Comment on Murica

• Soup@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Certainly depends on the car. Also they aren’t so much full-fledged “computers” in that sense as electronics with simple relays and formulas to do stuff like make ABS work, supply the correct fuel/air mixture, or turn your automatic headlights on. Most anything the average person will be doing with their vehicle on a regular basis is completely outside of the electronics.

  As far as having a right to work on your vehicle that you own goes, yes that’s absolutely a problem that you would be locked out of those systems but you probably won’t be anywhere near them, either. As far as bike vs car maintenance goes it doesn’t matter how easy or open the car is, shit’s still difficult for many people, time consuming, and incredibly expensive.

  Note: I’m pushing back right now on that one point because the idea that modern cars somehow know everything you do is complete horseshit made up by people who are afraid of technology and act like you need a computer science degree to unplug a sensor and plug a new one back in.

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  • merc@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Most anything the average person will be doing with their vehicle on a regular basis

    That’s kind-of the point right? In the past it used to be common for people to do a lot more maintenance on their cars. These days because they’re so complex and involve locked down electronics, the average person will only do something like change their oil. Anything else requires taking it to the shop.

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    • Soup@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I’m specifically saying that quoted bit in regards to the fact that general maintenance is not complex or locked down. It wasn’t even the next sentence, it was the same sentence. No one except for enthusiasts are reprogramming their ECUs and after that there really isn’t much else getting in the way. If you put it all back how you found it the car has no clue. There’s almost nothing I can think of that’s actually locked out and when I ask for examples I don’t actually get anything back.

      People just aren’t tinkerers as much these days and it’s not even really 100% their fault. They don’t have the money to buy tools/soace and DIY has actually gotten more expensive in many cases. People also don’t have the money to fix fuck-ups and lean towards caution, and they’re constantly told that these things are way harder than they are(like you’re doing here, actually), often by their parents who have enough money to just pay mechanics or plumbers or whoever. That said, people are starting to do more of that stuff again as paying for labour starts to get too much for our shitty salaries and outweighs the risk factor. Whenever I help a friend with cars, woodworking, luthiering, or literally anything I always get them to do it while I supervise so they can build confidence.

      The biggest barrier to car repair is shit like the Germans having zero clue how to do their jobs and now you need a whole bunch of expensive specialty tools. Hell, doing the brakes on my friend’s BMW needed a 16mm wrench when nearly all packs of wrenches go straight from 15mm to 17mm. VWs are horrendous even with the right tools. Audi has “the service position” which is basically just removing the whole front of the car.

      But for the most part brakes, oil, sparkplugs and wires, headlights, taillights, and changing wheels with the seasons are all easy. You can also do all the suspension work yourself with little more than a sturdy vice and maybe some spring compressors(if you’re clever you may not even need that and can still do it safely). Tie-rods are simple enough, though you need to buy or rent the tool for it. You can even replace broken fuel injectors without much issue. Serpentine belts are mostly accessible, especially if you have a Subaru, too.

      TL;DR: You don’t know what you’re talking about. “Lockouts” only exist in highly niche cases and none of them have to do with basic maintenance.

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