Just one example of why I plan to keep my old cars going for as long as I can...

[WissaMan]

And I'm not talking about my C-bodies. I'm talking about my DD's that range from 1991 to 2011 in model years.

Excerpted from WSJ:

Tesla Inc. is recalling roughly 135,000 Model S luxury sedans and Model X sport-utility vehicles over touch-screen failures

The move comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested a recall last month, saying the touch screen in some models can fail when a memory chip runs out of storage capacity, affecting functions such as defrosting, turn-signal functionality and driver assistance.

Tesla said in a letter to federal regulators made public Tuesday that while it disagreed that the issue constituted a defect in the vehicles, it was going ahead with a recall.

“It is economically, if not technologically, infeasible to expect that such components can or should be designed to last the vehicle’s entire useful life,” Tesla said in the letter.

That last statement is the kicker.

Now, I will grant them that not every component in a car can last forever. But I've never had a turn signal switch or defroster switch go bad on any of my cars from 90's on. And if they did, it'd be a cheap/easy fix -- at least so compared to replacing a friggin' touchscreen! If they didn't cover that by a recall, you can bet the price to R/R that screen would be big $$$.

 

[polara71]

And I'm not talking about my C-bodies. I'm talking about my DD's that range from 1991 to 2011 in model years.

Excerpted from WSJ:

Tesla Inc. is recalling roughly 135,000 Model S luxury sedans and Model X sport-utility vehicles over touch-screen failures

The move comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested a recall last month, saying the touch screen in some models can fail when a memory chip runs out of storage capacity, affecting functions such as defrosting, turn-signal functionality and driver assistance.

Tesla said in a letter to federal regulators made public Tuesday that while it disagreed that the issue constituted a defect in the vehicles, it was going ahead with a recall.

“It is economically, if not technologically, infeasible to expect that such components can or should be designed to last the vehicle’s entire useful life,” Tesla said in the letter.

That last statement is the kicker.

Now, I will grant them that not every component in a car can last forever. But I've never had a turn signal switch or defroster switch go bad on any of my cars from 90's on. And if they did, it'd be a cheap/easy fix -- at least so compared to replacing a friggin' touchscreen! If they didn't cover that by a recall, you can bet the price to R/R that screen would be big $$$.

Yeah, that is an asinine statement. If they have integrated memory that sophisticated then it should last forever.

 

[Slap Stick]

I'm keeping my old vehicles running because I can't afford anything newer.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

The Unconnect, and all the others will be following suit. The more gadgets loaded on those screens are/will make your resale value drop faster. Nobody wants to pay anything for last year's electronics. Nobody wants to pay for electronics that have had a hard life. Sitting out in the driveway in zero degree weather then within a half an hour brought up to 90+ degrees of dashboard vents.
Baking day after day in the hot summer sun in a greenhouse called your vehicles interior.
These are sure fired ways to improve the life longevity of electronics.
I can't get a phone to last more than 3 years and you expect a tablet you leave outside all the time to make it to the end of your 84 month loan.
Anything that has the ability to add apps and updates to it will be short on memory in less than 6 years. Throw in internet access corruption and you will be lucky to make 4 years.
Then add in the fact that the lane departure and the rear a/c settings use the same circuits, and what could go wrong with that.

 

[commando1]

I can't get a phone to last more than 3 years and you expect a tablet you leave outside all the time to make it to the end of your 84 month loan.

That's why everybody who buys a new car has to pop another few grand for the extended warranty.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

That's why everybody who buys a new car has to pop another few grand for the extended warranty.

Yeah the young indian girl got confused when I said okay to the extended warranty for my 68 Charger. No, for the 2015 Subaru. No that's okay I'll just wad that up like a hamburger wrapper and throw it in the trash, thank you click.

 

[Fratzog]

“It is economically, if not technologically, infeasible to expect that such components can or should be designed to last the vehicle’s entire useful life,” Tesla said in the letter.

 

[rapidtrans]

“Planned Obsolescence” was seen as a dirty trick by the auto industry to entice you to buy new every year.
Today it seems quite acceptable as tech companies quit supporting phones, software etc after just a few years. Had to finally buy a new cell phone cause non of the apps worked anymore with my old phone. It still works just fine otherwise.

 

[polara71]

That's why everybody who buys a new car has to pop another few grand for the extended warranty.

Not me never.

 

[polara71]

The Unconnect, and all the others will be following suit. The more gadgets loaded on those screens are/will make your resale value drop faster. Nobody wants to pay anything for last year's electronics. Nobody wants to pay for electronics that have had a hard life. Sitting out in the driveway in zero degree weather then within a half an hour brought up to 90+ degrees of dashboard vents.
Baking day after day in the hot summer sun in a greenhouse called your vehicles interior.
These are sure fired ways to improve the life longevity of electronics.
I can't get a phone to last more than 3 years and you expect a tablet you leave outside all the time to make it to the end of your 84 month loan.
Anything that has the ability to add apps and updates to it will be short on memory in less than 6 years. Throw in internet access corruption and you will be lucky to make 4 years.
Then add in the fact that the lane departure and the rear a/c settings use the same circuits, and what could go wrong with that.

My 2010 that we had for 11 years was just fine, zero problems till it was totaled in November. ( no extended warranty either)
I agree that the electronics pose a life expectancy longevity problem. I dont see it being a problem otherwise. Of course it is luck of the draw in design. Some delaminate, some don't. Some get Jammed up, some dont.
I'd prefer solid state better built gadgets but not in today's world. Appliances, watches, tvs, toasters, most designed to fail regardless. Most buyers also opt for the China made crap. Which adds to the everything made today is junk theory.

 

[Snotty]

The Unconnect, and all the others will be following suit. Sitting out in the driveway in zero degree weather then within a half an hour brought up to 90+ degrees of dashboard vents.
Baking day after day in the hot summer sun in a greenhouse called your vehicles interior.

My '17 Durango with Uconnect sits outside from the day I bought it, October 2016. So far I've had no problems with it.

However, at my wife's insistence we did purchase an extended warrantee because of all the electric components in it.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My 2010 that we had for 11 years was just fine, zero problems till it was totaled in November

2010 did not have lane departure, automatic braking, electric power steering with variable assist controlled by PCM.
This is more the problem I'm speaking at. The lane departure is housed with and controlled by the same "tablet" that controls the entertainment system and HVAC.
Direct vehicle control should never be attached to anything that is wireless internet capable. If you want that crap in your vehicle it should never be able to be accessed by anything that is not connected by a wire. Example is if it needs a update to it's software you have to hardwire connect it to a computer.
The reasoning behind this is to not allow wireless hacking of the car next to you.
Even if you turn off the lane departure and whatever else, it is still hardwired into your internet accessable Unconnect, or whatever system your vehicle has.
Point being that if the "Unconnect" fails in a car with the vehicle controls isolated they should be unaffected by its failure. As seemingly all the vehicles are set up connected, what happens when it fails?
A $800 washer may beat up your clothes and waste some water when it's cheap modules fail. A little different when your $50k pickup slams you right underneath that semi trailer in the next lane.

 

[tallhair]

2010 did not have lane departure, automatic braking, electric power steering with variable assist controlled by PCM.
This is more the problem I'm speaking at. The lane departure is housed with and controlled by the same "tablet" that controls the entertainment system and HVAC.
Direct vehicle control should never be attached to anything that is wireless internet capable. If you want that crap in your vehicle it should never be able to be accessed by anything that is not connected by a wire. Example is if it needs a update to it's software you have to hardwire connect it to a computer.
The reasoning behind this is to not allow wireless hacking of the car next to you.
Even if you turn off the lane departure and whatever else, it is still hardwired into your internet accessable Unconnect, or whatever system your vehicle has.
Point being that if the "Unconnect" fails in a car with the vehicle controls isolated they should be unaffected by its failure. As seemingly all the vehicles are set up connected, what happens when it fails?
A $800 washer may beat up your clothes and waste some water when it's cheap modules fail. A little different when your $50k pickup slams you right underneath that semi trailer in the next lane.

You are making me want to sell my 2014 T & C Limited and get a nice older model pre “tablet” van.

I also saw a video where some dudes were able to use a laptop to take control of a unconnect vehicles computer and start controlling things while the driver was driving. He was in on the test.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My '17 Durango with Uconnect sits outside from the day I bought it, October 2016

Outside in California, wow that's a torture test lol.
Not saying any of this is going to happen, but why except for their own profit margins is all of this run through the same unit.
For a vehicle to have good resale value it must remain desirable. I think a central control unit that is on the verge of failing anytime after the warranty is done and controls literally everything will be a factor in resale. Think ATC2 in the formal cars times 10.

 

[Snotty]

For a vehicle to have good resale value it must remain desirable.

That's a separate issue as I have never purchased a car based on such a value. In fact, I don't care. Of the four cars currently parked at my home I've had one since 2016, one 2009, the third 2006, ands the other 2003. See a pattern? I've had another car for 17 years, and another for 12. I buy cars to drive, not to sell.

 

[tallhair]

Next newest cars I’ve got are, 99 Durango and 5 speed 96 Dodge Ram.

Durango only has 100K on it but needs some paint and body work and I really don’t want to put the money in it but you are making me rethink that. Better keep it in shape as long as possible.

I always add in the 5 speed part about the truck because I love the 5 speed so much. 5 speeds are fun and I like 5 speeds.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

That's a separate issue as I have never purchased a car based on such a value. In fact, I don't care. Of the four cars currently parked at my home I've had one since 2016, one 2009, the third 2006, ands the other 2003. See a pattern? I've had another car for 17 years, and another for 12. I buy cars to drive, not to sell.

I totally understand that. I run them all into the ground.
Bad thing about resale is, if the car is only worth a couple grand and this Uconnect craps out and it's 3 thousand to replace just to get the HVAC to work again. What do you do? Or worse yet bringing Dave's cheap Chinese electronics into play. Car is worth 2k repair is $1500 with aftermarket parts, last 2 years. Now car is worth $1800 and repair is another $1500. How deep are you going into a hole on a car that should be worth 5-6k, but because of the nice gadget stuff that sold the car on the front side lowers its value twice as fast as the mid range model.
The other side is just lease a car, by the time it starts nickel dining it's long gone.
Basically it comes down to cars suck until they become a classic.

 

[twostick]

Next newest cars I’ve got are, 99 Durango and 5 speed 96 Dodge Ram.

Durango only has 100K on it but needs some paint and body work and I really don’t want to put the money in it but you are making me rethink that. Better keep it in shape as long as possible.

I always add in the 5 speed part about the truck because I love the 5 speed so much. 5 speeds are fun and I like 5 speeds.

But do you like 5 speeds?

Kevin

 

[polara71]

I totally understand that. I run them all into the ground.
Bad thing about resale is, if the car is only worth a couple grand and this Uconnect craps out and it's 3 thousand to replace just to get the HVAC to work again. What do you do? Or worse yet bringing Dave's cheap Chinese electronics into play. Car is worth 2k repair is $1500 with aftermarket parts, last 2 years. Now car is worth $1800 and repair is another $1500. How deep are you going into a hole on a car that should be worth 5-6k, but because of the nice gadget stuff that sold the car on the front side lowers its value twice as fast as the mid range model.
The other side is just lease a car, by the time it starts nickel dining it's long gone.
Basically it comes down to cars suck until they become a classic.

With that negative attitude life sucks.
Try and find a positive in something will ya?

 

[tallhair]

But do you like 5 speeds?

Kevin

Yes the paint is peeling off and headliner is pinned up, and the door squeaks, and the hood and roof have hail damage and A/C is starting to go, but that 5 speed truck makes me so happy every time I fire it up and start rowing the 5 speed gears. Reminds me I need to get me a white or black ball.