TESLA TAKESIES-BACKSIES
The U.S.’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) decided Thursday that they have finally had enough when it comes to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, ordering a recall of 362,000 from U.S. roads, which covers 2016 to 2023 Model S and Model X, 2017 to 2023 Model 3 and 2020 to 2023 Model Y vehicles. The call was made to address the potential for the technology to infringe upon local traffic laws, increasing the risk of crashes. The NHTSA said Tesla’s FSD allows its vehicles to “exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash.”
CALIBRATION CONFUSION
A recent report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), entitled “Consumer experiences with crash avoidance feature repairs”, sheds light on the increased prevalence of post-repair issues on components like front crash prevention tech, blind spot detection and cameras, being experienced by drivers today. Of those who responded to the institute’s survey, more than half of those who sought repairs for one of those three components experienced post-repair issues that required a follow-up visit, with blind spot detection being the most frequent offender, requiring a second repair for 62 percent of respondents. Perhaps most interesting to repairers is the finding that despite the majority of drivers reporting that calibrations were performed on their vehicle as part of the repair, those who did not receive calibrations reported fewer post-repair issues with their safety systems. The report suggests this may stem from a common complaint among repairers that access to OEM repair and calibration information is updated extremely frequently, and the cost to access it is often prohibitive for smaller independent repair businesses, therefore forcing some facilities to use outdated scanning equipment.
FLASH SALE
Few things are bad enough to be called a burning wreck. Unfortunately for one man in Cambridge, Ontario, his 2015 Hyundai Sonata turned into one when his car burst into flames right as he pulled into the driveway. In an interview with the CBC, Mike Tennant described how a “large flame came up over the hood,” warning his wife that his car was on fire. According to the CBC, it was only 15 minutes since he picked up the car from a dealership after service on November 9, 2021. More than a year later, there remains no official cause or agreement over who or what was responsible.
SYNTHESIZED SCANS
Autel and Repairify announced an exclusive collaboration agreement on March 1, with Repairify’s diagnostic, allowing calibration and programming solutions to be exclusively offered through Autel’s remote capable products across North America. According to a company press release, Repairify will integrate its diagnostic, calibration, and programming solutions into a revised version of Autel’s Remote Expert platform. Additionally, customers will have the choice of using certified OEM remote solutions from Repairify or independent remote experts currently on the platform.
