Should I Take Toyota's Software Update?

kiehlster writes "I'm a software developer, and I know that most software has bugs, but how much trust can we put in the many lines of code found in our automobiles? I have a 2009 Camry that is involved in both of the recent Toyota recalls. As part of the floor-mat issue, they're offering to install a software update that would cause 'the brake pedal to take precedence over the gas pedal if both were pressed,' or, as their latest notice states, 'would cut power to the engine if both pedals were pressed.' In the computer world, we're all taught to install firmware updates only if there is a real problem because a large percentage of firmware updates actually brick the hardware or cause other unforeseen consequences. On a base of 100 million lines of code, can I really trust a software update to work safely when it is delivered in a three-month development cycle? My driving habits don't cause the floor mat to slide much, so I see the update as overkill. What do you think? If it doesn't void the warranty, should I tell them to skip the update?"

Comments

kdawson sucks

[Nimey]

What possessed you to post such a fucking stupid question? "Hey, I'm a code monkey who writes shitty VB6 for a living, and based on my vast experience with fucking up motherboard BIOS upgrades thanks to my own stupidity, I know that people tend to write bad code."

Goes to show that just because somebody's smart enough to know how to program (or to "edit") doesn't mean he knows a goddamn thing about anything else.

Re:huh?

[IrquiM]

It's because of comments like this the word retard is still in use!

Re:No sh*t, YOU are really looking at it wrong.

[e2d2]

So if a bug pops up in the underlying tool and it causes your car to careen off a fucking cliff, do those lines of code not count because they are hidden by abstraction?

But on another topic, that little quip at the end basically calling me retarded, I really hate that shit here. Don't even pretend to talk down to me, I'm well versed in embedded programming and yes total count includes ALL code, not just code you wrote and then magically pushed over the fence to a black box.. Why? Because that code can break too. Do you think it matters to the end user if you wrote the code or a tool wrote it for you? You are still liable for the end result correct?