What’s The One Thing You Wish You Could Change About Your Car?

Aa What Would You Change Ts
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As paths of car ownership pile on the years, a certain level of maturity in respect to modification is often achieved. For instance, coilovers may be an easy way of dialing in ride height, but don’t expect cheap units to ride well. However, that doesn’t mean vehicles can’t be improved. For lifelong tinkerers, there’s always something to do, something to optimize, something to tweak. Today we’re asking about the modifications on your must-do list, or the minor annoyances you’d wish to improve on.

I’ll give you an example. While I wouldn’t really want to change anything about my Boxster, I can tell you right away what I would change about BMW 325i — I would give it a limited-slip differential.

Before my 325i, I had a 2004 Infiniti G35 sedan with the six-speed manual transmission, notable because 2004 was the year the viscous limited-slip differential came to the manual sedans. Now, viscous limited-slip differentials are inherently flawed because spirited use can overheat the special silicone fluid inside, leading to a substantial loss in effectiveness. However, a viscous limited-slip differential still beats the brakes off of an open differential when it comes to regulating wheel speed differences.G35

Although my 325i is brilliant to drive, there are conditions in which a limited-slip differential would be nice. A helical unit wouldn’t sacrifice everyday manners in pursuit of performance optimization, and it would be a relatively easy thing to install. So yeah, that’s one thing I’d change about my car. What would you change about yours? Perhaps there’s a modification you’re craving, or a factory option you feel you’re missing. Whatever the case, I’d love to hear about it.

(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)

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229 thoughts on “What’s The One Thing You Wish You Could Change About Your Car?”

  1. I wish my Corvair had a quick ratio steering box. From the factory it is nearly 5 turns lock to lock on a car with no front end weight. Ridiculous! I installed quicker steering arms but they don’t keep the perfect Ackerman geometry so the ratio is non-linear.

  2. ’18 Crosstrek – CVT transmission, no hook(s) for front passenger floormat, and no CD player (yeah, I’m old, and they put it back in for the ’19 model year).

  3. Ridgeline – Give it an infotainment/sound system that actually works to the standard of a 2020+ $40k+ vehicle.

    Fit – Seats that don’t kill my back and legs after only 2 hours.

  4. The color! I bought my F150 off the lot because I needed it quick and it had all the other features I wanted. But the fucking thing is white! The only thing that keeps it from looking like every other construction truck out there are the 20″ wheels. I love my truck but its white! I used to make fun of people driving beige Camry’s and around here I make fun of everyone driving a Tesla Model 3 or Y because there are a billion of them. But then I have to remind myself that I drive a white F150. Ugh!

    2. A white full sized domestic pickup is the second fastest car in the world after a rental. It’s the ultimate stealth/leave me alone vehicle because everyone assumes you’re a tradesman who’s late to his jobsite, pissed that his apprentice no-called AGAIN, and 7 Bang Energies deep.

      2. My experience is the exact opposite. The white pickup is the single most frustrating vehicle I drive behind on my daily commute. That and the white panel truck.

    3. No, it’s the perfect camouflage! I am plausibly deniably a city employee/contractor/driving a “company vehicle” when I’m somewhere in the truck. I have a hi vis vest – not for impersonation, but because I’m the Truck Friend.

      I crave bold colors and drove a yellow Sentra for a decade, but an unadorned white truck is a thing of subtle beauty. I even took the the chromey plastic wheel covers off to give it some dignity back.

  5. My ‘08 Mustang needs to be any color but black. It was originally my mums car so she chose the color, I acquired it for obvious reasons but man I wish she had chosen a different color for it, by the time you’ve washed the second half of the car the first half is dirty again. It’s futile.

    My work truck is also black but I don’t bother even trying to wash it so it’s a moot point. I do wish, however, it was free of all its damn DEF/DPF garbage.

    My wife’s car, a Subaru Forester, could stand to have seats that don’t punish you for not having exceptional posture.

    Lastly, my ‘73 Dodge truck.. it’s perfect, even if it’s a little finicky some times I wouldn’t change a damn thing on it!

    1. My Audi is “brilliant black,” which is what I thought I wanted because I always thought German sedans look best in black. I bought a bunch of fancy car wash and detailing products and kept it looking really nice for the first summer. I don’t have the energy for that anymore though and wish I had gone for either the metallic black or dark gray.

      1. I forget my work truck is metallic black until it rains enough to take the top layer of dust off.. it would be a great looking truck if I could keep the thing clean!

  6. Seriously, only one thing wrong with my beloved Fiesta ST. Since I drive like a maniac, every passenger laments the lack of a grab handle/”Jesus” handle/”Oh sh– handle” above the passenger window. I think it’s because curtain airbags don’t allow for installing one.

  7. VW reverse lockout is hard to use. You press down on the shift knob then go left past first. It’s easy to accidentally go into reverse at a light if you aren’t thinking and put your hand on top of the shift knob. I’ve almost reversed into someone this way. Also unclear if doing a multi-point turn going from reverse to first whether you’re in the gear you want. I’ve almost gone forward into a parked car thinking I was in reverse. The reverse camera also has a delay before going off so will remain on for a few seconds in first.

    I wish it had a pull-up ring under the knob like Subarus (that sounds more NSFW than intended).

    1. I find the one in my 2011 Mustang is the same. After almost backing into someone driving it home from the dealer (like 10 minutes after leaving the dealer). After that it is always 2 then 1 before taking off.

    2. Porsches have this too, but no push down even – there’s just sorta a friction hump you have to push over to get to R. I always worry at lights that it’s too easy to get to.

  8. I don’t even care about a manual anymore; proper automatics have gotten so good these days that I don’t understand why Subaru wants to CVT all of the things.

  11. For my daily driver 2020 GTI, I so wish it had a memory seat. I’ve got a gazillion way adjustable power seat but no memory. So every time some service tech, detailer, etc gets in and moves my seat, it takes me several minutes to get it back where I want.

    On my 85 Celica, I do at times wish the power assist steering had a bit more “power”.

  12. I wish more cars had better blind spot visibility.

    The D pillar on my 2020funtodrivehondaCRV is too big, especially with somebody in the back-right seat, and forget about it in the Mondial, whether the top is up (long C pillar buttress) or down (high boot cover).

    And even in a new car, no detection/alert system will break me of the habit of an over-the-shoulder head check.

  13. Well, on my Hyundai daily, it would be better seats – longer seat bottom, thicker, softer padding, better fabric. Also, I would like it to not lean so badly in corners or dive so much in braking, and it would be nice if the suspension could do a better job at soaking up imperfections instead of bouncing and jostling over everything. Would also like analog gauges instead of a screen and more physical buttons and knobs instead of smooth capacitance buttons. And better sound insulation wouldn’t be a bad thing, either.

    On my Ford, I would like a backup camera, would be helpful in parallel parking and backing up to trailers, since rear visibility isn’t the greatest. Also a front bench seat would be nice.

    On the Chevy, I think I would like an internal trunk release, and also for the original radio to work again (I’ll probably get around to the second thing eventually)

  14. These are of course all minor, first-world problems, because if I had major annoyances, I wouldn’t own the cars in the first place!

    Viper – Gen Vs came with two different hood styles, and I wish mine had the other. I also wish it had come with the peanut butter colored full leather interior instead of plain boring black.

    Holden – I wish it hadn’t come with a sunroof. Every GM vehicle I’ve owned with one has eventually leaked and I’m dreading the day that happens here. Also the infotainment will not remember your Bluetooth device (defaults to radio) and you need to reselect it every time you get in and start driving.

    F350 – I wish the seat heaters were stronger. I’ve had vehicles that would cook you to the point of discomfort within a few minutes, but I can sit in my truck indefinitely on the highest setting and barely feel warm. As a bonus item, I wish Ford still used the old-school mid ’00s King Ranch leather in its seats. My KR seats are the same material as any other Super Duty leather seat, just orange/tan.

    Sienna – I’ve mentioned this before, but the TPMS not showing pressures for individual tires is extremely annoying.

    Blazer – Easy, it would be reassembled instead of in pieces in my barn.

    1. Are poor seat heaters a Ford thing? The ones in my Mustang are basically pointless. However the ones in my Soul and wife’s Forester are toasty warm.

      1. The only other Ford I’ve owned didn’t have heaters at all, so I have no reason to doubt it. I’ve taken my truck in to the dealer and they’ve told me they are heating within spec. Very annoying.

    3. I replaced the head unit in my 2012 Prius v with a Pioneer Android Auto 9″ floating touchscreen unit, plus an iDataLink Maestro interface. I wasn’t even expecting it, but it can give me a readout of the tire pressures, which is so nice. Was a pricey upgrade, but worth it since there was no good place for me to mount the phone for using GPS without blocking something.

  15. 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Q4, has a limited slip diff, but you can’t turn off traction control. A whole ass performance sedan and you can’t kick the ass out a bit when needed. Immensely irritating.

  16. I wish comprehensive rustproofing had been factory-installed for my truck.

    I wish my car had an actual limited-slip differential. Brake juggling and power cutting doesn’t really get the job done.

  17. Over the years, I’ve modded my SN95 New Edge Mustang to how I believe it should have come from the factory – e.g. slightly lowered to get rid of the silly raised ride height, better exhaust for more reasonable V8 grumble – but I’ve stuck with the stock wheels that came with the no-options-whatsoever package I got.

    So I sometimes wish I’d sprung for the “luxury” package that you had to choose to get the Ford version of the Torque Thrust D wheels, as seen on the Bullitt edition.

  18. Polestar 2 – Switches and buttons for the climate control. I don’t need everything on a screen. I love the implementation GM did with the Camaro and Blazer where you turn the air vents to adjust temperature.

  19. You know that little flick you give to the turn signal to change lanes? On my 2020 Crosstrek, the signal “blips” three times, which is too short.

    A few months ago, I rented a Kia Forte & it had an option to change the duration of the lane change signal. I think the settings were something like 3 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 9 sec.

    I’d like that option.

    Oh, yeah, since my Crosstrek is a hybrid, maybe design the car with the hybrid drivetrain in mind instead of bolting on Toyota’s Synergy Drive after the fact & having the battery take up half of the cargo area.

  20. Miata – Make it one color again, and an extra 20hp (its a 1.6L NA, its slow, while an ND2 has plenty of power)
    CX-30 – Give it an independent rear suspension. I get that they had to cut costs somewhere to make it as reasonably priced as it is, and for a torsion beam rear it drives incredibly well, but IRS would certainly help.

  22. Easily the suspension/ride. The Kona N rides like the wheels are welded to the frame. The damper settings go from stiff, to track use only, to unusable in any setting/do directly to the chiropractor. As many publications have said it’s the one Achilles Heel of the car, and it’s a damn shame because in normal and eco mode the powertrain is downright civilized.

    When commuting in either mode you almost feel like you’re in a regular Kona….until you hit a bump and chip a tooth. I can put up with it personally but it annoys the hell out of my wife and in a few years I imagine I’ll be sick of it as well. I may change the springs and/or go to a different wheel and tire setup eventually.

    1. I test-drove one and had most settings in the sport/plus option but the suspension was set to as soft as possible. In my experience, roads in the Midwest are horrible for sport-tuned suspension.

      If you were to try and fix it, would new springs work? Or are the dampers magnetorheological?

  23. I’m of the age where I try to buy my cars already equipped with the things I want. My 2020 BMW 440ix cabrio already has almost everything I want except Android Auto which was not available at the time. When it’s out of warranty I’ll likely add a media box to the system to support that. Same with my ’12 X3, although I’ve already added a media box to that one.

    2. I’m quite pleased with the growth of aftermarket parts for manual transmission swaps. Seems like getting a clutch pedal in a car was the worst part of a manual swap, now you can just buy something and bolt it on, even without replacing a pedal box etc.

  25. Hydraulic steering.

    I adore nearly every bit of my S2000, but it pretty famously has early EPAS which leaves the steering feeling dead, but extremely direct. If it had some good steering feel, I don’t think I’d have a single complaint.

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