We who like to look after cars hope that we can keep them on the road for many years. The truth is that we will have no say in the future.

 

The speedometer on our youth car has started cutting out. With the help of the family's youngest driver, I have now ordered a new speedometer on Ebay. Our old Civic of American origin is equipped with one of America's best-selling - and most-screwed - drivetrains. That's why there are probably hundreds of videos on YouTube that show how to fix most things yourself. Also the small circuit board that sits behind the speedometer clock, - the one that no longer works.
 
It's electronics, but not hi-tech. Anyone with a test lamp can troubleshoot. One should really expect that the electronics fails first, and not a mechanical component, - such as the small gear that whirs around in the gearbox and produces data for the speedometer. I think about what would have happened if I had left my laptop from the late 90s in the car. Would it still work today?

Hardly.

 

 
A salesman for Audi told me that if you short-circuit the electronics on a modern car, for example by giving jump start assistance, it can cost you around NOK 150. I know a guy who had a Volvo V000 that had problems with the electronics in the automatic gearbox. The entire cash register was replaced with a similarly overhauled cash register. Price tag 70, but fortunately it was only a warranty issue for the owner. I thought: Why didn't they just replace the electronics? The explanation is probably that the electronics are not just about circuit boards, but components built into the case itself.
 
The point here is: What would happen to the V70 today? A 2005 model with a market price of around NOK 100? Would it be worthwhile to fix electronic faults in the gearbox? One thing is certain: no one can do such a job themselves, even with a thousand YouTube videos. I unfortunately think that an otherwise well-functioning V000 would have ended its days as a share car, while old electronics-less 70s are still rolling around on the road.
 

 
The car industry is aware of how vulnerable new cars are to electronic faults. Therefore, a practice seems to have developed to cover electronic faults - and other vulnerable components - even if the warranty period has expired. I know that MøllerBil sends the bills to Germany, - also for pirated imported cars. I have taken advantage of that on several occasions. Toyota has a similar agreement with its factories.
 
But no warranty covers faults with 10-year-old cars.
 
It can therefore be the case that car industry will determine the lifespan of our cars. Imagine that you have delivered your car to a workshop because the yellow engine management light has started to light up, and you are told that the software in your car has unfortunately expired.
 
-We no longer support version 1, and unfortunately your car is not compatible with newer versions...
 
Then I think primarily of the newest generation of electric cars. I've heard that if you're thinking of buying a used Nissan Leaf, by all means make sure you get version 2. Version 1 can't compare to the latest version. It's almost like mobile phones. If you need a new version, you might as well buy a new phone. Volvo advertises that you get your software upgraded for free while your car is being serviced, and they actually call their service "2.0". It is nice. MøllerBil probably charges 2 for it. But if you need a proper upgrade, you may have to change components "all over the place", and then maybe the NOK 000 estimate from the Audi man is not too far from the truth?
 
Hope new cars can be recycled.

 

See

 

The cars that go first in the press (Motor.no)