Can't all windows pinch fingers? I don't buy new cars but automatic windows have been a thing since the 70's (maybe late 60's). Even ones with express up/down. Was there a obstruction detection and reversal mechanism mandatory at some point? I have never had a car with such a thing.
My 2006 escalade has no such thing. All power windows that I've ever seen can pinch your fingers. When windows roll up they stop due to physical resistance of the door frame or a stop block for coupes. Thus putting your fingers there hurts but it doesn't cause a reversing action. You just tell yell and push the button the other way.
The force to stop a window going up is pretty small unlikely to break bones until they're very small or very brittle. Maybe some bruising but probably not for most people.
“Affected vehicles may not meet certain automatic window reversal system requirements in FMVSS 118, Section 5 (automatic reversal systems). When closing in circumstances subject to FMVSS 118, Section 5, the window may exert more force than Section 5 permits before retracting. The window may also retract less than the distance required under Section 5”
So, yes, there is a requirement to have obstruction detection and reversal mechanisms.
Power windows have existed since 1940, and electric since 1956.
In the US at least, safety legislation was watered down, but 2008-9 was the year they were last seriously revised and they appear to now require obstruction detection hence this recall.
The problem is not that your finger might hurt for a second but that a child's neck could be caught while they have their own finger on the switch - part of the reason most cars have a switch to disable operation of windows other than that of the driver.
Tesla is the only car brand where such a minor recall (that can be fixed via an OTA update) results in a news article by a major news distributor.
Meanwhile my 2007 Mercedes C-class literally rusted through its rear subframe and suspension arms were hanging off. It could have failed catastrophically at high speed. Not detected by any MOTs (yearly vehicle inspections). No recall - officially, but unofficially they repaired my vehicle for free because they recognise it's a major liability issue. Recognised as a multi-year manufacturing defect on the model.
A less cynical take: this is a consequence of Elon's profile. He has 100M followers and is one of the most "interesting" people on Earth. Tesla is an extension of Elon and is viewed as the impetus for ushering in a new age of electric vehicles. Of course there will be more interest and scrutiny.
If you want to hear about true visionary individuals, i suggest you Carlos Ghosn [1], instead of an american social media celebrity praised by people who own some $TSLA and are working for media outlets
> Tesla is the only car brand where such a minor recall (that can be fixed via an OTA update) results in a news article by a major news distributor.
If Kanye West clothing brand were to be found using slave labor it would make way more noise than if a generic brand did it.
Matter of fact the sole ownership of a brand by some famous person increases scrutiny.
That's because fame produces about an equal amount of admirers and haters.
Point is that it's really foolish to feel sorry for people like Musk and the Kardashians, they did it all out of their free will, nobody forces them to keep injecting themselves in the newscycle. They aren't employees so there is no record executive or movie producer dragging them by the hair to do media.
When Bob Dylan got tired of the inconveniences of fame he simply fired his agents and embraced a low profile, same with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Daniel-Day-Lewis all the way to George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter etc.
All of them were much bigger names than Musk and the Kardashians, and some of them were also employees so they had to re-negotiate their position with the record labels and movie studios to do less media, and sure enough they got out of the newscycle. So it can be done, but something tells me that both the Kardashians and Musk don't want to give up their fame acquired for shitposting and dicking around on TV.
It's just completely disingenuous writing to constantly read headlines like "Tesla slams into median," when you will literally never see a headline like "Ford Tempo slams into median."
>>> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that’s a violation of federal safety standards for power windows. *An online software update will fix the problem, Tesla says.*
AFAIK, rusted suspension arms should absolutely fail a competently-performed MOT, and give an advisory warning if rusted but not enough to be problematic yet.
Correct but this wasn't the arms. It was the subframe that they connect to. And the rust was coming from the inside out - a so-called "perforation rust" - which isn't detectable on MOT and is usually mistaken as surface rust.
"Recalled" feels like the wrong term here given it can be fixed via an over-the-air software update. That is, there should be a distinction between a recall that must be completed by a technician and a software problem that can be fixed in the next the update.
There was some kerfluffle a while back where Tesla fixed some mundane thing in an OTA, something like a radio volume bug, without filing a recall, and the NTSB got all irritated. They said something like “all changes are fixing defects, so you have to file a recall”
I was so hoping Tesla would put some intern on a project to automatically submit every commit to the car code as a recall.
23 comments
[ 0.27 ms ] story [ 62.2 ms ] threadMy 2006 escalade has no such thing. All power windows that I've ever seen can pinch your fingers. When windows roll up they stop due to physical resistance of the door frame or a stop block for coupes. Thus putting your fingers there hurts but it doesn't cause a reversing action. You just tell yell and push the button the other way.
The force to stop a window going up is pretty small unlikely to break bones until they're very small or very brittle. Maybe some bruising but probably not for most people.
“Affected vehicles may not meet certain automatic window reversal system requirements in FMVSS 118, Section 5 (automatic reversal systems). When closing in circumstances subject to FMVSS 118, Section 5, the window may exert more force than Section 5 permits before retracting. The window may also retract less than the distance required under Section 5”
So, yes, there is a requirement to have obstruction detection and reversal mechanisms.
In the US at least, safety legislation was watered down, but 2008-9 was the year they were last seriously revised and they appear to now require obstruction detection hence this recall.
The problem is not that your finger might hurt for a second but that a child's neck could be caught while they have their own finger on the switch - part of the reason most cars have a switch to disable operation of windows other than that of the driver.
Meanwhile my 2007 Mercedes C-class literally rusted through its rear subframe and suspension arms were hanging off. It could have failed catastrophically at high speed. Not detected by any MOTs (yearly vehicle inspections). No recall - officially, but unofficially they repaired my vehicle for free because they recognise it's a major liability issue. Recognised as a multi-year manufacturing defect on the model.
If you want to hear about true visionary individuals, i suggest you Carlos Ghosn [1], instead of an american social media celebrity praised by people who own some $TSLA and are working for media outlets
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WeoeJyJmN4&t=455s
True visionary indeed!
If Kanye West clothing brand were to be found using slave labor it would make way more noise than if a generic brand did it.
Matter of fact the sole ownership of a brand by some famous person increases scrutiny.
That's because fame produces about an equal amount of admirers and haters.
Point is that it's really foolish to feel sorry for people like Musk and the Kardashians, they did it all out of their free will, nobody forces them to keep injecting themselves in the newscycle. They aren't employees so there is no record executive or movie producer dragging them by the hair to do media.
When Bob Dylan got tired of the inconveniences of fame he simply fired his agents and embraced a low profile, same with Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Daniel-Day-Lewis all the way to George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter etc.
All of them were much bigger names than Musk and the Kardashians, and some of them were also employees so they had to re-negotiate their position with the record labels and movie studios to do less media, and sure enough they got out of the newscycle. So it can be done, but something tells me that both the Kardashians and Musk don't want to give up their fame acquired for shitposting and dicking around on TV.
Also Ford doesn't sell a product called autopilot which gives people the idea that the car will never crash into things ever again.
Equal rights, equal lefts
Are you sure about that?
>>> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that’s a violation of federal safety standards for power windows. *An online software update will fix the problem, Tesla says.*
> An online software update will fix the problem, Tesla says.
I was so hoping Tesla would put some intern on a project to automatically submit every commit to the car code as a recall.
Not sure how all that shook out in the end.