Problems with modern cars

[Lolvoguy]

Very enlightening video. Can't say I didn't already know the stuff mentioned in it.

These are exactly the reasons why I struggle to stick with older, simple tech. Sad part is, even a Ford Focus has much of the same tech too.

Personally I know someone with a Ford Edge who had his touch screen fail on him. As a result he cannot adjust his HVAC settings anymore. Sad part is that the cost is far too expensive to reasonable replace it, and the aftermarket does not offer any alternatives.

 

[simple_gifts]

I'm considering repowering my echo for many of the reasons he indicated; 5sp manual, manual windows, locks, no abs. Look @ my sig.

 

[ET16]

Life is getting like this.

Fake news, brought to you by high technology.

Makes one yearn for the 20th century.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Many new cars have solutions for problems you did not even know you had.

For me, I prefer a manual transmission, mechanical buttons, knobs and levers. You can keep the touch screen and computer interfaces and automated systems and let me concentrate on driving. I enjoy being left alone to drive the car all by myself.

 

[bioburner]

If one reads the operating temps for most computers its not anywhere near what the car interior range is. I will be waking up to -25F Sunday and in summer the car interiors hit 140 easy.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Crash indecent at time 4:22 ... freakin' zombie driving.

It's crazy how complicated cars are these days, and he's right about the cost to maintain. Almost pays to have an extended warranty on a new vehicle if you plan on keeping it for many years after the initial factory warranty has expired.

 

[69GTX]

Not likely any car I ever own will have a touch screen or high end computerized systems. Like you, don't want the expense or frustration of losing a major system. If I could swing it, manual door cranks and seats, a screw on antennae, etc. are all fine with me.

There will be enough lower mileage used cars out there from 1998-2008 for years.

 

[MCompact]

I own cars at both extremes, and there are pros and cons to each. I like the capabilities of the newer cars but I can also appreciate the simplicity of the older and less complicated cars.
To each his own.

 

[Wolf359]

Love having all the technology. Not too worried about cost to fix as the failure rate tends to be low, but of course it can be a doozy when it does go. ABS, traction control, stability control, parking distance sensors, panoramic sunroof, built in navigation, bluetooth, it's all fun stuff. It's true that it can be distracting though, got a ton of menus I can scroll through on my dash. Then I'll need the next step up, automatic distance cruise control, blind spot assist, lane tracking, and automatic collision avoidance.

Wait til they require all new cars to broadcast where they are and what they're doing in the next couple years.

 

[nthach]

The Japanese started on that trend of moving climate controls to the navigation/audio display years ago - the 2nd gen Prius and Lexus LS430 is one example - and yet those cars seem fairly reliable, the Prius MFD failure is common and it's usually a capacitor or cold solder joint that causes it. The hardware itself seems fairly reliable - the Germans tend to be an outlier, but the software/firmware driving it is cause for concern.

 

[ls1mike]

At least my 2015 and 2014 have manual HVAC controls.

 

[Patman]

I was watching the local news this week and they reported on someone with a new Nissan pickup truck that caught fire and the occupants were briefly trapped in the vehicle because the electric door locks and windows stopped working! How scary is that! (they did get out safely in time but their truck burned to the ground, and it was only a few months old too)

It immediately made me think that vehicles have gotten to the point where people could easily be trapped in their cars if their entire electrical systems fail on them and they panic and haven't learned the alternative methods of escape (such as in my Corvette which has fully electric door openers but also has a manual pull lever on each side if the battery dies while you're inside the car)

 

[dblshock]

my Honda, no CD, all my music was on CD (I'm not into music much) so had to pay Apple for cell phone songs to play in my new car.

 

[dblshock]

my Honda has the Honda sensing, steers, brakes, stays in lane or follows the car in front of it..while your napping.

 

[sleddriver]

Wow...I agree and could write at length on this. Matter-of-fact, I already have..a couple of decades ago. I call it Analog vs. Digital. Another name is High-tech vs. High-touch and what happens when it gets out of balance. As a EE, I appreciate the amazing amount of computing power, silicon designs, test equipment, etc. we have today. While I can easily swim in it and not drown, I'm in the minority.

Tech for tech's sake alone is a fools errand. "Modern" cars are an excellent example. It used to be an OBDII code scanner was all you needed. Now you need a network/logic analyzer to read the data stream between the various micro-controllers just to see if it contains useful data or garbage.

I was visiting with my indy regarding a 99 Volvo (first implementation of CANbus). He showed me pages and pages of "tests" but he wasn't able to read the data on the CANbus itself. He wound up telling the owner the bill would be too high. To make matters worse, on that year, you couldn't just sub in a smart-part. If the SN didn't match, it wouldn't be allowed to function. Thus no junk yard parts.

That's nuts.......

Fortunately, I own a '98 Volvo I can still work on and swap parts on. I do enjoy wrenching and working with my hands as it gets me (analog) away from the digital-domain. I also save thousands by doing the work myself, even using blue-box Volvo parts.

Living the dream in the fast lane of the e-world will drive you nuts over time and put a serious drain on your wallet. It will soon have you declaring E-NOUGH!

The Eagles "Life In The Fast Lane" comes to mind.......so does "Hotel California".

 

[dblshock]

my '06 Highlander will be going long after this Civic is junked from the expensive tech failures.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
my Honda, no CD, all my music was on CD (I'm not into music much) so had to pay Apple for cell phone songs to play in my new car.


Why not just save your own music on your phone or an MP3 player?

 

[dblshock]

after owning this Honda for 3 months I can honestly say I don't want to learn anymore, this infotainment is a touch screen laptop mounted on the dash..I really need to be driving.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
To make matters worse, on that year, you couldn't just sub in a smart-part. If the SN didn't match, it wouldn't be allowed to function. Thus no junk yard parts.

That's nuts.......



That's not nuts......

That's The Plan

 

[Wolf359]

It's probably better and worse. Things have gotten a lot more reliable of late, things like power locks and windows don't fail as often as they used to and the big fear in the past was that the sunroof would eventually leak, but that never happened with the last few cars I had. The part that's better is that you can pretty much research all your problem online. It used to be much more limited in the past. Most OBDII scanners only read engine and emissions error codes but now there's several out there that will read manufacturer specific codes and you don't have to pay 4 figures for them, a couple are available for under $100. I'm just going to enjoy them while they work and not worry too much if they break.