When modern tech lets you down..
Discussion
I have a mk4 Mondeo.
It has keyless start.
Today it started just fine and off i go to work. However on arrival it won't switch off! The button doesn't respond to my pressing at all.
In the end i had to stall it then grab a spanner from work to disconnect the battery which seemed to reset things.
Hope I've got the radio code when i get home and i suppose i ought to carry a 13mm spanner with me in future!
If only you could just turn a key….
It has keyless start.
Today it started just fine and off i go to work. However on arrival it won't switch off! The button doesn't respond to my pressing at all.
In the end i had to stall it then grab a spanner from work to disconnect the battery which seemed to reset things.
Hope I've got the radio code when i get home and i suppose i ought to carry a 13mm spanner with me in future!
If only you could just turn a key….
No such modern trickery here! Although it does put me off future purchases. I've just put some money into my shed to keep it on the road for another year, but after that I'm looking at something newer. This modern stuff can't be fun to own outside of warranty! At the moment I service and repair my car by myself...but a more modern car? I don't think I'd stand a chance!
I hired a car with an electronic handbrake, and stop start. Its the first time I've had either. At one point i pulled up to a car park barrier, and the engine stopped (as expected). As I went to pull away it didn't restart. I turned the car off, and restarted it, but then the handbrake wouldn't release. No amount of pressing the button would release it.
After a couple more restarts it finaly let the brake off.
That one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
After a couple more restarts it finaly let the brake off.
That one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
98elise said:
I hired a car with an electronic handbrake, and stop start.
That's one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
You are absolutely right. I've had the stop/start on my Porsche permanently switched off. The electronic parking brake is absolute rubbish - unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it.....That's one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
MoleVision said:
GPS sat nav in my phone.
Had me in a field off the M5 for most of the day on Monday which was very little help at all in finding my hotel in Malvern.
I had this quite a few times with my old GPS kit a few times (Tom Tom on a Palm handled thingy) Seemed to think I was in a few hundred yards away from where I actually was.Had me in a field off the M5 for most of the day on Monday which was very little help at all in finding my hotel in Malvern.
Really handy when you want to get to a customers site off the M4 at Heathrow!
Apparently, they use some kind of fuzzy logic to determine and calculate your position, and it can go wrong at times???
Also. I remember when we had the G8 at Gleneagles, there were loads if Air Movements at Prestwick Airport, a few miles from me, for some reason my GPS also gave up when this was on!(Not that I needed it at home, I was just testing the latest conspiracy theory
)Cars with no dipstick, how can that be a good idea?
Saw a bloke the other day whose car was showing various oil level warnings on the screen, too high then too low, then would not show at all.
It still had a dipstick tube fitted but no dipstick, just a plastic cap. Why would they supply a tube and spend money on tooling up for a plastic cap instead of just fitting a dipstick? I wonder if you can buy the dipstick as a highly priced option.
Saw a bloke the other day whose car was showing various oil level warnings on the screen, too high then too low, then would not show at all.
It still had a dipstick tube fitted but no dipstick, just a plastic cap. Why would they supply a tube and spend money on tooling up for a plastic cap instead of just fitting a dipstick? I wonder if you can buy the dipstick as a highly priced option.
kev b said:
Cars with no dipstick, how can that be a good idea?
Saw a bloke the other day whose car was showing various oil level warnings on the screen, too high then too low, then would not show at all.
It still had a dipstick tube fitted but no dipstick, just a plastic cap. Why would they supply a tube and spend money on tooling up for a plastic cap instead of just fitting a dipstick? I wonder if you can buy the dipstick as a highly priced option.
because they're all dipsticks!!! Saw a bloke the other day whose car was showing various oil level warnings on the screen, too high then too low, then would not show at all.
It still had a dipstick tube fitted but no dipstick, just a plastic cap. Why would they supply a tube and spend money on tooling up for a plastic cap instead of just fitting a dipstick? I wonder if you can buy the dipstick as a highly priced option.
This is the reason I'm getting rid of my super gadgeted up car, just don't want to wait for it to go wrong. Got my eyes on something that's 20 years old, at least then the only thing to worry about is rust!
Willy Nilly said:
Everything works on my 2011 Jazz. Well, what do you expect?
My fancy pants 2013 tractor with more gadgets than a thing with a lot of gadgets in it also works perfectly.
My fancy pants 2013 tractor with more gadgets than a thing with a lot of gadgets in it also works perfectly.
Why did you post on this thread?
Was it to inform us all that you have two newish cars? If that is the case, don't you think that portrays you as a bit shallow?
I think all electric cars may be the worst - if they lose charge and the handbrake's on, they can't even be towed - not good if you're stuck miles away from a charger...
98elise said:
I hired a car with an electronic handbrake, and stop start. Its the first time I've had either. At one point i pulled up to a car park barrier, and the engine stopped (as expected). As I went to pull away it didn't restart. I turned the car off, and restarted it, but then the handbrake wouldn't release. No amount of pressing the button would release it.
After a couple more restarts it finaly let the brake off.
That one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
Electric hand brakes are one of those components that NO ONE ever seems to ask for, yet more and more vehicles are being designed with them. I can only imagine it allows the manufacturer to save cost somewhere.. but I fail to see where as you need a button, actuator, ecu etc etcAfter a couple more restarts it finaly let the brake off.
That one bit of tech I don't ever want on a car I buy.
Probably a bit less gadgetry involved than some of the stuff here but I bought a fairly old Toyota Corolla recently. Needed a cheap set of wheels and wanted reliability as #1. After a couple of days, stop to fill up in the middle of nowhere and the remote fuel flap lever did nothing.
Ended up feeling like a right muppet (having stretched the budget to get it instead of a tatty old Rover). Tried practically tearing the thing to bits to get at the cable but couldn't get all the plastic cladding out of the way. In the end I figured out that if I wedge my 12v phone charger thing under the lever, it pulls the catch back far enough that pulling it from the outside with a bit of force can open it.
Ended up feeling like a right muppet (having stretched the budget to get it instead of a tatty old Rover). Tried practically tearing the thing to bits to get at the cable but couldn't get all the plastic cladding out of the way. In the end I figured out that if I wedge my 12v phone charger thing under the lever, it pulls the catch back far enough that pulling it from the outside with a bit of force can open it.
TheRoadWarrior said:
Electric hand brakes are one of those components that NO ONE ever seems to ask for, yet more and more vehicles are being designed with them. I can only imagine it allows the manufacturer to save cost somewhere.. but I fail to see where as you need a button, actuator, ecu etc etc
Has a nice added money making bonus that Joe puplic can't change their own brake pads any more as you have to wind back the calipers with software. eltax91 said:
Willy Nilly said:
Everything works on my 2011 Jazz. Well, what do you expect?
My fancy pants 2013 tractor with more gadgets than a thing with a lot of gadgets in it also works perfectly.
What gadgets does one need when ploughing fields?My fancy pants 2013 tractor with more gadgets than a thing with a lot of gadgets in it also works perfectly.
I remember listening to Jeremy Vine a few years ago when he spoke to a guy in a tractor, you could hardly hear a thing for all the beeps doing on in the cab.
(I am not a farmer by the way!)
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