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Coding Error Sends 2019 Subaru Ascents to the Car Crusher:
Usually, news of an automotive-related software issue involves an error like last week's GM recall of 1 million SUVs and pickups because of a steering defect in their electric power-steering module. GM stated that the defect can cause a momentary loss of power steering followed by its sudden return, which can lead to an accident, and already has in about 30 known cases. GM says a software update to the module available from its dealers will fix the problem.
But a software remedy can't solve Subaru's issue with 293 of its 2019 Ascent SUVs. All 293 of the SUVs that were built in July will be scrapped because they are missing critical spot welds.
According to Subaru's recall notice [PDF] filed with the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the welding robots at the Subaru Indiana Automotive plant in Lafayette, Ind., were improperly coded, which meant the robots omitted the spot welds required on the Ascents' B-pillar. Consumer Reports states that the B-pillar holds the second-row door hinges. As a result, the strength of the affected Ascents' bodies may be reduced, increasing the possibility of passenger injuries in a crash.
Subaru indicated in the recall that "there is no physical remedy available; therefore, any vehicles found with missing welds will be destroyed." Luckily, only nine Ascents had been sold, and those customers are going to receive new vehicles. The rest were on dealer lots or in transit.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by BsAtHome on Sunday September 23 2018, @01:56PM (18 children)
Yes, it is probably cheaper to crush them.
This will then be a perfect example of how we "value" our products today. When your product cannot be repaired at marginal cost, then you should be ashamed of your product. At least, that is the stance we all must take if we cherish our environment. The cost of a product should always include the entire cycle from raw materials to final destruction (and recycling) and all real, direct, indirect and associated environmental cost at each stage.
Lets stop the madness of a throwaway society!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @02:32PM (7 children)
Easy for people with no production manufacturing or assembly experience to pontificate. Reality is, you'll always get a percentage of product that is reject and the more complex the product, the higher the reject rate. The cost of fixing the rejects can quickly negate profit margins. Consider the parts count and QA / Test procedures for something as complex as a modern SUV and tell me you want product in the market that hasn't been subject to procedures that took many months to develop for the automated production line? Transplanting the engine, wheels and seats could be doable. If it is, that is exactly what they'll do.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Acabatag on Sunday September 23 2018, @07:25PM (3 children)
The more complex the product, the more modular the design should be. So that when there is a defect in the end product, a module gets scrapped, not the entire product.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Ellis D. Tripp on Sunday September 23 2018, @08:03PM
In this case, the fault was in the unibody structure that every other component is attached to, so no "scrapping the module" there. But almost everything else could be reclaimed given an effort.
"Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!"--Edward Abbey
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:01PM
And if the cost for disassembly and replacing the module is higher than the cost of remanufacture? Just as a cheap printer is beyond economic repair, some products are beyond economic rework. Sad but true.
(Score: 3, Informative) by darkfeline on Monday September 24 2018, @05:37AM
>The more complex the product, the more modular the design should be. So that when there is a defect in the end product, a module gets scrapped, not the entire product.
To quote the parent:
>Easy for people with no production manufacturing or assembly experience to pontificate.
You don't honestly think that if it were cheaper to modularize and only scrap modules, that companies whose only goal is to increase the bottom line would not have taken that approach? Mass production is painstakingly optimized to maximize cost vs return; anything that is cost-effective to recycle will be.
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(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday September 23 2018, @08:28PM (2 children)
So scrap it, don't crush it. That way, people with more free time and less dollars will eventually take the car apart to repair their car.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by pipedwho on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:44PM (1 child)
The problem is if they don't at least destroy the defective part (body in this case) beyond repair, some douche will buy up the 'scrap'. Then they'll think "hey look, it's just like a new car and no one will know the difference", and offload the car as a second hand/demo vehicle to an unsuspecting buyer (or a used car dealer - with their usual less than scrupulous behaviour). Car ends up in a fatal collision and law suits start flying around like mosquitoes in a stagnant swamp.
(Score: 4, Informative) by sjames on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:52PM
That's why salvage titles are a thing. Or they could spend just a few minutes with a sawsall cutting the roof off.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday September 23 2018, @06:06PM (9 children)
I agree 100%! One of the many problems is the huge word "NEW!" on products. It's a bit of an addiction I fear.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by acid andy on Sunday September 23 2018, @08:59PM (8 children)
Yeah that and the fact that people are actively shamed for not throwing things out that were "NEW!" a few years ago. They're now shunned as "hoarders" and laughed at by their peers. It's one of the most disgusting and insidious pieces of propaganda by the consumerist establishment in recent times.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:24PM (4 children)
OhMyGosh, there are 3 of us! I have too much to say about this, but I'll keep it brief. I see 100% usable stuff being thrown in the trash all the time. I think it should be a crime to put it in landfills. Pass it down to less fortunate people. Near me is a new organization with a small warehouse and they're doing this. Not just Goodwill or Salvation Army or whathaveyou, more of a donation center.
My thought about these cars: give them to automotive tech. schools for the poor / unemployed. Teach them to disassemble the cars, weld where the welds are missing, paint, reassemble, and drive a nice new car.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by EETech1 on Monday September 24 2018, @07:25AM (2 children)
We had a brand new Cadillac in our Auto shop in highschool.
It had all the VIN tags replaced with something that said it was a donation, and not to be registered.
We got it because the steel used in the frame was not correct.
We just took the majority of the body off the car, and made it into a classroom learning tool for all those early 90s electronic systems.
There was also an old Impala that had the same fate.
Both donations from GM that provided hundreds of kids something to wench on in school.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 24 2018, @01:25PM (1 child)
Auto shop was a great thing in my suburban high school (c.1970), but the last time I looked it was gone. Does your old high school still have their auto shop?
(Score: 2) by EETech1 on Tuesday September 25 2018, @01:49AM
I just looked out of curiosity, and yes, there is still:
Power mechanics (lawn mower type) 1 semester
Automotive maintenance (1 semester)
Automotive mechanics 1 (full year)
Automotive mechanics 2 (full year)
Automotive technician 1 (full year at tech school)
They also have many more engineering / tech classes than when I was there.
(They got their first CNC Mill in 92 when I graduated)
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday September 24 2018, @05:51PM
Four :)
In fact, I'm typing to you on a PC built largely from used and salvaged parts.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:33PM (2 children)
It's economics. Say household appliances should be repairable but that relies on the entire supply chain remaining viable and ignores massive improvements in efficiency. Are we going to compare a modern condenser clothes dryer with something built in the 70s? You would have replaced everything but the chassis by now and the savings in electricity alone make up for the cost of replacement. What about repairing that old VAX machine at $60 an hour plus parts when a Raspberry PI is more powerful for $25? Innovation happens incrementally which is why we're saturated with different models of every device at different price points.
For industrial uses, there's plenty of DOS stuff still running on 486 chips powering all kinds of machinery. We'll reach a plateau where we return to that for consumer products too. Certainly better than Apple obsoleting perfectly serviceable peripherals every 18 months when they get rid of yet another port.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 23 2018, @09:36PM
To clarify I wasn't suggesting we return to 486's and DOS. Although there's the beginnings of some weird tech S&M cult right there.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday September 25 2018, @05:52AM
If it's a VAX I can get working using software, then it's a better deal than a pi that relies on blobs, no matter what the dollar pricing attached.
That's not comparing apples to oranges, it's comparing apples to poisoned apples.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?