You're viewing a single thread.
Which car manufacturer ? So that I can avoid it.
This looks like a Subaru. That being said, from what I've parsed, their privacy policy looks better than most. My 2021 hasn't had any obnoxious OTA updates. The worst it does is push easily dismissed service notifications. No secret codes on how to reset a light.
How does this update even happen? Are owners connecting their car to internet?
I'd like to know this as well...
If not, are they using some always on GSM data connection or something?
Doesn't sound like something I'd want unless there's somehow an actual significant Value Add proposition that I'm just not seeing.
Yeah, pretty much all new cars have some amount of cellular connectivity. Usually you can't actually use it without paying some subscription, but the manufacturers use it to push updates.
Sounds like some shit I'd want to remove or disable as soon as the car is paid for.
I mean, I don't like my car updating but I'd rather things get fixed than not. Software recalls are a huge headache in the auto industry, and being able to just download an update that fixes something is way easier than going to a dealership and having them use very specific tools and software to update the car/modules.
It's also used for anti-theft features for a lot of newer cars, if your car is stolen it can be remotely disabled entirely. That's really what's more scary in my opinion.
Not interested in any of that here.
In over 32 years of driving and having owned dozens of cars I've only ever had one stolen.
It was 29 years ago and was actually my (now ex) girlfriend's car and even that one only got stolen because I had a spare key to it in my glovebox and forgot to lock my truck's doors that night.
Yikes, do you get a new car every single year?
I'm more of a "buy something reliable and drive it 'til it breaks" type.
I've had my current 2 for 4 years and 5 years respectively.
I don't think it's that unusual to have owned dozens of cars over the course of more than 3 decades, particularly when typically owning multiple at any given time.
Oh, I didn't think about having multiple cars. Are you a big car guy?
I'm in my early 40s, and I've owned two cars. I bought my current car after the last one got rear-ended.
Sidenote, I'm not counting cars that belonged to spouses or the car I drove in college -- technically, that one belonged to my parents. If you add those in, I'm probably up to 6 or 7 cars.
Which is interesting to say the least given that most cars from the past few years use LTE radios which will eventually work about as well as cars from the early 2000s with OnStar.
See what happened to all the Hyundais and Kias with 3g.
The car has some form of AT&T GSM connectivity. I recently discovered a WiFi hot spot setting and it's a paid service provided by AT&T. I am able to schedule service appointments via the car, and it has an SOS button and an "Info" button that primarily is for roadside assistance. I'd prefer to be able to disable it. I was gonna say I thought Subaru was a bit better. Buttttt it looks like I'm wrong.
It is a Subaru. I know it has a radio in it but I don’t pay for the service. I actually don’t know if it’s using its own radio or the connection on my phone. I’ve had the car for most of the year and this is the first update I’ve seen. It took about 10-12 minutes. As I have no patience, sitting in my driveway waiting for it to finish drove me nuts, but for the most part it was painless. It’s definitely something I don’t want to have to get used to.
Do you need to buy a service for the radio?
Sorry. I mean cellular radio.
Oh, now makes sense
We've had the ascent since 2019 and I have never seen it update. I figured it was doing it in the background swapping boot banks or something.
All of them, soon enough. Light bulb companies realized a long time ago that selling quality products is a self-defeating game, you want either planned obsolescence, or sell a "service" through a permanent subscription model.
We seriously need strict regulations to reign in this bullshit.
Subscription anything needs be illegal unless it's an active service being provided.
Screens should be flat out banned in cars. Fuck your infotainment and sale features, I don't care. If we agree that phones too dangerous to use while driving (and they are), then a having a fucking tablet glued to the dash is literally no different. Plus, we're still in a global chip shortage, we should be conserving them for more important things.
Self driving features can fuck right off. It's absolutely mind-boggling how these systems are allowed on public roads with zero regulatory oversight.
Most active safety features are bullshit workarounds for shitty design and engineering that create massive blindspots. They also create lazy, complacent drivers who become dependent on tech that subject to equipment and logic failures. Good visibility can't just suddenly stop working.
Anything bigger than a sedan or station wagon should require a special license for industrial and ag use only. Fuck your compensation-mobiles, they're literally killing us in more ways than one.
None of this will ever happen because we know who really owns our governments.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Screens should be flat out banned in cars
Can't say I agree. The appearance of GPS was a game changer for me and a lot of people. I still remember the old days where every time I picked the car in an unfamiliar place was a gamble. I can't even count how many gas I wasted going in circles looking for a reference. Found road works? I'm fucked again, I guess.
No, I don't miss those days at all. Now, if you want to tell me infotainment screens need strict regulations, that's another story. Nothing beyond android auto apps, radio and options that only work in a full stop should be allowed. But "voting" with your wallet works. When I bought my car I was indecisive between 2 of them. The fact one of them had most stuff in a infotainment that was below the driver FOV made my choice easy. The one I bought has most buttons as physical ones. Only the radio isn't. The screen is small and I can use it without taking my eyes off the road (which I only use for google maps, spotify and taking calls).
It's also our responaibility as buyers to know what we're getting. I see a lot of people complaining about stuff in their car they should've known while they were still in the looking phase. If you can't research the car you're buying before you buy it then you deserve all the disappointment.
Nah. Plan ahead, use your phone's GPS with voice instructions.
Using the phone's GPS with voice instructions was crucial to my success in finding the car i was looking for.
Idk why no one plans ahead nowadays.
My car just has an aftermarket head unit with BT. I just map my route on my phone and set it in a cubby.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Light bulb companies realized a long time ago that selling quality products is a self-defeating game
Yes really. Educate yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
Edit: shit I didn't see that was a link!
After watching it, my point very much still stands. That video is completely misconstruing the whole argument.
So like... do you want to say anything more than "I'm right and this is wrong"? Because I've seen that video before and I'm still feeling the opposite way you are
They're responding to the "Light Bulb Companies" part, not the "selling quality products" part. That video very clearly (10-15 mins too long) shows that Light Bulb Companies had legitimate reasons for limiting light bulb hours.
While the Phoebus Cartel may have artificially limited the lifespan of lightbulbs, there was a legitimate reason to do so, and it wasn't just planned obsolescence so you buy more.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
(☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞