More than 30,700 Ford Mustangs are being recalled in response to a problem that could cause unintentional turning of their steering wheels.
We’re literally building cars with a video game controller for steering…and that “smart” computer can “suddenly and unexpectedly” override the driver as to which direction to point the wheels.
Imagine the danger these “smart” cars are going to pose at the 10, 15, 20+ year marks as the “smart” computer goes senile…I suspect they’ll be scrapped long before…super “environmentally friendly”!
Owned a Honda S2000 with electric power steering (EPS). Sold it at 108K and 13 years old. No issues at all with the steering.
Own a 2013 Mustang with EPS. 92K miles, 11 years old, no issues at all with the steering.
Own a 2014 Audi with EPS. 47K miles, 10 years old, no issues with the steering at all.
Anecdotal, certainly, but considering the technology has been out there more than 30 years, seems unlikely we’ll have an Electric Steering Apocalypse anytime soon.
Steer by wire is available on the Tesla Cybertruck right now and Lexus is introducing it soon. NO connection between the steering wheel and the tires except wires and a computer!
Lemme give you another thing to worry about… Electronic Stability Control (ESC) can apply any one of your 4 brakes independently without your foot being anywhere near the brake pedal! The computer decides when and IF it saves your life. (Hal, open the pod bay doors… I can’t do that, Dave…) It can steer your car with the brakes when you lose control of the car. ESC has been around since the 1980s and mandated on US cars since 2012.
Honestly, you think at age 20, in 2044, all of this tech (much of it struggling to function past the warranty period) is going to work like new? No way. It will fail and cost of replacement will send the vehicle to salvage. Actually, we’ll probably never know (in EV’s) because the battery replacement cost will definitely send the car to salvage before age 20.
Sorry, I mixed in EV’s with the ICE. The EV’s will be junkyarded way before 20 years due to battery failure. The ICE will be more likely to make it in a car people really love like a Mustang because they’ll spend the money to fix it…but less loved cars are heading to the crusher at a relatively young age.
Did you ever hear about Voyager 1 and 2? These spacecraft were launched in 1977 and they are still working. And the electronics in those are nowhere near as durable as the electronics in modern cars.
Spacecraft are assembled using military specification parts which often include radiation hardened parts. Certainly MIL SPEC parts existed when the Voyager spacecraft were built. Car parts are not nearly as robust as space rated parts. Note too that Voyager 1 has experienced problems recently. Fortunately it is back in business and sending data from beyond the solar system.
