Standing in an underground parking lot can really make one question life choices. That night around 9 PM, with two large bags of groceries in hand and rain pouring down, I stood next to the Dongfeng Nissan N7, and no matter how I tried, the Bluetooth key on my phone wouldn’t respond. I was stuck there, like a socially anxious boy waiting for his girlfriend, while two cars pulled up behind me—drivers’ gazes made me want to disappear into the ground. [Facepalm]
Those who understand know that “standing by the car with a Bluetooth key issue” is something no one can claim to have never experienced.
Let me tell you about the most ridiculous time I had. It was Tuesday at 4:30 PM, at the spiral ramp in the Chaoyang Joy City parking lot. I stopped by to buy milk tea after work, my hands full with my phone, shopping bags, and a cup, and the N7 Bluetooth just wouldn’t recognize me—I turned around and waved my phone by the window, but the app refused to pop up. A BYD was queuing behind me, and the driver’s look was full of suspicion, as if to say, “Is this guy stealing a car?” At that moment, I really wanted to throw my phone on the ground—but then I thought better of it (after all, I still hadn’t finished paying for it).
Was it awkward? Extremely awkward. [Laughing]
But to be fair, the N7’s space is truly impressive. The legroom and headroom in the back seat are so spacious that it feels like being spoiled. Once, I took my mom to the hospital for a check-up, and a wheelchair fit right into the trunk, with room for a bag of rice as well. Even better, the electric adjustment button for the passenger seat is located on the door panel, easily reachable with just a hand stretch (I must praise this; even my mom said, “This is what it means to design for people”).
Another underrated advantage: the N7’s welcome light is a soft milky white, and when I get home at night and step out of the car, the circle of light at my feet is just right—not blinding at all. That delicate feeling reminds me a bit of the night light at my childhood home, oddly comforting. Honestly, every time I see that light turn on, I think, “Did the designer have a child who is afraid of the dark?”
But! Back to the Bluetooth key, it really frustrates me.
Once, I arranged to meet a friend for a movie, and the signal in the cinema parking lot was already poor. I used the app to remotely turn on the air conditioning in advance, hoping to cool the car down. But when I went downstairs, my phone couldn’t connect to the car, and the app displayed “Key not connected.” I walked around the car three times, restarted the app twice, and still nothing.
When my friend arrived, he asked if I had forgotten the car key. I could only laugh awkwardly: “It’s the digital age, everything relies on the phone.” But inside, I was cursing.
Even more ridiculous was when I came back from grocery shopping with one hand full of groceries and the other holding my phone, and no matter how I pressed the door handle, it wouldn’t respond. Just when I was about to drop the groceries, it suddenly unlocked. The humiliation of feeling like “you think you’re in control of technology, but in reality, technology is playing you” is really hard to bear.
(By the way, if the N7’s Bluetooth key app is not set to “not locked” in the phone’s background, there’s an 80% chance that the Android system will automatically kill the process. The next day, you won’t be able to connect to the car at all! In plain terms, ordinary users won’t specifically set phone permissions, background auto-start, or unlimited power-saving settings—these “advanced operations” are beyond most people. I still believe that 99% of people won’t figure this out.)
Excessive praise for a non-critical detail
I must say, the cup holder in the N7 is truly exceptional. My space cup (the kind with a very wide diameter) fits perfectly, and it doesn’t wobble even during sudden stops. Every time I place my cup in, I feel a sense of disbelief—how can a domestic car make a cup holder more considerate than a German car? It gives me a small pride of “finally, someone understands me.” [Look]
Embarrassment caused by design flaws
The most speechless moment was when I planned to keep the invoice and wanted to stuff it into the glove compartment. After searching for a long time, I just couldn’t find the physical switch. In the end, I had to wedge the invoice in the door panel storage compartment, and when I opened the door, a gust of wind blew it right out. At that moment, I really felt like “Did the engineers at Dongfeng Nissan never use their own cars?”
Wait a minute, I seem to have digressed; let’s get back to the main topic…
So, if you, like me, hate standing by the car and dislike the awkwardness of being left behind by the Bluetooth key, you really need to consider this issue with the N7 carefully.
Of course, if you’re willing to fiddle with phone permissions, background locking, or carry a physical key, you can somewhat “avoid the pitfalls.”
In short, the car’s space, lighting, and cup holder are all very comforting, but the issue of “standing by the car” is truly the last straw that breaks all goodwill. [Facepalm]
So, can you tolerate this flaw I mentioned? Vote!
If you encounter the Bluetooth key issue, would you consider changing cars? Or do you think it’s no big deal?