[citation needed]

There is no vehicle on the market (that I know of) which will refuse to run without an oil change.

On my 17 year old BMW and 2 year old VW, the oil service indicator is just a reminder, a courtesy. On the BMW I can reset it with a paper clip. On the VW I can reset it on the screen on the dash.

Honestly, most of the major things that go wrong with cars these days are still mechanical, and are still fixed in the old-fashioned way. I've done countless brake jobs, oil changes, suspension changes, fluid changes, cooling system swaps, and never once been stymied by a computer.

You haven't experienced it, but this sort of thing does exist.

Want to replace your relatively simple Volvo throttle body with a junkyard pull? Nope, it's programmed to your VIN.

Similar for many radios. And the notoriously glitchy matrix display on the dash cluster of 90s BMW's.

Also, PCM and body control modules, and more I've forgotten.

While it is tied to the ECM, and requires specialized tools to recalibate or change, they are required to operate on the ODBII standard which means 3rd parties can and do create these tools (and aftermarket parts), it also means independent repair shops can and do make the repairs

Here John Deere is not simply accused of making it more complex, but prohibiting any and all repairs not authorized by their own propriety computer software.

Tying elements like radios to VINs is actually a result of extremely rampant theft in 90s and early 00s, and I would never consider it a bad thing. Annoying, yes, but it has eventually led to dramatic decrease in car break-ins and theft over the last 10 years.

Maybe theft decreased because radios were becoming worthless due to their mainstream installation into all cars ?

I think it's still an issue that starts when the first radio gets damaged. That creates a secondary market for replacement radios, so theft occurs. Then, the person owning the car where the radio was stolen is now looking in that same secondary market for a replacement...and the chain never stops.

Similar for things like 3rd row removable seats and tailgates on trucks. Craigslist and eBay have more of these for sale than would make sense if they weren't being stolen.

none of the things you said are an oil change.

Nope, you're right. Was responding to "never once been stymied by a computer" preceded by a list of things that were also not oil changes.

On my Smart the service reminder is similarly easy to reset. All i need to do is press and hold two buttons that are too far apart to be pressed by one hand while turning on the ignition on the center console.

I usually do it by pressing the indicator with my feet and turning the key by hand.

Could you give more details? I'm interested about it.

> [citation needed]

I'm sure it was hyperbole to an extent. I don't know enough about the practice of fixing cars to know where the line lies. I just know what he said.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On 2 of my newer cars, they will not put out full power unless the oil change light is off. This is in a toyota with vvti. There is your example.

I completely agree, until you have a problem that requires you hook a scan tool up to that diagnostic link.

I have a snap-on mt2500, and two other generic scan tools. I can get hard codes on most vechicles. I can't get certain codes or repair information on many newer vechicles.

The problem arises when you have an intermittent problem, and need access into those propriatiatry systems. The dealerships get software updates, but automotive companies are not required to inform anyone that there's been an change to the existing software.

In states like CA, which are very strict with emissions; failing a smog check because you have on old version of firmware is beyond frustrating. Most people have no idea that the reason they failed is due to an older software. Most smog shops don't even have information the dealerships have. It's a lot of trial and error to get that vechicle to pass those smog checks. It's not right. It should violate The Sherman Anti-Trust Act?

There are many indepent Auto Shops that are hobbled.

They need access to at least the dealership scan tool. I believe Massachusetts is the only state that enacted a "Right to Repair" law. If you live in that state, you can buy expensive dealership repair manuals, and get the opportunity to spend thousands on their scan tools. Just to find out what system/lazy sensor/etc. is broken in a vechicle you bought?

Having to take you vechicle to only the dealership is---un-American?

I hope that you see this. Your comments have been being autokilled for the past 6 months, you've been shadowbanned. Going through your history - I wasn't able to quite figure out why, except the lengthiness of your replies. Perhaps you got flagged as a spammer by the system?

I thought you should know.

For me, nearly this entire page of comments show up as [dead]: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=icantdrive55&next=12...

My dad was a mechanic by trade, and he used to say that people always complained about cars getting harder and harder to repair. When direct fuel injection was introduced, people who were used to working with carborateurs complained about "end of automotive industry" - yet now any mechanic can work with this. Same when high-pressure common rail system was introduced for diesels - initially, massive negative reaction from the auto repair industry, now everyone knows how to work with it.

I know people who bought brand new 2016 BMWs and Mercs, and the first thing they did was mod them - and the computer seems to work fine with whatever silly things they did with the engine.

So I don't think it's all that bad.

>That you can't even make an oil change without also notifying the computer, the interface for which is proprietary and only sold to licensed dealers, or the car would refuse to run because it would think its oil is bad.

Honestly I'm really sick of hearing idiotic stories like this. You need to demand that he tell you exactly what car is like this (basically, "citation needed").

My 2015 Mazda is the easiest car to change oil that I've ever seen. There's a service panel on the bottom of the car that comes open with two screws, and inside is the drain bolt and the filter right next to it (hanging down, so it won't pour oil all over when you unscrew the filter). It really couldn't be any easier. Drain the oil, replace the filter, replace the crush-washer on the drain bolt and put it back on at ~35 lb-ft, pour more oil in the fill hole on top of the engine. Then, on the infotainment system, you just navigate to the "maintenance" section where the oil-change reminder is, select "Reset" and you're done. The system even has flexible oil change intervals and will tell you when to change it based on your driving habits; mine lets me go 7500-10000 miles between changes.

This canard about "proprietary interfaces only sold to licensed dealers" is either total bullshit, or is only on certain (likely high-end luxury) cars that are easy to avoid.

(Edit: to be fair there is some of this for certain things and certain cars. But it doesn't exist as far as I've seen for basic maintenance tasks, it just seems to be something created in the minds of old people and passed around as rumor until it became accepted as truth. One example of something that really is like this I've heard of is some high-end cars with electrically-adjustable suspensions, requiring a special dealer-only service tool to calibrate it in case of repairs. But you're not going to see this on a $20K Honda any time soon; regular cars these days still have the same ol' completely mechanical MacPherson strut suspensions they've had for ages.)

>He reminisced about the good old days when all you needed was a wrench and a hammer and you could fix anything on a car.

That's bullshit too. Cars have always needed all kinds of specialized tools. Disc brake spreaders, steering wheel pullers, spark plug gap tools, feeler gauges, torque wrenches (try replacing a con-rod without one and see how long your engine lasts), cylinder hones, I could go on and on.