Lack of oil and volt guages in dash clusters

[P6LTD351]

Question. Why do most late model Ford and Holdens now lack oil and volt meter guages in the dash cluster of even the high spec/sports models? Are they contained in the infotainment system these days?

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

Cost. And it gives people something to complain about. The Oil gauge in the later Falcon's were only showing pressure or not IIRC For most people a Red light will get their attention faster than a Gauge, if they even know what it means.

[Dave R]

The FPV clusters had additional instrumentation on the cluster (boost/oil temp/pressure, depending on the engine) however the FGX never received those clusters. The Holdens do have a voltage monitor in the centre display but nothing else unless you get a HSV.

[Express]

A red light tells you there is a problem, a gauge gives you a forewarning something may be going a miss.

I don’t know about other drivers but I look and take notice of gauges and having info like oil pressure and temperature is handy.

You can never have too much info.

I do agree their deletion is probably nothing more than a cost cutting exercise but at the risk of being labelled a complainer I also believe they form part of what is traditionally a performance car’s standard kit.

[nitro50th]

Our 2014 Mazda3 SP25 doesn't even have a temp gauge.

It has a light that when cold is blue (cold start), disappears when running temp is achieved and turns red when too hot.

I'm not a big fan of it, much prefer a guage. They could have easily mirrored the fuel gauge by putting a temp gauge on the left where the odo is and moved the odo up to where the silly gear indicator is.

[Sprint]

Originally Posted by nitro50th

Our 2014 Mazda3 SP25 doesn't even have a temp gauge.

It has a light that when cold is blue (cold start), disappears when running temp is achieved and turns red when too hot.

I'm not a big fan of it, much prefer a guage. They could have easily mirrored the fuel gauge by putting a temp gauge on the left where the odo is and moved the odo up to where the silly gear indicator is.

image

How stupid, they bother with ambient temp but don't bother with car temps, I'm pretty sure the ambient wont blow up

[IanC]

Originally Posted by Sprint

How stupid, they bother with ambient temp but don't bother with car temps, I'm pretty sure the ambient wont blow up

Ambient is to warn you when the temp outside drops below freezing and you might get black ice. They need that in Europe and North America. There are a couple of places in Australia where it might be useful also.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Adrenaline

The Holdens do have a voltage monitor in the centre display but nothing else unless you get a HSV.

Not anymore, gone on VF2.

[cs123]

Most people ignore them anyway.

[The Yeti]

I would wager 99% of people wouldn't know what they mean, and of the remaining 1% 50% wouldn't be smart enough to stop and check if they noticed an anomaly

[Franco Cozzo]

My Fiesta doesnt have a temp gauge, you'll know its overheating when steam starts coming out from under the bonnet and it wont move forward anymore

[Lappy]

Originally Posted by nitro50th

Our 2014 Mazda3 SP25 doesn't even have a temp gauge.

It has a light that when cold is blue (cold start), disappears when running temp is achieved and turns red when too hot.

I'm not a big fan of it, much prefer a guage. They could have easily mirrored the fuel gauge by putting a temp gauge on the left where the odo is and moved the odo up to where the silly gear indicator is.

image

Its the same in my wife's 2012 Mazda 3. Bothered me for a while too until I figured most of the falcon gauge is considered normal so all you really need to know is when its abnormal. I do think oil pressue is a different story though as it can be very low before any warning lights come on. By that point the damage is done.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

I like a gauge, I can see the warm up period is correct, and if the thermostat is working properly. If you know your car, you can pick up a problem before it is serious / expensive. If a hose bursts, the temp goes down before you cook it.

[simon varley]

I like the Everest - you can configure to have a temp gauge or not, as you please

[xisled]

My guess is that not many people really know what oil pressure is and a light will do basically the same thing as a gauge. You could put a gauge in a car but would the average person know if the gauge read low, or would they only know somthing is wrong when the gauge is on the low mark, the light comes on and the car makes a chime
Sound.

[mik]

its like everything , we are being dumbed down by computers .

[Pis-ton broke]

i think gauges are an important part of a performance car package, even my old xe sadan had a full instrument cluster, prob an option though.; when i change the oil in my cars i like to watch that the oil pressure comes up to where it should be.

no gauge clusters = cheap ,imo

[P6LTD351]

I guess I'm just very old school. I don't like de contenting regardless. I'm still used to having a cigarette lighter in every door like my XF Ghia. LOL.

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

Times have changed. A Tacho was rare, now everything has one. Not really needed in an Auto, yet a Commode will often have an extra " monster tach " on the A pillar. Great way to break your hand in a crash. Maybe the crash was caused because the hand was lower down....

[mik]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

I guess I'm just very old school. I don't like de contenting regardless. I'm still used to having a cigarette lighter in every door like my XF Ghia. LOL.

im a bit old school too , i miss the old capillary gauges, watching thermostat open and close, the cold oil pressure bump up to 80 psi when the motor starts , the amps gauge keeping me apprised of what the electrical system is doing, fuel pressure the same..
if something starts to go south its nice to glance at the gauges and see what to look for straight away instead of idiot lights .

[TUF_302]

computers rule now, old school is better tho, having a gauge telling you everything thats going on is just cool lol

[ebxr8240]

I thought the GT was having oil pressure issues .. Till I realised it was temp gauge !

[GTP534]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

I thought the GT was having oil pressure issues .. Till I realised it was temp gauge !

I'm so glad to learn, after almost 4 years, I'm not the only one who thought that!

The Mustang by the way doesn't have an oil pressure gauge but you can scroll through a lot of engine parameters in the centre display between the main gauges. Not sure about voltmeter - haven't had enough time to play with all the features yet.

It even has a cigarette lighter! (Not that I smoke!)

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

I think the Voltmeter in Cars is an evolution of an Amp Gauge. With an Amp gauge you can see if you are charging or discharging, but you need thick copper wire to connect it. Cost, and if anything happens to it, a fair risk of a fire. A Volt meter is then a safer / cheaper option. From the Voltage shown, you can see if you are charging or not. Given the PS pump being over the Alternator, most Falcon driver need advance warning. They may not fail solidly immediately, but if the Volts drop you wont want to wait to fix it.

[nstg8a]

Our Subaru is the same too, no temp/oil or volts gauge.

Although these days all these things are monitored by the ecu, just not shown to the driver so there any number of aftermarket gauge setups that plug into the obd port and display whatever info you want to see.

[BFGasUte]

Hello,

Volt meters are only a new thing in Cars, they used to have an Amp meter. Most Cars did have a few instruments, but a red light is cheaper. And as previously mentioned will get noticed sooner.

[danzvtil]

I think all those engine gauges had a place back when engines were prone to playing up and needed constant monitoring. In a modern car, in everyday driving most of it is useless information.

[PHANTMXR6]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

I think all those engine gauges had a place back when engines were prone to playing up and needed constant monitoring. In a modern car, in everyday driving most of it is useless information.

Maybe, unless you've poured copious quantities of cash into the engine and you'd like to keep an eye on anything that could possibly shorten it's life cycle.
I wouldn't call it useless information then.

[mik]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

I think all those engine gauges had a place back when engines were prone to playing up and needed constant monitoring. In a modern car, in everyday driving most of it is useless information.

If one day my computer car decides not to start, I can stick my head under the bonnet and instantly see if it has fuel pressure on the gauge I have installed on the fuel rail, suddenly the useless bit of information has just narrowed down things for me to look at,
Edit: is also something I look at when servicing the car.

An amps gauge tells me the condition of the charging system, the charging system can become faulty and still operate in some some circumstances for some time before it hits the fan.
Same for oil pressure.
Is like anything, it's only useful if you make use of it.
Some of us do.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by mik

If one day my computer car decides not to start, I can stick my head under the bonnet and instantly see if it has fuel pressure on the gauge I have installed on the fuel rail, suddenly the useless bit of information has just narrowed down things for me to look at,
Edit: is also something I look at when servicing the car.

An amps gauge tells me the condition of the charging system, the charging system can become faulty and still operate in some some circumstances for some time before it hits the fan.
Same for oil pressure.
Is like anything, it's only useful if you make use of it.
Some of us do.

Yep we had a ford prefect for years and the oil pressure gauge always said nothing

the gauge wasn't faulty, it had no pressure

but it was a splash feed engine