Motorway signal function...

[helvellyn]

I've been teaching people to drive in a DS3 since August last year, and in almost every respect, it's the best car I've ever taught in.

The motorway signal function though, is a pain in the arse. Learners, you see, sometimes signal when they shouldn't. If the indicator just blinked once, this would be a trivial thing, but because it continues to flash, it causes my pupils to panic. Firstly they try to signal the other way to cancel it, and this results in three further flashes to the opposite direction. Then they attempt to correct further. At some point, they will inevitably have taken their eyes off the road to look at the indicator stalk.

It's led to several near misses as I've had to take the wheel to avoid collisions with parked cars, traffic islands, etc, and on one occasion led to a car pulling out of a junction in front of us as I was unable to cancel a signal that had been put on too early. A head on collision was averted only by emergency action from me, and then only by inches.

I need urgently to be able to switch this feature off. It was a menu option on my previous tuition vehicle (a 2010 reg Fiesta) but I can find nowhere in either the dashboard menus or the owners handbook where it offers the option of turning it off.
I've asked my local dealer if it's possible to turn it off. They suggested I contacted Citroen directly.
I contacted Citroen directly by e-mail. They suggested I ask my local dealer.
I contacted Citroen directly informing them that I'd already done so, and I still await a reply.

So I'm assuming that the answer I will get is "No, sorry. That's just the way things are", but I'm going to ask anyway.

Does anyone know a way of turning the motorway signal feature off?

Thanks.

H.

[BeefMasta]

I'm pretty sure it can't be turned off. There was another driving instructor who mentioned it recently. Try the search.

[Yellow]

As an instructor on my second DS3 I find that my learners never have the problem twice when I say "Leave it alone! It will cancel" then explain what happened. Never have the problem again, sorted. :0)

[cyclone]

Need to tech your students how to use this as well it is a very common feature on cars today and they need to be familiar with it and how to react when it doesn't do what you want.

[Yellow]

That's what I said, explain what happened. Includes full explanation of function. However, when the need arises to indicate to change lanes then I expect the full function of the indicator as three blinks is not enough.

[cyclone]

You just beat me to replying to him Adi

[Yellow]

Lol blink blink blink

[helvellyn]

So I'm assuming that the answer I will get is "No, sorry. That's just the way things are", but I'm going to ask anyway.

Does anyone know a way of turning the motorway signal feature off?

Pretty much what I got

Please note, I'm not suggesting that Citroen should remove this feature. Just that they provide some means of disabling it.

Clearly, I'm not the only ADI having problems with this thing, and it makes sense that in a vehicle that is being marketed as a tuition vehicle, they listen to the feedback they're getting from instructors.

As I've already mentioned, I've contacted Citroen and made my concerns known.

I have no idea how hard it would be to include what I'm after as a software update, or to include the option in future versions of the ds3, but I hope they choose to do so.

[ZACK]

Shout at them

[lfcrule1972]

This is the third car I've had with this function on it, as the others said with this being so common now it's surely best to teach new drivers how to use them ?

[gar074]

Get more intelligent pupils

[helvellyn]

I was going to try poking them in the eye with a shitty stick, but I guess I should try what you suggest first.

[lfcrule1972]

How about mild electric shocks administered when they misuse them ? Pain is the best way to learn

[helvellyn]

Quite a few people have responded to my post by suggesting I should just teach people how to use the feature, because it's becoming an increasingly common feature of modern cars.

First thing to be said about this is that I do indeed teach people about this feature. However, particularly with early stage learners, having a conscious intellectual knowledge of something, and having the ability to use that knowledge when you're also having to consciously think about what you're doing with your left foot, your right foot, your hands, where you're supposed to be looking, trying to assess a safe gap, etc, is a different deal entirely.

The DS3 also features cruise control. Like the lane change signal, this also is becoming increasingly common on modern cars. I don't suppose there are any instructors here suggesting that I should make early stage pupils use it?

Yet that's what happens here. Lesson one. You're probably nervous, with neither the understanding or the control yet, trying your very best to deal with one of the most complicated things you'll ever have to learn, and you're having to deal with a feature that is designed for motorway driving.

So while teaching more advanced pupils such things is certainly a good thing, having the option to switch it off would be much appreciated by this particular instructor.

[Dangerousfish]

The DS3 also features cruise control. Like the lane change signal, this also is becoming increasingly common on modern cars. I don't suppose there are any instructors here suggesting that I should make early stage pupils use

Hardly a fair comparison, you're comparing a tool, designed for highway use(cruise control) compared to the lane changing tool which can be used on and off the motorway usefully.

While I agree, it can be a pain catching the indicator and having it blink three times I'd much rather somebody see me signal three times and be slightly annoyed at me for incorrect use over-indicating than only see the one blink and not notice me at all.