Code shenanigans causing problems for repair shops

[Crunch]

Gee, what a surprise! Auto makers aren't giving code explanations to repair shops, which is resulting in frustration and lost buisness. Below is the link and a short blurb:



http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/164817_gearheads15.html

Monday, March 15, 2004



Late-model car codes frustrate mechanics

Automakers keep high-tech specifics from repair shops



By CHARLES POPE

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT



WASHINGTON -- Gary Putman is an accomplished mechanic with bills to pay and a business to grow.



Yet more and more these days, he's forced to wave customers away from his popular shop in West Seattle. He literally can't crack the computer code he needs to diagnose and fix an assortment of maladies ranging from climate systems to brakes to electrical glitches that commonly strike late-model cars.



"If you don't have the code, you lose the job. They have to go to the dealers. It's an illegal monopoly, in my opinion. It happens enough that it's a real problem," said Putman, who owns Westside Import Repair.



Putman isn't alone. Across the nation, professional mechanics and weekend tinkerers alike are confronting a new reality in today's highly computerized cars -- to fix the car, you first have to be able talk to the computer. And that's where the trouble starts. More often than not, the code is in a language understood only by auto manufacturers.



"There is stuff I can't do," Putman said. "There is information that's never been released on systems like automatic climate controls. The information for that is a dealer secret. "



end of excerpt

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Click the link at the top of this excerpt to read the entire article.

 

[TBrennan]

I think there is a bill in congress right now that is gaining momentum to be passed to force manufacturers to open their systems up to outside sources.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

It is really nothing new, I went to auto-zone to get codes read, their system said it was an electronic wastegate malfunction, knowing my truck didn't have an electronic wastegate I went to my trusty service manual and found that it was the CKP to injection pump difference in timing caused by a bad connection. It's definantely a pain in the butt.

 

[Crunch]

Originally posted by TBrennan

I think there is a bill in congress right now that is gaining momentum to be passed to force manufacturers to open their systems up to outside sources.

The article mentioned a bill, but also stated that there was little chance of passing it in an election year. The proposed bill would force auto manufacturers to turn over the codes to a purchaser on request. The manufacturers are fighting this, claiming the following:



"Automakers are fighting the legislation; they believe the real goal is to obtain proprietary `calibration codes' that are the blueprints for how parts are made. With that information, Territo said, independent mechanics and parts manufacturers could duplicate major components such as fuel injectors that automakers have spent millions of dollars developing.



`A calibration code is what makes that part work, and that's the part that's proprietary,' Territo said. `It's like the difference between an Apple microprocessor and an IBM microprocessor. '"



Funny think is China is probably reverse engineering every part on which money can be made. I also don't see how repair shops need the calibration codes, seeing that they are fixing vehicles, not manufacturing parts for them.