I have a few questions about the 2025 model and its new features:
How hard is it to get used to the Dial Shifter? I’ve never used one before, always had the traditional gear stick. Is it easy to switch to the dial?
The 2025 Explorers seem to have full touch screen controls, including HVAC and radio. No physical buttons at all (maybe just for volume). Does anyone have concerns about using all touch screens for these controls? Is it possible to adjust HVAC settings while driving? I thought it wasn’t allowed to use screens while driving, so why make everything a touch screen?
My 2022 Timberline had the dial shifter. Took me about a month to get comfortable with it, but after that, I didn’t even have to look to know what I was selecting. You’ll adjust to it quickly.
You can control songs and volume with the steering wheel, and there’s a manual volume knob. The heating and cooling settings are on the screen in the same spot, so you don’t have to dig through menus to adjust them. It took me a bit to stop using the old gear stick habit. Sometimes, I put the car in neutral instead of drive. I’ve gotten used to glancing at the dash to make sure I’m in drive or reverse after backing out. The wheel turns smoothly, but I wish it clicked more. Also, one time, I got out of the car and forgot to put it in park, but it did it for me, so that was a nice feature.
Dustin said: @Tan
What happens if you accidentally turn the dial while driving, say to Neutral?
I haven’t accidentally turned it, but I think if you did, it wouldn’t do anything. The car is pretty smart and doesn’t let anything happen that could damage it. For example, if I forget to release the emergency brake, it does it automatically when I hit the gas. It’s all digital, but there are still manual controls. Hope that helps!
Dustin said: @Tan
What happens if you accidentally turn the dial while driving, say to Neutral?
The car won’t shift in certain situations, and it will even put itself in park if needed. For example, if a door is open, it won’t shift out of park unless you do an extra step. It’s a fully computerized system, not physically linked to the transmission. Think of it like ‘fly by wire’ in aviation. They’ve been using it for years, and they’ve worked out most of the bugs.
I’m not sure about the 2025, but on my 2020 model, I got used to the dial shifter pretty quickly. I like that the PRNDM settings are shown on the dash, so you can just look ahead and confirm you selected the right one without having to take your eyes off the road.
I have a 2020 Explorer. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the shifter, but now I don’t think about it or look at it anymore. As for the on-screen climate controls, I’m not a big fan of that, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.