Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H...
by oceanplexian on Sunday June 20, 2021 @12:07PM
(#27571393)
The mechanical bits might last 200,000 miles, but no one will be able to use the software in a decade because it was based on some proprietary interface developed by a defunct car manufacturer. For example you might be able to replace a blind spot detection sensor in the future, but since the parts are coded and require a cloud service to 'activate' you are more or less screwed. And, most likely the manufacturer designed the computer to refuse to allow the car to start without the sensor so you are left with a heavy, environmentally-destructive paperweight to send straight to the crusher.
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Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H...
by chiph on Sunday June 20, 2021 @02:00PM
(#27572403)
My DVD based navigation system is on the newest maps it will ever have .. from 2015. It'd be nice if the data & build tools became open-source after being abandoned for ten years, but it's not up to Toyota - it's up to Garmin/Kenwood/etc. that built the unit for them.
Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H...
by nradov on Sunday June 20, 2021 @10:27PM
(#27575693)
Garmin at least continues to provide map updates even for quite old GPS units.
Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H...
by asdff on Monday June 21, 2021 @01:56AM
(#27576679)
At least for now you can still swap out head units in cars.
Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H...
by mattacular on Sunday June 20, 2021 @12:35PM
(#27571637)
If you shop ~pre-2014 or so models you should not have this terrible problem. I would do as much research as I could and get something older just to avoid such things. In my household both cars are older than that and my (independent) mechanic can do anything we require. Granted, that is today, and in the likely future we may not be so lucky so enjoy it while it lasts!