I think it's steps for the tow truck operator to perform before they can tow the now-undriveable car. Like getting it in neutral, disabling parking break, maybe disconnecting batteries.

[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah that sounds completely unessesary to have such features when they can be done manually and probably with better compatibility (I'm guessing Ford tow trucks only connect to their proprietary standard)

[–] jasondj@ttrpg.network 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Modern cars have some stupid functions in the form of nicities.

How are you going to put a car in neutral if it’s a push-button shift that’s unresponsive because the infotainment system has to boot for the transmission control module (probably for some stupid reason like being able to display errors like this).

My wife’s minivan has a push button shift. And automatic headlights. You want to go to the drive-in? Gotta hit the (pushbutton) park-brake to disable the auto headlights. And the radio will turn off every 30 minutes during the movie to save battery.

[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

That's nice but truckers don't need that

[–] jasondj@ttrpg.network 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

That message is for the tow truck operator pulling out the car.

Believe it or not, sometimes the tow truck operator sees something for the first time. Sometimes, even, the savvy car owner sees things for the first time.

I had an 86 Cougar that got struck in the rear quarter panel and wouldn’t start. While I was waiting for a tow, as luck would have it, my regular tow truck driver lived right in front of where I broke down (I’d crossed paths with this guy a lot of times because my dad was restoring a car and had bought a couple donor cars to pull parts from). He showed me that there’s a safety switch in the trunk that turns off power to the fuel pump. He reset it and it started right up.

Now, guaranteed, at one point in time this guy had never seen a post-Pinto Ford that wouldn’t start after a collision. I’m sure a screen that told him (or the owner) that there’s a safety switch would’ve helped him that day.

Now, when my jeep radiator hose cracked and I didn’t want to risk driving it home overheating, the tow truck driver (AAA) saved me a tow by cutting back a bit of the hose and reattaching it with the good part in tact. That’s the type of trick that a good driver knows and can share. But you can’t expect them to know of the safeties and bypasses of dozens of different configurations that come out every year, off-hand, potentially somewhere without internet access.

[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's great for convenience but not a "this vehicle absolutely cannot function without" feature

[–] jasondj@ttrpg.network 1 points 10 months ago

Wait, what do you think is happening? Do you think the car just wants to see a tow truck driver and is acting out to get its way?

The vehicle is immobile. There is more to do to prep it for towing than simple shift-to-neutral. The message explains how to do that. What the fuck about the message is keeping it from functioning?