Totally Unnecessaryily Complex Stuff That Could Cost Buyers A Fortune To Fix?!?

[Biker67]

Prior to 2012 I owned fairly basic cars.
I didn't feel the need for auto headlights or wipers.
Strangely enough over the previous 30yrs or so I'd worked out when it got dark or it was raining.

Nowadays that tech feels like kids stuff.
Now, apparently I need to be prompted if I look away from the windscreen for a second or two. And if I put one wheel partly over the centre line I need to be chastised with instant AI correction.

IMHO, all of that is an expensive repair just waiting to happen!

Would you agree?
Is it genuinely helpful or just annoying & an expensive feature that only the main dealer can fix when it goes wrong?

 

[decrep]

I'm with you here biker,
But a lot of it is to get the 5 star rating.
If that is the main objective of the manufacturer, then how well it works comes a distant second.
I have a feeling that the more you do for people, the less they do for themselves.
Good driving needs concentrating on the road conditions, no mater how much safety tech a car has, if a driver isn't doing that, the chance of an accident is higher.

 

[JohnV6]

Fully agree

 

[Ian Key]

There are a few things that have improved the driving experience which I appreciate as I've gotten older.

Power steering is one, especially as tyres have got wider and cars heavier.

Automatic gearboxes now they have progressed from the old 3 speed Borg Warners that sounded like you had a slipping clutch.

But the most important improvement, in my opinion, over the last 40 years is soundproofing. Driving 100 miles to see my auntie in a Triumph Herald felt like you'd been at a rock concert.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Basically the powers that be have looked at accident statistics and said that society is generally incompetent and needs all the help it can get to reduce the numbers. (And who doesn't want that?)
Manufacturers, at first resistant, have now realised that there is profit to be made both at the point of sale and for several years after, by incorporating these systems, bumping the price, and having someone else to blame for their implementation.
We as consumers, even those who are competent, fall for the advertising bumff and increased technology, but have little choice in the matter as the cars now available new, that don't follow the trend, are restricted in number.
Its also a catch 22 situation where incompetent drivers used to be weeded out by natural selection and are now living to drive another day, increasing the need for more electronic intervention which reduces the level of skills and observational which some of us think we possess.

 

[Rolfe]

Trouble is, they weed out other people too. But on the other hand, their organs may save a few lives...

 

[DixieTGS]

IMHO, all of that is an expensive repair just waiting to happen!

Pretty much the reason we went for the SE over the Trophy. As we have always kept a car for 15-18 years before, I could see it getting expensive on a regular basis.

I like the bits the tech does better than humans e.g. constant all round vigilance, but as @decrep said, once they have the 5 star rating the development moves on to the next models coming out, rather than making it work as well as possible.

And just to rub salt in to the wound, they put the onus on us to predict when the system won't cope and turn it off. I'll probably be happy when their list of caveats comes down to 2 or 3.

 

[Bam Bam]

Prior to 2012 I owned fairly basic cars.
I didn't feel the need for auto headlights or wipers.
Strangely enough over the previous 30yrs or so I'd worked out when it got dark or it was raining.

Nowadays that tech feels like kids stuff.
Now, apparently I need to be promoted if I look away from the windscreen for a second or two. And if I put one wheel partly over the centre line I need to be chastised with instant AI correction.

IMHO, all of that is an expensive repair just waiting to happen!

Would you agree?
Is it genuinely helpful or just annoying & an expensive feature that only the main dealer can fix when it goes wrong?

I don't think it is just the safety features, though.

Cars have all sorts of electronics and sensors now. I'm sure they are all useful for one reason or another, but it will mean more and more repairs and replacements when they go wrong.

 

[Rolfe]

And people wonder why insurance premiums keep going up.

 

[Giller]

All those features help the car get a high ENCAP rating, that's mainly why they are there but thankfully someone at MG had the sense to add MG Pilot to the car so you can customise what you want to use and activate it with a swipe and a click, The other half doesn't mind having them on, I do so once in the car they are sorted, getting to be a reflex action with me, don't consciously think about it.

 

[salty]

Absolutely agree.