Have you ever felt the need to honk at someone at the same time that you were flicking shifts mid-apex using the paddles in your luxury vehicle? We didn’t think so either, but Mercedes-Benz engineers are ready for everything. That includes what CarBuzz has just uncovered in a patent filing: Paddle shifters that will honk if you push instead of pull. Apparently, it’s a solution to a common problem we’ve never heard of.
Left For Downshift, Right For Up, Forward For A Toot
A detail shot of the 2026 Mercedes-AMG CLA 35’s paddle shifterMercedes-Benz
The patent is called paddel-schalthebelanordnung zum gangschalten und zur hupenaktivierung an einem lenkrad eines fahrzeugs. In English, that’s “paddle shift lever arrangement for gear shifting and horn activation on a vehicle steering wheel.” It sums up the strange feature extremely well.
Most patents describe the reason for a given invention; the problem that it’s really meant to solve, or the idea it’s trying to move forward. In this case, Mercedes-Benz engineers wrote that “while [current horn] placement is generally effective, it often requires the driver to temporarily remove their hands from their optimal grip position on the steering wheel to operate the horn. This action can lead to distractions and a brief delay in reaction time, particularly in critical situations requiring quick reflexes.”
In other words, if you’ve got both hands on the wheel, as you should, the horn button might not be within reach. Taking a hand off the wheel to hit the horn could be a problem. We’ll give Merc that much.
Fixing that problem is quite simple, at least in the minds of Mercedes-Benz engineers. The shift paddles are there already, so adding another function to them – in this case, activating the horn – doesn’t need a massive number of new parts or big changes to the steering column.
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The invention adds a second direction to the mechanism in each paddle. They will still pull toward the driver, clicking to shift up or down depending on which side of the wheel you use. But if you put your fingers between the wheel and the paddle and push toward the front, you’ll get the horn instead.
This Isn’t Exactly The Most Intuitive Way To Sound Off
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Interior TeaserMercedes-Benz
If the German automaker follows through, it’s going to mean some changes for drivers. Pushing your fingers outward like that is a strange gesture (go try it, we’ll wait), and unless your hands are aligned with the paddles as you’re driving, you’ll still need to remove one from the wheel.
But just because it’s a strange idea, doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. Paddles on the wheel seemed strange when they were launched, too. Some automakers, like GM and Stellantis, put stereo volume and tuning controls on the back of the wheel instead of paddles, and they’re quite useful, too.
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The important part is that Mercedes-Benz is looking at giving you more ways to honk, not to remove the button in the center of the wheel. The invention is trying to make things easier for customers whose hands can’t reach the center without taking one away from steering.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Sounding your car’s horn hasn’t changed much since the move from squeezing a bulb on an actual horn to the button in the center of the wheel. Adding a second method is intriguing, but is it really necessary? It seems like an invention that will just have drivers honking when they didn’t mean to. At least it works with something your car already has, and it’s a button, not a touchscreen.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: DPMA
