One obvious car button leaves nearly half of drivers baffled

In a world where cars are built with sophisticated technology, drivers are finding car symbols increasingly tricky to understand.

Drivers have been left stumped over one obvious car button, believing it serves multiple purposes. An Auto Trader study asked over 1,000 drivers to identify buttons they might regularly find inside their vehicle.

The survey revealed over 40 percent of drivers were unable to understand the function of a window lock button when shown a picture of it.

The button is normally found beside the power door lock buttons on the driver’s door. Once pressed, a driver has full control of all windows, meaning only they can open and close the windows unless the button is deactivated.

When the image of a common window lock button was shown, 41 percent of drivers did not understand its purpose.

Even those who claim to know its function often describe it incorrectly, with answers ranging from “airbags” to “no smoking” and “underfloor heating.”

Out of the 626 respondents who said they understood the button’s function, only 60 percent managed to properly describe it as a window lock.

Erin Baker, Auto Trader’s editorial director said: “Understanding a car’s centre console can be challenging, as symbols can vary between different brands. Our research has revealed that many drivers, regardless of experience, face difficulty in deciphering the array of symbols within their vehicles.”

Baker also mentioned the problem becomes more obvious with older vehicles which may feature uncommon symbols.

The number one most misunderstood car button was MEM. It’s a feature that saves and recalls preferred settings for seat positions, radio stations, or other customisable features in some car models.

A large proportion, 77 percent, of drivers did not undserstand the purpose of this button.

There were also trends in different age groups understanding different button functions. The results reveal that, while over half of drivers, 52 percent, don’t understand the purpose of the ‘Parking Assist’ button, it is those aged 55 and above that struggle the most with nearly 62 percent admitting they are not aware of its function.

Whereas drivers between 17 and 24 years old found the ‘Recirculating Air’ button among the trickiest to identify. This button effectively cuts off the outside air to the inside of the car, but one in two young drivers admitted not to know its function.

Using Censuswide, Auto Trader surveyed over 1,100 UK drivers asking them if they understood the purpose of a selection of buttons commonly seen in car consoles. Respondents who claimed to fully understand a button’s symbol were then asked to describe its purpose.