Anyone find themselves stuck with MB habits when driving other cars?
 

I for one still reach for the center console to open my windows on my non-MB cars. I haven't driven a power window equipped MB for over a year and I'm still doing this.:o
Who else does this or are there other MB habits you guys have?
Hopefully none of you put diesel in gassers.;)

I try to put ignition keys through the dashboards of everything else on the place... mine's the only dash-mount keyswitch, everything else on the farm is steering wheel.

I was driving the Lex the other day, I put my hand to the center console to put the window down, I then realized the switches were on the door. I also sometimes give the gassers GP cycles. Then, I also have to get used to the smaller steering wheels, they feel too wimpy to me, lol.

I always find myself reaching for the center console for the window switches, and the emergency brake gets me too.

I do it everytime I get in a rental car, which is quite often.

I usually press the accelerator too much, yeilding an unexpected burst of speed.

The wife is the opposite. When she gets in the D it takes her forever to speed up--too used to the pedal in the Alfa.... :)

Definately windows switches in the middle.... I'd a bit ticked they aren't in the middle anymore....

-m

In my toyota's, I turn the key and wait for all the dash lights to go out. I keep thinking they have a glow plug light.

I've also looked for the parking brake release knob on my other cars.

Turning the key in the driver door CW to unlock.

Walking to the right flank to discover the fuel filler flap is latched.

Not resetting the odometer while the car is moving. You can reset a Toyota analog odometer doing 60 mph and it won't jam.

Sixto
93 300SD 3.0 - comatose

I still every now and then use the key to unlock the driver's door of my Civic even though it has a remote.

I've yet to pour WVO into the Caravan.

Sixto
93 300SD 3.0 - comatose

I'm hoping never to pour gas in my diesel if I get it running.

Yep, in the Jeep I do little things Mercedes-style. Windows is one (reach for console instead of doors), radio is another (although that isn't MB-specific ... I have an Alpine in the Benz and the factory radio in the Jeep), lights, brights and the best, windshield washing fluid (I constantly flash my brights at people in the MB if I've been in the Jeep for a while ... embarassing). I also sometimes forget that I have AC in the Jeep. And overall, I just try to drive the Jeep as I would the Mercedes and it does not respond the same way. In the Benz I can get it to shift right where I want it with my right foot ... Jeep really has a mind of its own about where to shift (especially after the slushbox recall).

Oh, and sometimes I smile at diesel MBs when I'm in the Jeep, and just end up looking creepy to those drivers.

Oh yeah ... another ... I pull the wrong side up to the pump, although I'm getting better. So used to the flap being on the passenger side, then I add an American car with it on the right ... what a challenge ... :cool: At least they both go to the same pump!

I step on the imaginary foot E brake on the non MB's only to find more plastic hidden there.

Look for the headlight switch only to realize it's on the left multifunction stalk on the non MB's.

Center console switches for the windows, as well as missing the center armrest.

I miss the tilt function of the headrests too!

Accelerator, definitely. With the 300TDT (with a mostly non-functional turbo) you basically throw the hammer down if you're not standing on the brakes. If I don't remind myself of that when I jump into the 300M I hear very audible tire friction. It's rare when I press more than 1/4 of the way down. Of course Chrysler designed it that way -- their research before the LH platform hit the market was that people considered them slow despite outperforming the competition on 0-60 times and 1/4 mile. Turns out they people in the surveys were basing their perceptions on only using half of the pedal travel. Consequently, 1/2 of the pedal travel now is nearly full open acceleration!

The only way to hear audible tire friction in the tractor is if I take a corner too quickly. :eek:

Hey Col Klink, have you seen Sgt Schultz around?:D

The window switch thing throws me, as do the seat adjustments. Having the seat adjustments on the door's really makes sense, on other cars you have to hunt for them.

I spend so much time riding and driving MB's now that other cars just feel weird. I'm always thinking, hmm MB did that better, and that too...

I guess I just adapt real fast....I have never found myself reaching for a different place in a car for something....and I randomly find myself driving: my W126....our dodge caravan.....my uncle's cavalier, my fiance's buick, her aunts blazer, etc....all different....and I've yet to miss a beat. :D :D Maybe it comes from being a nerd, since I work with so many technical things that are random and different I just find and adapt to new switch/item locations real fast and don't forget them.... :dizzy2:

I totally agree on the "hmm MB did that better...and that too..." statement. I do that all the time, out-loud quite often too, makes people mad at me. :D ;)

Gas pedal is a BIG one for me. Also lights location, window switches, and always trying to reach up to open the sunroof (usually non to be found).

Also i usually give myself ample time to pull out infront of people, what with driving a 240D and all. and relize that i could have pulled out a long time before that.

Everytime i drive another car, i miss driving the Mercedes.

Haha, I also tend to forget that most other vehicles have working AC so I don't bother with it. When I DO remember that AC is available, I turn it on full blast (regardless of how cold ambient is) because it's quite a nice treat.

I'm so used to the foot actuated parking brake on my 126, when I'm in my 190e I'll just kick thin air.

It's gas, stupid....
 

For me it's the glow cycle....

And I'm still doing it when I get into the 560SEL or the E320....
Turn on the key, buckle up, check mirrors, wait for lights.... Duh-oh!

Jim

I guess mine is in reverse. I drive my F-150 everyday, all day, and have for 11 years now. So when in one of the Benz's, I reach for the left door for the window switches. Almost EVERY time! That is really all.
The biggest difference is how you have to get into the car. That stupid door pocket is in the way of a smooth entrance with your feet, so I have to fall into the car butt first, then twist my feet inside, trying not to destroy the door pocket or untuck the seal cladding.
This is mostly unrelated, but when driving an automatic, I brake with my left foot. Always have. I CAN'T brake with my right foot and it not be tremendously awkward. But when driving a standard, left foot clutch and right foot accel. and brake. No worries. Weird.....:rolleyes4

Things I do...
 

Look for the floor shifter in the Suburban...

Open door, get in twist key to "#2", then put on seat belt and close door (in the BMW and Suburban)

Feel on the center console for the window switches... luckily thats where they are on the Bimmer!

FLOOR IT! Ever see a K1500 burn rubber?:D

I find myself not letting BMWs out of junctions even when I'm not in the Benz.
Keep in mind I'll soon be a BMW driver too! :P

Most of the items listed by others above especially the key to ignition AND being very careful not to put diesel in rental cars.

When I'm in the wife's 300M there are times after I start the car where I have to check the tach to make sure the engine's started because I can't hear anything at idle. It feels like I'm driving a hybrid it's so quiet. :rolleyes4

I try not to drive anything other than what I've got. Might turn me hateful against my own car (I'm talking about the power difference).

Walk to the Grand Caravan with my laptop bag, insert the key and unlock the driver's door......


Then stupidly stand there wondering why the back door isn't unlocking for me to put my laptop in the back and thinking there must be a vacuum leak somewhere....

Everytime I get into another car, I think to myself, "Damn. How the hell am I supposed to spill my coffee in here?!" Then I'm amazed when the car instantly shuts down upon key shutdown.

I remember last spring after having driven my 300SD all winter I got some seat time in my Uncle's 400hp Vette. Its a POS but it goes like crazy when you open it up. Well I'm used to the diesel which needs lots of throttle imput...the Vette makes twice as much power as the best 617 just off idle...so I hit and and did a nice burn out...:D My bad didn't mean to do that...

My worst mistake was driving that SL500, I want one in a bad way now. A 150hp diesel just doesn't compare to a 300hp+ M119 V8, damn the M119 is sweet.:cool: Not to mention the coolness of the R129...

On my wife's Acura the parking brake is almost the same type of pedal to set it as in the a 123, except one major difference. There's no knob to pull to release it. So I'm always fumbling around looking for it. You have to push down on the damn pedal again to release it.:furious2:

I travel quite a bit for work, and quite frequently I find myself trying to set the cruise control with the “stick” and waiting for the glow cycle to complete in the rental cars. Recently, however, I rented a PT Cruiser and to my surprise, the window controls were in the right place and on the new Chargers the cruise stick is where it belongs. Seems like some of the Daimler ideas are making it into the newer Dodges.

I wave to other MB's before I realize I am driving the VW. I get a lot of strange looks in return.

Uhm... I keep popping the hood release when I want to release the parking brake in the 300D. I sort of always make it look like I meant to do that. You know, like I was going to check something under the hood... Even if I was already wearing my seat belt.

Hopefully without the "reliability" of the old cruise control units.:rolleyes:

LOL, mine just died on the way from CO to TX, I need to order an amp so I can install it next week (before I have to drive to WA the following week). Mine lasted almost 400K miles, not bad. ;)

400K is a miracle if it was original.:eek:

Wow, no kidding! Mine was almost completely dead when I got the car at 207k, and a couple thousand later it didn't turn on at all anymore. (still doesn't)

I am going to look into installing an audiovox aftermarket cruise system I've got sometime next week to see if it will work....it should....but if not I'll just have to save my pennies for a new cruise amp.

Not M-B related, but many years ago I drove a F-100 with three on the tree. My father had a Chevy Silverado with an automatic.

I was driving his pickup, and was going to take a right turn off the highway. I started slowing by applying my right foot gently to the brake. Before I knew what I was doing, I slammed my left foot into the brake pedal and shifted into reverse. The engine stopped with a rather loud bang while the vehicle came to a very abrupt halt.

Of course, I was attempting to downshift to second. Fortunately, the engine restarted and I was on my way.

Well, the parking brake release for the 240 is in almost the same position, with almost the same size pull out knob on my old Town Car for the headlights. I turn on the headlights in that Lincoln every time I get ready to go.

Luckily, I haven't decided I needed to stomp the clutch in on the automatic Lincoln (240 is a manual) and put the E-brake to the floor at 60MPH :D The stupid release for it is hidden under the dash. I do try and let it cycle its glow plugs though. It is weird to get in a car and just...start it......

I always almost fall for the E-brake and release, the window controls and one more, surprisingly not mentioned by anyone. I try to use the turn signal for washing the windshield in those non-MB cars with more "sticks".
:D

I drove nothing but stick shifts for a long while and one day I got into my fathers Ford and took off down the street and when I put in the clutch to shift (it was and automatic with a foot pedal for the e-brake) I locked up the rear and spun it.:eek: Fortunately nothing around to hit.

I definitely give any gasser I drive a glow cycle, too accustomed to my three diesels I guess....the only gassers around here are a lawnmower, blower, edger, and pressure washer. ;) Oh, and a caddy in cabo san lucas, but we won't mention that. :D

If I've been driving the Jetta for awhile, and hop into the E300, I almost always "look" for the clutch with my left foot, only to remember it's an automatic.

Also, the W210 has an electronic key, which you only have to twist once to the "start" position, and it will crank however long is necessary. You don't have to hold the key while cranking. This gets me quite often in other cars, when I go to start it and twist the key quickly, only to hear the starter cut out. D-oh!

Since I got my MB I havent driven another car.

I stare, head sideways, at leon's tachometer-- It's hard to figure out the time whenever the clock only has the one hand :)

I almost tried to unlock my Civic with the key again today.:o

When I get into my girlfriends Saturn Vue I'm always waiting for the orange light to go out before starting.

- Peter.

I have the opposite problem. My 240D has a standard 4-speed transmission. I keep wanting to shift up to that fifth overdrive gear. I usually hit fourth gear at about 40mph. The engine keeps on winding up and I reach for another gear but it ain't there.

When I get into my daughter's Toyota Camry, I turn the key and wait for the glow plug light to go off. There is no glow plug light.