Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Nissan GTR Black Box Abused for Warranty Denial

A couple weeks ago I blogged about Nissan's controversial Vehicle Status Data Recorder (aka VSDR, black box) in the new Skyline GTR. Recall my comment, Who owns / should own the data? It didn't take long for Nissan to invade somebody's privacy, denying a warranty claim for a blown transmission after finding out the owner drove with the vehicle dynamic control (VDC) turned off. Let's analyze:
  • Nissan advertised the Skyline GTR as a Nurburgring track star from day one.
  • Magazine tests such as this one all use the built-in launch control to reproduce Nissan's advertised 0-60 times.
  • The launch control requires turning off VDC. Which voids the warranty.
  • This means you cannot get the advertised performance without pushing the "push here to void warranty" button (thanks Jordan).
  • It also means the black box is logging every time you push the button, and who knows what else (GPS coordinates? speed? etc.) in what is likely a totally non-encrypted format.
  • It's your car - you own the data. Nissan pulled it without this customer's approval. If there's GPS data, this has major privacy implications...
On another note, you already know how I feel about stability control. I will never buy a car I can't drive with that useless stuff disabled. (edit) I've since posted a more detailed explanation of Nissan's ethically questionable strategy over at Corner-Carvers. Pasting the post below for archiving:
Here is a video from edmunds that shows how to invoke LC: Nissan is pretty smart though.. if I were nissan's lawyers, I would challenge you to find any information in the owner's manual or quick reference guide about the launch control. It doesn't exist. In fact, the launch control seems to be a secret that Nissan only told the press, so that they could get the times they wanted, and if you do the same thing, you void your warranty. Try this Google query on for size: Yep. They're smart. Real smart. Launch control doesn't exist!! Now.. if I were a lawyer for Mr.NoLongerAFanboiBecauseMyTransJustBlewUp, I would politely show the judge *this* google query, where Mr. Millen is now actually a thorn in Nissan's side: Yep.. Nissan chose to reprint the "spanks" article and host it on the www.gtrnissan.com site. and the article directly mentions launch control. Which I would think pierces their attempt at pretending launch control doesn't exist.... Andi

[Nissan GT-R Owners Club via Corner-Carvers] Related: Nissan Repograms Skyline GTR Launch Control Anybody who Owns a Porsche... I Suggest You Leave Class Action Lawsuit for GTR Warranty Claims; Nissan Responds by Discontinuing Launch Control What's the Big Deal with the Skyline GTR's Black Box? Computer Aided Driving: The Great Debate Can You Drive Faster Than the Computer?

Posted by at 11:09 AM
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5 comments:

  1. FWIW - most cars have air bag control modules that record data, your speeds, seat belt use, etc. This information can be used against you in court.
    ReplyDelete
  2. There is question as to whether it can be used in court or not. It has been successfully used in court in the past.

    The data is still yours as you own the car and you own the device that is doing the recording. They must ask you for it or obtain a warrant to use it. It is just as illegal to go download the data without your authorization as it is to go open a briefcase in the trunk.

    Lots of good info on EDRs in my related post, "what's the big deal on the skyline's black box?"

    Cheers,
    Andi
    ReplyDelete
  3. The $64k question is of course, what did the buyer sign? If they gave Nissan the rights to download this data upon the filing of a warranty claim, then tough cookies. In this day and age its not like car manufacturers downloading information from black boxes should be surprising.

    That said, blurbs in owner's manuals that say "the use of this feature will void the warranty" are NOT part of contracts, and I don't believe they hold up in court. Manufacturers are probably finding it much harder to weasel their way out of warranties now that any Joe-six-pack can post his brand-tarnishing experiences up on the Internets.
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  4. That is hilarious. If I recall, a dealer mechanic told me that if I read the owners manual to my 1997 Dodge Ram 4x4 carefully, it said that i voided the warranty if i go off-road.
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  5. The GTR warranty explicitly states that VDC must be engaged during launch control. That way sufficient power can be distributed to all four wheels in a safe, efficient manner. It's the owners' own faults for trying to save a few hundredths of their 0-60's by not following the directions.

    MT and C&D both used VDC in their number postings. What the hell are people trying to prove?
    ReplyDelete

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