a system for controlling vehicle systems includes a haptic actuator , a gesture detection device , a controller , and a plurality of vehicle systems . the gesture detection device captures movements of a vehicle driver or passenger and outputs data representing a gesture made by the vehicle driver or passenger . the controller is coupled to the gesture detection device and receives a signal from the gesture detection device indicative of the gesture . the controller is coupled to the haptic actuator , and selects a haptic effect based on the detected gesture and sends a signal to the haptic actuator to provide the selected haptic effect . the controller is also coupled to the vehicle systems , and based on the detected gesture , the controller sends a signal to one of the vehicle systems to perform a particular action . the particular action of the vehicle system is matched with the selected haptic effect .