New Infiniti JX35's are stopping themselves!

[ZahZoo]

We're fucked. I really want a more stripped down car when it comes time to buy a new one, preferably with a 6-speed manual trans....

I hear ya... when it comes time to replace my Chevy Avalanche I'm seriously thinking of searching out an old pickup that doesn't require $200K worth of electronic diagnostic tools to repair...

[Nickdfresh]

Ford quality is job one! (Just don't mention that around my ex-work vehicle, a 6.0 Powerstroke diesel aptly named after masturbation...)

[qikgts]

I hear ya... when it comes time to replace my Chevy Avalanche I'm seriously thinking of searching out an old pickup that doesn't require $200K worth of electronic diagnostic tools to repair...

Several years ago I had bought a used '02 F250. Nice truck, crew cab, short bed low miles. It was an XLT not a Lariat, 2wd, had the (way underpowered) 5.4. I had owned the truck for a little while, I guess about 3 years, and I had an electrical issue. It involved the OE keyless entry, power windows, power locks, auto headlamps, the radio, the horn, the dome lights; all kinds of shit.

I started digging through the wiring diagrams and I found the problem to lie with a microprocessor embedded into the instrument cluster. That chip decided when to supply power to the different circuits and it also was connected to the rest of the network in the truck. If I would have taken it to Ford to be repaired I have no idea what it would have wound up costing. I can only imagine it would have been in the thousands between the cluster and the labor to troubleshoot it.

I did an old school work around using a few relays and an aftermarket keyless entry unit for about $100.00. If I would have added another $15.00 part I could have had every feature working just like the factory did with the exception of talking on their in car network. Talk about over engineered... Especially considering it was a heavy duty pick up truck!

I hope whats old will be new again; I'm waiting for someone to start manufacturing cars that tout only having two computers in them (one for the fuel injection and the other for the air bags) along with a radio. No bullshit 15 modules for the locks and windows, no electronic climate controls, no active suspensions, no active lighting, no digital gauge clusters and no collision avoidance shit. Saving the engineering cost alone should equal something right?

[BITEYOASS]

There are some things that either should not be computerized. Hell, its gotten to the point where I've been thinking of getting a vehicle with a manual transmission.