[HN Gopher] US investigation of Tesla steering problems is now o...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       US investigation of Tesla steering problems is now one step closer
       to a recall
        
       Author : pg_1234
       Score  : 51 points
       Date   : 2024-02-02 21:46 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (apnews.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (apnews.com)
        
       | phkahler wrote:
       | One thing about self driving cars is they need the ability to
       | command the electric power steering system. I worked in EPAS for
       | 6 years and it was a big deal when customers started wanting to
       | do that due to liability. My guess - and it's only a guess -
       | would be that some situation is leading to normal epas operation
       | getting disabled but self driving not enabled. Not sure whose
       | steering gear they use.
        
       | fortran77 wrote:
       | A few times I've seen a message in my car (I have an "S" and a
       | "Plaid", neither of which are in this recall) that the power
       | steering may not be operating properly. But despite the message,
       | it never felt any different. The message just disappeared and I
       | never worried about it after that...
       | 
       | > Also emerging on Friday, Tesla is recalling nearly all of the
       | vehicles it has sold in the U.S. because some warning lights on
       | the instrument panel are too small.
       | 
       | What warning lights on the instrument panel? Is this just a
       | software update to the LCD display?
        
         | FireBeyond wrote:
         | Warning lights/icons on the display being too small/subtle
         | seems very on-brand for Tesla. Musk was willing to just eat
         | fines over the aesthetics of the airbag warning on sun visors
         | (which I admit I personally despise).
        
           | fortran77 wrote:
           | One thing that bugs me is "red" appearing on the dashboard
           | for things that aren't warnings -- like album or podcast
           | cover art. I still get distracted when I see something red
           | show up, and then look to realize it's the "Commentary"
           | podcast logo, or something like that. I think that red should
           | be reserved for something that needs immediate attention, and
           | that album cover art shouldn't be on the dash.
        
         | denysvitali wrote:
         | > Is this just a software update
         | 
         | Yes, most likely - but "recall for every vehicle sold in the
         | U.S" gets you more clicks.
        
           | alistairSH wrote:
           | Recall in this context means the government (NHSTA usually)
           | has decided a fix is required. OTA or in-person doesn't
           | matter - what matters is the legal obligation of the
           | manufacturer to provide a timely safety update.
        
           | parl_match wrote:
           | Recall is an industry term with a specific regulatory and
           | safety context.
        
         | Rygian wrote:
         | Most of the time, these "recalls" are OTA software updates. My
         | guess is that the word "recall" is necessary wording but
         | doesn't imply anymore a mandatory physical fix on the car.
        
           | Veserv wrote:
           | The meaning of the word "recall" has been eroded. At this
           | point we would be better served by renaming it to a more
           | descriptive term.
           | 
           | Dangerous defect notice.
           | 
           | "Initiated safety recalls require a manufacturer's action to
           | announce and remedy the defects.
           | 
           | A recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines
           | that a vehicle, equipment, car seat, or tire creates an
           | unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety
           | standards."
           | 
           | So to rewrite the prior example: Tesla issued a dangerous
           | defect notice on all of the vehicles it has sold in the U.S.
           | because some warning lights are too small to meet minimum
           | safety standards.
           | 
           | https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
        
             | alistairSH wrote:
             | Recall is a term of art in the automotive safety world, as
             | you just posted. It isn't eroded - if the government
             | decides the fix has to be applied, that's a recall. Whether
             | or not the fix is OTA doesn't play into the classification
             | as a recall.
        
               | Veserv wrote:
               | I am aware it is a term of art and that the nature of the
               | fix is independent of the presence of a dangerous defect
               | requiring prompt remediation i.e. a recall.
               | 
               | Unfortunately, lay understanding of the term results in
               | objectively wrong statements like, "it is just a OTA, how
               | can it be a recall". We would be better served if NHTSA
               | replaced the term with a descriptive alternative that
               | better communicates the intent and nature of the term.
               | 
               | I suggest: "dangerous defect notice" as it is
               | descriptive, unambiguous, sufficiently alarming, and
               | clearly indicates it is a property of the product instead
               | of the remediation.
        
         | natch wrote:
         | [delayed]
        
       | ofslidingfeet wrote:
       | Hopefully if there's some actual problem with the steering,
       | they'll get a break from all the politically motivated government
       | persecution long enough to fix it.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2024-02-02 23:00 UTC)