this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
1006 points (96.0% liked)
Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
54609 readers
710 users here now
⚓ Dedicated to the discussion of digital piracy, including ethical problems and legal advancements.
Rules • Full Version
1. Posts must be related to the discussion of digital piracy
2. Don't request invites, trade, sell, or self-promote
3. Don't request or link to specific pirated titles, including DMs
4. Don't submit low-quality posts, be entitled, or harass others
Loot, Pillage, & Plunder
📜 c/Piracy Wiki (Community Edition):
💰 Please help cover server costs.
Ko-fi | Liberapay |
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
What happens when the car becomes too old and they decide to drop that version of the API the car is talking with? Huh? That's another problem with these with "critical service but it can only go through us", when they change their mind you get fucked.
I bought a 2021 VW GLI, it has a software component called Car-net that has literally never worked. I don't even know what it's supposed to do. The little I've found is that it's supposed to have an app remote start and maybe a few other features, but according tk carnet, my car is still dealer owned. There have been at least six contacts to the car net folks from the dealer about the issue. I have a remote start on my FOB so whatever, but the car software support issue is so real. 🤷🏼♂️
I've had regular software issues like this in the past and it's such a pain to deal with and fix. Even going through customer support is painful, because it's not supposed to be this way so it's more than likely because of this the customer support experience will be long and you'll go through more people. And I don't want to even imagine how it is to have to deal with these issues on critical software and devices and to not get priority support. You feel powerless and broken.
I have a 2018 Passat car net works just fine.
I had to contact the dealer to have them activate the eSIM in the car and register an account their site via the app. (Pretty standard stuff)
And yes it's a subscription like this for locating the car, updating navdata online and remote heating + charging info. (It's a hybrid)
Well.. I say "just fine" their app is slow and unstable. But everything worked nicely with an unofficial home assistant integration. And when VW moved everything over to their new app, it continued to work on my old car, and it took the HA community about a week to sort most of the new API out.
It's not perfect, but it does technically work, even on their older models. I can still download and install updated maps on it too for the onboard nav. (Though i usually just use Android auto...)
Even if you decided not to find out how to get it working, doesn't mean it's abandoned.
All that being said this is one of many genuine reasons to be concerned about this trend. And a good reason for people that write about and review cars to care about the software in the cars, the support you can expect, and the companys track record when it comes to supporting older models.
And like others have stated. The BMW example with the heated seats is just.. rotten.