Resource guide

Dumb Cars: Are There Any New Cars Without Touch Screens?

Every new US car needs a backup-camera screen, but drivers avoiding AI and tracking can pick 2026 models with physical knobs and limit data sharing.

Last updated October 05, 2026 1934-word guide Editor Ban the Bots

Key takeaways

No new light vehicle in the United States ships without a display screen.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 has required a displayed rearview image in light vehicles manufactured since May 1, 2018.
The federal rear-visibility rule requires the rearview image to appear within 2.0 seconds of backing, but it does not require a touchscreen.
Several modern models preserve physical dials and buttons for temperature, audio volume, and core climate settings.
Euro NCAP's voluntary safety rating in Europe will give credit for physical buttons for commonly used functions. It is not a legal requirement.
Connected cars collect location and driving data. Ford, Toyota, and General Motors offer opt-outs, though General Motors says it may still collect location in an emergency.

For drivers avoiding AI and tracking, the practical steps are physical controls and turning off connected data sharing, which Ford, GM and Toyota each explain.

Can You Still Buy a Dumb Car?

You cannot buy a brand-new car without a display screen in the United States. Since May 1, 2018, federal rules have required new light vehicles to display a rearview image.

That requirement comes from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 111, codified at 49 CFR 571.111. The regulation covers each passenger car with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less. Every such car manufactured on or after May 1, 2018, must display a rearview image.

The identical standard applies to trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles, buses, and low-speed vehicles at or under that weight. The law defines a rearview image as a visual image of the area directly behind the vehicle provided by indirect vision from a single source. This image must appear within 2.0 seconds of the driver shifting into reverse.

The regulation requires a displayed image, but it does not require a touchscreen. It does not name any particular display technology. Buyers can still pick models that keep physical knobs for climate and volume, much like choosing a dumb home setup.

New Cars That Keep Physical Buttons

Some 2026 models keep physical knobs or buttons for temperature and audio volume alongside a touchscreen. Those controls let a driver change temperature or volume without opening a screen menu.

Testing published by Consumer Reports outlines specific 2026 models that preserve dedicated hardware controls on their dashboards.

Model	Physical Climate Controls	Physical Volume Knob	Screen Notes	Source
2026 Honda Civic Hybrid	Yes, physical buttons and knobs	Physical buttons and knobs for the entertainment system	Larger 9-inch touchscreen on the premium trim	Consumer Reports road test report
2026 Honda Passport	Yes, clicking chrome knobs	Yes (tuning on screen)	Standard 12.3-inch center touchscreen	Consumer Reports road test report
2026 Subaru Forester	Yes, large temperature buttons	Yes (volume and tuning)	11.6-inch portrait touchscreen, fan speed on screen	Consumer Reports road test report
2026 Acura ADX	Yes, knobs for heat and fan	Yes	Small screen with physical Home button	Consumer Reports road test report

The 2026 Honda Civic Hybrid uses physical buttons and knobs for climate and the entertainment system. The premium trim gets a larger 9-inch touchscreen, and the climate controls stay physical.

The 2026 Honda Passport features chrome climate control knobs that click when turned. It includes a volume knob, though audio tuning is done on the 12.3-inch touchscreen.

On the 2026 Subaru Forester, the dashboard includes physical temperature buttons for both front occupants alongside dedicated knobs for volume and radio tuning. Fan speed settings and seat heater controls are housed within the 11.6-inch portrait screen.

The 2026 Acura ADX provides dedicated knobs for cabin temperature, fan speed, and sound system volume. It also retains separate physical buttons for heated and ventilated seats, and the small center screen has physical Home and Connect Phone buttons.

Carmakers Bringing Buttons Back

Volkswagen, Hyundai, and the European rating group Euro NCAP have each backed physical buttons for core controls.

In Europe, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) introduced protocol changes on November 26, 2025. Euro NCAP will grant safety score credits for physical buttons that control common functions, citing consumer feedback that buttons reduce distraction. The group evaluates the clarity, placement, and ease of use of essential driver controls.

The European Transport Safety Council reported that securing a top rating requires dedicated controls for windscreen wipers, hazard lights, turn indicators, horns, and emergency call functions. The European Transport Safety Council notes that Euro NCAP safety ratings are voluntary. The button credit is not a legal requirement in Europe or the US.

Individual car manufacturers have acknowledged problems with screen-only dashboards. AutoGuide reported on March 6, 2025, that Volkswagen design chief Andreas Mindt pledged to return to steering-wheel buttons. Mindt said physical buttons give real feedback and that "people love this." AutoGuide noted that physical controls for volume, climate, fan speed, and hazard lights will sit below the screen, starting with the production ID. 2all.

Design leaders at other brands have voiced similar conclusions. The Drive reported on March 20, 2023, that Hyundai design head Sang Yup Lee committed to preserving hard keys for safety-critical systems.

Not every manufacturer shares this design approach. Consumer Reports warned that the redesigned 2026 Mazda CX-5 moved almost all physical controls into its central touchscreen. Adjusting the audio volume in that redesigned vehicle requires tapping the display first, unless the driver uses the steering-wheel controls.

What a Connected Car Collects

Connected cars collect location and driving data, and federal and state officials have acted against General Motors over selling it.

On September 6, 2023, the Mozilla Foundation reviewed 25 major automotive brands and issued failing privacy ratings to every single one. Mozilla documented that vehicles harvest data through integrated cameras, microphones, sensors, mobile apps, telematics hardware, and paired smartphones. Mozilla named Nissan "the very worst offender."

Automotive data harvesting has drawn enforcement action from federal and state regulators. On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action against General Motors (GM) and OnStar. The FTC alleged the companies collected and sold drivers' precise geolocation and driving behavior to third parties, including consumer reporting agencies, without user consent.

On January 14, 2026, the FTC finalized that settlement order. The binding order bans General Motors for five years from disclosing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies. The 20-year order requires General Motors to get affirmative express consent before collecting connected vehicle data. General Motors must also let drivers seek deletion of their data and disable precise geolocation collection.

General Motors had previously addressed its telematics sharing practices. On April 24, 2024, General Motors announced that it discontinued Smart Driver across all GM vehicles and ended its relationships with LexisNexis and Verisk. GM said data sharing with both ended on March 20, 2024.

State law enforcement has pursued separate claims over driver profiling. On August 13, 2024, the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against General Motors. The lawsuit alleges that General Motors unlawfully collected driving metrics from over 1.5 million Texas residents and sold the records to insurance companies. For readers monitoring roadside data exposure, our guide on Flock cameras explains municipal surveillance tools.

You can reduce telematics collection by changing system menus or submitting formal opt-out requests with vehicle manufacturers. The GM entry below shows that an opt-out may not stop every kind of collection.

Automakers provide specific procedures for limiting data collection from vehicle cabins:

Ford vehicles with SYNC 4A: Open Settings or Home, select Connectivity, open Connected Vehicle Features, and switch the Share Vehicle Data toggle to Off. Press Continue to finish. Ford says your vehicle then stops sharing data with Ford.
Toyota connected services: Request deactivation through the Toyota App, by calling Customer Care, or with the SOS button in your vehicle. Toyota provides an online portal for domestic violence victims to sever remote access. Toyota notes that opting out terminates maintenance alerts, remote starting, and connected navigation.
General Motors and OnStar: Some 2019 and later models may offer a Privacy Settings option in the infotainment system to disable OnStar location services. You can also unenroll by pressing the blue OnStar button or calling 1-888-466-7827. General Motors notes that a crash, the emergency call button, or high-voltage battery overheating may still trigger location collection.

Drivers looking to protect personal travel habits should also review our guide on phone tracking and how to protect your privacy online.

Safety Trade-Offs and Impaired Driving Rules

Two rules shape what a car does on its own: the EU crash-call mandate and an unfinished US impaired-driving rule.

In the European Union, automated emergency assistance has been standard equipment for several years. The European Parliament mandated the eCall crash notification system in all new vehicle types starting March 31, 2018.

European Union regulations say eCall calls automatically when the car's sensors detect a severe accident, or when someone triggers it by hand. The rules say eCall must not be traceable or subject to constant tracking, and its memory is continually and automatically deleted.

United States lawmakers have explored mandatory driver monitoring systems. Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directs safety regulators to mandate impaired driving prevention technology. The statute instructs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require systems that passively detect driver impairment or blood alcohol levels at or above 0.08 percent.

NHTSA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on January 5, 2024. NHTSA wrote that technological challenges remain, including false positives and telling different impairment states apart. The original statute set a November 15, 2024 deadline for a final rule.

On March 16, 2026, Carscoops reported that NHTSA submitted a report to Congress indicating that alcohol detection systems still produce unacceptably high error rates around legal limits. NHTSA has not finalized a commercial mandate for impairment sensors. For readers exploring hardware without automated oversight, our guide on digital minimalism reviews strategies for setting boundaries with everyday consumer technology.

Older and Used Cars as the Dumb Option

For a light vehicle, an older used car is the only way around the screen rule. Light vehicles manufactured before May 1, 2018, were not subject to the rearview image requirement.

Age alone does not guarantee a car that collects no data. Texas alleges General Motors used technology installed in most 2015 and newer GM vehicles to collect driving data.

Who This Recommendation Does Not Suit

Seeking out a car with basic physical controls is not practical if you rely on integrated satellite maps, over-the-air software updates, or smartphone ecosystem services. Drivers who want app-based cabin preheating, remote door locking, or hands-free mapping will find stripped-down cockpits inconvenient.

Buyers who want those conveniences should buy a connected vehicle, review its privacy settings during setup, and use the automaker's opt-out, such as Ford's Share Vehicle Data toggle.

What Would Change Our Verdict

Our finding that no screenless new cars exist would change if NHTSA dropped or narrowed the FMVSS 111 rearview image requirement. A regulatory exemption for low-volume manufacturers would also open the market to screen-free cockpits.

On the data privacy side, our advice would shift if federal privacy legislation banned the collection and commercial brokering of telematics data. Until those legal frameworks change, every new passenger vehicle sold in America will include an electronic screen, and opt-outs will reduce data collection without stopping it.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

▸ Are there any new cars without touch screens?

No. Federal rules require every new US light vehicle to display a rearview image, so each one has a screen. Some 2026 models still keep physical knobs for climate and audio.

▸ Do all new cars have touch screens?

Every new US light vehicle must display a rearview image, so each has a screen. The federal rule does not require that screen to be a touchscreen.

▸ Are cars moving away from touch screens?

Some are. Volkswagen and Hyundai have pledged physical buttons for core controls, and Euro NCAP's voluntary rating will credit them in Europe. Mazda moved the other way on the 2026 CX-5.

▸ Can I turn off my car's tracking?

You can reduce it, but not stop all of it. Ford, Toyota, and General Motors offer opt-outs, and General Motors says it may still collect location after a crash.

▸ What year cars are not computerized?

There is no single cutoff year. Federal rules require a rearview image display in light vehicles built on or after May 1, 2018. Texas alleges General Motors collected driving data from most 2015 and newer GM vehicles.