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

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: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.