It’s called user experience. It’s like a whole discipline.
It’s a car it’s centuries old technology I shouldn’t have to read the manual to know what it’s complaining about. It has a big infotainment screen it could put the error in English on there, but no.
My ten year old Subaru has a small screen that says what the light is. Unfortunately that doesn’t always help: recently the “spend $1,400” light came on but the screen claimed it was “passenger airbag sensor”
Yes. I was lucky that the car had an outstanding recall on the wiring so replacing that was free and the airbag has a long warranty so replacing that was free, but it wasn’t enough. And apparently the sensor is not replaceable so they had to replace the seat base and rebuild the seat. I suppose it could have been much more expensive but this is excessive.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t program the sensor out - let the airbag always deploy in case of accident. The reasoning behind it is stupid anyway. They’re afraid some kid might be in the front seat and be injured by it, yet the weight of a car seat by itself is almost enough so what point is there?
I needed to get this fixed to pass my state’s inspection, but what made it more painful is that apparently that requirement is dropped after ten years. It would have been cheaper to just pay any tickets until December when I could magically pass again. Realistically though, I would not want to be the guy saying “I saved some money by not fixing that” in case an airbag was ever needed
And apparently the sensor is not replaceable so they had to replace the seat base and rebuild the seat.
One of my favourite examples of planned obsolescence in cars - they build a high failure rate part into an expensive part that would otherwise last longer.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t program the sensor out - let the airbag always deploy in case of accident.
It’s not even possible in all cars. I had it done in my W211 Mercedes and the guy said newer models don’t even have an option, the sensor just is there and that’s it, the car always expects it. I don’t know how it is for Subaru. But yes, they don’t want to take any liability.
I needed to get this fixed to pass my state’s inspection, but what made it more painful is that apparently that requirement is dropped after ten years. It would have been cheaper to just pay any tickets until December when I could magically pass again
Ah yeah, my car at the time was like 16 or 17 years old, but unfortunately you can’t have an SRS light up even on a 60 year old car. Not that any CURRENT 60 year old cars have the system, but essentially if the system is present, it must work. No lights allowed on any safety-critical systems
That doesn’t sound like it would be best aligned with shareholders’ interests, mister! We have a dealer network and a vast web of suppliers and channel partners that those dumb lights can lead our consumers to.
It’s called user experience. It’s like a whole discipline.
It’s a car it’s centuries old technology I shouldn’t have to read the manual to know what it’s complaining about. It has a big infotainment screen it could put the error in English on there, but no.
My ten year old Subaru has a small screen that says what the light is. Unfortunately that doesn’t always help: recently the “spend $1,400” light came on but the screen claimed it was “passenger airbag sensor”
I HATE that sensor. It was the arse weight one, right?
I’ve had it programmed out of a car once. Just couldn’t use a child seat in the front pass. Seat afterwards. Big deal.
Yes. I was lucky that the car had an outstanding recall on the wiring so replacing that was free and the airbag has a long warranty so replacing that was free, but it wasn’t enough. And apparently the sensor is not replaceable so they had to replace the seat base and rebuild the seat. I suppose it could have been much more expensive but this is excessive.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t program the sensor out - let the airbag always deploy in case of accident. The reasoning behind it is stupid anyway. They’re afraid some kid might be in the front seat and be injured by it, yet the weight of a car seat by itself is almost enough so what point is there?
I needed to get this fixed to pass my state’s inspection, but what made it more painful is that apparently that requirement is dropped after ten years. It would have been cheaper to just pay any tickets until December when I could magically pass again. Realistically though, I would not want to be the guy saying “I saved some money by not fixing that” in case an airbag was ever needed
One of my favourite examples of planned obsolescence in cars - they build a high failure rate part into an expensive part that would otherwise last longer.
It’s not even possible in all cars. I had it done in my W211 Mercedes and the guy said newer models don’t even have an option, the sensor just is there and that’s it, the car always expects it. I don’t know how it is for Subaru. But yes, they don’t want to take any liability.
Ah yeah, my car at the time was like 16 or 17 years old, but unfortunately you can’t have an SRS light up even on a 60 year old car. Not that any CURRENT 60 year old cars have the system, but essentially if the system is present, it must work. No lights allowed on any safety-critical systems
That doesn’t sound like it would be best aligned with shareholders’ interests, mister! We have a dealer network and a vast web of suppliers and channel partners that those dumb lights can lead our consumers to.