Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Hey Tesla U S3XY :p
 
The truck will continue the joke. It will be called the U, so we get S3XY U.
Or they need to add a Model N to spell UNS3XY - which is really how they look anyway.
 
Well, I unofficially own it now.

Unofficially, because the guy needs to get a duplicate title.

Which will be EXCITING!!!! because he's moving out of state tomorrow, and they mail duplicate titles, and the transfer has to be notarized.
 
I would like to say this is the dumbest thing you have purchased, but we all know that this isn't even on the same neighborhood as that ballpark :p
 
I can't wait to vicariously live through your questionable decisions.
 
Well, I unofficially own it now.

Unofficially, because the guy needs to get a duplicate title.

Which will be EXCITING!!!! because he's moving out of state tomorrow, and they mail duplicate titles, and the transfer has to be notarized.

Congrats, I guess. :lmao:
 
The truck will continue the joke. It will be called the U, so we get S3XY U.

They should do model F, U, C, and K.
 
I am VERY seriously considering taking this on the ~3000 mile Retreat from Moscow rally in January

Moscow MD=>Roanoke VA => Asheville NC => Chatanooga TN => Birmingham AL

Do it!
 
So mother moved the cars around for halloween night to be away from the street (in case of vandal children, the bug has gotten egged in the past) and parked it like. In a really bad spot. Specifically so close to the house that it was like, overlapping the cellar window well. So I am making sure to avoid that when getting it out... and completely forget about the electric meter on the side of the house that sticks out like a full extra 8" and is EXACTLY mirror height and clipped it. <_<

The mirror is fine now, it was a bit of a nightmare to snap back together due to some god awful spring mechanism inside but it's all reassembled. The electrics are all fine and still worked once i reconnected it all.

But apparently, FCA puts the ambient temperature sensor in the mirror instead of the bumper like most cars. And now I have a CEL for it I can't clear. The thing is still working fine, the thermometer is still reading within a couple degrees of my phone. But I cannot clear the damn light

It's actually kind of hilarious because you lnow where the beetle has it? Next to the shorted out foglight. The beetle does not complain about EITHER thing malfunctioning. The electrics on the beetle are more forgiving for this like what the hell Chrysler.

Oh also a big fuck you to whoever decided that instead of the stupid readout saying idk, the actual code, it says "service engine" for everything. On a FIAT. Like I get it is called a check engine light but if you have a fancy screen with text read out and at least 15 characters you can say "sensor error" or something ffs. Do you know how many panic attacks this message has given me at this point? A lot. Some of the stuff isn't even actual errors it does it for left foot braking sometimes? Terrible.
 
But apparently, FCA puts the ambient temperature sensor in the mirror instead of the bumper like most cars. And now I have a CEL for it I can't clear. The thing is still working fine, the thermometer is still reading within a couple degrees of my phone. But I cannot clear the damn light
Yep, my Palio has the temperature sensor in the driver's mirror...
 
U for Ute?


Yes, that was what I was thinking.

By the way, after the truck, the Roadster is coming out too. So it should be Roadster, U S3XY!
 
Yes, that was what I was thinking.

By the way, after the truck, the Roadster is coming out too. So it should be Roadster, U S3XY!
And then an electrical restomod of a classic VW, resulting in U S3XY Thing. Unlikely? Who knows. I believe in miracles.
 
And then an electrical restomod of a classic VW, resulting in U S3XY Thing. Unlikely? Who knows. I believe in miracles.

Maybe the semi will be called the Beast?
 
Yep, my Palio has the temperature sensor in the driver's mirror...
Yeah this wasn't a good choice like on the list of parts of the car most likely to take damage... I already had someone else hit and run my driver's side mirror like a year ago too, as well as i remember at least on occasion clipping them both on the beetle. Thankfully those times didn't require that level of effort (had to disassemble the whole thing and put it back together this time. Because it popped the top off the stalk vs knocking the innards out like last time, had to use a clamp on the spring inside....)
 
But apparently, FCA puts the ambient temperature sensor in the mirror instead of the bumper like most cars.

A LOT of cars have the ambient temp sensor there. Because you know, ideally you want to report the temperature of the environment rather than the temperature of the engine, or the heat reflecting off the road

Oh also a big fuck you to whoever decided that instead of the stupid readout saying idk, the actual code, it says "service engine" for everything. On a FIAT. Like I get it is called a check engine light but if you have a fancy screen with text read out and at least 15 characters you can say "sensor error" or something ffs. Do you know how many panic attacks this message has given me at this point? A lot. Some of the stuff isn't even actual errors it does it for left foot braking sometimes? Terrible.

Its not really a new thing, its been the industry standard for decades. And frankly its done for people who don't know anything about cars. You say the CEL gives you a panic attack - now imagine the panic attack a random Joe or Jane (aka the VAST majority of the customer base) would get if a saw "P0305 Cylinder #5 Misfire" or "P0136 O2 Sensor Circuit Malfunction." Both of those sound REALLY bad to someone who doesn't know anything about how cars work. With a CEL, they just go down to their local mechanic who can read the code, interpret it, and explain it in a way they'd understand - aka how much money and time it will take to go away.

Early OBD-I (and some pre-OBD) cars could tell you more-or-less the exact problem by flashing the CEL in a set pattern, but again, the random Joe would have no idea of how to initiate the flashing sequence or how to interpret it, so it didn't really matter.

And yes, I suppose you can implement an onboard database and readout in some sort of "advanced" mode for people who think they understand, but that would be an HMI nightmare and add on a lot of cost to the cars. Its not worth it. Those few competent customers can go buy a code reader off Amazon for $30 which really accomplishes the same thing as what you're asking for.
 
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And then most people reading codes parts shotgun the thing mentioned in the code, and then complain about the car being a piece of shit when replacing that part doesn't fix it (because the code is often referring to a symptom)
 
Yeah this wasn't a good choice like on the list of parts of the car most likely to take damage... I already had someone else hit and run my driver's side mirror like a year ago too, as well as i remember at least on occasion clipping them both on the beetle. Thankfully those times didn't require that level of effort (had to disassemble the whole thing and put it back together this time. Because it popped the top off the stalk vs knocking the innards out like last time, had to use a clamp on the spring inside....)

Ahem.





Unsurprisingly, there seems to be no shortage of replacement mirrors, which one presumes have an intact sensor in them, for relatively cheap near you.
 
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