Pet peeves about the Genesis

[bueller555]

My pet peeves about the Genesis are due to visibility issues, nothing about build quality.

1. Side mirrors are positioned where it blocks my view making certain left turns.
2. Headrest is so high and large that looking behind to the right is difficult. Looking behind to the left is impossible.
3. In order to have a clear view the tach and speedometer, the steering wheel needs to be positioned very close to the topmost position. With your hands at the 10-2 position on the steering wheel, you end up blocking the temp and fuel gauges. My hands end up being uncomfortably high.

I still haven't been able to find a comfortable driving position. The headrest tends to push my head forward and I still haven't found a good lumbar setting.

Never had these issues with my 98 Camry. Okay, I'll stop whining.

 

[dataguy]

Not that I'm disagreeing with your issues (I think pet peeves are called that because they're personal annoyances that may not be so for everyone), but I don't have any of the same concerns. Could it be specific to a driver's height? You're not the first person to mentioned the side mirror blocking, for example.

 

[bueller555]

Thanks for understanding that these are personal preferences. I'm 5' 9" and have raised my seat so that I sometimes feel my hair touching the ceiling if I lean forward. I also like seeing as much of the hood as possible, so I sit just a little higher than necessary. I still have difficulty in making a tight left turn where I need to watch the median as I make the turn. I'm turning into a narrow lane and don't have the option of swinging wider to avoid the median.

Maybe I still need to get used to the changes. I like the Genesis a lot, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I didn't have to adapt to these things that are safety issues for me.

 

[Pahaska]

I agree that the steering wheel needs to be quite high to see the indicators at the top of the cluster, but I have read several places that with air bag-equipped cars it is best to keep the hands down to the 3-9 position to reduce the possibility that the forearms are in front of the airbag if it pops. That could mean a nasty blow to the face.

With my hands in the 3-9 position, the wheel is quite comfortable.

 

[bilmat]

Your peeves — which I am not taking issue with even though none apply to me personally — are an excellent example of why it's necessary to take a very thorough test drive before plunking down $35 to $40 large on a major auto purchase. That's something I failed to do before I bought my 4.6/Tech back in January. Had I taken the time during my test drive to seek out a bumpy road that revealed how poorly the car handled poor road surfaces, I'd probably be driving an ES350 today and wouldn't even know about this forum. As I said on another thread, the lack of the suspension to rebound civilly from bumps in my Genesis is the only thing holding it back from being the perfect car. Hope my kidneys hold out until the Equus arrives.

 

[TJPark01]

Not that I'm disagreeing with your issues (I think pet peeves are called that because they're personal annoyances that may not be so for everyone), but I don't have any of the same concerns. Could it be specific to a driver's height? You're not the first person to mentioned the side mirror blocking, for example.

I think there is an adjustment period to anything new. I couldn't find a comfortable seat position for the first month, but I think it is because I had been driving the same car for 10 years. Your muscles and body have a memory built into them. When you sit in something new, your body has to adjust to it. Kinda like braking in new running shoes. Once you do, the Gen is super comfortable. Now when I get into the "other" car that I had been driving, it doesn't feel right either.

 

[ttsig]

I still haven't been able to find a comfortable driving position. The headrest tends to push my head forward and I still haven't found a good lumbar setting.

Never had these issues with my 98 Camry. Okay, I'll stop whining.

I don't have any of the same complaints with visibility. I personally think the Genesis has great visibility, but my height (6'2") is a lot different from yours so perhaps that makes a difference. That being said, I can say that it took me probably 2-3 months to find a seat position that I really liked with my Genesis. I had previously driven a '00 Ford Ranger and the seating experience is obviously quite different (previous vehicle was also a truck). However, after much playing, I finally found a position that seemed "OK" and then made only minor adjustments over the course of the next month or so. The combination of making only very small changes, and my body learning a new way to sit, finally made me hit a position that is perfect. I can now drive for hours totally comfortable (longest continuous drive so far is a little over 1000 miles in ~16 hours).

I guess my point is, given time I suspect you'll finally find that comfortable spot, at least I hope so. Good Luck!!

 

[biscuitninja]

My gripe has to do more with the irritating ECS and traction control. The next would probably be not being able to hold redline in the manual mode.

What are we children? We don't need to have the net nanny keep everything in line for us. I hope that the tuners crack the Hyundai programming code soon, its annoying and it keeps our cars from being the better option.

As for suspension, I say put the V8 springs on the V6 as well as the brakes also. THEN this car would be a good steering and braking car....

good luck
-bix

 

[mongo]

I really dislike the sight lines in the car, I feel like there are blind spots galore. I'm 6'4, my wife 5'1", she feels the same.

We test drove. We noted that during the drives. We bought anyway.

I'm coming off a Jag XJ8L where I could see everything, so I'm sure I'll settle in after a while.

I'm not a big fan of the side profile of the car. But I buy cars for interior comfort, not how purdy they are on the outside.

I think the instrument cluster looks cheesy. But again, I really don't care.

I do wish the passenger seat had all the power adjustments that the drivers seat has, along with seat cooling. That just means for long trips I drive instead of my wife. Which in and of itself is a good thing.

 

[LLT]

I'm 6ft3 - I don't have any visibility issues, so no complaint there. My "pet peeves" beyond suspension would likely consist of poor iPod integration (doesn't show full artist/song info, doesn't return to playlist when restarting car, etc.) and poor bluetooth integration. There isn't much else I'd change to be honest. There are a few other minor things like the stock HID lights being too yellow, but I've corrected those issues myself.

Mongo - you're not alone. Interior comfort is far more important to me than exterior styling.

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[STREETS]

With proper seat adjustment, I find no substantial (out of the norm) blindspots. The one Pet peeve I have is the headlights. The HID low beams aim low (I corrected), but the high beams are so underpowered they are almost useless. Any suggestions on an inexpensive replacement bulb that works? I might consider a LED bulb, if replacing does not involve a full days chore.

Final peeve- a biggie- lack of retained power (2, 5, 10 min) after turn off.

Fantastic car!

Streets

 

[Pwrplay]

I agree a little with a few of the blind spots, however it really is not that much of an issue for me at 6 ft and my wife at 5 ft 2 hasn't complained.

I don't consider the lack of a feature or features a "pet peeve" as I had researched the car thoroughly and test driven the car numerous times before I bought and accepted certain minor things that I could live with considering what I was getting for the price. Much more refinement in this car would also warrant a heftier price tag as well as we will see with the Equus.

One pet peeve I do have is when you are scrolling down your ipod songs or artists list , the cursor will go back to the beginning of the list if you don't move the cursor for a few seconds ,also when you select a song on the ipod and then hit the back button to search for other songs, it goes back to the beginning again of the list instead of continuing where you left off. I'm sure this is easily rectified with a software update though.

 

[oreipa]

seating position

I guess I need to keep playing around with the seat because I'm only 6' 1" and wish it had more travel (back) or the wheel went closer to the dash. Those of you 6' 2" or taller, do you have the seat lower? That seems to allow the seat to travel back a little further. I find you also need to "bucket" the seat more to create greater leg room and more distance from the wheel, something I did not need to do in my Audi.

 

[jwaters943]

It's too good looking
It attracts too much attention (hence the good looking part)
It's too good of a value (if it were a Lexus it would be $15-20k more)
It's too quiet (I can't tell if I'm going 65 or 80 without looking at the speedometer)



....seriously, I love my Genesis. No visibility issues whatsoever on my part (I'm 6' 2"). If I had to nitpick, I would say I wish the drivers seat went back another inch or two and offered more thigh support for tall drivers like myself. I also wish the passenger seat had a height adjustment and the ride were a tiny bit better on rough pavement. Otherwise though, I wouldn't change a thing!

 

[SterlingDave]

My pet peeve for the gennie is the key fob: too big and too heavy/clunky. The key fob for the Santa Fe is just about right, if you just have to have a fob, IMHO.

My wife would echo a previous post: she wants the passenger seat to have vertical movement, and A/C.

Gee, perhaps I should say that ours are nitpicks rather than out-and-out peeves.

 

[Richard Ft. Lauderdale]

Re: seating position

I guess I need to keep playing around with the seat because I'm only 6' 1" and wish it had more travel (back) or the wheel went closer to the dash. Those of you 6' 2" or taller, do you have the seat lower? That seems to allow the seat to travel back a little further. I find you also need to "bucket" the seat more to create greater leg room and more distance from the wheel, something I did not need to do in my Audi.

I am 6' 2''. I have to have the seat all the way back and the seat back tilted back a bit rather than straight up in order to get comfortable. The steering wheel then needs to be brought all the way toward me and raised a little in order to see the guages.

My preference would be to not have to tilt the seat back as much as I do but my back is not comfortable other wise. The problem with having the seat back tilted back so far is that it then leaves a large space between my head and the head rest which could be a problem if I get rearended (hopefully that won't happen). I would prefer that the head rest be within an inch of my head but I just can't get my back comfortable if I don't have the seat back tilted back.

Oh, did I mention this is the best car I have ever had. I have had it a couple of weeks over a year now.

 

[oreipa]

As someone who's been ass-ended on three different occasions--once by a drunk driver--and each time minding my own business at a light, I can empathize on the head rest issue. It's one of the things I've always been amazed about in driving around and looking at other cars and the way people sit. Particularly with a lot of American cars (Chrysler especially) the head rest even in its highest position, doesn't come close to protecting the occupant in an accident. In all three cases for me, I was in a German car (Volkswagen, Audi) and was perfectly fine, though a little frazzled.

 

[jwaters943]

The IIHS rated the head/neck protection good for the Genesis sedan. The headrests work as designed IMO.

 

[oreipa]

The crash test results were one the things that attracted me to the Genesis. Until you've been involved in a serious accident, you tend to dismiss those issues. I've got two young daughters and I want them in something safe. My wife drives a Touareg and that thing is not only very responsive and secure to drive, but it's also a tank.

 

[Richard Ft. Lauderdale]

As someone who's been ass-ended on three different occasions--once by a drunk driver--and each time minding my own business at a light, I can empathize on the head rest issue. It's one of the things I've always been amazed about in driving around and looking at other cars and the way people sit. Particularly with a lot of American cars (Chrysler especially) the head rest even in its highest position, doesn't come close to protecting the occupant in an accident. In all three cases for me, I was in a German car (Volkswagen, Audi) and was perfectly fine, though a little frazzled.

I was rearended so hard a few years ago that my glasses flew off my head and hit the windshield. I was in a 1997 BMW 740 IL. I was hit by a Jeep Wrangler that had rubber cushions on his bumper. I expected to find my rear end and his front end completely caved in but to my total surprise there was no damage (not even a scratch) to either car. I didn't even bother to get his driver's license.

I have religiously worn my seat belt since 1964 when I had to identify the body of a guy in my platoon when I was in the Marines and I couldn't identify him. He had flipped a car on to its side and it slid down the road with his head between the car and the road. He probably woud have been fine if he had taken two seconds to put on his seat belt.