Toyota Prius Gets The Blue Screen Of Death

from the whoops dept

It seems that stories about hybrid cars are popular today, so we'll give you another one. We've joked in the past that, with so many cars using more software and computing power, it wouldn't be long before cars would start getting the blue screen of death and run into problems due to software bugs, rather than mechanical issues. Apparently, that's already happening with the Toyota Prius, and there are a number of reports of software glitches that turn off the engine or turn on the hazard lights. Of course, mechanical failures happen all the time, so it's not like this is unlike those situations in some ways. However, people just don't expect to have to bring their car to a programmer to be fixed.
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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2005 @ 12:31pm

    Not the first time

    It's not the first time... VW New Beetles had a recall because of oxygen sensors failing quite frequently (there are two on the car, I think my car went through three of them). The way it was fixed was via flashing the computer. In a separate bug, after the oxygen sensors failed, the car's gas mileage would be half of normal... the software patch also fixed this.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    crystalattice, 14 Oct 2005 @ 12:52pm

    Bound to happen

    As devices get more sophisticated and complex, the likelyhood of errors showing up is a no-brainer.

    Cars have been around for a long time, so the mechanical aspects have pretty much been perfected. Cars still break down but proper maintenance reduces the odds.

    With more electronics being introduced, people don't know how to work with them. Software errors in the computers are a guaranteed issue. I won't be surprised if car makers start releasing patches for car computers; actually, if vehicles have USB ports installed, consumers could probably fix many problems by installing the patch themselves. Not to mention there would be a huge market for home-grown mods.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    treo, 14 Oct 2005 @ 1:06pm

    Re: Bound to happen

    "Not to mention there would be a huge market for home-grown mods."

    People have been modding cars, and their onboard computers for years, mostly to gain higher performance with piggyback ECUs etc. the street race and performance savvy communities thrive on it

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Count Porkula, 14 Oct 2005 @ 1:17pm

    No Subject Given

    This is not new. I had a 96 Corvette that had the most annoying and embarrassing bug you can imagine. Completely randomly, my electric locks would cycle (lock and then unlock). Then my hatchback would pop open while I was driving! It even happened once while I was at the dragstrip. The announcer was "WTF.....for some reason the black Vette just popped its hatch at the 1/8th mile".

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Krakhed, 14 Oct 2005 @ 1:42pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    I hate to tell you but that is not a "bug", that is an electrical short. On a 96 Corvette, the door locks and hatch release have nothing to do with the ECU/Computer. Instead it all works with seperate relays and wire loops.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Ryan (the former techdirt one), 14 Oct 2005 @ 7:05pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    I've had software problems with my car before... I had a Renault Megane and the engine computer kept reverting to the factory setting rather than the one for my type of engine. The result was a car that wouldnt shift gears (yes it was an automatic) until I pulled over and restarted it with the keyless ignition button!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    BB, 14 Oct 2005 @ 8:48pm

    reprogramming

    Actually this has been going on since OBDII came out in 1995. It is very common

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Chris Maresca, 15 Oct 2005 @ 1:16pm

    Electronics and Mercedes quality

    Jurgen Schremp, former chairman of DaimlerChrysler, once said that 60% of warrenty problems were caused by software, particularly integration issues.
    That's seems to be true for both BMW and Mercedes, as their most advanced models have a ton of 3rd party electronics. It may be a design philosophy vs the Japanese, who tend to develop a lot of electronics in house.
    Chris.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Daniel A LeClair, 17 Oct 2005 @ 9:39am

    Filling the Void

    We need to realise that there are going to be changes and focus on what lies ahead. If we can lower the consumption of natural oil slowly and find alternatives that will be a good thing.

    I personally don't want to live in a world that is to hot and covered with polutants.

    We have to force the oil companies to start investing in the future of our planet rather than pushing it till it is to late to change.

    Lates,

    A

    link to this | view in thread ]


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