What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?

Here's the question of the day... "What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?"

We are a 2 car household (the other is an ICE - Hyundai Sonata) and while it has been good to us, I find the driving experience in the Leaf much much better. So for those of you who still have ICE cars, what is it that annoys you most about driving them?

I'll begin...

1. Transmissions shifting. When I go from the Leaf to an ICE, I can't help but think that something is wrong with my car when it shifts, just feels clunky.
2. Dirt, Grime, Oil, Grease. Lift up the hood and this is all that you see.
3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

The smell at the gas station when you are filling up.

Since our Leaf had very little regen capability left at the end, there wasn't much difference in that regard for us...

But it greatly depends on what kind of ICE car you drive, how much it annoys you... We have a very nice one and not much annoys me about driving it, outside of having to put gas in it... And it certainty handles, brakes and performs much better than the Leaf...

tkdbrusco said:

3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

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Having to tailor my driving actions to the idiosyncrasies of the suck-squeeze-bang-fart engine.

tkdbrusco said:

3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

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That could be handled by a hybrid...

Yesterday I drove my ICE (Honda Fit) for the first time in a couple of weeks. Before I got my LEAF, I was driving a Sonata, and going from the Sonata to the Fit, the difference in acceleration was noticeable. However, now it's almost unbearable. This I guess is pretty much the same as the transmission complaint...
The noise is also pretty profoundly different. I started thinking last night that maybe the Fit was breaking down because of it.
Gas stations are the big one for me. Stupid Sonata would never stop the pump when it was full and it'd overflow out the side. Sometimes it'd get on me. Really ticked me off.

tkdbrusco said:

Here's the question of the day... "What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?"

Click to expand...

4.) The thought of it. ('Figuratively' and literally: I haven't driven a gasser since Nov 2012, so I'm not sure!)

I agree with your 'Top 3' as well. And even with zer0 regen and no coasting, 70-80% of the energy in petroleum is wasted in an ICE, so it is still a valid criticism/annoyance.

If I were forced to drive one again however, I imagine that 'Being sluggish off the line' would make my top 5.

tkdbrusco said:

I'll begin...

1. Transmissions shifting. When I go from the Leaf to an ICE, I can't help but think that something is wrong with my car when it shifts, just feels clunky.
2. Dirt, Grime, Oil, Grease. Lift up the hood and this is all that you see.
3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

Click to expand...

Maintenance. Oil changes. Timing belts. Transmission flushes.

The engine running while stopped. It was actually my housemate's Prius II, leased for three years (she now drives a Prius PHEV), that got us unused to sitting at a dead stop, burning gas. Having to start an engine to move the car 20' is also high on that list.

Pushing on the gas and...waiting...for...it...to...finally....go.

Had to rent a gasser Toyota Camry a few weeks ago on a trip to Seattle. I swear my wife and I were convinced the thing was broken the whole time. It's like the gas pedal had to call the engine room on the blower and ask the engineer to put on more coal. Couldn't wait to get back to the Leaf and the whole experience cemented my desire to also get a Tesla when my lease is up for the extra range and SC ability so next trip to Seattle can be a driving trip.

Love these posts. I was just talking to my wife today about this. Have a 2011 Honda Odyssey, used to think it was awesome. Now when I have to drive it I think there is something wrong with it. I can feel it struggling to go down the road. The crazy shifting and head jerking back and forth. Waiting for the pedal to tell the engine I'd like to go now. Shimmies in the steering wheel. Having to grab that big gear shift and wrestle it up and down. What's with this key stuff, oh yeah I can't just hit the power button and get out. Braking kills me just thinking of those two pieces of metal grinding against each other. I tell people its like a non smoker being around smokers. Can't wait to replace that gasser with the next generation.

tkdbrusco said:

1. Transmissions shifting. When I go from the Leaf to an ICE, I can't help but think that something is wrong with my car when it shifts, just feels clunky.
...
3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

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For me, it's the NVH when accelerating and in general. My ICEV is a Prius so I don't have any issue w/#1 to due to the eCVT and I have some regen, so that mitigates some of #3.

But yes, ICE is very inefficient, throwing off so much waste heat to burn gasoline that at least 2/3 of the gasoline's energy is wasted (https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

But yeah, my last two rental cars were non-hybrid ICEVs, so I was annoyed by the #1 and 3. And, one of them was a 5-cylinder VW Passat... engine was kinda funky w/weird sounds and not that much oomph when floored. At least it was relatively quiet at low rpms. Was somewhat of a gas hog, IIRC. And both it and the Chevy Cruze were just piggy on gasoline compared to my Prius.

tkdbrusco said:

Here's the question of the day... "What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?"

We are a 2 car household (the other is an ICE - Hyundai Sonata) and while it has been good to us, I find the driving experience in the Leaf much much better. So for those of you who still have ICE cars, what is it that annoys you most about driving them?

I'll begin...

1. Transmissions shifting. When I go from the Leaf to an ICE, I can't help but think that something is wrong with my car when it shifts, just feels clunky.
2. Dirt, Grime, Oil, Grease. Lift up the hood and this is all that you see.
3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

Click to expand...

1) Our Prius, Prius C, and Lexus RX450h have no transmissions shifting. They all use a single statically geared planetary gear, super smooth.
2) Again, none of that in the Prii or Lexus. The Lexus looks beautiful with all the plastic engine covers and polished brushed metal.
3) Again, all 3 vehicles have regenerative braking.

AlanSqB said:

Pushing on the gas and...waiting...for...it...to...finally....go.

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That's my frustration with driving my backup car, an Audi A3 with a 2 liter turbo engine, in the city. The turbo has enough lag in it where I gently press the pedal and nothing seems to happen, so I press a little bit more and WHOAA! as the turbo finally catches up. The jerkiness of the DSG automated manual doesn't help matters.

On long drives at continuous speeds, or even on mountain roads, the Audi is a blast to drive (more so than the Leaf) but in the stop and go of the city it's terrible. It also hates being driven in the city, as my fuel economy drops below 20 MPG in some cases and oil consumption goes way up. Now it's much happier being the occasional car and has rewarded me with better-than-EPA highway MPG and far less oil consumption per mile than the pre-Leaf days.

cwerdna said:

But yeah, my last two rental cars were non-hybrid ICEVs, so I was annoyed by the #1 and 3. And, one of them was a 5-cylinder VW Passat....

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OT but did you try the Bluetooth streaming on the Passat? This is what I had for a rental when we met up for dinner a couple of years ago, and this is the car I told you about with the bizarre Bluetooth streaming that basically "remixed" many of the songs on my iPhone, enhancing certain musical notes and instruments while de-emphasizing other notes and some vocals (particularly backup vocals). Most bizarre.

Oh yes, the key. Sitting down in the "Environment Murdering, Terrorist Supporting, Giant Turd" that is my wife's suv and trying to turn it on with the key in my pocket. Then having to get out, retrieve said key from pocket and get back in. Boo.

That godawful lurch-stall-shift-sway when making a turn from a full stop. Even the CVT in our 2011 Quest can't stay smooth in a turn. The PT Cruiser that we traded for the Leaf was even worse.

2k1Toaster said:

tkdbrusco said:

Here's the question of the day... "What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?"
[...] 3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

Click to expand...

[...] 3) Again, all 3 vehicles have regenerative braking.

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Although y2k referred to braking, it's the (much) smaller of the two ways that gassers waste energy. If they burn gasoline, they're wasting a lot of energy. And while the electricity source for charging may waste it too, it is at least possible that the elctrons came from a "high-efficiency" source.

mbender said:

2k1Toaster said:

tkdbrusco said:

Here's the question of the day... "What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?"
[...] 3. Wasted energy. I can't help but think that I'm wasting energy when I can't coast to a stop and regen.

Click to expand...

[...] 3) Again, all 3 vehicles have regenerative braking.

Click to expand...

Although y2k referred to braking, it's the (much) smaller of the two ways that gassers waste energy. If they burn gasoline, they're wasting a lot of energy. And while the electricity source for charging may waste it too, it is at least possible that the elctrons came from a "high-efficiency" source.

Click to expand...

Keep in mind that not all that waste, is unwanted. You get free cabin heat!

Just playing devil's advocate. I love my little Leaf, probably add a Tesla and another Leaf to the fleet soon. But I think the majority of the comments made here about ICE vehicles stem from having driven really crappy ICE vehicles. Cars that studder and shake when turning or become grabby or turbo lag, all that sort of thing is specific to that vehicle. In the cars that we own, the ICE vehicles perform flawlessly, but they are also excellent vehicles. So comparing an excellent ICE vehicle to a pure BEV to a substandard ICE car will not work.

And to those that say the gas station is a major plus, some people like the smell of gasoline! That might be a stretch though...

For me it's not so much pumping the gas but seeing the $$ go up that bugs me. Since I got my leaf my wife has hardly had to pump gas at all since it's always empty on her leaf days and my days off.

The thing that didn't annoy me was intense heat available in the winter. I know for some people the way the i3 REX works isn't acceptable but I really feel all BEVs should offer some sort of small ICE for limp home purposes and delivery even range in extreme cold and avoiding a the potential dangerous side affects of a driver who choses to drive with no heat/defrost.

While I'm still very happy with my '05 5-speed Corolla, it's a lot more work to respond to varying traffic conditions with it than with my LEAF. Getting back onto the torque curve from high-MPG, low-RPM cruising means downshifting two or three gears, and in comparison the LEAF is so effortlessly responsive... by the time the Corolla is ready, the LEAF has already done what needed doing, smoothly and almost silently.