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The feds are coming for John Deere over the right to repair

(gizmodo.com)
568 points rntn | 5 comments | 18 Oct 24 16:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.801s | source
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ffujdefvjg ◴[18 Oct 24 17:02 UTC] No.41881316[source]▶
Hope Deere gets what's coming to them and this sets a precedent for other companies. Next on the list should be devices remotely disabled when they're discontinued, which would have otherwise continued to work perfectly fine (like the Spotify car device).
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tmm ◴[18 Oct 24 19:12 UTC] No.41882511[source]▶
Would also like to see a ban on firmware updates and programming tools locked behind a dealer (or support contract) portal and a ban on time-restricted software licenses for hardware.

In line with remote-bricking discontinued hardware, these policies only serve to generate eWaste.

If you sell programmable hardware, or really anything with embedded software, you should be required to make all the tools and software available to end users (doesn’t have to be free, but shouldn’t require a subscription or support contract either) in perpetuity.

Licenses to enable additional hardware features are fine, but they must be granted for the life of the device (i.e. as long as it can be kept working), not an arbitrary “we think the life of this thing is 5 years”. You should never have to keep paying to use a device you already bought.

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m463 ◴[18 Oct 24 22:59 UTC] No.41884251[source]▶
> ban on firmware updates and programming tools locked behind a dealer

Tesla won't let you buy parts unless you enter the vehicle vin. I believe some other things you have to order through the tesla app.

I think those kinds of requirements should be disallowed too.

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nickff ◴[19 Oct 24 00:19 UTC] No.41884615[source]▶
The VIN requirement may be due to part (version) differences between vintages. Most automakers make few changes during production of (one year’s) model, whereas Tesla seems to make changes all the time.
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1. izacus ◴[19 Oct 24 09:20 UTC] No.41886683[source]▶
Other manufacturers manage just find without this kind of block, there's really no need to jump at corporate defense like this.
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2. mschuster91 ◴[19 Oct 24 09:36 UTC] No.41886740[source]▶
Legacy car industry has a life cycle for a model of about 6-8 years with a "refresh" in the center, so usually you can get by with model variant code(s) and construction mm/yy to find a specific spare part. Designs are locked in-between and you can't just go and swap suppliers or whatnot, which is what almost broke the neck of the entire industry back in the heyday era of covid - there was no flexibility, even if there were alternative suppliers for missing parts. Everything is solidly locked with multi-year long contracts on both sides.

Tesla however, they change stuff alllll the damn time because they make so much of their stuff in-house, the vertical integration eliminates the need for rigid contracts. You absolutely need the VIN because for some differences even knowing the week of the production doesn't give sufficient resolution.

By the way, legacy car makers are also shifting to that model, BMW for example doesn't deliver paper-printed sheets for which fuse in the fuse box does what for a few years now, you have to use an online service. The logistics for printing the sheets for all the variants became too complex.

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3. DrillShopper ◴[19 Oct 24 14:18 UTC] No.41887896[source]▶
> Tesla however, they change stuff alllll the damn time because they make so much of their stuff in-house, the vertical integration eliminates the need for rigid contracts. You absolutely need the VIN because for some differences even knowing the week of the production doesn't give sufficient resolution.

Sounds like a maintenance nightmare. Who decides when parts go EOL?

4. lamontcg ◴[19 Oct 24 15:59 UTC] No.41888554[source]▶
Yet another reason to not buy a Tesla.

All of that fuckery is not going to help you or the technician when your car breaks.

I guess this suggests what kind of people should be buying Teslas (buying new cars every 1-3 years) and what their resale value should quickly become (disposable cars).

5. izacus ◴[20 Oct 24 08:17 UTC] No.41893815[source]▶
This is absolutely not true, other manufacturers refresh their models all the time. They just use a simple approach - part numbers to track what goes where. Funny how you call THEM "legacy", not a company that can't do that.