A New Car Problem
It is an odd conundrum. Car dealers desperately wish that all drivers understood everything about their cars. And yet, given the alternative, the same dealers wants drivers to call them for answers whenever questions come up.
Any call is an opportunity to sell service, even warranty service, and the associated relationship and even dependency this builds between driver and dealer. However, there is an unrecognized danger here that has been experienced in the industry before. Customer fatigue.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Toyota correctly read into the frustrations of high-line automobile customers, principally those of Mercedes and BMW. Their vehicles, test beds for the latest and greatest features, tended to spend an inordinate amount in service bays. The end result was an entirely new line of vehicles that snared a lion’s share of the luxury car market by naming reliability, and thus customer convenience, as its mantra.
Unfortunately, that line, Lexus, while having raised service standards, now subscribes to those old mantras.
What is developing today, while different in scope, draws a close parallel to the events that resulted in the creation of the Lexus brand, not to mention Infiniti and Acura. The latest advanced features, while generally quite reliable, are not immune to requiring service. And many of these feature require a new level of driver participation. Navigation systems and Bluetooth connection requirements for example.
The problems experienced by drivers with the MyFord Touch system, while extreme, will hopefully serve to open some eyes in the industry. Turning the car into a rolling computer requires a level of knowledge that many, if not most, drivers do not have the time or patience to attain, and that may be simply out of reach for some.
So manufacturers struggle with wanting their customers dependent upon them, and simultaneously with educating those same drivers on the latest features. All too many drivers are frustrated, angry and at times even afraid of their vehicles. The landscape is ripe for a manufacturer who can find a new path to building cars that manage to include the latest and greatest while making their drivers a seamlessly connected part of the system.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Two Agencies Cite Evidence That Hands Free Is Not Distraction Free
Hands Free?
Earlier this month, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a study stating that new vehicle hands free features may actually increase mental distraction. Now, a report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) finds that a 2013 truck, train collision at a highway railroad crossing in Maryland was caused in no small part by the driver of the truck being distracted
by a telephone conversion that was taking place, despite being hands free. The driver was seriously injured. Four others received minor injuries as a result of a post-crash explosion.
On the plus side, AAA’s research did find that it is “possible to design hands-free technologies that are less cognitively distracting.” The research used a five-category rating system, with a score of 1 being the least distracting. The results are not too surprising, in that the accuracy of voice recognition software has a significant influence. Systems with low accuracy and reliability generated a high level (category 3) of distraction. Also, composing text messages and emails using in-vehicle technologies (category 3) was more distracting than using these systems to listen to messages (category 2). The quality of the systems’ voice had no impact. Listening to a natural or synthetic voice both rated as a category 2 level of distraction.
Best Scores
Toyota’s Entune® system came in with the lowest (highest!) score at 1.7, while the Chevrolet MyLink® was found to produce a high level of cognitive distraction (rated at 3.7). The Hyundai Blue Link (2.2), Chrysler Uconnect™ (2.7), Ford SYNC with MyFord Touch® (3.0) and Mercedes COMAND® (3.1) systems were also tested.
One surprise was a separate test Apple’s Siri (from iOS 7). Using the same metrics, the researchers found that hands- and eyes-free use of the Siri in-car system generated a category 4 level of mental distraction!
With scores as low as 1.7 – noted by AAA as about the same as listening to an audio book – it is clear that auto manufacturers can get it right. “It is clear that not all voice systems are created equal, and today’s imperfect systems can lead to driver distraction,” Bob Darbelnet, AAA’s chief executive officer, said. “AAA is confident that it will be possible to make safer systems in the future.”
But, regardless of the system, driver’s still need to pay attention and in the Maryland crash, the first cause is that the truck’s driver simply failed to ensure that the tracks were clear at the private crossing. The NTSB focused first on “distraction due to hands-free cell phone.” It did add however, “the limited sight distance due to vegetation and roadway curvature; and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) inadequate oversight of the motor carrier,” which was allowed to “continue operations despite a serious and consistent pattern of safety deficiencies.” The NTSB sought not to assign blame but only to determine the facts of the collision.
——————————————————————-
Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY