Way back in 2012, we noted in a post linked here that a group at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) was doing a study on typefaces that would mitigate driver distraction. That is, typefaces that would be the least distracting.
And while it was a time where there was a lot of attention focused on driver distraction, our take was that while the intent of the research was laudable, it would make more sense to remove text altogether! That is, if a GPS system can give audible turn by turn directions, couldn’t text be shifted to spoken word?
A “Recall”?
Well, we appear to be full circle, as Tesla has had to “recall” pretty much every car they’ve ever produced to correct the size of the type they use in warning lights on instrument panels! Twelve years after we posted on the typeface study, the maker of some of the most sophisticated cars ever built, is being forced to adjust the text in its warning lights with what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) terms as a “recall”.
The word “recall” belongs in quotes throughout because the problem was handled within days by an over-the-air (OTA) update.
Critics on the social media platform X have made fun of the issue, with some poking fun of the notices sent to Tesla owners through the mail that arrived after the OTA update had already been applied (above, right)!
Still others noted that manufacturers are required to send the notifications under the NHTSA rules!
And still others noted the ridiculous waste of paper (trees!) and postage involved. One even took a photo of an envelope addressed to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (right). In the envelope, aside from a letter asking for a change in the rules, he included the letters that were sent to him by Tesla.
We called for the warning light system to be scrapped years ago, but no dice. The legacy warning indicators persist, not to mention the legacy recall system, so we’ll call for that to be replaced as well. Maybe the phase out of ICE vehicles will lead to a phase out of both the warning light and recall systems.
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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
This is an Over the Air (OTA) Update Available Indicatorsymbol. It appears in the shape of a cloud with an exclamation point inside it in black and white. Depending on the manufacturer, this may appear in the information display or on the large infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard.
The indicator means that an update has been downloaded and is ready to be installed. The over the air concept is available only from manufacturers who have adopted the technology. At the time of this post, they are few and far between.
——————————————————————-
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
Ever since Tesla introduced the idea of over the air (OTA) software updates with its Model S sedan, the rest of the industry has been scrambling to catch up. Ford and GM will reportedly be ready with the 2020 model year, and the last 6 weeks or so have truly provided the evidence that it is sorely needed, now.
In that time, 10 recalls have been issued impacting 2.8 million vehicles, each of which was software related and all potentially safety issues.
The industry has plunged headlong into computer control of just about everything, without considering improving the methods for upgrades, recalls or clever problem solving. For instance, when Tesla’s sedans were striking debris in roadways and damaging battery packs, part of the fix was an over the air software change that literally raised the vehicle’s height in relation to the road.
The Recalls
The 10 current recalls include a software issue that causes the low fuel warning light to not come on when fuel is actually low, which could lead to a driver running out of fuel.
The second and eighth issues cover hybrids. The first can actually result in a fire because of unburned fuel, while the second can lead to a stall. And there’s never a good time for a stall.
The third is a transmission calibration issue that can lead to stalling.
The fourth involves air bags, which is particularly galling given the attention paid to these devices over the last few years.
The fifth is a stuck purge valve that starts with the programming of the Powertrain Control Module.
Numbers 6, 7 and 9 revolve around the Electronic Control Unit, one of which hits the air bags again, while the last one includes another fire risk.
And finally number 10 leaves a back up camera inoperable.
The central issue across the board is software, and as cars become more and more computerized, you can bet that these issues will increase as well. But at legacy manufacturers, electronic systems have been added piece by piece with essentially no central core in control and no consideration given to over the air connectivity. Thus pretty much every recall requires the vehicle to be taken to a dealer for updates.
And while we see this as a safety and convenience issue for drivers, according to IHS Automotive manufacturers stand to save over $30 billion in recall costs by 2022 if over the air updates can be implemented.
The Risks
Hacking risks exist in vehicles already and will be exacerbated by over the air connections. These issues simply need solutions and cannot be an excuse to avoid the bigger fix. But we would caution manufacturers not to follow the examples set by our computers and cell phones.
We have all experienced odd behavior from our devices only to discover that an update had been downloading while the devices were in use. This simply cannot happen in our cars. The announcement shown in the picture of a Tesla screen would be more than sufficient to cover an update.
And we are assuming that new software was not actually downloaded before the message was shown. And if this is not the case, it damn well should be. Gumming up the works with a download while a car is in use is down right dangerous.
Make no mistake, software and software updates are a dicey game to play with moving vehicles. Aside from the recalls noted, a September software update by Tesla disabled their Auto Pilot system rather than improving it. Other manufacturers, where they have the capability to update their infotainment centers, have experienced similar problems. Mistakes of this type could impact a far more critical system in any car at any time.
Now we’ve clearly oversimplified the issue. It’s not easy to turn around the methods used by existing manufacturers or to control the cost of those changes and the over the air data delivery. Also as we’ve seen too often in the industry, there are no standards for something that a few years ago simply wasn’t even on anyone’s mind outside of Tesla.
But leaving a driver in a car that has a fire risk or other safety issue that was likely caused by, and can be fixed by software changes is not acceptable in a computerized and wirelessly connected world.
——————————————————————-
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
This is an Over the Air (OTA) Update Available Indicator symbol. It appears in the shape of a cloud with an exclamation point inside it in black and white. Depending on the manufacturer, this may appear in the information display or on the large infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard.
catch up. Ford and GM will reportedly be ready with the 2020 model year, and the last 6 weeks or so have truly provided the evidence that it is sorely needed, now.
The second and eighth issues cover hybrids. The first can actually result in a fire because of unburned fuel, while the second can lead to a stall. And there’s never a good time for a stall.
The Risks
announcement shown in the picture of a Tesla screen would be more than sufficient to cover an update.
system rather than improving it. Other manufacturers, where they have the capability to update their infotainment centers, have experienced similar problems. Mistakes of this type could impact a far more critical system in any car at any time.
Recall Targets Tesla Typefaces
What Size Type?
Way back in 2012, we noted in a post linked here that a group at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) was doing a study on typefaces that would mitigate driver distraction. That is, typefaces that would be the least distracting.
And while it was a time where there was a lot of attention focused on driver distraction, our take was that while the intent of the research was laudable, it would make more sense to remove text altogether! That is, if a GPS system can give audible turn by turn directions, couldn’t text be shifted to spoken word?
A “Recall”?
Well, we appear to be full circle, as Tesla has had to “recall” pretty much every car they’ve ever produced to correct the size of the type they use in warning lights on instrument panels! Twelve years after we posted on the typeface study, the maker of some of the most sophisticated cars ever built, is being forced to adjust the text in its warning lights with what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) terms as a “recall”.
The word “recall” belongs in quotes throughout because the problem was handled within days by an over-the-air (OTA) update.
Critics on the social media platform X have made fun of the issue, with some poking fun of the notices sent to Tesla owners through the mail that arrived
after the OTA update had already been applied (above, right)!
Still others noted that manufacturers are required to send the notifications under the NHTSA rules!
And still others noted the ridiculous waste of paper (trees!) and postage involved. One even took a photo of an envelope addressed to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (right). In the envelope, aside from a letter asking for a change in the rules, he included the letters that were sent to him by Tesla.
We called for the warning light system to be scrapped years ago, but no dice. The legacy warning indicators persist, not to mention the legacy recall system, so we’ll call for that to be replaced as well. Maybe the phase out of ICE vehicles will lead to a phase out of both the warning light and recall systems.
——————————————————————-
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