Posted on 01/17/2022 8:14:40 PM PST by DoodleBob
“The value of a new car drops about 30% as soon as you drive it off the lot.”
Before that.
As soon as you and the dealer sign the DMV paperwork for title transfer your brand spanking new car that you haven’t put one mile on becomes a “used” car.
I agree. Back in the day, I knew one of the engineers who designed airbag systems for GM. He told me the trick to disabling them.
A week after I disabled the bags, we got run off the road by a semi at about 80 mph. As I was struggling to regain control on gravel, we narrowly missed a signpost. At that speed, I assume that even nicking the post would have set off the bags, knocking my hands off the wheel and rendering the car completely out of control.
I like the concept of side curtains but I’m not a real fan of frontal airbags
“He told me the trick to disabling them.”
Yea, I guess you mean the ‘resistor’ trick. Best we not tell anyone else here, LOL.
It was a long time ago and I’m guessing they put some fail-safe’s in since then.
They were Gen 1 rip your head off and kill your children airbags
They are much better now (other than the exploding Takatas). I think their detonation level is variable, so they can respond appropriately to a given accident.
I know they were literally ripping heads off of infants (well over 100 of them). That must have been a bit annoying for the soccer moms who got into fender-benders during a milk run. Needless to say, the media, dutifully, spiked most of those stories, but it leaked out anyway.
True...
It cost me a little but the engine rebuild( took it to a machinist), clutch, radiator and hoses and a few knick-knacks still was much less than a used”someone elses problems” or some new car I could not afford. Still thousands cheaper than a used or new car
My car may not look great but I call it my Clive Cussler mobile after reading one of those books about a junky looking barge on the outside and yet all the inside was state of the art.
Check this out guys... Chipped keys are a huge issue too.
“The great key uh oh”
“I have an 01 WJ 4.7 with skim. My wife lost her key in November last year, and yesterday while fishing up river, my key fell out of my pocket into the mighty Kuskokwim River. What are my options for replacing/reprogramming/eliminating the skim? I have steel keys that work for the doors, and will turn it over. I am 400 air miles from the nearest dealership in southwest Alaska. Chrysler said any dealership can program keys based on my vin, our nearest dealer said Id need to bring either the Wj in, or at least my key. Since Im sol on that, and not spending 6-8k one way to freight my WJ to Anchorage, what can I do?”
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f5/great-key-uh-oh-239321/
We’ll be more like Cuba in no time at all. You just thought parts for a 50’s Chevy were already hard to get.
I can’t believe that it would be legal for a company to disable airbags for lack of a fee payment since airbags are a federally required feature.
If they tried this and people got killed or badly injured when the airbags didn’t work, the lawsuits would be interesting.
# I drove to a local businesse last week and guess what? Trying to start the car and the battery in the key fob went out and the car would not start.
I actually asked about this when I bought my last car. They said that even if the batter is dead, you could put the fob on the dash, and the car would start via an NFC. I tested that proposition by popping the battery, and it worked. Those of you who have one of these fob things might want to try that out yourself, just for peace of mind. Obviously, this won’t work for remote start.
A lot of later model cars that use the proximity fob have a spot in the center console you can place your dead fob to start the car. Likely an RFID chip in the fob that the car can ping.
How did they rip off an infants head if the infants were in the back seat?
That was a fascinating thread. Thanks
“A lot of later model cars that use the proximity fob have a spot in the center console you can place your dead fob to start the car. Likely an RFID chip in the fob that the car can ping.”
Yes. My car can start with the fob in the cup holder if the battery in the fob is dead. There is also a key inside the fob to unlock the driver’s door.
And thank you for actually going and reading it. :)
Can you just imagine the situation that guy was in? I have to share that that conversation helped reaffirm why I just refuse to own vehicle like that. And why isn’t there an override so that the real OWNER can get control of his own vehicle back from the manufacturer? A button/pedal sequence or SOMETHING after the unchipped key turns the ignition. It does not perpetually belong to Jeep/Chrysler.
TOO MUCH security is now becoming too much and they are locking out the very owners of the vehicle. If it is to that point then let hem seal it. Insurance has you covered. Better than having your vehicle being a paper weight in remote Alaska 400 miles by ferry ride from a dealer to make it work again...
Better off with a 60s VW bug and take the distributor cap off and take it with you in a bag... Or the rotor in your back pocket and a spare rotor duct taped under the bonnet somewhere hidden. :)
This guy’s situation could have killed him if a blizzard blew through...
Not all infants (or kids) are in the back seat. Here in Texas, if I were driving alone, my kid was in far more danger of me forgetting about him in the back seat than a once in a lifetime accident, which is why I had to disable the airbags and put tinting on the front windows.
Mechanical is one thing. If it was built once, it can be remanufactured (economically is another matter).
All the electronics and software are another and beyond me.
Used to see this back and forth argument regarding military hardware. quanitity vs quality and how much tech you really need as opposed to quantity that could actually be brought to bear.
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