Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) canbus

This isn't actually a technical problem, more a legal issue. There are plenty of people out there reverse engineering the interfaces for modern cars and selling alternative solutions for servicing the cars. I recently bought one for SWMBO's Fiat and it works very well indeed, certainly saves me the cost of Main Dealer servicing.

The challenge that we face is that increasingly car manufacturers are seeking to establish the idea that we although we might buy the physical car, we aren't buying the software systems, we are only licensing their use. Any use of the car which is not explicitly permitted by the license agreement is a breach of contract.

In this way they are trying to tie us in to using their dealer network. So far they have failed, but it's not stopping them from trying...

Guys.

A bit over the top here.

Mazda supply their specific Code Reader to any garage that wants to but it or they will hire out their diagnostic software via their portal that any garage can access to allow a garage to use the diagnostic software on their own Windows laptop.

The Mazda dealers have to buy their code readers as well off Mazda. The main thing they tend to keep secure is key coding info to protect car security.

VW/AUDI make their code available to other code reader companies who provide code readers at reduced costs. They also allow the independents who buy VW code readers etc. access to system downloads to let the independents install later editions of ECU software to VAG cars during services.

Now in some cases even the dealers with their software cannot fix certain faults but that is the case with other items of equipment.

You could say well that's OK for say a dealer in Reading who services say 6 VW/Audi cars a day as he can accept that cost in his overhead due to being in a populated area.

Therefore what about the trusteed local garage that has serviced my parents and my car car for the last 50 years in our local village.

Well think back to when Barclays etc. had a branch in every village in the England. Here in Aberdeenshire we had a branch of the Clydesdale bank in the village of Auchenblae say population of 400 people. That closed in 1990 and we had to go to Laurencekirk say 1,500 population and had it's own cattle mart in the 80's. Well the Mart is well gone to one 40 miles away and 15 years ago the Clydesdale closed that branch.

We were then attached to the Stonehaven branch. Population 14,000 I assume. That branch closed in 2017 and we need to go into Aberdeen 30 miles away.

Sorry but that is what will happen to the smaller garage, not good news at all but the reason the branches closed was that everyone was banking online and the staff were not busy at all.

The trusted local garage will go the same way as the local farm that used to sell your milk direct to your door.

Do I like this, no I do not but that is just that way of things are going!

Your information conflicts with the information that I have Eddie. Our local Merc dealer told me that from 2018 you wont even be able to open the bonnet of the car without a code reader and that code reader cost the Merc dealership £175k. Whats more its not done by a stand alone lappy but on a link to the computer back in Stuttgart. The local Maserati dealer has a similar arrangement - any diagnosis is done on mainframe back in Italy.

The Ynaks have made it law for some basic codes to be available to all but the manufacturers have lots of other dcodes that you cant get at on a generic reader.

I havent tried getting any reverse engineered code for the Merc but I have for the Ferrari and I have failed.

So: Modern car manufacturers are using their marketing clout to promote badge snobbery to the point where people are having to pay enormous amounts of money to buy machinery which is

- Capable of ludicrous levels of performance that would neve be able to be exploited in the real world

- Weighted down with stupid numbers of features, none of which are necesary and all of which get in the way of enjoying our cars

- Unable to be maintained by the customer or the customer's chosen service provider

- Have ever-increasing running costs which bear no relation to the utility value derived.

It won't be long before the discerning car buyer wakes up to this nonsense and refuses to buy into it. No wonder manufacturers like Dacia are doing so well.

I'm there already. My local tyre shop reckoned I'd have to take the Nissan, err GM manufactured MB, to an MB dealer to have the tracking done... B...er that! Hence the change to blue oval shopping trolley.

It is quite literally incredible that a manufacturer expects the consumer to simply accept nonsense like that, isn't it?

As if only they could ensure the wheels are pointing in the right direction. What crap.

I can't imagine that we will buy new again. We've only done it twice anyway, and once was the Morgan.
My local village garage was doing a cam belt change on an UP yesterday but they had to buy a special kit to do it. Access was rubbish.

I have a starter that starts, a dynamo that charges, a distributor that er..distributes..2 fuses and a fuel pump that you can whack to bring it back to life.. its a simple life and I can fiddle with it all with just a few spanners..

oh its hard not to be smug..

Graham that is crazy. I had the tracking on both my c classes done by the local tyre folks.

I know, but they'd failed with two other MBs so decided not to touch them in future. I should probably find another tyre fitter...
However, other problems building with said MB made it more sensible to change vehicle. Also much easier on the knees being a little taller than a Fiesta...