Help! I can't program my car

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Some drivers still might find the setup process too demanding. Could car computers be the next service opportunity for car dealerships or computer fix-it people like Best Buy's Geek Squad?

CompUSA, whose CompUSA TechPro service offers an array of setup services for electronics, is considering the possibility, according to Mark Gertenback, CompUSA director of technical services.

But the idea hasn't caught on yet, even in areas catering to the rich and pampered. While the Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills dealership performs all the software updates necessary for the cars they sell and lease, there is currently no service offered that includes a complete setup of car automation systems tailored to individual desires.

"We do--as a courtesy service during delivery--go over the car, spending the time showing the client what these features are and how to program them, how to get into navigation and where they can find it to personalize to their own liking, to their own taste," said Sam Dalati, technical service manager at the Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills dealership.

Toyota dealers don't offer customized setup service either, just the customer walk-through of features upon receipt. But sometimes owners of new systems are given a CD or a DVD that comes with the owner's manual and gives the customer step-by-step setup instructions, according to Toyota spokesman Sam Butto.

There are also research projects under way that are investigating new ways to make inputting and using car computer information more palatable. Jodi Forlizzi, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has been working on a project for General Motors called MOVE, or Maps Optimized for Vehicular Environments. It operates on the premise that, like subway maps, less is more and you don't need to see everything in proper scale.

"I think we are starting to see a little bit of 'feature blow' in that people don't access a lot of these features because they don't know how, or they don't want to take the time to set them up," said Forlizzi.

Instead of displaying an Internet-style driving map--with all of its topographical, highway system and business directory information--the MOVE system gives information to drivers in stages, on a need-to-know basis. It also changes scale as needed to make maps more legible at a glance.

The map is shown in stages with only the relevant turns and street names appearing on the screen as you come to them. In principle, it works like the TripTik flip-books long available from AAA, that show sections of a road at a time or the kind of hand-drawn map you might give to someone for directions.

In experiments with driving simulators, people using MOVE glanced at the dash one-fifth as frequently as they did with other leading navigation systems. They also spent less time looking at the screen when they did confer with it, according to Forlizzi.

Still, will drivers be willing to take time to set up all the customization? Or will the automaker or some service provider middleman help out? "The other way this might go is you bring your own mobile devices and the car is configured to become an extension of your network," said Forlizzi.

In that scenario, no setup would be required. A key fob or USB drive would recognize who is connecting to the car and then automatically access stored preferences via a PDA or online account. An extension of that concept could even include a new model of music ownership in which one subscription service gives you access to your personal music collection wherever you go, said Forlizzi.

Another possibility is that software makers could lend their expertise in user interface design. Automakers are already beginning to partner on projects with Apple, Microsoft and IBM.

"Remember how there was an Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer? Something like that might happen with a software company," said Forlizzi.

[markdoiron]

Too Hard

It started when mfg's incorporated a clock that couldn't be set without reading the manual. How ludicrous is that?

And it's gotten ridiculous. I had to program a new key to work in my 07 Jeep JK and could not get it to work. Turns out that the 06 keys, which the locksmith provided, won't work. However, the manual also gave out incorrect instructions which complicated matters that much more. Having to swap keys, listen for certain blinking lights and hear certain beeps, all of which is incorrectly described in the manual, using a key that looks identical but is, in fact different (the 07 JK uses the 06 Commander key!), then to finally stand on my head for five seconds (okay, I made that part up), was ridiculous.

Right now, cars are where computers were at 25 years ago. Let's hope that they get better a lot faster because a crash with a computer is a lot less of a problem than one with a car!

--mark d.

[ferricoxide]

The Fun Part Will Be...

After you've spent 18 hours setting up your car and then you have some sort of "event" that causes all your custom setting to go *poof* and you have to spend another 18 hours getting your car all set back up again.

Just had something similar happen with my GPS: after a firmware/map upgrade, the touch screen decided the numbers and letters on the left side of the screen didn't need to be usable. Called tech support, they suggested a "reset" procedured that ended up wiping out a year's worth of collected addresses (and still didn't fix the problem).

Yeah... Technology's great, sometimes. :p

[umbrae]

UI is the key...

Since most engineers focus on the hard stuff, actually designing an interface to it looses attention. If its not easy to use, the feature is useless.

[disco-legend-zeke]

Disconnect battery to Reboot.

i had a highly customized Honda Civic with a security feature that allowed a thief to drive about a half mile before disabling the engine.

If it were accidentally started with a different key than unlocked the doors, it would fall into this mode.

The only cure was to reboot, accomplished by disconnecting the battery for a few seconds.

Just for the record, it was NOT necessary to "close all windows" first.

[JCarlson27]

Mr. Jobs......Oppertunity is knocking.

It's not that I love Apple it's just they seem to be the only Company that understands how to simplify the complex without sucking the functionality out the device.

[baike]

feature creep

This is just a symptom of feature bloat. I drive a Jetta and recently got a new one as a loaner while mine was undergoing maintenance. The new one turned me off of Jetta's. I couldn't turn on the radio without clicking OKAY on a touchscreen 3 times. I don't want to have to boot my car up or sign in or agree to an EULA everytime I need to drive to the store. I don't want these features. I don't want the hassle. I don't want the embedded expense. Even if you don't get the options, your purchase is subsidizing the availability of them. These car companies are trying to lure customers with shiny toys and siily features that have nothing to do with the true quality of the car. If they really want a firm share of the market, they should make cars of high quality at low cost and leave all this other crap to the aftermarket. In fact, if there was a car that was purpose built to readily accept aftermarket features (electronics), that would have an appeal to me.

[Travis Ernst]

Honda!

Honda is another one that is nuts. It will mishear you when you
give it a verbal command to adjust fan, or airconditioning, or
temp and all of a sudden the radio kicks on!!! So you almost
need a cheat card to have the commands in front of you. It is
worse than remembering all the AT commands for the modem in
the early days, not to mention the dip switch settings. It's the
same disaster.

I miss my 1972 with GLASS tube fuses (8 of them!) and an old
school AM radio. Hardly anything could go wrong that you
couldn't figure out with your eyes or a simple $10 meter if it was
a faulty wire, possibly the generator went bad (had that happen).

Now it's 6 computers in a car, DVD deck under the passanger
seat for the maps, GPS (guess what, that means YOU can be
tracked!) Too much electrical add-ons.

[bennettpb]

How many computers do I need to drive to work?
How many do I need to pay for?
When my car breaks, how do I describe the symptom?
Recently my MINI felt like it was running at half power.
I thought "limp home" or "safe mode".
On my second trip for repair the dealer gave me a loaner MINI with even more computers in it that I had to try to figure out just to use the radio and heater.
Now we need computerized seat, wheel, and mirror adjustment memory for six drivers.
Self adjusting headlight computers.
A computer that shuts off the dome light while I'm still in the car.
The best is a computer that tells the dealer that you have been racing and possibly voids your warranty
Thank you Nissan.