Anyone else hate the shifter ?

[tigger19687]

The longer I have this car the more I HATE the shifter.

It is not smooth when you shift.
It feels just Clunky.

I wonder if there is a way to fix that.

 

[Don]

I like that there's no transmission - Nothing to 'shift' ;-)

I take it out of Park, put it in reverse, back out of the garage, 'shift' it into 'B' and then I never touch it again until it's time to put it back in Park

As far as the shift mechanism itself - I find it quite sturdy, precise (never goes into the wrong 'gear') and unobtrusive. There are a few things about the cars that I might gripe about, but the 'shifter' isn't one of them

Don

 

[PV1]

I suppose it might be possible to straighten out the gates between N and B. The shifter still must slide left and right for Park as that is the interlock, and having a catch to prevent easy R would be smart (although nothing seems to happen if you accidentally shift into R while moving). JSantala might be able to chime in on this possibility, having just unlocked B and C modes on his C-Zero.

KiEV, do you suppose that the design of the gear selector electrical switch would allow for the shifter to remain in one position with a separate toggle switch for two other drive modes or Neutral?

I initially thought I'd never be able to stand a gated shifter. I've always used a linear shifter with a push button interlock. Now I find it tedious to use a linear shifter as it is too easy to accidentally put the car in reverse (I tend to put any car in neutral when sitting in Pittsburgh's infamous Parkway traffic.

 

[kiev]

Yes since it is merely an electrical switch that is being toggled by the shift lever, then a switch could be located up front to toggle between gears just as well. Can't easily do N though because of the interlocks. Someone will probably come in and say you can just wrap an arduino around it...

i've been playing around with shifting from E to N for hypermiling, and it really isn't so bad to pass thru D on the way up or down. If i'm coasting in N and approaching a redlight i can use the progressive D to E to B to adjust my speed. When at steady speed and wanting to coast in N, the pass thru D just gives it a little speed kick to start the coast. It also helps on hills to maintain traffic flow rate, just a little kick from E to D keeps it smooth...

Don could swap two wires and move B up to the top gate, but breaking old driving habits is difficult.

 

[JoeS]

When I first got our i-MiEV, although I never 'hated' it, I had indeed pondered replacement of our 'shift' lever. After all, we're doing nothing other than selecting a bunch of switches. This area has been evolving for over 100 years. Some examples (note, especially, the pushbuttons on Chrysler products of the late-50's) -

http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/2013/05/26/alternate-gear-shift-levers-through-the-years/

After a while I've become used to our 'clunky' shift lever, especially the partial-gate that keeps me from going from N into P as I'm always shifting from D to N and back while driving. That same gate is also a PIA, as I have yet to be able to smoothly shift into Reverse - a mechanical pushbutton on the lever might have been preferable.

When it comes to wish lists, as I discussed way back at the end of 2011 here (and much earlier on the Aptera forum), a regen paddle by the steering wheel coupled with a variable regen magnitude setting (as well as P-R-N-D pushbuttons) on the dash would obviate the need for having a shift lever in the first place. DonDakin, we are of like minds (http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=23676#p23676). I'm afraid that the only way to get that is to build our own EV conversion in the first place, although the European version of the VW e-Up evidently has something akin to this.

 

[tigger19687]

I think I have more of an issue with going from B to Park. It just doesn't FLOW for me. Seems clunky and gets caught.
Probably just me and the way I shift, but it just seems to not be smooth for me.

Going from B to E is fine

 

[nikalex]

I do agree with the comment that the shifter doesn't flow naturally.
Being an almost old man and having driven many different vehicles from around the world, including 2 other electric cars, the I-MiEV shifter is not my favorite either.
I can live with it but shifting from B back to P is not intuitive for me and requires a little thought.\
Cheers, Roman

 

[RobbW]

What I would like is a push-button toggle on the shifter specifically for N. That way, I can easily shift into N and coast without the need for running the shifter through the gates.

Kiev mentioned playing around with shifting for experimenting with hypermiling. Is there an existing thread (or forum) on these boards that is specifically for hypermiling the iMiEV? I've seen many threads here and there where hypermiling concepts are mentioned, but I have yet to find a thread/forum dedicated solely to the practice. I would love to learn more about tips and tricks that apply specifically to the iMiEV.

 

[JoeS]

.. Is there an existing thread (or forum) on these boards that is specifically for hypermiling the iMiEV?..

Right on topic: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=287

 

[BarryP]

When we bought this car our youngest daughter was 16. She LOVED shifting through N D Eco B; and used all of them. She liked keeping her hand on that leather shifter.
I use B all the time. It seems to flow for me when shifting from P to B. It feels solid and good. My wife uses Eco all the time. She has never said anything. And she drives it 80% of the time.

-Barry
-24,000+ miles