Elio Gauge Cluster - Lord Elgin? - Other Options?

[Elio Amazed]

This is what I have been saying. After the initial excitement of the Elio wears off, people will then start very much criticizing the elgin gauges. I am sure people will make snide and deriding comments about Paul Elio's father too. How is Paul going to feel hearing these comments about his father?

Sorry PB, I just don't foresee a lot of people dragging the late Mr. Elio senior through the mud.
To my knowledge there's just no motive or incentive for even the meanest or dumbest to do so.

 

[Elio Amazed]

That's what we're afraid of; Paul may take it wrong when the complaints about it start rolling in.
Remember, it's Paul's tribute to his dad.

Hard to say what they will do (if anything); no one has had to deal with that situation yet.

Coss, with due respect...

I've had first hand life experience with negative results caused by living by the "OMG, don't rock the boat!" mentality.
Outside of very few extreme circumstances, I've never seen anything but bad come of it. I say tell it like it is loud and often.

 

[TeamCoconutOreo]

For me it's about functionality, I love to monitor my engine's health and like to know how fast I'm going with a quick glance. It has nothing to do with Paul's dad or the looks. I actually think it gives it a nice clean look, but that doesn't translate to functional.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

250 votes total here, seems a stretch that anyone besides ourselves give a rat's behind about the dash
I still have no idea why this continues to be THE major concern, followed by the gas filler.
let aftermarket dealers sell 'em to the 200+ folks here who want a change.
Let it go. Paul has made it VERY clear, this is what he wants, and since it's his playground he makes the rules.
Hey really don't like it- don't buy it, no one is twisting arms.

 

[Elio Amazed]

the 200+ folks here who want a change.

I'm sorry, but that was too funny.

 

[floydv]

For me it's about functionality, I love to monitor my engine's health and like to know how fast I'm going with a quick glance. It has nothing to do with Paul's dad or the looks. I actually think it gives it a nice clean look, but that doesn't translate to functional.

No problem. $10 for Dash Command or similar app, $20 for an OBD2 reader, and your smartphone or tablet with appropriate dash mount and you're good to go. You can get all the diagnostics you can absorb without changing the dash.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

and.....
Feds Find Fiat Chrysler Gear Shifters Can Confuse Drivers


Associated Press
February 8, 2016

This photo provided by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles shows the interior of a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. U.S. auto safety investigators have determined that electronic gear shifters, like the one at upper left, in some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles while they are in gear, causing 121 crashes and 30 injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has doubled the number of vehicles in the investigation to more than 856,000. But it stopped short of calling for a recall. The probe now covers 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans with 3.6-liter V6 engines. (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles via AP)



DETROIT (AP) – Electronic gear shifters on some newer Fiat Chrysler SUVs and cars are so confusing that drivers have exited the vehicles with the engines running and while they are still in gear, causing crashes and serious injuries, U.S. safety investigators have determined.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in documents posted during the weekend, has doubled the number of vehicles involved in an investigation of the problem, but it stopped short of seeking a recall. The agency found more than 100 crashes and over a dozen injuries, mostly in Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Agency tests found that operating the center console shift lever “is not intuitive and provides poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver, increasing the potential for unintended gear selection,” investigators wrote in the documents. They upgraded the probe to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer to a recall. NHTSA will continue to gather information and seek a recall if necessary, a spokesman said.

The investigation could determine just how much automakers can change the way cars operate when they introduce new technology, and how far they can stray from conventional ways of controlling vehicles that drivers are accustomed to.

Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports, expects more problems and investigations as automakers continue to roll out new electronic controls that are unfamiliar to drivers. “I think the manufacturers need to be much more responsible as they try these new technologies,” he said.

The government’s probe now covers more than 856,000 vehicles including the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV from the 2014 and 2015 model years and the 2012 through 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans with 3.6-liter V6 engines.

In the vehicles, drivers pull the shift lever forward or backward to select gears and the shifter doesn’t move along a track like in most cars. A light shows which gear is selected, but to get from Drive to Park, drivers must push the lever forward three times. The gearshift does not have notches that match up with the gear you want to shift into, and it moves back to a centered position after the driver picks a gear.

The vehicles sound a chime and issue a dashboard warning if the driver’s door is opened while they are not in Park. But investigators found that the push-button start-stop feature doesn’t shut off the engine if the vehicles aren’t in Park, increasing the risk of the vehicles rolling away after drivers have exited.

“This function does not protect drivers who intentionally leave the engine running or drivers who do not recognize that the engine continues to run after an attempted shut-off,” investigators wrote.

Thus far, the investigation has found 314 complaints, 121 crashes and 30 injuries from the problem. Three drivers reported fractured pelvic bones, while four others needed to be hospitalized with a ruptured bladder, fractured kneecap, or severe leg trauma.

Fiat Chrysler says it is cooperating in the probe. The company changed the shifters in the 2016 Grand Cherokee and 2015 Charger and 300 sedans so they function more like people are used to. But FCA said it did so to increase customer satisfaction and not for safety concerns.

One driver, in Atkinson, New Hampshire, complained that in November of last year, her 2014 Grand Cherokee began traveling in reverse with no driver inside. The SUV crossed a street, crashed into a mailbox and rolled up a driveway. The driver wrote that she tried to get back into the Jeep but was knocked to the ground and it rolled over her legs and injured her. The Jeep eventually stopped after hitting a fence. Drivers are not identified in the NHTSA complaint database.

“The shift knob is a real problem,” wrote another driver from Enumclaw, Washington, who reported two unintentional roll-away incidents in a 2015 Grand Cherokee. “I am not a complainer, however this is a major safety issue. It terrifies me to drive this vehicle.”

Fiat Chrysler is not alone with the tricky shifters. Fisher says BMW and Mercedes-Benz have similar gearshifts. He said the government has a thin line to walk between stifling innovation and keeping people safe.

“I think the best thing for consumers isn’t that legislation comes,” he said. “The best thing is that automakers really do not start adding features that are really confusing to people and cause accidents.”

 

[pistonboy]

250 votes total here, seems a stretch that anyone besides ourselves give a rat's behind about the dash
I still have no idea why this continues to be THE major concern, followed by the gas filler.
let aftermarket dealers sell 'em to the 200+ folks here who want a change.
Let it go. Paul has made it VERY clear, this is what he wants, and since it's his playground he makes the rules.
Hey really don't like it- don't buy it, no one is twisting arms.

"Hey really don't like it- don't buy it, no one is twisting arms."

We made out deposit when there was a "needle-on-dial" gauge, then they changed it to the elgin gauge.
I cannot un-buy it. I cannot get my $2,000 back.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

"Hey really don't like it- don't buy it, no one is twisting arms."

We made out deposit when there was a "needle-on-dial" gauge, then they changed it to the elgin gauge.
I cannot un-buy it. I cannot get my $2,000 back.

yep you can't get you're $ back, EM said nothing binding when you sent in your $, they can change anything -should you expect getting your money back if it only gets 80mpg? - you can walk away in disgust or step-up and take it, and lets hope we all have the option to take it!

 

[TeamCoconutOreo]

No problem. $10 for Dash Command or similar app, $20 for an OBD2 reader, and your smartphone or tablet with appropriate dash mount and you're good to go. You can get all the diagnostics you can absorb without changing the dash.

I've totally thought about that. It's a small car and I can imagine it can quickly get cluttered.