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Tesla Model S Has Been Hacked
cartechboy writes: First, it was Chrysler last month with its Uconnect system being hacked while being driven down the road. Now, it's Tesla's turn. That's right, the Silicon Valley automaker's very own Model S electric car has been hacked by two white-hat hackers. The duo were able to manipulate the speedometer, lock and unlock the car, and at speeds of less than 5 mph they were able to make all the electronics go blank and shut down the car while engaging the emergency parking brake dragging the car to a stop. Tesla's already issued a software update that owners can download to path the security flaw. Welcome to the new world where cars can be hacked thanks to all their electronics.
IoT sucks! Welcome to the future.
What the summary fails to omit is that you first need physical access to the car and since they have the ability to do updates over-the-air, they don't need to recall more than a million vehicles to fix the issue.
All we need now is thermoptic camo, think tanks, and oculus to not suck, and we can live in a Ghost in the Shell future.
ners can download to path the security flaw.
Some day there will be a market for a car with no on board computer or electronics. The intro to the first Fallout game features a television commercial for a car called the Corvega, with no electronics and no computer for only $199,999.99. In a world on the verge of nuclear war, or one on the verge of computer security catastrophe, sounds like a steal.
Didn't they have to physically "break" the car before they got access into it? Your post is clearly a scare tactic.
Nothing here... So... SHOOO!!!
My Tesla was patched last night. No such luck for my Dodge.
Probably auto-updated overnight.
"He can do ANTYHING!" said Slashdot
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
I want my Cat connected to the IoT. Somebody please hack it so it stops leaving hairballs everywhere.
Why is everyone saying electronics.
Cars have had hack proof electronics for decades.
It's the lets connect those electronics to the open net. Is tne problem.
...To protect against nuclear EMP (since we were talking Fallout)? Not so much. Even 70s and 80s cars use coils and ECUs, and that would get fried...
Maybe... and maybe not. Old cars had thick metal hoods. Modern cars often use plastic for parts that don't need to be mechanically strong, but the old ones put the engines inside a pretty good Faraday cage.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Tesla's efforts still won't provide the level of electronic security from remote hacks that old Lucas equipment did.
Time to offend someone
as a college grad with more debt than a south american country, I can tell you I was worried about this bug. I came up with a handy countermeasure to avoid nefarious car hackers:
I work two jobs and drive a 2001 Ford crown victoria i bought for six hundred bucks at a police auction. It burns oil, and smells like parking citations and regret. On a hot day it stinks like hamburgers; I do not know why. The jiggle required to get the spare key to engage the ignition is nothing short of a shao-lin kung fu scene. This car still has a throttle cable, and practically came off the line with the check-engine light on. The upholstery is permanently stained with the detritus of an entire cities overweight, underpaid cops.
Hacking my brakes wont work, the pedal goes to the floor to try and stop this 2 and a quarter ton house on wheels so if anything it might be an improvement. randomly triggering the accellerator, assuming one can do this in a vehicle with a throttle cable, will result in a godless heavy metal grunt from the engine as this 210 horsepower v8 struggles to maintain basic lane positioning. The AC hasnt worked since the clinton era, and mysteriously burps up pieces of foam. The door locks are mysterious and random enough already, and functionless for the rear passenger.
Good people go to bed earlier.
It is a handbrake and nothing but a handbrake
From TFA: Green Car Reports reached out to Tesla Motors, which provided the following comment: ...
We've already developed an update for the vulnerabilities they surfaced which was made available to all Model S customers through an over-the-air update that has been to deployed to all vehicles.
You obviously have no clue.
Any car or computer can be hacked when you have physical access to the car. Furthermore Tesla has apparently already issued a patch making this pretty much a non-event.
When they get hacked remotely with no physical access (which is conceivable) then we should sit up and pay attention.
The only reason why this is happening is because the software developers are morons. In a mission critical system you never give write access from an entertainment module to critical system. The information system should not have the ability to make any changes in the engine software. The best way to enforce this is to use a hardware read only bus that sits between the entertainment system and engine system and only allow traffic to flow from the engine to the info system but not the other way around.
Mod parent up! The only reason the car is connected to the internet is so big brother can track you at all times you use the car.
'Path' is not a verb. WTF? "to path the security flaw"? Who talks like that?
Oh, wait... AMERICANS. Fucking idiots.
I use is in emergencies all the time in the winter. Every time I'm in a parking lot after a fresh snow, I urgently need to do 90 and 180 degree turns repeatedly. I assumed that was what it was for as it works perfectly - what do you use it for?
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." - Every fascist, ever
When hydraulic brakes were introduced there was concern that if they failed, the driver would have no way to stop the vehicle. So, regulations were added to require every car with hyrdaulic (or electric) brakes to also have an Emergency brake that was totally manual and not connected to the hydraulic system. This was to satisfy FMVSS 105 (now replaced with FMVSS 135):
" Vehicles shall be capable of stopping under partial failure of the service brake system, inoperative brake power assist unit or brake power unit, antilock failure, variable proportioning valve failure, and with the engine off"
There is a maximum distance and pedal pressure specified.
FMVSS 135 also states:
"Each vehicle shall be manufactured with a parking brake system which, when engaged, shall be capable of holding the vehicle stationary on a specified grade for a specified time. "
I have never seen a passenger vehicle with two separate systems, so the Emergency Brake is also the Parking Brake. Or handbrake if you prefer as it is manual brake.
Why would you NOT use the e-brake in an Emergency? You are barrelling down the highway at 70mph when your oil filter lets go. Your engine overheats and fails within seconds. Do you a) do nothing or b) use the ebrake to slow down and pull over? why would you not want to save your own life?
But it won't require as much replacement wiring smoke as the Lucas electronics did. http://www3.telus.net/bc_trium...
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
Old cars can be hacked with a hammer, saw, screwdriver etc. The only difference is that once hacked you have remote control of some of the functions.
Can we stop calling you guys 'editors', and just get on with 'clowns who post story submissions'.
Because it's quite clear you don't actually, you know, edit.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Why would you NOT use the e-brake in an Emergency? You are barrelling down the highway at 70mph when your oil filter lets go. Your engine overheats and fails within seconds. Do you a) do nothing or b) use the ebrake to slow down and pull over? why would you not want to save your own life?
Because locking my back wheels at 70mph isn't going to end well for me. I'd use the normal brakes (which still work fine without the benefit of servo assist) so at least I'd have partial steering.
I have actually used the handbrake as a backup brake after a total brake failure (Volkswagen Rabbit, the Segway of cars). Yes, it's an emergency brake.
Having been in several situations with complete loss of oil (one on the road, others in the shop), I can assure you that complete loss of oil pressure does not lead to engine stopping in any reasonable time. Permanent engine damage, yes. Not able to restart, yes. Stops when dropping to idle throttle. But it happily keeps running (and starts making the most unusual noises), especially if the throttle is open.
There are lots of stories of people coming into gas stations/shops/etc with "I noticed this red light on the dash that says OIL" (or equivalent), and when the dipstick is pulled, it's dry.
There are also lots of cases of "oil change but forgot to put the drain plug in, or forgot to refill with oil, because we got distracted". An amazing number will run for a while (causing bearing damage, and needing expensive repairs).
Ditto for coolant loss.
A friend used to work in a commercial vehicle establishment, doing lots of engine rebuilds/replacements. A standard amusement was to cut the radiator hoses off, drain the oil, start the engine, put a brick on the pedal, and see how long it would run, before pulling the engine for the rebuild. After seeing this a couple times, I realized that there is great durability in modern cast iron engines. Sure, the main bearings are shot, but that's about it. Whether an aluminum block, aluminum head engine would be rebuildable, I don't know. The temperature extremes in the bearing areas might alter the metal and warp it beyond rebuildability.
Sorry Sam.... the second to last sentence is one for the record books.
Tesla's already issues a software update that owners can download to path the security flaw.
!=
Tesla HAS already ISSUED a software update that owners can download to PATCH the security flaw.
OK, so there's a security patch available. So what? "We regret that you crashed at 85mph yesterday - please download our latest patch?" The problem is not the software per se, but the mere fact that there's external access at all. Because there's simply no such thing as "flawless" code. And the internet's been around long enough to show us that, if there's any legitimate way in, people who want to abuse the system will get in as well, and find a way to subvert it. And right now all we're seeing are "white hat" attacks; just wait until the black hat guys start getting creative.
The best option if you need to stop suddenly in that scenario is c) press down harder on the brake pedal to stop the car because the engine not running does not disable the hydraulic brakes, but only disables the power boost. The brake pedal will take more pressure to use, but the brakes will still work just as effectively.
You also left out d) downshift and let out the clutch, e) slam car into park, and the most likely correct response f) coast to a stop since you're on a highway going 70mph and, the vast majority of the time you're doing that, stopping immediately isn't necessary for safety.
Why can't you just use the normal pedal brakes? They are still more powerful and easy to control even without the power assist.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
As opposed to the old world where a car that didn't have any sophisticated electronics was trivial for someone to steal?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Why would you NOT use the e-brake in an Emergency?
Because locking my back wheels at 70mph isn't going to end well for me. I'd use the normal brakes (which still work fine without the benefit of servo assist) so at least I'd have partial steering.
Yeah, that wasn't actually a great example. Here's a better one. You're driving down the highway, go to push the brake pedal, and the pedal falls off, the linkage to the master breaks, the plug works out of the master and the piston shoots out, powered by a stout steel spring. What do you do? Yeah, sure, you downshift. That's it?
You or I can reasonably push down the brakes well enough to stop even without servo assistance. At least, I know I can. But in a lot of vehicles, it's very difficult, and not everyone is physically capable of doing that. They should have a second option. And that is why EPBs are evil. They are either on or off. The only thing you can do with them, if you're even allowed, is lock them. A normal parking brake can be partially applied. There's quite a bit of stretch in the cables, so you can moderate clamping force. I know, because I've done it in a car with a proper handbrake. And I will say this to you, and you can believe it or not, but I've never made a "handbrake turn". I've made some power-assisted U-turns before, but only in situations where power and traction levels meant that I could do it either from a near-standstill with throttle alone (or perhaps with some clutch) or while in motion by using the "Scandinavian Flick". But I have played with the handbrake to see whether it was possible to stop a car with it from a good clip safely, and the answer is yes. I imagine it would be tricky to do properly with a foot brake; if you got carried away, you'd probably already be sideways before you found the release.
I played with stopping with the handbrake in a 1989 240SX, which has an ordinary handbrake and doesn't weigh much. But my Audi A8 is first-generation and also has a real handbrake, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to use the same technique there in spite of it being a much heavier car. It also has much larger rear brakes.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
There's a typo in the post.
Why not just have a standard, open and documented interface that allows owners and users to do all of this.
For example, when everyone has easy access to know how to activate the parking brake from a computer or chip plugged into the car then it's not a huge deal that someone "hacked" it.
At that point everyone realizes that these things work like that and that you have to have cable access to make a change.
For the paranoid worried about someone changing the code (making the parking brake not work with the normal lever), give them the ability to reflash the code on the car.
It's the same thing as someone being able to disconnect the cable for a cable operated parking brake because they have the knowledge of how to do it and the owner or driver does not and does not take the time to check things like that.
We should be for knowledge over ignorance and closing the software (or creating an enigma machine for pulling a cable) doesn't work.
Making a big deal out of it is not the way to go.
My parking brake is foot operated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
What happens if you have a brake line blow out or the master cylinder fail?
If you're engaging it hard enough to lock the wheels you are an idiot.
The correct procedure would be to engage it gradually and partially (not slamming it all the way to full lock) until the vehicle slows and comes to a stop then you engage it the rest of the way to keep the car stationary while you get out and empty your shorts. If you are driving a standard you also downshift to use the transmission to help slow you to a speed low enough to pull off the road safely.
How did you ever pass drivers ed and get a license?
I remember Kristin Paget (quite a marvel of self-promotion IMO) beating her own drum when she recently moved from a security role at Apple to Tesla. I think at Tesla (and previously at Apple) her title was something like "Hacker Princess".
Guess she either doesn't really know her stuff, or didn't have much of an impact at Tesla.
I went to check her Twitter account (https://twitter.com/KristinPaget), curious to see what her response to this news is, only to see that she's already moved on to SalesForce (again as a "Hacker Princess" per her business card). After calling the Tesla position a dream job, this seems like a very odd move in such a short time. Maybe she's better at talking than performing.
NOTE: Even though she is transgender, this comment has nothing to do with that. In fact, I respect her courage for being herself. But I always thought she was a little too impressed with herself.
Maybe he eats a lot of Cracker Jack.
I remember being laughed at and ridiculed on this site when I said this would be a problem and turning over your driving to a computer would just make this issue worse. *flicks bird*
Such sensational headlines. Really.
Grampaw here.
Go back even further, kids. When I was your age, your great grandmother drove a 1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (Sea Mist green with white leather upholstery and matching vinyl roof. She was a beauty.) Last American car to have fins. And it was big. BIII-IIIIG. Like, had it own gravity field big. Mom was not. She was tiny.
The brake pedals on those cars were, therefore, double wide. Not, as one would suspect, to make it easier to hit the brakes, but rather accommodate two feet in order to maximize the likelihood that a tiny Mom could stop the car without power assist.
Parking/ emergency brakes generally only provide (or used to, when I cared enough about to read about these things) 30% of the full braking system force. But it was enough to give you something to do with the functioning 5% of your mind while the other 95% screamed in terror as you plummeted toward something in 2.5 tons of steel with nothing between you and being impaled on the steering column and diced by a steel steering wheel but a lap belt. No headrest, either.
Punks.
Later I'll tell you the story of the first parking brake ever used in the State of Michigan. It's a knee-slapper!
No they haven't, the only difference this connectivity does is make the hacks easier. Physical access to the cars allowed hackers to do this YEARS ago.
No, you're just built funny.
Oh thank God. I have no idea why everyone doesn't do this wirelessly - cuz on the air updates are perfectly secure.
Unless someone has physical access to the car they should be very secure as long as the encryption algorithms used are secure. Key distribution isn't a problem because Tesla can load up the car with a cryptographic key during manufacturing. Hell they could even put in a stack of one time pads if they wanted. Key distribution is usually the big problem but it's not (or shouldn't be) an issue here.
While they could always make an error somewhere along the way, it should be reasonably straightforward to make the OTA updates very secure under most circumstances.
While true that this is a lot less worrisome than a remote attack, the fact that someone with an ethernet cable can bollix up the car it still attention worthy.
If a bad guy has physical access to my car, what they can do with an ethernet cable is frankly the least of my concerns.
Yeah, that wasn't actually a great example. Here's a better one. You're driving down the highway, go to push the brake pedal, and the pedal falls off, the linkage to the master breaks, the plug works out of the master and the piston shoots out, powered by a stout steel spring. What do you do? Yeah, sure, you downshift. That's it?
You turn the car off and leave it in gear.
Adblock, Better Privacy and NoScript is coming out for cars - to be released later this year.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Not going to happen, both the EPA and the CAFE standards have seen to that. There is ZERO chance you can meet the emission and mileage standards for any vehicle which doesn't include some kind of engine and drive train control electronics.
Those only apply to new cars. Old cars are still on the road and probably always will be. Plus you are able to build vehicles yourself that do not meet emissions standards. Not exactly difficult to source an engine and a chassis.
The only way we are safe from the Cylons is to not network all the systems in the ship together.
I have very fond memories of cracker jacks and the crappy prizes they put inside.
Can we stop calling you guys 'editors', and just get on with 'clowns who post story submissions'.
Because it's quite clear you don't actually, you know, edit.
They edit, meaning that they modify the text. The thing is that they generally make it worse, not better.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Car hacking is the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard of!
Seriously, why do we need computers in cars? EFI I can understand; some digital sensors, maybe, a and quartz tuned radio with digital display, sure.
But all of this other crap is just asking for trouble. The fact that someone could remotely access, monitor, and even control your vehicle is downright scary.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
Actually, I *HAVE* used the emergency brake in an emergency. I stepped on the brake pedal and nothing happened so I carefully used the emergency brake to come to a safe stop. It sure worked as an emergency brake for me.
Now don't you feel dumb?
Surviving after my brake lines suddenly corroded.
The last time my 80s era roadster was patched was when it rolled off the production line. 30+ years on the long-term stable release! Beat that with your Tesla.
That's like bragging that you haven't patched your 486DX computer in 25 years. It's an obsolete POS and nobody is really impressed. Do you still use a Motorola MicroTAC phone or an Apple IIe too?
Why do we need to connect cars to the internet again?
Because you can do interesting and useful things by connecting to the internet. Up to date weather, traffic, and map data. Streaming media, OTA updates, OTA patches, inter-vehicle communications, and much more. Seriously you can't think of any use for internet connectivity in a vehicle?
The ebrake will NOT lock your wheels up as long as you have a bit more finesse than an angry gorilla. Press and hold the button in and lift the lever until you feel it begin to grab. Do not yank the lever up like an idiot.
enough said.
Isn't the emergency/parking brake required to be mechanical? How can you hack a mechanical cable-pulley system?
And this is why it's called an emergency brake here. Unlike the hydraulic braking system, it's supposed to be able to work no matter what. It's also only connected to the rear wheels, so there's less of a chance the idiot who slams it on will lose control.
--- Keep the choice with the user..
In my 1986 Samurai, there was a small proportioning valve that split the brake fluid pressure to apply more to the front than the back. When I was exiting a parkway, that valve decided that rather than send the fluid to the brakes, it would just be better to dump it on the ground. Fortunately, I was able to use the manual transmission and the wire-connected emergency/parking brake to stop safely.
Great until you need to use the clutch and whichever brake it is you use when the vehicle is stopped... Oh wait.
Because people are trusting their life to a system that has consistently proven that it is not secure
You know what else I'm trusting my life to? You not turning your steering wheel a quarter turn left when we pass each other on the road. I'm trusting that you will actually stop at a stop sign. I'm trusting that my airbag will not malfunction. I'm trusting the ignition to actually work. I'm trusting that you are capable of driving competently unimpaired by alcohol. We trust our lives to a lot of things that have consistently proven to not be secure and this bit of hacking is no where near the top of the danger list. Sure, let's be concerned about it but let's not blow it out of proportion either.
Seriously.
Looks like someone's been watching too many Transporter movies.
Not if you slowly engage the emergency brake. It works fine for the intended purpose.
There was a time when we had automobiles without ABS. If you pressed the brake peddle too hard and too fast, you'd lock up the wheels more than you could have ever achieved with a hand brake.
The emergency brake (a.k.a. parking brake) in most cars are simple mechanical devices that use steel cables to engage the brakes to the rear wheels only. They are not power assisted and you'd have to pull really really hard and fast to be able to lock up your rear wheels. Your front wheels will still roll and able to steer the car.
Looks like the angry anonymous poster isn't as smart as the "idiot American" drivers that he criticized.
Then what would you recommend one do if their brake fluid leaks out?
The emergency brake works via cable. It will pretty much always work. Pop a leak somewhere and the rest of your braking system.. being hydraulic becomes useless quickly. That's why we call it an emergency brake!
The trick is you don't just yank the handle up and set it like you would when you park on a hill. Stay calm. Keep your finger on the button, you don't want it locking!. Ease the handle up carefully. Don't suddenly force it when you start to feel the resistance.
I haven't had to do this us this in an oncoming traffic, imediate sort of emergency. I have practiced it under more controled conditions so that I would be ready if I do. I did use my e-brake to drive home once when I blew a brake cylindar. Fortunately I noticed this before I was up to speed so I was able to take it very easy and didn't have to use the e-brake for any sudden, unexpected stops.
What a stupid strawman!
Why would you lock your back wheels? Have you actually ever tried your emergency brake? No car I have ever owned is capable of applying enough stopping power to actually lock the wheels. It only slows them down.
Also.. don't yank up on it. You wouldn't slam your foot brake at that speed would you? Hold the button down on your emergency brake so that it doesn't lock and ease it up just like you would with your foot!
Don't connect cars to the internet. Don't make their electronics accessible OTA.
We'll be presenting how to do this at DEFCON this year.
We're honored to be recognized with the 2015 People's Award for Self Restraint, Circumspection and Common Sense.
See you there.
Is this a true remote hack or does this require malware or direct access to the car to install a usb device like most others? Yes, I didn't read the article, because I expect slashdot to summarize it for me.
Flame away
Many ebrakes are a ratcheting foot pedal, not a hand brake like you describe. Releasing the foot pedal often requires leaning down to reach the release, which means you are no longer in an optimal position to control the car that you are apparently having problems with.
How about posting a summary with actual information instead of directing me to off slash questionable sites. That would be great.
and also maybe turn on spell / grammar check because some of these posts are getting pretty unreadable. This one isn't that bad though
Don't look to Tesla to change the OTA acccess their building into their cars any time soon. I'll tell you why.
There's a frightening amount of electricity generated by their cars and mechanics who don't know what they're doing are quite likely to eletrocute themselves.
Then the headline will be:
Another Mechanic Killed By Tesla Car.
To prevent that headline from ever materializing and destroying their market share, they reserve the right and aiblity to remotely brick the car.
If the car is in an accident, it gets bricked and the only result of trying to start the car is a message on the instrument panel which reads (approx) : "Take car to Tesla service station for service".
Mechanics CAN'T work on Tesla cars.
Unfortunately, when you connect a car to the internet or otherwise make it accessible OTA you dramatically increase the attack surface area.
Here's a few characterisitics of the new attack vectors:
*A criminal can effect many cars at once. Previously, a 1:1:1 ratio existed between criminals, cars and some discrete unit of time.
*A criminal can make a criminal event imitate an accident. Previously, if the car blew up Mafiosa-style or was stolen, the criminal event was clearly recognizable as a criminal event. Even cutting the brake lines left tell-tale signs. Obviously, a surreptitious way to access the car's electronics is, well, surreptitious .
*The attack vectors have mutiplied to as many zero-day exploits in as many electronic parts as could be effected by zero day exploits. Previously, even if there was a theoretical way to access the computer that controlled critical systems, it was still a head-under-hood affair involving that system.
*Zero day exploits aren't going away. There is no "recall" that is going to "fix" the problem because the problem is now a changing target. Previously, just as criminals and car thefts (or other crime) were 1:1, so also were defects and defective components. Recalls could fix the componnt and return the car to service. Now the subsystem is known to be fundamentally unfixable.
If we could stop people from exploiting critical computer systems, we would have done it. A car is not going to be special in this regard.
It *IS* awkward but I have actually done exactly that. The handbrake is preferable for that situation, but the foot operated brake is usable in a pinch.
You can always push it down slowly to stop, and then release it.
This is something everyone should practice in a safe area just in case. It's part of being a safe driver.
Hastings was a large adversary for the military industrial complex. When his BMW sped out of control and crashed a couple years ago , most who mentioned auto hacking were labelled conspiracy theorists. How's that looking now? not that whatever technique was used there had to be very high tech.. he even expressed concerns that his car had been tampered with.
Using the foot pedal *IS* awkward but I have actually done it successfully. A handbrake is certainly preferable.
Every driver should practice this in a safe area just in case. It's part of knowing your vehicle and being a safe driver.
With physical access to the car, I can literally take control of ANY car and then run it remotely. I can put plastic explosives under the dash and hook it up to the ignition wire. For the last 100 years. How is it a hack once you've had physical access? There are James Bond movies from the 60s with this as a plot point.
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
unless the car has an automatic transmission.
Why would you NOT use the e-brake in an Emergency? You are barrelling down the highway at 70mph when your oil filter lets go. Your engine overheats and fails within seconds. Do you a) do nothing or b) use the ebrake to slow down and pull over? why would you not want to save your own life?
Because locking my back wheels at 70mph isn't going to end well for me. I'd use the normal brakes (which still work fine without the benefit of servo assist) so at least I'd have partial steering.
I've safely stopped a car from 120km/h when the hydraulic braking system failed by using the emergency brake. You use it gently to slow down, and gear down as well. There is no need to yank it all the way up - you can modulate the pressure you exert so that the wheels never lock up.
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
Ah yes good ol' Lucas..
As my dear old dad who's been a mechanic for almost 50 years likes to complain:
"Lucas lighting systems must have been the first company to ever patent Darkness "
You turn the car off and leave it in gear.
unless the car has an automatic transmission.
Yep. Last I looked over a decade ago, only 40% of cars sold in the USA were even offered with a manual gearbox; Today, that number is even less. It's not just the USA that isn't buying them, either. Now that DSGs are so phenomenally good, there's really no reason for anything else to exist except in the very cheapest of cars — and they're "all" getting CVTs — nearly all, anyhow. But loads of cars still have traditional slush boxes, because they're the cheapest way to get a lot of torque to the wheels, and we love torque.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
In most cars, the brake pedal works exactly one time after the engine is off. If you let up on the brake, the next push will push the pedal straight to the floor with little to no effect.
I've seen accidents caused by the lack of this knowledge. I've personally avoided one accident in a stalled vehicle with this knowledge. You might find it useful too.
The article says that Tesla has "already issued a software update that owners can download..." The update is automatically delivered over the air directly to the car. The owner doesn't need to request anything.
From TFA: "Mahaffey and Rogers acknowledged that they first had to gain physical access to the Tesla in order to accomplish their hack, requiring a physical connection via Ethernet cable that then allowed them to access the Model S remotely."
In the olden days this was called "hot wiring"...
The point is: all bets are off when one has physical access. Even if they don't "hack" it, they can set it on fire or do anything else.
Shut off your automatic transmission on the highway and tell me what your car does.
Emergency brake is not a binary (on/off) switch, but instead a lever that lets you apply variable pressure to the brakes in order to slow down without locking your back wheels. I know that you may be young and only used to modern ABS brakes, so the concept of having to personally restrain how much you apply the brakes in order to not lock the wheels may seem like something alien to you, but that is exactly how all brakes (including the pedal) worked until the 80s' or 90s'.
Bring it.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
The control unit releases the pressure on all the clutch solenoids, shifting it to neutral?
Good point, when I first started driving I used to use the (hand operated) parking brake to prevent rolling back when starting on a hill. One foot on the throttle, other foot on the clutch and one hand on the handbrake. Release brake while releasing the clutch and applying throttle. Handy when learning where hills are very steep.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
I don't think this is correct.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
You needn't turn it off; just ease it carefully into 'Park'.
This is quite false. If your pedal drops to the floor, it means that there is either a hydraulic leak or air in the line. If the system isn't so compromised, then it will continue to work with the engine either on or off - the only difference being the additional pressure required. (If you don't expect the extra pressure, you could easily crash simply because you thought you were already maxing out the brakes.)
Also. the loss of power assistance will typically take several applications, with the pedal effort steadily increasing. (Source: every car I've owned with power brakes. I live in the mountains, and I routinely practice power off coasting, to see how the vehicle handles without power brakes OR power steering.)
"Tesla's already issues a software update that owners can download to path the security flaw."
Tesla already issueD or Tesla already offers. And patCh the security flaw.
Mechanics CAN'T work on Tesla cars.
I would say that today's mechanics SHOULDN'T work on Tesla cars.
Today's competent mechanics are trained to work on today's cars. They normally focus on the combusion, ignition, lubrication and exhast systems. None of those exists in a Tesla. Getting a general mechanic to repair a Tesla is like getting a plumber to rewire you house.
Maybe in a decade when electic drive trains are common, mechanics will be trained to work on them, it will be a different story.
If I turn my steering wheel the wrong way, or if I run a stop sign, or even if I'm driving drunk - If i plow into your trusting kester, I might just kill myself as well. I have a really really good reason not to do any of that stuff because I have skin in that game. So that's nota reall good argument except in the case of a suicidal driver.
The fact that you have skin in the game means little. There are over 30,000 deaths each year in the US in automobiles and I assure you that most of them are far from suicidal.
The idea that you trust your ignition key to start the car is just silly.
Really? Ask GM whether we should worry about about trusting our lives to ignition switches.
For most cars, nothing particularly noticeable happens. (From the driver's perspective, anyway... the ECU should disengage the transmission before powering down.)
For the remaining vehicles, take the 1/2 second to pop it into neutral before killing the engine.
How hard is this?
Says the dumbass who does not realize that it is a separate system which does not use the hydraulic calipers.
You truly are a dumbass. It is an emergency brake for use when the hydraulic breaks fail. If you ever take a look at it it is wire operated and works a separate set of brakes on the rear wheels which are drum brakes. Somehow I doubt you have ever worked on a car beyond checking the oil, if that.
When you have worked on as many cars as me you can educate me that it pulls a cable that pulls the break mechanism. Also when you have taken as many tight 90 degree corners as me, then you can educate me what is what. It is a hand brake because it is operated with the hand. It does no matter if you use it during parking, yes, you should use it, or if you use it in emergency where it is damn useful if you have to drift your car
Something tells me you have never done either. Primarily your complete lack of knowledge pertaining to brakes.