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Comment by palemoonale | Hacker News Reader

Has this ever happened to you? Good god, i want less SW in a car, not more. W/o power steering i can at least control a vehicle, only the brake pressure lost is a serious problem.

Same with keyless starters, i remember this story about some French car experiencing a kind of highway run-off that couldn't be stopped due to this BS solution to a non-existing problem.

"But hey, that's not innovative enough"

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Yup. Got a set of Saturn Vue gearshift linkage cables in the garage because one broke and left the car in a non-drivable state and it had to be towed home. I have the entire assemblies because I was able to get by with just replacing the broken part and not entire cable going through the firewall.

I could go through a list of critical mechanical systems that have broken on cars I've driven over the years, including my beloved Toyota pickup.

> i want less SW in a car, not more

I just want Good Engineering Practice. Good engineering encompasses a lot, including doing a DFMEA (Design Failure Modes Effects Analysis) that will advise whether the software system is safer than the hardware linkage or vice versa.

Yes, I've had: - cruise get stuck on, car didn't have disable cruise on breaks - gas pedal stuck under seat mat - gas pedal siezed on due to cable issue - brake pedal failure to master cylinder - steering wheel slipping during turns - shift lever disconnect - breaks failed due to cracked rotor - breaks failed due to leaking master cylinder

shit breaks a lot when you'e been driving for 35+ years

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