The DUMB 458 features

I feel sorry for your friend who crashed his Carrera GT in the rain, aqurplaning is so scary, how those F1 guys do what they do in the rain I just don't know.

I keep my TC on all the time and in the rain I'm now extra careful - thank you for your reply.

 

According to the manual, a quick touch puts them on for a corner. They will shut off. Hold it longer and you get three flashes for a lane change. This has also been my experience.

I didn't know different parts were for different functions. I'll have to experiment.

 

Lol at all these First World problems.

 

Great to see all the replies. If FERRARI is listening, the results of this post are worth millions of dollars. Improving the dumb things will appeal to clients.

Sometimes I wonder if things frustrating me about my largely wonderful 458 are attributable to lack of2000 thousand miles back to Canada after participating in a race in Nevada I will offer a few additional firm observations

1). The indicator buttons are a pain in the a.. Many times, with the wheel fully turned, I just gave up trying to figure out which indictor button to push and made a turn without indicators. This says nothing about the stupidly situated indicator arrows on the right and left side of the tach tunnel, vision of which is usually blocked by my steering wheel.

2) Always struggle to find horn buttons and never seem to succeed. Keep pushing and pressing areas on the steering wheel to activate the horn and nothing happens. This makes this 458 owner feel totally dumb.

3) Always feel insecure about the emergency brake. When doing half or full mile 'shoot out's', the thought of reaching under the dash and pulling some lever to activate the emergency brake just isn't intuitive at all; and besides, will it work? On every other sports car I've owned, I know where the emergency brake is; I've tested it, and have some confidence I can find and pull it in a pinch. Im my 458 I feel rather clueless and vulnerable should an speed emergency arise.

4) Very difficult for drivers 6 feet or more to have optimal positioning of extended steering wheel, let alone driver side arm rest. More suited to someone 5 feet 8 inches. Being 6 feet, when I sit in my 458 it's suboptimal driver's position compared with wonderful drivers position in my german made cars, which orient to 6 footers.

Pls. keep in mind, this isn't about bashing the wonderful 458; its about helping Ferrari to make it, and it's future iterations, better.

 

My prior post, got smuzzled, and was supposed to say, based on impressions from a 2000 mile drive in my 458, following my participation in a race in Nevada .

 

Great to see all the replies. If FERRARI is listening, the results of this post are worth millions of dollars. Improving the dumb things will appeal to clients.

Sometimes I wonder if things frustrating me about my largely wonderful 458 are attributable to lack of2000 thousand miles back to Canada after participating in a race in Nevada I will offer a few additional firm observations

1). The indicator buttons are a pain in the a.. Many times, with the wheel fully turned, I just gave up trying to figure out which indictor button to push and made a turn without indicators. This says nothing about the stupidly situated indicator arrows on the right and left side of the tach tunnel, vision of which is usually blocked by my steering wheel.

2) Always struggle to find horn buttons and never seem to succeed. Keep pushing and pressing areas on the steering wheel to activate the horn and nothing happens. This makes this 458 owner feel totally dumb.

3) Always feel insecure about the emergency brake. When doing half or full mile 'shoot out's', the thought of reaching under the dash and pulling some lever to activate the emergency brake just isn't intuitive at all; and besides, will it work? On every other sports car I've owned, I know where the emergency brake is; I've tested it, and have some confidence I can find and pull it in a pinch. Im my 458 I feel rather clueless and vulnerable should an speed emergency arise.

4) Very difficult for drivers 6 feet or more to have optimal positioning of extended steering wheel, let alone driver side arm rest. More suited to someone 5 feet 8 inches. Being 6 feet, when I sit in my 458 it's suboptimal driver's position compared with wonderful drivers position in my german made cars, which orient to 6 footers.

Pls. keep in mind, this isn't about bashing the wonderful 458; its about helping Ferrari to make it, and it's future iterations, better.

 

Make it simple!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Uhhhhh... Key hole in the door.... Does it have to be RIGHT there on burning a hole in my eyeballs? At the very least couldn't they just paint it to match the color of the car? Surely there must be some way to hide it behind the door handle. Trying to figure out how difficult it would be to remove and powder coat the damn thing. Or maybe the quick and easy solution is to invent a plug that securely fits in there, and is easily removed? I will have to figure out how to get it to fit flush so it isn't a big red pimple where the key hole was.... More on this as I try some things.

 

Well I'm new to 458 ownership, so I can't say there are many "dumb" things on the car. BUT, the cup holder is ridiculous. It might be able to hold a 4oz bottle of water.

In terms of the steering wheel, I truly like all of the controls in easy reach and I find the turn signals to be very intuitive. Although I still need to master the right screen, i feel that I have the left screen down. Oh, and I really like the VDA screen because it let's me know when to GO!

 

They already make these

https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=181_185&product_id=221

 

Little things, especially when l start up the car.

1. Have to push the button to close the "warning message" that fills up the right screen.

2. Have to hit the Auto button to get into manual.

3. The passenger window is one touch going down but you have to hold it all the way when putting up. My 2011 Porsche and our two Audis have the one touch going up and down.

4. The outside temperature reads high when the car gets warm. My understanding is this is caused by the left front radiator. This makes the outside temperature feature rather useless after you leave the garage.

5. Many complain that you can't read the tach (mine is yellow) in certain light. Not a problem for me, especially with the LED lights on the steering wheel.

6. The passenger door automatically locks when underway, but doesn't unlock when you stop and keep the engine running. So it is somewhat awkward to get the door open if a passenger wants to get in.

7. You can't get much of anything in the glovebox.

Of course there are dozens of features on the 458 l really love.

 

It took me a year to figure out there is a lock-unlock button for the doors under the rear view mirror assembely. Lol

 

You can turn off the auto-locking feature in the settings menu!

 

Nothing in the 458 is dumb: they're italian design idiosyncrasies

Only nuisance: Car Wash Mode. Pointless, useless, exists only to get in your way. Life would be easier without it.

Other than that, it's actually quite a petrolhead thing to like and buy a Ferrari also because of/inspite of their idiosyncrasies.

A perfect car? Where's the fun in that?

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Wait a minute, Kirk. What?! LOL

 

Correct: pushing it quickly makes the turn signal stay on until you turn, while holding the button down longer makes it flash only 3 times. Counter-intuitive, but that's Grappa for ya.

Nobody mentioned the speedometer that goes away when you turn on the radio (yes, you can put it back on by holding the "back" button).

 

Sticky buttons - inexcusable for any car at any price, let alone a $300K one from a world renowned manufacturer.

 

Indeed a non-workable situation imo ...

 

Opposite way !

Touch short, it will continue untill turned; touch long it will only do 3 flashes -> see the Owners Manual.

 

You are correct.

This post might be a record of some kind, commenting on a post from 5 years ago in 2012.
.

 

It's a damn fine car. to DRIVE..stop complaining. The signal switches however I agree with 100%. Don't mess with things that don't need to be messed with. Radio nav stuff, who cares. Drive to get lost..it's more fun unless you need a gas station.

 

I'm actually a weirdo, because I like, enjoy and prefer signal switches on the steering wheel. Doesn't bother me all that much. I actually think it's cool.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

I like the turn signals on the steering wheel.

 

My sppedo is set for the left screen. And/or you can use the digital speedo on the left screen.

 

Me 2 ☺️