If The Problem Persists, Reboot The Car

prostoalex writes "Ever-increasing presence of high-tech devices in modern cars is a double-edged sword, the New York Times discovers. Software from different suppliers brings up to some peculiar bugs, such as a heater turning itself on during a hot summer day. In December last year ABI Research estimated that roughly 30% of all warranty issues with new cars were microprocessor- and software-related. The NYT article also quotes an interesting prediction from IBM, saying that by 2010 almost all cars will have the same mechanical systems (hardware), and the differences will be primarily on software level." (That prediction seems as accurate as the IBM prediction that there was a worldwide market for 10 or so computers.)

Comments

Cashflow for garages

[FiReaNGeL]

Coincidentally, the microprocessor is usually freaking expensive to replace. And garage tend to do a lot more 'replace' than 'fix', especially when it involve buggy software.

Re:2010...

[mikeb39]

For those poor uninitiated souls, this funny is a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two. A superior alien intelligence increases the weight of Jupiter to cause it to collapse into a star to speed the evolution of intelligent life on its moon Europa.

A really, really good book. The space odyssey series is essential reading for any fan of science fiction. Particularly interesting with all Clarke's works are noting how many of his fictional technological creations have come to exist in one form or another today.

The problem with cars...

[rseuhs]

... is that they are standing outside a lot at temperatures down to -20C and have lots of windows (greenhouse: up to +60C).

This stresses hardware a lot.

Operating as expected

[Monx]

Have you ever heard of an immobilizer? Many modern car security systems have them. My ex's 1995 Thunderbird has one. Immobilizers make it impossible to start the car if the security system detects a breach. Resetting the security system using the key fob is not usually allowed while it still detects a breach.

What happened here is that the security system was triggered, engaging the immobilizer. The system would only reset once it detected that the car was secure. This is how it is designed to function.

Re:prediction

[LordRPI]

I think this prediction may go to far saying that all mechanical systems will be the same, but at this time we're seeing some parallelisms in modern electronics.

I belive it may be Toshiba that sells three DVD+R DL capable drives that have the exact same hardware, but some are crippled at the firmware level so that the drives will behave as if they can't handle a DVD+R DL. I've also noticed that certain Power Macintosh G5 computers ship with a Pioneer DVR-108 SuperDrive and do not burn DVD+RL as they are crippled in firmware. I own that same model drive and it works fine for DL burning. I would imagine that making a single hardware solution would be cheaper than designing and manufacturing many products at varying functionality and price points. Then why not just sell one model that does it all? Royalties. By crippling functionality in software/firmware, the manufacturer does not have to pay sometimes obnoctious royalties thus reducing the bottom line. Oh yeah, and you also get to market one product as being functionally superior and thus deserves a premium. I can't recall prices exactly, but a sunroof option on a Lexus ES300 costs more than it does on a Toyota Camry, although they are in essense the same car.

A few years back, I was looking at the differences between a Cadillac Seville SLS and STS. Although basically the same car, the price of the STS was US $5,000 higher due to a differently tuned engine, a shorter final drive ratio, and 5,000 lines of additional suspension code! So in essense, we have seen here a change of model based on a software difference.

But then, with IBM's prediction, all cars would have to look the same. You can't change the body styling by changing a few lines of code... yet... Ricers would love this...

I won't be impressed, however, until I see a car without an engine and without wheels, but something entirely different.

Re:my (not so) offtopic dream

[nightfire-unique]

The car I grew up with was like this. When it broke down my dad would get out the 500 page maintenance manual (they used to have those things for cars) and fix it himself. Now even mechanics can't fix some cars unless they pay the manufacturer for the 'right' to know how the hell the car's operating system works.

Interesting. I hear this over and over again, and I'm not really sure where it comes from. I suppose people don't want to be bothered learning new technology as things change, but speaking as a home mechanic who has changed fairly major components on a modern vehicle (clutch, suspension, brakes, etc), I can tell you that computers are 1% of what makes a car today.

Computers today are still used mainly to optimize things like fuel maps and ignition timing. This whole "mechanic opening the hood and connecting a laptop" thing is simply a myth. Of course it depends on the nature of the failure, but the vast majority of automotive diagnostic includes analyzing the symptoms, checking for worn bearings and bushings, bent shafts, burned plugs, loose wires, and bad sensors.

Computer diagnostics help locate the failing part sometimes, but most problems are purely mechanical. Computers, and in general, electronics, do not fail. Particularly on older cars, nearly *all* failures are mechanical.

And finally, this whole "proprietary systems" junk is nonsense. In North America at least, all modern vehicles conform to an open specification called OBD-II.