Roadside failure

[JFDIT]

That's not what I said. The OP asked if manufacturers had forgotten a cars primary function. I merely suggested the speed of change being imposed on the automobile industry will clearly exacerbate this type of issue.

I suspect we, the consumer, have many more unpleasant surprises to come from car manufacturers poorly considered solutions to our Governments initiatives.

[thetoplaird]

I’m not sure what this has to do with the “woke green brigade”. The point is, the car broke down, and I’m told that it was down to a software glitch in the engine management system. I don’t know anything about the legal side of things, but would think that Volvo owes their customers a duty of care. This should extend to designing their cars so they don’t break down through such things as software glitches. At the very least, there should have been an urgent recall to all affected cars, or even a message on the dash indicating that the car is not reliable until the update is installed. I am actually furious that this happened, and I am not going to let it rest. If other customers were affected, there is surely potential for a class action.

[JFDIT]

Do you have a PC or Mobile Phone? Have they ever had issues? Regrettably, when you marry a cars oily bits (developed and proven over the last 120+ years) to technology that is developing at frenetic speed then Software Issues will always be a problem.
The level of control that software now has to have to achieve all the benefits required to meet emissions legislation, not to mention consumer expectation, means there is no reliable failsafe when it bricks.
Just be thankful it wasn't self driving at the time....
But for what it's worth I fully agree with your sentiments.

[thetoplaird]

JFDIT > I totally agree - we can’t have all the benefits of computer controlled oily bits, with none of the downsides. However, other folk I have spoken to have cited examples of cars which “fail safe”. By which I mean if there is a fundamental issue with engine management, the car will go into a mode that at least gets you home safely. Also, I get the feeling that Volvo have not been as vigilant with safety recalls as they should be. I’ve got nothing to prove this. According to the technician I spoke to, Volvo are very good at following up faults. However, I still get the whiff of a cover up. I’d love to know how many of their models this has affected.

[Chris John]

JFDIT > I totally agree - we can’t have all the benefits of computer controlled oily bits, with none of the downsides. However, other folk I have spoken to have cited examples of cars which “fail safe”. By which I mean if there is a fundamental issue with engine management, the car will go into a mode that at least gets you home safely. Also, I get the feeling that Volvo have not been as vigilant with safety recalls as they should be. I’ve got nothing to prove this. According to the technician I spoke to, Volvo are very good at following up faults. However, I still get the whiff of a cover up. I’d love to know how many of their models this has affected.

I suspect the only cover up is what was actually wrong with your car. Saying a software fault is the easy option.

[thetoplaird]

I suspect the only cover up is what was actually wrong with your car. Saying a software fault is the easy option.

That is, of course, a possibility. I was concerned that they had spotted it needed a software update, and that this may have distracted them from finding the real cause of the failure.
However, I don’t believe the technician was lying to me.