Car trouble and how technology could help

So I took another long break between posts. This time around, major car trouble is to blame as I am putting all my spare time into a fight with an automobile giant.

To give you a bit of a background, here is what happened;

I own a mid size car which is recently out of warranty and which has less than 100 k km on the odometer. I have been maintaining this vehicle as indicated in the manufacturer's guides and until a few weeks ago, I had no trouble with my car. Other than changing parts that succumb to wear and tear such as break pads and the battery, not a complaint. That is until after a routine oil change, my check engine light lit up. On the day that I intended to get the issue checked out, the engine would not run.

So I called the garage that performed the oil change. The mechanic was nice enough to come to the place where the car was stuck to do a quick check on the warning light. He first checked the oil level and it was normal. Also there was no oil stains on my driveway after I brought the car home after the oil change first took place. My oil warning light never lit up since I bought the car in question.

At this point, other than mentioning that this car was bought in large part due to the fact that its manufacturer has a reputation for producing mostly reliable and durable cars.

You can see that I am not disclosing any details on this car at least for now, as I am still waiting on the conclusion of this incident.

So at this point, assuming that I did not bore you with the preamble, you may be wondering what a broken engine has in common with a technology blog. And your question is legitimate. If you take some time to familiarize yourself with modern automotive diagnosis, you will soon find that the two fields are quite related. You may also come to think that the automobile industry does not use technology to the best interest of the consumer nor the industry itself. Why? Read on to find out more.

Once the car got towed to the dealership for a second diagnosis, I asked the director of the service department this;

Can my car's computer indicate precisely what happened and when the breakdown began by using time stamps associated with the diagnosis codes?

To my surprise, the answer was " no".

So the conclusion is that in a car which costs over 35 thousand dollars when new, the electronic and computer system does not store data other than precise and predetermined codes which are triggered by the failure of certain components or systems.

Given the fact that a basic computer can be built for a few hundred dollars, I am surprised that one is not a standard part of any modern vehicle. The benefits of recording certain data such as speed, distance, date, time, just to name a few would be potentially helpful not only to the vehicle's owner but also the manufacturer and designated authorities in the event of a mechanical failure or accident.

Even though I am not sure if any car on the road today is equipped with such a device, given the relatively low cost and potentially huge benefits, I think it should be standard equipment. Just like assisted steering and electronic fuel injection.

In my particular situation, the presence of such a computer would have saved the car manufacturer at least a thousand dollars. How so? In order to determine what happened to my car's engine and ultimately decide on what or who is responsible for the damage,  they are asking the dealership to dismantle my engine and take pictures and scans of certain components. If a computer was recording data, they would be able to see in a short time that the car was driven within specifications and all maintenance was done as warranted for.

So as I wait for the manufacturer to decide what happens next and most importantly who pays for the major repair, I can only think about how in certain situations data records can be used to benefit everyone. Not to compare different scenarios, but airplanes are equipped with black boxes for a specific reason and have been for quite some time.

I understand that a plane and a car do not have the same value. I fully comprehend that a failing plane has a potential tragic impact that goes beyond a car accident. Which is why I am suggesting that cars be equipped with a simple computer and not a black box.