without which a modern person cannot imagine a car. Who will get out of the car to start the engine? And can a person imagine a car without an air supply system?

This system has been upgraded more than once. First, air heating appeared, then they began to install air filters, air conditioners appeared, they were replaced by systems with an air conditioner, which itself achieves the selected temperature, after which such systems began to be made two-, three- and even four-zone. Recently, premium cars have begun to be equipped with devices for air ionization and aromatization. And this is just the simplest air supply system in the cabin. Some controls appeared in general quite recently. Navigation, voice control - all this is endless.

Controls in cars

In the interior of any modern car, a huge number of different buttons. It doesn’t matter if they are touch-sensitive, mechanical, or simply drawn on the huge Tesla display, it can be difficult for even an experienced driver to figure it out right away in a new car. All controls can be divided into three groups:

• basic;
• auxiliary;
• comfort controls.

The first group includes the steering wheel, pedals, gear lever. The second includes no less important car controls, but without which the driver can, in theory, drive a car. All of them have a direct impact on road safety.movement. Auxiliary bodies: control of lights and wipers, security systems (anti-lock braking system, electronic dynamic stabilization system of the car, traction control and others), mirror adjustment.

The third category includes all other organs, namely: multimedia control, control of the air supply system to the cabin, seat adjustment, power windows and much more. The location of the vehicle controls should be ergonomic, that is, convenient to use. That is why often in cars the same elements are located in the same places: the gearbox is installed between the front seats, the power windows are on the door map, the radio control is in the center of the dashboard. But there are exceptions. This article will help you quickly and easily find the car controls in any car and use them correctly.

Steering system controls

Without knowledge of the rules for controlling these elements, the driver will not even move from a place behind the wheel of a car, except that he can move in the seat. The steering wheel is always directly in front of the driver. First you need to adjust it in accordance with the picture below. This can be done using the lever located on the left side of the steering column. There will also be buttons if the steering wheel position is changed by an electric drive.

Adjustment can be done in both tilt and reach. The steering wheel should always be held with both hands so that it is not knocked out in a pit orbumps. Avoid the situation when the driver's hands are crossed while turning the steering wheel, you need to immediately intercept him with one hand. If you need to turn right, you also need to turn the steering wheel to the right, and it doesn’t matter if the car is moving forward or backward. In all modern cars, additional car controls are placed on the steering wheel: cruise control, multimedia control, and so on.

Motor and brake control

There can be two or three pedals in a car. If the car has a manual gearbox, then there will be three pedals, an automatic one - two. The right pedal is always gas. Press it gently. To the left of it is the brake pedal. These two pedals should only be pressed with the right foot, except for auto racing.

Consequently, you can not press the gas and brake at the same time. The third pedal, the leftmost is the clutch, is pressed to change gears. Squeeze it out quickly, release it slowly. The control lever of a manual transmission is always located to the right of the driver (between the seats or on the "dashboard"). The shift pattern is located directly on the lever. To engage reverse gear, you often need to either press a button on the lever or the lever itself.

Automatic vehicle controls

Managing a car with an automatic transmission differs only in that there is no clutch pedal, and the gears switch themselves. The box selector might look likelike a lever, a button (a set of buttons), or a puck. Usually located to the right of the driver. On American cars and Mercedes cars, you can often see the automatic transmission lever behind the wheel.

Lights and wipers

Controlling lights and wipers seems very simple at first glance, but there are a lot of subtleties and details. The light control lever is always on the left side of the steering wheel. If you pull the lever down, the left turn signal turns on, up - the right one. Almost all modern cars, with the exception of Toyota, have a one-touch turn signal. The same lever is responsible for turning on the low and high beam headlights, DRL, fog lights and so on.

The wiper control lever is usually installed on the right side of the steering wheel, unless the automatic transmission selector has taken its place. On it you can adjust the speed of the wipers, supply washer fluid. It is worth noting that many modern cars have rain and light sensors, therefore, by setting the levers to the “Auto” position, the driver will only have to turn on the turn signals.

Truck controls

Today, truck controls are almost the same as those in passenger cars. Trucks may have additional controls, such as a hitch. For understanding, below is a picture of the location of the vehicle controls MAN.

Conclusion

Engineers and designers put a lot of effort into making the machine controlnot only simple, but also enjoyable. Once having understood the principle of managing car systems, the driver will be able to change from one car to another much easier. Plus, it will make life a little easier. Good luck on the road!