[SystemSafety] automobile software

Thu Apr 28 22:37:37 CEST 2016

>  No longer support last year’s software

If there was a safety issue I’d like to watch them discuss that with NHTSA (see below).

> by design

Faulty by design?

Is that a new paradigm?

Maybe some sort of knee jerk reaction to correct by design…

For interest I thought I’d have a look at the tweet storm, the following is I think the sequence of tweets on twitter (but lord it’s hard to follow)

-          After a lengthy talk with @chevrolet management, they admitted they DO NOT acknowledge software bugs; they are BY DESIGN @mtbarra really???

-          FYI @chevrolet has informed me they no longer support last year’s software, even if there are flaws affecting safety/usability. @mtbarra

-          Background: @chevrolet district manager was about to replace my truck with a 2016 that fixed serious SW issues, Chevy killed deal. @mtbarra

-          If your GM cruise control caused a crash in your 2015 vehicle, I might know why. Contact me privately.

-          OK, if Chevrolet continues to do nothing to help me, strongly considering trading up to an F-150 King Ranch

-          I discovered a condition where @chevrolet cruise control locks and will not disengage. They told me it was a safety feature. Done.

-          It’s actually worse than that because the user thinks they’re decelerating the cruise while it’s locked in place. So unsafe. @mtbarra

-          Filed with NHTSA, since Chevrolet won’t address it. If this has caused you an accident, please contact me. @mtbarra

            < the following is a transcript of the screen grab that went with the above>

            A reproducible condition exists when the driver removes their foot from the gas pedal, then quickly engages cruise control, then

            pushes the minus (-) button repeatedly to decelerate the cruise control, that the vehicle cruise locks up and flip back and forth

            between the desired speed and the original set speed, and does not decelerate. This can occur for several seconds, where the

            driver believes they are decelerating the cruise control but it is locked at its original setting, which could lead to an accident. 

-          Is there anyone following me who is an engineer at Bosch? I’ve got several usability / crash bugs that you might want to look into.

-          Chevrolet cited their engineers didn’t see a problem with the cruise. Possibly the same engineers responsible for their ignition switches?

I looked though the NHTSA database for the complaint but could not find it there are 122 complaints list and the interface is not very user friendly – I did however find 14 recalls on the 2014 Silverado (actually it’s 2016 now isn’t it?), including the following SW errors.

…vehicles equipped with a base radio and an internal amplifier. The radios in the affected vehicles may become inoperative, and as a result, there would be no audible chime to notify the driver if the door is opened with the key in the ignition or no audible seat belt warning indicating the seat belts were not buckled. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention," and 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

The incorrect software may cause the transmission indicator not to display that gear position "1" has been selected. As such, this vehicle does not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102

The “best” on the list mechanical”… An improperly tightened tie rod attachment may allow the tie rod to separate from the steering rack, resulting in a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

From: systemsafety [mailto:systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de] On Behalf Of Robert Schaefer
Sent: 28 April 2016 19:30
To: The System Safety List
Subject: [SystemSafety] automobile software

I’ve been following the twitter feed of Jonathan Zdziarski, a forensics scientist.

https://twitter.com/JZdziarski

two of his recent tweets:

1. FYI  <https://twitter.com/chevrolet> @chevrolet has informed me they no longer support last year’s software, even if there are flaws affecting safety/usability.  <https://twitter.com/mtbarra> @mtbarra

51 retweets37 likes

Reply

Retweet

51

Like

37

More

2.  <https://twitter.com/JZdziarski> Jonathan Zdziarski ‏@JZdziarski   <https://twitter.com/JZdziarski/status/725411063718658048> 23h23 hours ago

After a lengthy talk with  <https://twitter.com/chevrolet> @chevrolet management, they admitted they DO NOT acknowledge software bugs; they are BY DESIGN  <https://twitter.com/mtbarra> @mtbarra really???

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