Where's that horn?

I was reading an article in a 50s Mechanics Illustrated which talked about what to do with a new car. One thing it mentioned was to familiarize yourself with all the controls (preferably stopped in the daylight) so you know where everthing is (and does) when you want to show it off.

I'm surprised the horn isn't mentioned in the manual.

 

I disagree. A near miss is just that - a miss that happens to be near (instead of missing by a football field or something)

Now, if you nearly missed, that would be a collision.


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On the coffee thing. It was her fault she spilled. The severity of the burns, though, were McDonalds' fault. No reason for the coffee to have been that hot.

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On the topic thing. The horn is the big thing in the middle, like most cars except for those made a few years after airbags came out, when they put the horn as buttons on the spokes.

 

I think depends on how you're reading it. Can you have a miss that came very near to hitting something, hence, "a near miss," as opposed to a "far miss" that was very far from hitting something? :huh:

 

Duh, I think I was just agreeing and repeating what you just said now that I've read it closer.

 

As I began driving pre-airbags, when ALL vehicle horns were centered, I hate the "new" itty-bitty horn buttons. I still push on the center when I want the horn and nothing happens. Kudos to Toyota as once again I can blindly stab at the middle of the wheel and be rewarded with a blast, albeit diminuative.

 

I remember my dad having a Pontiac with a rubber strip around the inner circumference of the entire wheel, that was the horn. I also remember a horn that was activated by pressing inward on the turn signal.

Remember when you wanted high-beams? You pressed that silver button with your left foot by the emergency brake.

 

Yep, I used one of those turn-signal horn cars once. Bent the turn-signal stalk trying to HONK.

And I'd forgotten about the high-beam button down there. I was reminiscing how much I liked the steering wheel on the '62 Falcon wagon my folks got after I was born. I never actually got to use it on the road, but I spent a lot of time behind it (in the drive. With the engine off.). THe horn button (knob? medallion?) in the center had a nice chrome finish and a ring attached that ran around just inside the steering wheel, so you could get it with your thumb while still holding the wheel. At least you could if your hands were adult-sized, mine weren't at the time...

 

Horns are on a car to meet the legal requirement and are almost totally useless unless you want that nice looking girl/guy (whatever) to turn around. At one time I owned a Morgan +4 that had a great horn on it with a large button... in the middle of the dash.

There's just too much frivolous hooting going on anyway. :blink:

 

New to the group but thanks to "tessar and aaf709"
for proving I'm not blind yet

"I'm surprised the horn isn't mentioned in the manual."

Like most have I had cars with horn button's/lever's/ring's
over the years, all where in the manual.

Thanks to this group and this thread I now know my horn dose
not work...

Just got an 05 Prius with 7k on it 2 weeks ago and love it.

thanks tony l

 

Well, I've been informed I should NEVER use my horn.

So I don't understand why we have them at all.

(Except for the lazy guys in my neighborhood to use as DOORBELLS instead of getting out of the car to get their carpools who are still sleeping!)

 

This may seem like a silly topic, but I came here to find an answer and I got it. My arthritic fingers didn't activate the horn when I first tried it, so I didn't think I was pushing in the right place. Now I know I have to whomp it!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KTPhil @ Jan 12 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]188770[/snapback]</div>

Some people are just naturally more horny than others.

 

Thank you, thank you for posting on the other side of this issue. I have always been enraged over people trashing this woman who was burned by coffee. When I pay money to get coffee, I don't expect to be handed something that is so hot that there is no way to hold it without being burned. The server should have taken care to properly encase the coffee, using two cups if necessary, and McDonalds should have had the right kind of cups to use. As a result of this poor woman's suffering, we now have those sleeve things. I love them, though I wish they weren't another excuse to spend more trees. I do not have any smpathy for inane lawsuits, but this is NOT such as case.

As for the horn, I think that comes with each new car. You have to get used to its location. Once every 10 or 20 years, we get a new car, and I spend the next 8 years getting used to the horn location. C'est la vie. I have to say that I have already had to use the horn and didn't have much difficulty getting to it. Then, again, I was particularly peeved at the moment, and I guess I just naturally gravitated to it.

Finally, I wish we didn't have to get so snide to posters who happen to disagree with our position. I hope that isn't taken as an attack. I just get depressed when people are treated so rudely for really no reason.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KTPhil @ Jan 12 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]188770[/snapback]</div>

Hey, MarinJohn,

Why do you think they changed that 70's Lincoln horn? Does anybody know? This sounds like an excellent idea, especially for avoiding accidents.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tessar @ Jan 13 2006, 01:03 AM) [snapback]189018[/snapback]</div>

Ah...that explains it.

Long story short, you're dramatially over thinking this situation.

Its a new car, you have to familiarize yourself with the locations of all the things you may need to access quickly in an emergency. You didn't know where to go for the horn, your fault.

I remember back when they first started putting airbags in cars and weren't yet able to put the horn pad behind the airbag module to similate the type of on center horn honking people were used to. Instead you had the two little horn buttons up on the steering wheel stalks. THAT was a usability issue which they eventually remedied.

I think your post touches on something which really irritates people, myself included, which is a general lack of people's willingness to accept fault for mistakes they make.

If you want to leave thats your call, but your original thread and your diploma thumping followup here have an extremely haughty aire to them, so I can't blame people for how they've reacted to you.

 

Re: Where's that horn?

Get over it, I like having accesory controls on the steering wheel. I certainly use them more than the horn, and isn't it better having hands close to the wheel at all times?

 

Can't believe that I'm going to stand behind the original poster on this one, but here goes.

My first car was one of those with the little horn buttons on the spokes. That's intuitive for me...it's what I learned, first. My brain had to be retrained to think "big center thing" means horn. In my mind it meant airbag.

Just because that's what the standard was in the 1950s and 1960s, doesn't mean that's how we all think.

Secondly, his point that every other button in the car is so well documented in the manual, leads one to think that the big horn "button" would be equally well documented. If it truly is not included in the documentation, I find that to be an odd oversight, and one which could be problematic for Toyota if a horn-issue ever came to court.

Now, having said all that, as the driver it *is* my responsibility to familiarize myself with the car and its controls. The salesman at the dealership commented positively, during the test drive, about that fact...most people, he said, don't bother.

Toyota's designers placed the horn "activator" according to one of the two standards for placement, and it isn't particularly difficult to find. (Unlike that weird Morgan mentioned above)

Heck, I spent more time figuring out the smart-key system! Brake, button, shift, release.

Chuck

 

Re: Where's that horn?

Exactly, and that is what is wrong with the horn design. All my old Chrysler products ( 50's and 60's) had horn rings, which were adjustable. So one could lightly tap the horn ring to warn. I would like the horn ring incorporated again. Maybe it's impossible with the air bag now. But, that means the design is probably bad on most modern cars, not just the Prius. YES, the horn is important when used with discretion.

 

Re: Where's that horn?

All I have to say is how the he** do you miss that BIG black thing in the middle of the prius steering wheel?

 

Re: Where's that horn?

I want to know if anyone noticed the little picture of a horn on the big black thing on the steering wheel?