What you see here is the Enter button on the steering wheel of our 2009 Nissan 370. This up-down rocker button scrolls through menus on the dash-mounted screen and, most importantly, in conjunction with that out-of-focus button slightly below and slightly behind the Enter button, controls my iPod.
Normally I have the screen (not pictured) at the ready for when I'm bored with the current song. This means I only have to tap that little switch to advance/repeat. It works great 99% of the time. Trouble is, the Enter button is not flush, or better yet, below the face of, the steering wheel. So what happens is almost every time I turn the wheel more than 10-degrees and no matter how I do it, my palm trips the button and my song is changed.
I've put thousands of miles on the 2009 370Z and this is one of those little issues that I just can't find a good workaround for. The only thing I've ever had so many unintended button presses with was the silly mouse-thing on the Lexus 250h
If it were my car I'd cut it down about 1/2 an inch and call it a day.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant
cah11705 says:
06:06 PM, 10/ 7/09
Strange, the switches on my g35 are essentially the same and i never have a problem with that. It could be something you adjust to more as you own the car longer.
gdmstrb says:
06:48 PM, 10/ 7/09
We have a G35 and FX35 with the same button setup, and I don't think I've ever run into this issue (and I have big hands).
adavis2493 says:
07:21 PM, 10/ 7/09
So help me if you guys get an HS, I will stop reading this blog (that's the biggest threat I have).
hybris says:
08:05 PM, 10/ 7/09
Is there enough material to sand/cut down without endangering the switch its self?
CaptainChaos says:
10:43 PM, 10/ 7/09
Wear big mittens while driving.
A toggle button seems doomed to fail here. I suppose it is a good idea in that you can, in theory, quickly go up and down through whatever it is that you are listening to (polka), but in reality CDs, iPods and even FM/XM/Sirius radio are too slow to warrant rapid toggling that this control seems to want to facilitate.
dubaizen says:
11:48 PM, 10/ 7/09
I've the same steering wheel, along with the switches on my FX50s, and I too have never had this problem.
wizard8873 says:
05:51 AM, 10/ 8/09
the M45 has a similar set up just on the opposite side of the steering wheel. I have found that I do hit the switch when turning but it's rare since i've had the car for a while now.
addicted says:
10:21 AM, 10/ 8/09
Have the same problem in my Z although not often enough to be more than an occasional minor annoyance. Odd that others with the same geneal setup don't have the issue. Maybe is related to the oblong shape of the wheel or maybe it sticks out more from the wheel in relation? Maybe you guys could compare some measurements agains the FX50 which should have the same basic setup?