Check engine light (again)

[Scott]

Steve, sorry buddy. I didn't want to make anyone nervous. Chances are good that there will be no problems replacing plugs if that's what you end up doing. Just look for someone who's careful and knows what they're getting into. Independent guys seem to do better with older vehicles, mostly because their businesses are at stake, unlike Ford's. Establish a good relationship, and you'll be fine (until they retire LOL). Get well ... hope you can hit the road soon, and thanks for posting this. Please let us know what you learn.

Paul, ya know, I wouldn't really mind a manual choke. But that starter motor sure is useful at times .

[pdemarest]

Very funny! Now if I could only figure out this spark advance lever on the steering wheel...

[chin_k]

It is off topic, but anyone know a good muffler shop to work on a Tesla? (I don't have a Tesla, in case it is not obvious to you).

[Rokrover]

Positively stone-age compared to the latest generation of smart cars with touch-screen interface to access features through menus and sub menus reporting to sensors, modules and activators interfaced through miles of wiring and millions line of code.

There are software / firmware updates to counter unforeseen bugs that only dealers with the correct scanners and access to code can correct. Tamper with this Artificial Intelligence at your great peril. As HAL warned in Kubrick’s classic ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ “Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave….”

Sigh….. my old analog days of basic pedals, levers and buttons are long gone.

[pdemarest]

Rokrover - "I feel your pain". Last year we rented a car in Wisconsin - a 2017 Cadillac XT5. It took me the better part of the first day to figure out how to work the radio using the touch screen. A few years earlier I rented a Jeep Cherokee and had to go back to the rental car agency to have them show me how to get the air conditioning to work.

And I thought being able to program a VCR was a technological achievement...

Paul

[Scott]

Interesting points. The amount of information bouncing around (and being stored) is astounding. Some of the technology is for the sake of technology alone. Sort of a space race. Tesla is a tech company who happens to produce cars. Infotainment systems with 30 million lines of code (Audi) have gone completely off the deep end, and they're very distracting and dangerous when you have to scroll through menus to turn down your stereo or heater. And emissions systems on modern diesels are way beyond what they were just a handful of years ago.

But in a few not-so-recent ways, automotive complexities have peaked. CAN bus deigns, for example, have reduced the amount of wire required, saving money and reducing manufacturing time. Inexpensive electronic and electromechanical devices have replaced complex, expensive mechanical systems. Throttle by wire systems seem like they're far more complicated than a simple cable and pedal, but they actually simplifies things, especially in modulating traction control. Self diagnostics can be great when they work.

But c'mon Tesla. Maybe you should make sure your shiny power door handles ($1000 each) work flawlessly before spending time and money programming a car to provide instant facebook updates .

[Blue~Go]

Interfaces for things such as radio and HVAC that require one to LOOK at them (basically any touch screen) are one of my huge pet peeves. I mean, okay, have that as an option for fine-tuning options when you're not driving; but have none of the designers noticed that you can operate a knob or slider without taking your eyes off the road? Hmmph.

[chin_k]

Oh, we are just the wrong crowd! Many cars will not even come with a steering wheel in a few years, and you guys already complaint about not having a dedicated dial for the radio volume? In a few decades, younger folks will look back at us, and wonder what were we/they were thinking.