<p>With the increasing complexity of in-vehicle human-machine interfaces (HMIs), the visual search efficiency of functional icons has become crucial for driving operations. Existing research has primarily focused on either physical attributes or cognitive characteristics of icons within single cultural contexts or specific scenarios, leaving the interaction between semantic distance and cultural background insufficiently explored. This study employed a 2 (cultural, Chinese vs. South Asian) × 2 (semantic distance: close vs. remote) mixed factorial design to investigate their effects on visual search efficiency for functional icons in vehicle control interfaces. The results indicated that semantic distance and cultural background each significantly affected distinct efficiency metrics. Specifically, icons with closer semantic distance were associated with better performance in recognition efficiency and faster search times. Cultural background, meanwhile, showed a significant effect on both search efficiency and recognition time. More critically, a significant interaction was observed between semantic distance and cultural background in terms of search time. This research provides empirical support for cross-cultural in-vehicle interface design. It also supplies a set of readily applicable vehicle control interface icon references for Chinese and South Asian automotive brands, and offers a reusable evaluation methodology for global interface design initiatives by Chinese automakers.</p>