By Joe Pinsker

Drivers are finding they wish the smart technology in their cars was just a bit dumber.

Automakers have added new tech features in the 2020s that go beyond the touch screens, assisted-driving systems and companion phone apps that have become ubiquitous in new cars. Some vehicles come with infrared night vision, seasonal ambient lighting and interior "fam cams" showing rear passengers.

Many drivers say it is too much. The share who had positive feelings about the intuitiveness of their car's controls fell from 79% in 2015 to 56% in 2024, according to surveys of new-car buyers by Strategic Vision, a market-research firm. The trend was similar for drivers' perceptions of dashboard displays, screen interfaces and the layout of the instrument panel.

Drivers are still happy overall with the technology in cars, said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision. But they want it to be as easy to use as an iPhone, and most of it isn't.

In January, Vincent Dufault-Bédard tried and failed to remotely start charging his 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 electric car using its phone app. The 36-year-old engineer in Montreal scurried out into the 15deg night in shorts and flip-flops, thinking he would be back indoors quickly.

But the car doors wouldn't open because their sensor-equipped handles were on the fritz in the cold. He ended up having to shimmy into his car through the trunk.

"Just give me a normal door handle," said Dufault-Bédard.

In 2024, owners of battery-electric vehicles reported their door handles' being difficult to use at a rate of 3.1 problems per 100 vehicles, up from 0.2 in 2020, according to J.D. Power.

"We've changed door handles from being a problem-free experience to now, they pop out when the owner approaches, and we're seeing all these problems," said Kathleen Rizk, a senior director at J.D. Power.

Glitches can be especially annoying for drivers whose cars cost more because of extra technology. Some premium features, such as massaging seats and passenger-side screens, can drive up a car's price tag. The average transaction price of a new vehicle was $47,373 in February, according to the car-shopping site Edmunds.

Touch screens are a touchy subject for drivers like Jake Pratte. He sees them as both an annoyance and a potential hazard. Changing settings can require multiple taps and usually doesn't deliver physical feedback like the twist of a knob or the press of a button.

"You have to sit there and stare at what you're doing, which means you're taking your eyes off the road," said Pratte, a 35-year-old project manager in the St. Louis area.

He has a similar distaste for capacitive switches, which look a lot like buttons but take their cues from touching rather than pushing. Both components are "an absolute nightmare for someone with slightly sweaty hands," he said.

Touch screens grew, both in diameter and prevalence, during the 2010s and are now virtually inescapable. A rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration required a backup camera, and therefore a screen, in new vehicles starting in 2018.

Some 28% of new-car buyers favor buttons over touch screens, according to a 2022 survey from Escalent, a consulting firm.

Some automakers are bringing back buttons and knobs in new models. And starting next year, the vehicle-safety ratings of Euro NCAP, a European organization, will consider cars safer if they provide physical components for primary controls such as windshield wipers and hazard lights, rather than burying them in a touch screen.

"There are genuine distraction issues," said Matthew Avery, Euro NCAP's director of strategic development.

Drivers are most enthusiastic about tech features such as wireless phone-charging pads, heated and ventilated seats, rain-sensing wipers and built-in vacuum cleaners, according to a survey last year of new-car shoppers by the market-research firm AutoPacific.

At the bottom of their wish lists are passenger-side screens and augmented reality visible on the windshield. And according to J.D. Power, drivers are underwhelmed by gesture controls, whereby one can, say, increase the volume by rotating an imaginary knob in the air.

Base-model vehicles tend to retain more of their value at the end of a lease, because pricier tech is less valued in the used market, J.D. Power has found. A dealer could add perhaps $50 to a monthly lease payment for a feature-heavy car to account for the technology's depreciation.

Some drivers say that they don't want to pay for a bunch of technology they would opt out of if they could. But modern features don't always put a huge strain on vehicle prices, according to Ed Kim, the chief analyst at AutoPacific.

Capacitive switches are cheaper than physical buttons and knobs, he said, and it can be more cost-effective to install the same large screens in every model instead of putting smaller ones in entry-level vehicles.

Of course, fender benders and cracked windshields can rack up big bills for drivers when cameras and sensors are involved. That pushes insurance premiums up, too.

Last year, roughly a quarter of car repairs involved a sensor recalibration, at an average additional cost of about $600, according to Mitchell, a technology and information provider for auto insurers.

Other costs of technology add up, even little ones.

Ken Larsen, 59, likes to start his 2024 Toyota Tundra pickup remotely to warm up on cold mornings in Montello, Nev. That function doesn't reliably work with his key fob, so he begrudgingly starts it through Toyota's app, which charges a subscription fee.

"My payment's $1,000 a month, and now I gotta pay another $15 a month just to be able to start it remotely," said Larsen, an equipment operator at a mine.

After owning the truck for a year and a half, Larsen also recently bought a 1985 Chevy Silverado. He can fix it himself.

Write to Joe Pinsker at joe.pinsker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 09, 2025 18:00 ET (22:00 GMT)

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